Karikázó, 1984. július - 1985. január (10. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1984-07-01 / 1. szám
Continued from p.4 does not exhaust the ballad's possibilities. Erich Neumann, in his Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine, considers "birth of the dead as rebirth" one of the ultimate matriarchal mysteries. The best-known examples of such are the Eleusinian Mysteries, based on the myth of Persephone and Demeter. Time does not permit me now to go into this problem as deeply as I would like to, but let me just show a few points of parallelism between the Greek myth and the Hungarian ballad. First, the plot elements. We are dealing with the wooing of a virgin by a groom of supernatural origin. She is surrounded by vegetation symbols: flowers and fruits. Her acceptance is fraught with doubts yet she does not refuse; she seems to accept the proposal as pertaining to the divine will. The marriage takes place; the bride is led away; the mother laments the loss of the girl. If we consider not only the plot elements but also the probable nature of the celebration of the Mysteries at Eleusis, we may recognize further parallels in the ritual dialog and the symbolism of light. We still have not exhausted the apple symbolism, but what I will discuss next is difficult to interpret. Here is a piece of a puzzle. I've planted some marjoram, I'm waiting for it to sprout, I'm waiting for my sweet love's Return to me. So far, a fairly straightforward case of sympathetic magic. Stanza 2 seems to be nothing more than an "image from nature" - except that we've been meeting this same configuration twice before, just a few minutes ago, in "Julia Fair Maiden" and in the ancient winter solstice song. I'm going out, going out To a lovely round hill On that hill there grows A sweet-apple tree. And now, the mystery. That apple-tree has Thirty-three branches Unto to them have flown Thirty-three peacocks. End of song. I must add that this song has a haunting melody, which makes the mystery seem even more tantalizing. When it is over, you ask, "And then what happened?" When you realize that there is no more, you start asking yourself, "Why thirty-three branches?" The number symbolism is thrust at you, and then it is reinforced. Thirty-three branches, thirty-three peacocks. Now in the old style Hungarian folksongs, the peacock is usually considered a symbol of death. The reason for that is that in a number of these old songs, the color scheme of the bird is specifically mentioned: green wings, blue feet. These two colors are associated with death and mourning. The base on which the coffin was placed was traditionally painted blue; the widow's weeds were green. In the present song, "I've Planted Some Marjoram," the peacocks' colors are not mentioned. Nevertheless, the thirty-three peacocks seem to signify an ill omen. What the number thirty-three means here I don't know, but it could mean thirty-three young men of the village who went to war and lost their lives there. In this case, the thirty-three peacocks may represent their deaths, and the sweet-apple tree becomes, ironically, not the Tree of Life but the Tree nf Death. The ill omen augurs that the marjoram will not sprout, and the sweet love will not return. Of course, I am only guessing. But now that I moved by way of the apple tree to the symbolism of the peacock, I will give you two more illustrations of it. In a green forest, in a green meadow, A peacock was walking. Its feet are blue, its wings are green, Its feathers are golden. It invited me to be its traveling mate. Indeed, I'll go along with it - In Vásárhely, there isn't a single man Ay! that I would care to have. Mother, mother, my sweet mother I'll go to that forest. I'll search out that peacock I'll ask it a question. Didn't it see my loved one In that forest, The one for whom my heart is aching, aching, Ay! I will die for him surely. As in "I've Planted Some Marjoram," the girl is seeking her lost lover. The peacock appears and invites her on a journey. Declaring that there's no man in the town whom she would care to have (for the one she loves is not there), she says farewell to her mother. The specific nature of the journey is suggested by the fact that it is a peacock who is asking her, but in case of doubt, the last line makes it literal, "Ay! I will die for him surely." The peacock is also the symbol of death in the song, "The Cock Is Crowing Already." The cock is crowing already Perhaps dawn will come at last. If that is what God decreed. You'll be mine at last. Wait, bird, you wait! Just wait on, just wait... In a green forest, in a green meadow A bird is walking. What kind of a bird? What kind of a bird? Its feet are blue, its wings are green; It's waiting for me there. Wait, bird, you wait! Just wait on, just wait... If that is what God decreed, I'll be yours at last. Wait, bird, you wait! Just wait on, just wait... The cock crowed, but the expected "dawn" of the lovers' union never came in this life. Only in death, under the green wings of the peacock, will they be united. Continued on p.6