Tikverőzés is a fairly unknown carnival folk tradition.
The tradition of tikverőzés is organized each year on Shrove Tuesday. Its location is the little village of Moha, in Fejér County, Hungary.
The young men - usually living in the village of Moha or descendants of local villagers - gather together, don their quite unique-looking traditional masquerades to scare the winter away.
The group of tikverőzők (plural form of tikverőző) proceeds from house to house, gathering in the backyard of each house where traditionally the poultry is kept. They symbolically hit the bottoms of the chickens with their sticks to hasten their egg-laying. Hence the Hungarian name of the tradition which translates as “chicken-hitting”. It is important to mention that no animal cruelty is happening during this ritual. With this symbolic act they are enhancing good health, fertility and prosperity for the hosting families. For their magic they are rewarded from the local villagers with donations of food and eggs.
During the day the tikverőzők smear the faces of everyone they meet with ash. The soot brings good health and fertility, they believe.
The tradition is known to be more than 150 years old, was practiced in other villages of the region as well but for the last century it has only been kept alive in this tiny village. The symbolic rituals and secret pranks of the tradition are passed on from one generation to the next, rules never written down. Ardent volunteers are working on the preservation of the tradition, supported by the local government.
The tikverőzők are happy to share their precious tradition with visitors.
The video under the following link is highly recommended and has English subtitle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3ab1ja-Gf8
The tikverőzés is acknowledged as an intangible cultural heritage and is listed on the National Inventory of UNESCO's Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2011.
More information under the following link:
https://szellemikulturalisorokseg.hu/index0_en.php?name=en_0_tikverozes_mohan
