Busójárás in Mohács

Every winter the little town of Mohács hosts a week-long festival called Busójárás (sounds like "Boo-show- yar-ah-sh," literally: the walking of the Busó). Busó are typically men dressed in animal pelts adorned with cowbells, wearing carved wooden masks and usually carrying wooden noisemakers, pitchforks, and/or whips.

This is a Busó

Busójárás is typically celebrated in February, but is tied to the Roman Catholic calendar, always ending on the seventh Sunday before Easter. So, this year it wasn't until early March. We caught the last day of the festival which begins with a parade and ends with a huge bonfire.

Boats full of Busó paddle their way across the Danube to kick off the walk into the city center.

There are variations on the origin of this tradition, but it has most frequently been explained to me by Hungarians that it is to "scare away winter."

One origin story of the festival, dating to the Turkish occupation of Hungary, tells that displaced Hungarians and Croatians dressed in Busó costumes to scare the Turks out of Mohács. While none of my Hungarian friends endorse this story (often pointing out that they actually lost that battle), it is not uncommon to see references to this legend in the decorations and costumes.

A Busó carrying the head of a "Turk"

The "walk" features groups of Busó from Mohács as well as other cities and villages from Hungary and the nearby countries of Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia.

Street musicians in costume

It is similar to a parade, but most spectators walk alongside the Busó, snapping pictures and getting teased. It is very common for the Busó to be silly, sometimes spraying water out of their masks or just chasing lovely young ladies. There is not a parade route in the sense that we would think of one in the US, rather there are many streets filled with Busó wandering throughout the city until the main event later that evening.

Winter's coffin


Busó sculpture


me and a little Busó

In the main square, a stage in front of the town hall features singers and dancers. Throughout the square there are plenty of Busó to admire.

my friend Peter poses with a Busó






two Busó carrying a large horn


every few minutes we could hear this canon being fired


these Busó were being pulled along on a spinning platform

The main event of the final day is the huge bonfire in the main square. "Winter" is ceremoniously burned in effigy.

Goodbye winter!

Doromb Festival

yurt with with exhibition of Alex Horsch's instrument collection

Alex Horsch gives the opening concert inside the yurt

Jon tries out a Balinese enggung during a workshop

Jazz Festival in Kecskemét

Kecskemét's own Bohém Ragtime Jazz Band

Washboard Wizardz

Mangalica Festival 2010

(Yes, I am still a vegetarian.)

Kalocsa Paprika Festival 2009

Archiepiscopal Palace


Gyöngyi and Imre


me, Gyöngyi, Eta

Hírös Hét Fireworks

Awfully close to the church, don't you think?

Mangalica Festival 2009

Fall Break 2008: Kalotaszentkirály, Romania (Oct 25)

Csipkebogyó Lekvár (Rose Hip Jam) Festival in Kalotaszentkirály

A rose hip branch adorned the entrance to the village hall

Our last night in Romania was spent in Kalotaszentkirály. The evening

began with a large dinner together, then on to a wonderful evening of music and dancing. The guest of honor at the celebration was rose hip jam. The village hall was decorated with rose hip branches above the doorways and on the walls. The whole village turned out for the event, which began with the announcement of the winner of the rose hip jam competition. Prizes were awarded for the top five entries. Next came the folk dancing show. Different age level groups showcased their fancy steps and traditional clothing.

The first dancers were the older and more accomplished ones in the group. In the background you could see the faces of younger dancers peeking through the curtains and watching in amazement.

a short clip from the opening dance

Eventually the younger children danced too and before long the show was over and it was time for everyone to put on their dancing shoes.

curtain call for the performers


The musicians spread out across the stage and anyone interested moved towards the front of the hall for a crash course in some basic steps. The music and dancing went on well into the morning hours.

the musicians

Throughout the evening dancers would show off their steps for the crowd. This boy in particular loved the spotlight.

Paprika Days

Kalocsa is famous for their paprika. Every September they have a festival called "Paprika Napok" (Paprika Days). Although its name might suggest it lasts more than a day, it is just one long day full of events including: a huge cooking competition, parade, music concerts, dance performances, carnival rides and fireworks. This year it was unseasonably cold and cloudy, but thankfully the raindrops were few and only in the morning.

Notice the yin-yang is made of two paprikas!

The day began with a run for school children. I am still fuzzy on the details, but I think the local schools were somehow rewarded for the number of students and teachers that signed up. Margo, a fellow teacher at my school, offered to pick Jon and I up and bring us to the run. Until we were handed numbers I did not realize we would actually be IN the run. I wasn't more than a few kilometers, and we did not run very fast. This was in part because we were not wearing running shoes or appropriate running attire, but also because we were jogging alongside third and fourth graders. The whole experience was a bit odd, but it was nice to get a little fresh air and exercise first thing on Saturday morning.

At the run with Margo, the head English teacher at my school



Following the run, Margo offered to show us the main festival area and give us a little tour before the afternoon crowds arrived. Rows and rows of tents were set up, each decorated to reflect the group or organization whose stand it was. The main event of the festival was the cooking competition. Each group makes their own special stew or goulash and naturally the key ingredient is paprika.

I am not sure exactly what a "Knight of Paprika" does. I think perhaps they judge the cooking competition. There was also a parade, so they might have just been checking out the tents before the show. Whatever their purpose, they certainly added a degree of majesty to the whole experience.

The "Paprika Knights"

In addition to the cooking tents, many people and business set up tents with samples of their products they had for sale. Quality cheese is not something you can pick up at any grocery store around here, so I jumped at the chance to get a nice chunk of good cheese. Somehow my request for a small piece of cheese resulted in over a kilo of very expensive (but delicious) cheese. Margo was kind enough to pay for a third, so we cut her off a hefty slice when we got back to my apartment. It's nearly a month later and I still have about half of the 2/3 of the piece I bought that day!

Nearly $40 worth of cheese... oops!

A group of fellow CETP teachers arrived that afternoon and we all headed back to the fest. To eat at the festival, you had to first buy a food ticket, which came with a bowl and an optional stack of bread. That ticket was good for one fill of the bowl at whichever cauldron caught your eye. I had packed an apple in my purse figuring everything would have meat in it. Much to my amazement, there was ONE tent that had vegetable soup! The soup was not part of the competition, so they wouldn't take my ticket and I had to pay a little more, but I was happy to also dig into a hot meal on that chilly day.

Eliza trying out a fish soup

With Carla and Megan, toasting to Paprika fest

Eliza and Hanna: The Traditional Kalocsa Couple

Our evening ended at my favorite restaurant in town: Vincenzo's. He is not only a great cook, but so hospitable that you forget you are in a restaurant. To foreigners he speaks a special combination of Hungarian, German and English. His seamless transitions are quite confusing even when you know the words in each language, but his food speaks for itself. We stayed long past closing time talking and listening to his jazz records and classical CD's. By the end of the evening we had learned a few new Hungarian words and Vincenzo learned how to high five. It was a great way to end an incredible day.

Lisa, Jon, and Eliza at Vincenzo's

Eliza teaches Vincenzo how to high five and fist pound