VARGA GÉZA
The origins of Hunnish Runic Writing
INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON THE HISTORY OF WRITING
Studies
on the history of writing
Studies
of the series published so far:
Simon Péter - Szekeres
István - Varga Géza:
Bronzkori magyar írásbeliség
(Bronze
Age Hungarian Literacy)
Varga Géza:
Székely
rovásjelek hun tárgyakon (Székely Runic Symbols on Hunnish Objects)
Varga Géza:
Rovásírás
és mitológia (Runic Script and Mythology)
Bakay Kornél - Varga Géza:
Rabló nomád hordák
inváziója, avagy a kincses Kelet örököseinek honalapítása? (The Invasion of Plundering
Nomadic Hordes or the Foundation of a Nation by the Inheritors of the Wealthy
Orient?)
Varga Géza:
A székely rovásírás eredete (The Origins of Székely
Runic Script)
Bíró
Lajos:
A fehér ló (The White Horse)
Varga Géza:
The Origins of Hunnish Runic
Script
Expected:
Varga
Géza:
A magyarság jelképei (Hungarian Symbols)
Andrássy
Kurta János:
Holtak völgye,
Holdvilág-árok
(Valley of the Dead, Moonlight Gorge)
Cover:
objects decorated with hieroglyphs representing the axis of the world, which throw
new light on the origin of Székely script - an Anasaz-Indian pot from
New-Mexico with the equivalents of runes "j" and "m"
(standing for the name of Jima, the first man; adapted from Grahame Clark), and
a Hunnish bronze fibula from the Carpathian Basin with the inscription
"(é)szak" (North) and the symbolic representation of the North Pole
(in the author’s possession).
Front
page: a part of the fresco from Rehmire's tomb
(1504-1450 BC.),
Contents
|
Preface to the English edition |
7. |
|
Preface |
9. |
|
History of the scientific views on the origins of Székely runic script |
10. |
|
26. |
|
|
28. |
|
|
29. |
|
|
32. |
|
|
35. |
|
|
37. |
|
|
39. |
|
|
48. |
|
|
52. |
|
|
55. |
|
|
58. |
|
|
61. |
|
|
68. |
|
|
70. |
|
|
71. |
|
|
73. |
|
|
79. |
|
|
82. |
|
|
87. |
|
|
92. |
|
|
97. |
|
|
101. |
|
|
109. |
Preface to the English edition
The
scientific world is just beginning to recognize the historical significance of
Székely (Hunnish) runic script. With the exception of some descriptions and
records, the books and articles on Székely runic script, though they could fill
a library, do not have much lasting value. Works on the history of writing
usually just mention its name and consider it a late descendant of Old-Turkish
script. However, extensive research on Székely script has led us to the
conclusion that it is not a thin twig but the very stem from which the tree of
writing systems has grown.
At
present Hungarian researchers cannot but admit that the concept of Old-Turkish
origin they have maintained for a hundred years does not hold up any longer.
However, they have not worked out other theories of origin, because the special
features of the Székely writing system do not fit into the present theories on
ancient history. And that is exactly the significance of this nearly forgotten
script. It makes possible conclusions so far not thought of.
Historical
records and archaeological finds prove that the Huns, emerging from the mists
of millenia before the birth of Christ, used it. This steppe nation imposed
tribute on the Chinese, Persian, Byzantine, and even the Roman emperors. Is it
surprising after this, that we find treasures in the Hunnish heritage?
The
equestrian culture of the steppe has preserved an ancient view of the world
practically unchanged. Man could conquer the steppe only after domestication of
the horse, probably around 4000 BC. Thanks to the breeding of large-bodied
animals, a highly developed culture developed on the steppes. However, the
steppe’s special resources restricted the possibilities of economic
development, and thus conserved the lifestyle, as well as the millenia-old
symbolism and philosophical system of the people who lived there. Thus today
Székely script offers one of the best means to understand Neolithic culture and
the beginnings of human civilization. The information Székely script conveys is
so important, that man cannot understand his own past without knowing the
origin of Székely runic script.
We
can recognize this only after solving several scientific problems. Such
unresolved problems are for example the similarity of characters in different
linear writing systems; the relationship between Székely runes and popular
artistic, religious and royal symbols; connections between script, language and
mythology, etc. In possession of these new results, with the help of Székely
script complex symbols on pottery from the European Neolithic or American
Indian cultures can be understood and deciphered.
