Pole, Hungarian, two good friends
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Polish, Hungarian, two good friends is the short form of the popular bilingual proverbial rhyme about the historical friendship of the Polish and the Hungarian people.
Although no surveys have been made about what proportion of Hungarians and Poles can recall the full poem, it must be a high figure in both countries,[citation needed] and practically the full populations are aware of a special relationship between the two Central European nations. No other similar widespread bilingual proverb exists about the mutual relations of two nations.
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[edit] The texts
The full Hungarian text of the proverb often recited during drinking is „Lengyel, magyar két jóbarát, együtt harcol s issza borát,” that is „Polish, Hungarian (are) two good friends, they fight and drink their wine together”.
The Polish version: „Polak, Węgier, dwa bratanki, i do szabli, i do szklanki,” translates to „Polish, Hungarian (are) two brothers, both for saber, and for (drinking) glass”.
Bratanki in Polish means "brother's side nephews", however it probably meant "brothers" in Old Polish. This is slightly different from barát in Hungarian version, which means "friend". The saber (or szabla), a melee weapon used extensively by both nations, refers to wars fought together during their history. Hungarian wine, especially Tokaji, was a popular drink among szlachta (Polish nobility).
In Hungarian and Polish there are other versions with the same length, general meaning and in the same rhythm. In Polish however the above version is used almost exclusively.
[edit] Historic relations
Good relations between the two nations date back to the 14th century with Hungary and Poland being linked by personal union multiple times.
Hungarian political analysts and politicians still often use the "Warsaw express" term to refer to the fact that developments in Hungarian politics like shifts to the right or the left or political unrest very often follow similar developments in Poland in the modern history of the two countries.
The emotional link has not been broken even among extreme political conditions like the period of the Second World War when Germany invaded Poland, while Hungary was a close political (and later military) ally of Adolf Hitler's Germany. In the memory of Hungarians it was one of the few positive chapters of the country's world war history that Hungary received more than 100,000 Polish refugees after the German invasion and even established schools for Polish children[1][2].
[edit] Genetic kinship
Recent genetic research[3] prove that this pledge has a factual basis. Both Polish and Hungarian populations have the highest frequency of the R1a Y gene in Europe. Two people will have the same Y chromosome marker only if they originated from the same ancestor.
The mutation originated someplace 10,000 years ago. In evolutionary terms, it is one of the youngest mutations in the Y chromosome genealogical tree. More research may solve this question. Y-DNA microsatellites mutate frequently and may be mapped with generational precision. It is surprising to many that such a familiar relationship may be cherished in words for so long, and it shows the potential of population genetics in solving frequently obscured historical questions.
[edit] Day of friendship
On March 12, 2007, Hungary's parliament declared March 23 as the Day of Hungarian-Polish Friendship, with 324 votes in favour, no vote against and no abstention.
On March 16, 2007, the Polish parliament by acclamation declared March 23 as the Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship[4].
[edit] References
- ^ Dobos Marianne: A lengyel lelkületről (dokumentumírás)
- ^ Balatonboglári hírességek - Varga Béla pápai prelátus
- ^ Semino et al. The Genetic Legacy of Paleolithic Homo sapiens sapiens in Extant Europeans: A Y Chromosome Perspective, Science, 290, 1155-1159, 2000
- ^ Uchwała Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 16 marca 2007 r. (Polish)
