Hungarian Folklore


     Hungary, the region my family is from, is often overlooked in many matters, and folktales are no exception. The majority of Hungarian folktales were published by Baroness Orczy, who began translating and writing stories after the birth of her son. Her husband, notable artist Montagu Barston, did all the illustrations for her books (Unknown, 2023). This book, Old Hungarian Fairy Tales, was originally published in 1895 and featured many classic Hungarian folktales such as The Enchanted Cat, The Golden Spinster, The Suitors of the Princess Firefly, and many more that are not very well-known. 

    The plots of these stories are relatively fast-paced, keeping in standard for folklore (Galda, 2017). The text itself sounded like spoken language, as well, and I could almost picture the story being read aloud to children somewhere. The timeline of publication fits with the reemergence of interest in folktales as well (Galda, 2017).  I, unfortunately, was viewing this book online, so I did not have access to the illustrations beyond the front cover. The front cover is mostly line art with some color added for depth. It's a very simple illustration, yet fanciful. I would say this illustration is closest to surrealism, as the fairy depicted is not real (Galda, 2017). 

    Some motivational activities that could go with reading this could be learning about the history of Hungary and how certain parts of the stories reflect what life was like in 1800s Hungary. Folktales often include a life lesson that can be learned, which could also be integrated into a lesson. A teacher could also compare and contrast these folktales with those from other countries, as well. It's well known that many folktales overlap, such as different versions of "Cinderella" (Galda, 2017). Some classroom conversations could go as follows:

Teacher: "Folktales often serve to teach a lesson. What lesson can be learned from Adam in the story "Are You Angry"?"

Students : {various answers}

OR 

Teacher: "What is one aspect of "The Suitors of Princess Firefly" that you noticed overlaps with another fairy tale?"

Students: {various answers}

    I very much enjoyed learning about my own cultural folklore. I was previously unaware of it entirely. My great-grandparents moved here from Hungary, but sadly, much of the culture has been lost in the generations. I enjoyed the cadence of the stories, they were very easy to understand and I was able to find some kind of lesson in most of them. 

REFERENCES:

1. Galda, L. (2016). Literature and the Child (9th ed.). Cengage Learning US. https://reader2.yuzu.com/books/9781305854987

2. Unknown. "Hungarian Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Fables". FairyTalez, 2023. https://fairytalez.com/region/hungarian/#lightbox/0/ 

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