"Apparition in the Forest" by Monitz Ludwig von Schwind
Hungarian Fairies
by Theodora Goss
Róheim links Fairy Ilona, as a swan–goddess, with other European goddesses who can take the form of birds. And this brings us to a final interesting possibility. Fred Hámori, who argues that the Hungarian language is related to ancient Sumerian, believes that Fairy Ilona is the fairy tale form of the Sumerian goddess Inanna. Is there any support for this possibility in the fairy tale itself? Róheim tells us that in Finno–Ugric mythology, (4) the Land of Birds is also the Land of the Dead. Perhaps Prince Argyilus, following Fairy Ilona in her raven form, is also following her to a symbolic land of death. Inanna, in one of her most famous myths, also visits the Land of the Dead. Like a shaman, who can travel both upward and downward on the tree with the golden apples, she descends into the underworld, which is ruled by her sister Ereshkigal. The three days and nights she spends there are reminiscent of the three days and nights it takes for Prince Argyilus to break the spell on Fairy Ilona. Perhaps the witch who holds Fairy Ilona captive is a counterpart of Ereshkigal, and the sleep that Fairy Ilona and Prince Argyilus both fall into is the fairy tale equivalent of death. Inanna's consort Dumuzi, who eventually takes her place in the underworld for half of the year, is identified as a shepherd. Hoppál also refers to the shaman as a shepherd, and we have seen that Prince Argyilus' journey resembles the shaman's journey. Finally, Inanna is sometimes depicted as winged, like the fairies of European art. This is slight evidence on which to base an identification, and Hámori's ideas on the link between Hungarian and Sumerian mythology are not accepted by serious scholars. However, it is interesting to think of the Hungarian fairies as descendants of ancient gods, like the Irish Tuatha de Danann. If we throw aside scholarly caution, we can imagine Inanna, the fickle goddess of the Sumerians, over centuries diminishing into the beautiful, virtuous literary fairies as well as the dangerous fairies, witches, and fair ladies of Hungarian folklore.
"Fairies" by Hans Zatzka
End Notes:
1. Mihály Hoppál writes, "If the fairy is the beautiful young creature of the lower level of mythology dwelling in water, then her negative counterpart is definitely the vasorrú bába, 'witch with the iron nose,' who is depicted by our fairy tales as an ugly, ill–meaning old woman." (Continue reading)
2. For instance, Tündér Lala, by Magda Szabó, relates the adventures of Prince Lala, the son of the Fairy Queen. Published in 1964, it remains a popular book for children. For more information on Magda Szabó, click here. (Continue reading)
3. In "The Woodland Fairy," when the king leaves his fairy, he protects her by putting her up in the branches of a willow tree. Both the fairy's relationship to trees, and her transformation into a fish, could point to a shamanic significance in that tale as well. Hoppál implies that the shaman's soul can appear as both a bird and a fish. (Continue reading)
4. Hungarian belongs to the Finno–Ugric group of languages. These languages are not related to the Indo–European language group, to which most Western European languages, including English, French, and German, belong. The Finno–Ugric tribes are believed to have originated in the Russian steppes. (Continue reading)
Author's Notes:
It is difficult to find information in English on Hungarian fairy tales and folklore. We might blame the Hungarian language itself, which is particularly difficult to learn, or the restrictions of the Socialist era, during which Hungary was not able to participate fully in the intellectual life of Europe. And the ideology of that era, which valued scientific progress over "superstition," may be partly to blame. Even Dömötör, when she writes that traditional folk beliefs are dying out in Hungary, concludes, "and of course, this is how things should be." The English sources I have used, which are listed below, are old, and probably outdated. I have no doubt that anyone who is fluent in Hungarian could offer numerous corrections. But I hope that what I have written is useful, if not for its accuracy, then for its suggestiveness. As readers and writers, we tend to return to the fairy tales that we are familiar with from the Grimms and the French writers of the salons. The Hungarian stories are both old and new, repeating patterns that we are familiar with, but often in different ways. I hope that writers will seek them out to find inspiration for their own writing, and readers will seek them out for the pleasure that they offer, and for their way of looking at the world, which is almost, but not quite, the way we know.
Further Reading:
Hungarian Folk Beliefs by Tekla Dömötör, translated by Christopher M. Hann (Indiana University Press, 1981).
Studies on Mythology and Uralic Shamanism by Mihály Hoppál, translated by Orsolya Frank, Bálint Sebestyén, and Péter Simoncsics (Akadémiai Kiadó, 2000).
Magyar Fairytales From Old Hungarian Legends by Nándor Pogány (Dutton, 1930).
Hungarian and Vogul Mythology by Géza Róheim (University of Washington Press, 1966).
"On Fairy Stories" by J.R.R. Tolkien, published in The Tolkien Reader (Ballantine, 1966).
On the Web:
God and His Helpers by Fred Hámori