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History of The Hungarian Kuvaszok |
THE SUMERIAN-HUNGARIAN HERITAGE |
From Ku Assa to Kuvasz |
According to an ancient legend known to every Hungarian school child, one day the two noble sons of King Nimrod, Hunor and Magor, went hunting, each taking fifty hunter-warriors on their journey. Suddenly, a glorious white stag appeared before them and , entranced by its unearthly beauty, they pursued the vision far into unknown lands, across mountains and marshland. Finally, in a clearing deep in a strange forest, they encoutered the lovely daughter of King Bular. Lifting the laughing maidens onto their horses , they rode away, never to return to their father's land. |
In the more specific language of archeologists and historians, this ancient legend tells the story of the great migration of the hungarian tribes: and if we go back one more step, we will find a definite connection between the King Nimrod legend and the Sumerian races of ancient history. And closely linked with the history of the Hungarian tribes is the history of their beautiful shepherd dog, the Kuvasz. |
Just as the Hungarian language, music and ancient religion can be traced back tothe civilization of ancient Sumeria, so can we pursue the footprints of the Kuvasz. through archeological findings , all the way back to the lost land of Sumer. |
Together with the other Hungarian breeds, the Komondor and the Puli, the Kuvasz was carried to central Europe, through northward and westward migrations and finally found a permanent home in the central European basin of pre-war Hungary. and in the surrounding semi-circle of the heavily forested Carpathian mountains. |
There are numerous archeological findings which indicate the Sumerian origin of the Kuvasz. a few of which I will mention here. One of the earliest discoveries dates from the 40th. century B.C .Two clay boards found in the Sumerian city of Kish,, east of Babylon in Mesopotamia. The name of the Ku Assa, from which the word "Kuvasz" is derived was inscribed on the boards which are now in the Musee Orient de Paris. The excavation of Kish was under the auspices of the French government and led by Maurice Espreaux |
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The name Ku Assa appeared time and again as ancient Sumerian towns and cities and were discovered-sometimes inscribed on tiles, the material which formed the basis of the civilization of Sumer-sometimes on flat bones, stone rods or wooden carvings. The Hungarian word for dog,"kutya,"also stems from the Sumerian, and here, briefly is the evolution of the word: Kun Ada - Kun Da - Kud Da - Kutya |
The stem of the word for dog - Ku - together with the word for the horse - Assa - produces the word"Ku Assa". The dog of the horse." this very name, together with the most thorough research. leads to the evident conclusion that the Ku Assa was never combined in ancient times with sheep or herds of sheep. |
In combination with sheep or herds of sheep, we always find the names of the Puli and the Komondor. The ku Assa was always associated with pasturing horses, and sometimes with pasturing cattle.Pasturing horses cannot be guided or herded by dogs: therefore, the Ku Assa was not the shepherd of the horses, but was their guardian, protecting them against predatory animals. Nothing was more important to the ancient warrior than his horse, upon whom his life depended. And the great task of protecting the warrior horse fell to the Ku Assa, a task he fulfilled with magnificent courage. |
As the name of the Ku Assa gradually changed, becoming Ku Ass, then the Kuasz, and finally Kuvasz, so at the same time their warrior masters little by little gave up their nomadic existence to become tillers of the soil. No more is the Kuvasz the guardian of thousands of roaming horses": no more does he run alongside the warriors into the dust of battle. His ancient enemies., the wolf, the bear and the boar, are found in fewer and fewer numbers. Now the noble kuvasz watches over sheep and guards his home and family. |
But he is still the ancient Ku Assa, and under the beautiful white coat, still beats the heart of the lost granddeur that was Sumeria. |
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"In the quiet hours of nigh , When every creature renews himself in tranquil rest; When both the shepherd and the peasant Are asleep and lost in dreams-Only the tired Kuvasz is awake , faithfully guarding his sheep." |
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This article can be read in its entirety in the book" Messengers From Ancient Civilizations" by the authors : Edmond Bordeaux Szekely and Norma Nilsson De Bordeaux. It is rewritten with premission from its Author. Thank you Norma.
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