
The táltos (; also "tátos") is a figure in
Hungarian mythology
Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians, also known as the Magyarok.
Sources of knowledge
Much of Magyar mythology is believed to be lost. However, in the last hundred years scholars o ...
, a person with supernatural power similar to a
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
.
Description
The most reliable account of the táltos is given by Roman Catholic priest
Arnold Ipolyi
Arnold Ipolyi (family name originally Stummer) (20 October 1823 – 2 December 1886) was a Hungary, Hungarian bishop and historian.
Life
Ipolyi was born in Kosihy nad Ipľom, Ipolykeszi, Hungary (currently ''Kosihy nad Ipľomin'', Slovakia). At ...
in his collection of folk beliefs, ''Magyar mitológia'' (Hungarian mythology) (1854).
A táltos would be chosen by the gods or spirits before birth or during childhood. People with
teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, te ...
at birth, a sixth finger or other
additional bones, or with a
caul were also often considered to be chosen.
If the extra bone broke or was stolen before the táltos turned 7, its abilities would be lost. Being a táltos could not be learned or taught; it could only happen through supernatural calling. Some beliefs hold that a táltos would have to be breastfed until it turned 7, which would grant it immense physical strength. (An example of this occurs in the archaic folk tale "
Son of the White Mare
''Son of the White Mare'' () is a 1981 Hungarian animated fantasy adventure film directed by Marcell Jankovics. The story's main character is Fehérlófia (Son of the White Mare), who has superhuman powers. It is based on the narrative poetry, u ...
".)
The most important ability of a táltos is a meditation or spiritual trance called "révülés" (verb: révül); in this state, he could heal wounds and sickness or
learn hidden truths by "sending their soul among the stars". The ''táltos'' was chosen by gods or spirits for a specific calling in life and had the duty to communicate with the entire Hungarian nation in a time of danger, to warn against invading armies or an impending cultural collapse.
Pagans
According to general consensus, the ''táltos'' were considered as part of pagan religion. There is evidence, though, that the ''táltos'' existed until the
Habsburg era, when this tradition came to an end.
The painted ceiling of the church of
Székelyderzs had a figure with six fingers; this was later renovated, "correcting" the picture to five fingers.

Post-Christianism
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
would sometimes be referred to as the ''égi táltos'' (or heavenly ''táltos'').
Origin of the word
The name "Táltos" may be connected to the verb "tált", which is to "open wide"; i.e. they "opened themselves to the world." More probable, however, is its cognation with Ugric words like Northern
Mansi ''tūltėn'' "easy" and Vasyugan
Khanty
The Khanty ( Khanty: ханти, ''hanti''), also known in older literature as Ostyaks (russian: остяки) are a Ugric indigenous people, living in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as " Yugra" in Russia, togeth ...
''tolten'' "with magical powers". Yet another hypothesis suggests derivation from
Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation)
** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language
* ...
''talt'' "unconsciousness".
Göncöl and Kampó
In Hungarian folk tales ''táltos'' are common, such as Göncöl and Kampó.
''Kampó'' was said to have had an "ice body" (''jégtestű'') and was short with thick legs. He lived in Temesvár (present-day
Timișoara
), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor)
, image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg
, map_caption = Location in Timiș County
, pushpin_map = Romania#Europe
, pushpin_ ...
), ate lunch in
Buda
Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...
at the same table as
King Matthias and was always poorly dressed. King Matthias was asked several times why a pauper was eating at the same table as the king, but King Matthias insisted on this tradition. When the
Ottoman army attacked the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...
, Kampó reportedly spilled fire from his mouth and he "fought with his iced body against Turkish metal", redeeming a "moonlike" ("holdas" = "eclipse") horse of King Matthias from the Turks.
''Göncöl'' (also ''Döncöl'', ''Güncü''), on the other hand, had tremendous knowledge. He spoke with animals, understood the meanings of the stars, and invented the horse-coach. He was said to have a coach which was pulled by multiple horses that reportedly had its perch broken and bent. His death was not witnessed, but instead it was said that he simply "disappeared into the stars". The "coach of Göncöl" is visible in the night sky as
Ursa Major
Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...
(the "Great Bear"), where the tail of the bear is the perch of the coach.
