The “pákász” people fished, hunted and gathered in the marshland, and lived in huts made of reeds, mats and mud in the depths of the marsh. Their name comes from the word “páka”, which means spadix of reed or mat gathered and used by the people of the marshland to make fire and stuff pillows. There were “pákász” people who could catch fish with their bare hands, but the so called “tapogató”, woven fish trap and the “vész” (fish-weir planks) were also among their favourite fishing tools. The “tapogató” is a dome shaped woven trap from which the fish cannot escape. The woven fish trap could be used to catch the fish from the bottom of the water. The “vész” or “veszje”, fish-weir planks were made of reeds held up by stakes which were driven into the water and the fish were herded into the so-called “head of the vész”, from where they were caught with nets. The “pákász” people hunted for meat and fur, and were also the hunters of wolf, usually using a pit, spear and whip to catch the wolf, and they knew the nature of the animal well. Weasels, ferrets, badgers, rabbits and foxes were caught with noose traps, and wild boars with pits. Beekeeping in the marshlands was also one of the activities of the “pákász” people, who kept up to 50-100 hives around their huts, but also collected honey from wild bees. They were so familiar with the rivers of the region, for example they could distinguish the waters of the Berettyó, Körös and Tisza by their colour and flow, so the water transport of passengers and freight were considered as “pákász” activities. In winter, they used winter horseshoes attached to their feet to walk on the frozen waters. They collected edible marsh plants, wild bird eggs, coloured feathers and tamed various water birds. This way of life, which is typical of the Sárrét, might have developed as a result of geographical conditions, since the large area of wetland may have forced poorer people, who may not be suited to peasant work, to adopt this gatherer lifestyle away from the villages.