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The
Carpathians are a nomadic people whose geographic origins can
be traced back at least as far as the Southern Ural Mountains
(near the steppes of modern day Kazakhstan), on the border between
Europe and Asia. (For this reason, linguists call their language,
"Proto-Uralic".) Unlike most nomadic peoples, the wandering of
the Carpathians was not due to the need to find new grazing lands
as the seasons and climate shifted, or the search for better trade.
Instead, the Carpathians'movements were driven by a great purpose:
to find a land that would have the right earth, a soil with the
kind of richness that would greatly enhance their rejuvenative
powers.
Over
the centuries, they migrated westward (some six thousand years
ago), until they at last found their perfect homeland - their
"susu" - in the Carpathian Mountains, whose long arc cradled the
lush plains of the kingdom of Hungary. (The kingdom of Hungary
flourished for over a millennium - making Hungarian the dominant
language of the Carpathian Basin - until the kingdom's lands were
split among several countries after World War I: Austria, Czechoslovakia,
Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, and modern Hungary.)
Other
peoples from the Southern Urals (who shared the Carpathian language,
but were not Carpathians) migrated in different directions. Some
ended up in Finland, which accounts for why the modern Hungarian
and Finnish languages are among the contemporary descendents of
the ancient Carpathian language. Even though they are tied forever
to their chosen Carpathian homeland, the wandering of the Carpathians
continues, as they search the world for the answers that will
enable them to bear and raise their offspring without difficulty.
Because of
their geographical origins, the Carpathian views on healing share
much with the larger Eurasian shamanistic tradition. Probably
the closest modern representative of that tradition is based in
Tuva (and is referred to as "Tuvinian Shamanism") - see the map
above.
The Eurasian
shamanistic tradition - from the Carpathians to the Siberian shamans
- held that illness originated in the human soul, and only later
manifested as various physical conditions. Therefore, shamanistic
healing, while not neglecting the body, focused on the soul and
its healing. The most profound illnesses were understood to be
caused by "soul departure", where all or some part of the sick
person's soul has wandered away from the body (into the nether
realms), or has been captured or possessed by an evil spirit,
or both.
The Carpathians
belong to this greater Eurasian shamanistic tradition, and shared
its viewpoints. While the Carpathians themselves did not succumb
to illness, Carpathian healers understood that the most profound
wounds were also accompanied by a similar "soul departure".
Upon reaching
the diagnosis of "soul departure", the healer-shaman is then be
required to make a spiritual journey into the nether worlds, to
recover the soul. The shaman may have to overcome tremendous challenges
along the way, particularly: fighting the demon or vampire who
has possessed his friend's soul.
"Soul departure"
doesn't require a person to be unconscious (although that certainly
can be the case as well). It was understood that a person could
still appear to be conscious, even talk and interact with others,
and yet be missing a part of their soul. The experienced healer
or shaman would instantly see the problem nonetheless, in subtle
signs that others might miss: the person's attention wandering
every now and then, a lessening in their enthusiasm about life,
chronic depression, a diminishment in the brightness of their
"aura", and the like.
Resemblances
can be found in the style and instrumentation of Carpathian chanting
to a number of other chanting traditions in the geographical neighborhood,
even as Carpathian chanting also possesses utterly unique features.
Listen
to this audio excerpt (of the Gyuto Tibetan Buddhist monks) for
an example:
The audio excerpt
(2 minutes and 32 seconds) is currently available in these formats:
The part
that is most similar to the Carpathian style of chanting is the
mid-section, where the entire group of men are speaking the words
together. Unlike the earlier part, the emphasis is not on synchronizing
all the voices around a single tone (which plays a more important
role in chants for healing parts of the physical body),
but rather on generating power. (Again, as with
Tuva, note the geographical proximity of Tibet to Kazakhstan and
the South Urals.)
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