Famous Hungarian mythologies

The Hungarian folk came from the west of the Ural Mountains and migrated to today’s Hungary. Due to their adventorous lifestyles, Hungarians have some pretty fascinating mythological stories. Read our article and discover Hungary’s rich folk heritage!

Hungarian mythology

Hungarian folklore is a system of mythological ideas that can be reconstructed on the basis of folk tales, legends, archaic folk prayers and recitations, as well as folk art and folk customs, writes arcanum.com. Although the Hungarian language is considered to be part of the Finno-Ugric family, its legends differ from other Finno-Ugric mythologies. Shamanism played an important role in shaping the mythological worldview of Hungarians during the time of the conquest of the Carpathian Basin. In addition, Hungarian mythology divided the universe into three worlds: the upper, the middle and the lower. The upper one was the world of the god(s) while the middle one was inhabited by people and supernatural beings.

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Legend of the Wondrous Stag

This is probably the most famous and oldest Hungarian legend about the origin of the folk. Here is the story, also written by travelnhistory.com:

In a great and ancient land, King Nimrod’s first wife bore twin sons named Hunnor and Magor. On a hunt, their father got separated from his sons, who came across a wondrous stag. They started chasing the animal through lush meadows and deep forests but the stag kept heading west. At dusk, it seemed to have vanished so the brothers found a place to camp for the night. In the morning, the stag reappeared and led the young hunters to a beautiful and bountiful land. Although they lost the stag, Hunnor and Magor fell in love with the place and built a new life there – in Hungary.

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Emese’s Dream

This legend is about Emese, the wife of Attila the Hun. Once, Emese had a dream in which a Turul bird appeared to her. A clear stream began to flow westward from her, which grew into a strong, flowing river. This image symbolised an impregnation by the Turul making her lineage one of great significance. Soon, Emese gave birth to Álmos, the father of Árpád. For Hungarians, Árpád is a very important ruler, as he is considered the founder of Hungary. Therefore, Emese’s dream proved to be right, her descendants were in fact, great rulers.

Source: travelnhistory.com, arcanum.com