Tinder fungus is one of nature’s remarkable treasures, known and used by humans for thousands of years. In Hungarian folk tradition, it was used for making fire and for medicinal purposes, while its smoke was also used, among other things, as a mosquito repellent. The unique fibres of tinder fungus can be processed into a wide range of practical objects, including hats, caps, bags, gloves, vests, shoe insoles, lens cloths and pincushions.

The tradition of tinder fungus processing has survived in Europe mainly in regions surrounding the beech forests of Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Transylvania. Today, Corund is one of the last places where this rare and distinctly European craft is still practised using traditional, entirely manual methods. Only a few families – around seven in total – continue to preserve the tradition of tinder fungus processing in the village.

 

Zoltán Pál lives in Corund with his five children and has been working with tinder fungus for eight years. He taught himself the craft, recognising that he was living among some of the last practitioners of a unique and gradually disappearing tradition. The beech tinder fungus is collected in ancient Carpathian beech forests at altitudes above 1,000 metres. The supply is replenished by returning each year to old beech trees where the fungus grows again, allowing it to be regarded as a renewable natural resource.

Every stage of the processing is carried out by hand in a home workshop. The hard bark and outer layers are carefully carved away, revealing the fibrous layer hidden between the woody outer shell and the inner core. These fibres are then stretched and worked by hand until they become a soft material with a distinctive, velvety texture. It is used to make traditional wide-brimmed hats, sewn caps, handbags and shoulder bags, as well as a variety of smaller practical objects. The natural properties of the tinder fungus are also utilised to create wound dressings, lens cloths, tinder for producing smoke, bracelets and necklaces.

 

At the 40th Festival of Folk Arts, Zoltán Pál will offer visitors an insight into one of the most fascinating aspects of the craft. He will demonstrate the carving of the tinder fungus and the subsequent hand-stretching process, through which the hard fungus is transformed into a soft, velvety material. Visitors will even have the opportunity to try some of the individual steps themselves. The demonstration will also include the embossed decoration of objects made from tinder fungus.

The tinder fungus craft of Corund is both an ancient form of knowledge and an environmentally conscious craft tradition based on natural materials.