The Busójárás ( Hungarian, meaning "Busó-walking"; in Croatian: ''Pohod bušara'') is an annual celebration of the

Šokci Šokci ( sh, / , italics=yes, , ; , ; hu, Sokácok) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to historical regions of Baranya, Bačka, Slavonia and Syrmia. These regions today span eastern Croatia, southwestern Hungary, and northern Serbia ...

living in the town of

Mohács Mohács (; Croatian and Bunjevac: ''Mohač''; german: Mohatsch; sr, Мохач; tr, Mohaç) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, held at the end of the Carnival season ("Farsang"), ending the day before Ash Wednesday. The celebration features ''Busó''s (people wearing traditional masks) and includes

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

, masquerading, parades and

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its reperto ...

. Busójárás lasts six days, usually during February. It starts on a Thursday, followed by the ''Kisfarsang'' (Little Farsang) carnival on Friday, with the biggest celebration, ''Farsang vasárnap'' (Farsang Sunday) on the seventh Sunday before

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

; the celebration then ends with ''Farsangtemetés'' (Burial of Farsang) on the following Tuesday (

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession and absolution, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten ...

or Mardi Gras). These traditional festivities have been inscribed on the

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...

of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 2009. Busó festivities at Mohács: masked end-of-winter carnival custom
Description and decision at the UNESCO's website. Accessed on 11 January 2013. Locals explain the Carnival with two related but different legends. According to the most popular legend, during the Ottoman times of the territory, people from

fled the town, and started living in the nearby swamps and woods to avoid Ottoman (Turkish) troops. One night, while they were sitting and talking around the fire, an old Šokac man appeared suddenly from nowhere, and said to them: "Don't be afraid, your lives will soon turn to good, and you'll return to your homes. Until that time, prepare for the battle, carve various weapons and scary masks for yourselves, and wait for a stormy night when a masked knight will come to you." He disappeared as suddenly as he arrived. The refugees followed his orders, and some days later, on a stormy night, the knight arrived. He ordered them to put on their masks and go back to

, making as much noise as possible. They followed his lead. The Turks were so frightened by the noise, the masks, and the storm in the night, that they thought demons were attacking them, and they ran away from the town before sunrise. In the older, less popular story, the ''busó''s are scaring away not the Turks but Winter itself. In any case, the locals have celebrated the Busójárás in early February every year ever since, hosting "guest Busó teams" from neighbouring countries (Croatia and Serbia, local

Croats and Slovenia) and also from Poland.

Gallery

Buso masks.jpg, ''Busó'' masks (Mohács, February 2006) Mascara busó.jpg, Busó mask from the collection of the Museu da Imigração de São Paulo (Immigration Museum of São Paulo) - Brazil Busó-walking - Busójárás.jpg, Busó-walking - Busójárás Busó-walking of the Hungarian Carnival - Farsangi busójárás.jpg, Busó-walking of the Hungarian Carnival - Farsangi busójárás. Busós.jpg, Busós Busó.jpg, Busó

References

External links

(More info: http://www.busofest.hu UNESCO: Representative List (2009), The Busó festivities at Mohács)
A film about the festivities in English

Stipan Bunjevac: Iz života hrvatskih vjernika izvan Hrvatske - Hrvati u Mohaču: Mohačke buše šokačkih Hrvata, nr.5 (1702), February 4, 2007
Official website of Mohacs
February observances {{DEFAULTSORT:Busojaras Carnivals in Hungary Festivals in Hungary Croatian culture Ritual animal disguise Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Slavic holidays Spring (season) events in Hungary Slavic carnival

Gallery

See also

References

External links