Scientific
analysis of Székely script has not been a smooth process. Although as early as
the 13th c. Hungarian chronicles mentioned a “Hunnish-Scythian” script, which
was still used by Székelys, analysis of the written relics was still a
discovery for “modern science.” For example in 1864 Balázs Orbán called
attention to a runic inscription from
This
summer a short inscription was discovered on the clay nozzle of a blast-furnace
from the 10th century. Today the number of runic texts mentioned by
various authors is about 50.
Most
of them are inscriptions painted, scratched or engraved into the walls,
ceilings, stones, bricks, or tiles of Transylvanian churches from the 13-16th
c., and usually have something to do with the building’s construction. Letters
exist from István Szamosközi, a history writer in the 16th c., and
from Hungarian monks in
The
exact number of texts can hardly be determined. New discoveries are reported in
the media almost every year; their interpretation is regularly late or
ambiguous, which hinders their classification. What makes our work even more
difficult is that the principles of script-classification have not been
elaborated yet. Székely runes are letters and hieroglyphs at the same time,
which have been used either as symbols, complex signs or decorative motifs. The
inventory of texts is much longer if these latter relics are also included.
Otherwise we will find ourselves in the odd situation that an easily readable
and comprehensible text is not considered writing just because its letters are
composed in a floral pattern.
The
present Hungarian academic-scientific point of view on this subject is
characterized by perplexity, as it cannot explain the recently recognized
connections between signs and symbols. For instance the frame on the Énlaka
inscription, which has been regarded as a decoration so far, has been
deciphered only recently, despite the fact that it has been the most often
mentioned Székely text in the last 125 years.
The
stakes are high, since the parallels of the Énlaka flower-like sign-montage can
be found in the 4000-years old Hittite rock-pantheon in Yazilikaya and the
rock-drawings in Khwarism…
"A thousand years for
you is like the passing of yesterday"
(90. Psalm)
To the memory of László
Szabédi, persecuted to death for his book
Preface[1]
Clarifying the origins of Székely runes is a question
of major significance for the history of civilization. Finding the answers
should be a task for Hungarian scientists, however there is not much we can
really be satisfied with.
Our arrears is not only due to the relatively small
amount of data[2];
it may also be related to the fact that in Hungary there is no state institute
to carry out researches on runic script; there is no training for historians of
writing. Besides, research on the history of writing is poorly funded even in
wealthier countries. According to a script historian, I. J. Gelb, the study of
writing does not exist as a science, because inventorying writing relics - and
avoiding the crucial questions at the same time - cannot be regarded as science
(Gelb/1952).
Taking stock of all runic script relics still lies ahead; theories about the possible origins of Székely script all show caution, lack of information, lack of methodology and preconceptions of their authors. This attitude will change[3] only if the dominating theory of research goes beyond the ancient preconception that presumes an early homeland in the North.
[1] This study is the result of 25 years
of research. During that time, as my critics will mention, I have gone far.
Therefore, sometimes I may seem to be able to talk about this topic only with
our long dead forefathers.
However I do not think I have to prove to
readers eager for the truth that I am not aiming to build national glory. It
took a step by step, years-long contemplation until I could persuade even
myself that the surprising conclusions tat follow are acceptable. I could not
find any other logical explanation for the connections I had to face all the
time, and which have compiled into a self-sustained system through the years.
[2] We possess masses of data that have
not been examined by researchers of origin, or which, for lack of a theoretical
basis, have not been considered hard facts.
[3] The use of writing and its evaluation
has always had political significance.
When Kuteyba of Arabia occupied Khwarism
in 712. AD, he barbarously demolished the libraries in Khwarism, which also
bore evidence of the ancient history of Magyars. As Al-Bíruni wrote, "he pursued and slaughtered all who knew the
literature of Khwarism, or kept their traditions, all the scholars who had
lived among them, so all became covered by darkness, and now nothing is certain
about the facts concerning the historical times before Islam reached them"
(Al-Bíruni, 36).
Pál Hunfalvi (Hunsdorfer) had a similar
role in Hungarian scientific life after the suppression of the 1848-'49
Hungarian War of Independence, who thought, "bluntness and nationalistic blindness dominated the writings of
incompetent people proud of the fictitious Scythian-Hunnish-Székely letters"
(quoted in: Kiszely/1996/375). The nearly life-size canvas of Hunfalvi still
occupies at a central place, and his ideas are still dominant at the
Nincsenek megjegyzések:
Megjegyzés küldése