Karikázó, 1978. július - 1979. április (4. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1978-07-01 / 1. szám

3ßt€ngta\ian tyc/Á/cie tjVeu-z/e/Sei Vol.4. no. 1.______________________July 1978 Published quarterly Subscription : * $ 2/year U.SA. J $ 2.50elsewhere $ t$.50/ copy Í The purpose of Karikázó is to maintain | communication and update the knowledge t of all interested individuals and groups | on the folklore, folk dance, music,art and * ethnic life of Hungarians all over the * world. Its content does not represent the opi- * nion of any organized group. Articles ap- * pearing in the newsletter may be copied* or reprinted only if the source, publish- * er's name and address , furthermore the* , . . * writer s name are cited. * ************************************* | * The reader's of Karikazo are interes-** ted in the knowledge and experience that* their fellow folklore friends can offer* them and they would like to read about| them. If you can contribute to the news-| letter by writing an article, or there is} a particular subject you would like to} read about, please contact the editor. | ************************************* ■** Editor: } Judith Magyar * 257 Chestnut Ave Staff: I Bogota, NJ. 07603 (201)343 - 5240 Tünde Cseh1} ************************************* : keep reappearing in his art, yet the most favorite subject of all of them is the danc­ing he remembers. But what is this dance, the pontozo like? There are four types of men's danc­es in Transylvania: the ritka and suru legényes dances of Mezoseg, the le­génye s of Kalotaszeg, the s z e k e ly v e r b u n k and the pontozo . The distinguishing characteristics of the pontozo are that the dance is done in one place and that its movements are perhaps the most "vertically articulated." Naturally, there are transitional ele­ments, but in comparisons these qualities can be emphasised, to which the powerful snapping of fingers and the accentuated, synccpated stamping of the feet become characteristic accessories, (the latter cre­ates the "vertical articulation" or up- and -down movement of the dance) The pontozo is done one-by-one in front of the musicians. The dancers rare­ly present more than 6-8 p o i n t s at one occasion. Anyone " performing" more than that is said to be in "great strength" or is especially good in dancing. All the men know the pontozo dance, variation is only in the quality of execu­tion and in the number of figures or "points" of the presentation. Not to know the dance is a disgrace. Music for the dance is provided by the villagers. There are always a few lads or men who play the violin. The band usually consists of two players:a prim and a sec­ond violin. GYULA ORTUTAY. director oftte Folk­lore Research Group at the Hungarian A- cademy of Sciences, president of the Soci­ety of Scientific Education, academist died in Budapest. His life-work remains a valued and integral part of both Hungari­an and international scientific as well as public life. (Magyar Hírek) GIRLS« COSTUME OF BAG, PEST COUNTY (See description on p.4) 1 "LőrincreVi nádasberex, Ott terem az ügyes gyerek! Én is odavaló vagyok, Ahol az a csillag ragyog IDko acquainted the world with the The groves of Lorincréve, That's where the smart lads grow! I too come from that place, Where that star glows!" Lorincréve is a small village in Tran­sylvania (Erdély) in one of the lowlying bends of the Maros -river. It is not far from Na gy e ny e d , where in the XVII. century, Gábor Bethlen (Reigning Prince of Transylvania,1613-29) founded a college that has since become the pride of that town. Half of the inhabitants ofLorincreve are Hungarian, the other half Ro­manian. The latter settled in the village at the beginning of the 1700's. The festi­vities are held jointly, yet they never do each other's dances. "My father's name was András "recalls Zsigmond Karsai - "and one András­­day a big party was held at our house. I must have been about six years old at the time. The older lads let me be included in their dancing, so I cannot really recall the exact time I learned the lad's dance : the pontozó."- Thus, his path of life is practically inseparable from dancing. In his home in Pecel (near Budapest ) hangs his diplomawork, a painting por­traying a dance-gathering in a barn, mag­nificently and inspiringly depicting the enchantment of the dance mood. The themes of his native place: land­scapes, the moments of everyday - life dance: BY: KÁROLY FALVAY Zsigmond *Karsai The lads first start to learn the pon­tozo at the age of 8-10, from older brothers or from parents in their own homes. By the time they are 12-13, they have mastered the dance, which is actual­ly the primary condition to be admitted to the dance occasions of adults, where there are girls too. A young man can dance with any of the girls of the village, but girls from other villages can only be asked if a previous permis ‘on has been obtained from her parents at her house. Yet this agreement could vanish into thin air if it turned out that the girl had an understanding with someone from her own village and he showed up at the dance for revenge. The village lads always stuck together, so it was not advisable for the furious lover to enter the "battle" without some friends from his own village as well. A good dancer had no problem finding a girl partner:the girls always admired a a good dancer if for no other reason than for not having to be a wallflower at the dance. The lads' traditional attire is: white felt pants, specifically called'h a r i s ny a" or stockings, a white linen shirt, tucked­­in the front and let out in the back,a blue long-sleeve jacket and a black hat with a flower-bouquet of red - white and green colors. The girls wore a burgundy-red colored gathered skirt that came below the knee,a white shirt-waist and a vest that was black or matched the color of the skirt. They tied red ribbons in their hair. Both the girls and lads wore black boots with seams at the side. Zsigmond Karsai can recall these mementos from his own youth too» and al­though he is now past the age of fifty, the magic of his dances, instead of ceasing, seems to be getting mellower and nobler. Through him, the fame of the pontozo dance has spread throughout the world. Whoever is able to dance the virtuous steps of Hungarian dances and those cf the pontozo,can attest to the patriotic pride and sentinents derived from doing them. We are all immensely grateful to Zs i g­­mond Karsai for safeguarding this magnificent treasure and for passing it down to newer generations.

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