References in historiography
In the Chronicle of the Hungarians by
Johannes de Thurocz,
Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and ...
of the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...
asked several ''táltos'' to foresee the outcome of
Battle of Chalons, where they predicted that the war would be lost. They based their predictions on the intestines of animals, but how the actual prediction is done is not known.
The heritage of ''táltos kings'' can be found in several parts of Hungary and are linked mainly to kings of the
Árpád dynasty
The Árpád dynasty, consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds ( hu, Árpádok, hr, Arpadovići). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingd ...
. The most important is the chivalrous
King Ladislaus; the name of his horse was Szög.
One legend says, that
St. Stephen went hunting, but grew tired and took a nap under a tree. He had a dream (or ''révülés''/meditation) of speaking with the head of the
Pecheneg
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პაჭ ...
army. When he woke up, he knew they were preparing to attack, and he could take action to protect the country. According to this legend, St. Stephen himself was a ''táltos''. These folk tales may have arisen later and not in the time of these pious Christian kings.
From the times of
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...
,
Galeotto Marzio writes: "you had a man of six fingers in your father's court". The horse of Matthias was "moonly" (''holdas''), referring to it as ''táltos horse''.
There was a lawsuit in 1725, in
Debrecen
Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...
, where Erzsébet Balázsi, a well-known ''táltos'' at that time, was accused of being a witch. The court asked her to explain the role of ''táltos''. She replied: the ''táltos'' cures, sees buried treasures with the naked eye, and "the ''táltos'' are fighting for Hungary in heaven".
There is a common belief that St. Stephen has persecuted the ''táltos'' during Christianisation of Hungary, but this is not linked to any fact. When pagan revolts started in 1046 and 1061 there were enough ''táltos'' for the leaders to choose for their court.
The ''"táltos horse"''
The ''táltos'' horse or steed ("táltos paripa") is the mount of the táltos, and also a stock character in Hungarian folk tales.
(Here, "táltos" typically refers to the power of the horse and not necessarily its association with a shaman, though some folk heroes are identified as táltos themselves.)
The táltos steed would typically appear at first to the protagonist (usually a peasant's son, adventuring prince, or a
youngest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters.
In a family of many daught ...
) disguised as an old and ugly jade. If it is treated well, it would ask the hero to feed it hot cinders, whereupon its transform into a steed with golden coat, golden saddles and five or six legs. In this form it could fly with the protagonist on its back; its speed is mandatorily described as "faster than a bird", "faster than wind", and finally "faster than thought".
(As with Hungarian
dragons
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
and their heads, the number of legs may appear as other
mythical numbers and the coat as other noble metals (in the usual order copper, silver and gold); a higher number/nobler metal implying greater power.)
According to some experts, the ''táltos'' horse is a symbol of the drum of the ''táltos''. They heated it over fire (see hot cinders) to make it suitable to play and used the drum to meditate (fly away).
Az uráli sámánizmus és a magyar táltoshit
/ref>
See also
* Hungarian mythology
Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians, also known as the Magyarok.
Sources of knowledge
Much of Magyar mythology is believed to be lost. However, in the last hundred years scholars o ...
* Hungarian shamanism
* Hungarian neopaganism
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
* Demény, István Pál. "Duel in the Form of a Wheel or Flame in Legends of Belief and Tales". In: ''Acta Ethnographica Hungarica'' 48, 3-4 (2003): 353-365. accessed May 9, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1556/AEthn.48.2003.3-4.4
* Ildikó Kríza.
Táltos as a Supernatural Being in Hungarian Tales and legends
. In: ''Ethnographica et folkloristica Carpathica'' Tom. 5-6. (1988). pp. 257-264.
* Pócs, Éva. "The Hungarian táltos and the shamanism of pagan Hungarians. Questions and hypotheses". In: ''Acta Ethnographica Hungarica'' 63, 1 (2018): 149-196. accessed May 9, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1556/022.2018.63.1.9
External links
* A Nagy- és Kis Göncöl és a Sarkcsillag
html
an
pdf
by Várhegyi Péter, part of MCSE's pages about history of astronomy
Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, cosmological, calendrical, and astrological beliefs and practices of prehistory: vestiges of these are still found i ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taltos
Hungarian mythology