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Busójárás

A Hungarian carnival tradition

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Busójárás, a world heritage

As in many other parts of the world, Hungary also has a long tradition of chasing away winter and ushering in spring, and there are many customs and beliefs associated with this tradition.
The Busójárás (“Busó-walking”) of Mohács is one of the most important and most well-known such customs, and is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The legend

According to the legend in 1687 the villagers of Mohács managed to defeat the Turkish army by scaring them away with the help of horrible wooden masks.
It is however, more likely, that the tradition arrived about a decade later with the Croatian settlers. Very similar masks and costumes are found in Bulgaria, Switzerland, Italy and Spain, indicating links with an ancient, pagan ritual associated with spring fertility celebrations.

Mohács: February, March

Mohács, where the carnival takes place is located about 200 km south of the capital. The six-day-long festival starts on the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday with the main parade held on Sunday afternoon, the beginning of March.
This tradition is acknowledged by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the masquerades, folk music and dance performances, children’s activities, gastro events and handicraft fairs attract several thousand visitors.

The main characters: Busós

The Busó is a monstrous being wearing a wooden mask, a fur coat turned inside-out, trousers stuffed with straw, and sometimes embroidered stockings.
The Busó also always has a cowbell, a clapper or a wooden mace. Sometimes, other accessories are used as well, like a wooden pitchfork.
They often travel around town on carts or decorated small tractors. Groups of Busós compete against each other, seeing who can come up with the funniest and most striking new ideas for the appearance of the Busó, while still respecting the established traditions.

The main characters: Szépbusók (“Pretty Busós”)

„Szépbusók” are girls – or occasionally men – dressed in traditional Šokci garb, with a veil covering their face.
They have an important practical task: it is their job to guide and coordinate the Busós, who often cannot see very well out of their mask. They act as the masked Busós’ eyes, guiding them arm in arm, or sometimes just walking next to them.

The main characters: Jankeles

The Busós are accompanied by the Jankeles, dressed in rags, with ragged sacks on their head.
Their job is to keep away the people on the road, especially children making fun of the Busós, using flour, ash, or sacks of sawdust – today mostly just with the latter, playfully slapping anyone they can reach.

Making a bonfire

On the last day (Shrove Tuesday), in the evening the celebrations concentrate around the huge bonfire in the main square of Mohács, where a coffin symbolizing winter is burned, while over 500 Busos dance around in a circle, making an even bigger fire, just to make sure that winter will definitely not come back.