 Further climate changes occurring between 1300 and 1000 BC caused the northward expansion of the steppes by about 200 – 300 kilometres ( 120 – 190 mi ) , compelling the southernmost Ugric groups to adopt a nomadic lifestyle . Around 800 BC , the climate again changed with the beginning of a wetter period , forcing the nomadic Ugric groups to start a southward migration , following the grasslands . Their movement separated them from the northern Ugric groups , which gave rise to the development of the language from which modern Hungarian emerged . According to historian László Kontler , the concept of the " sky @-@ high tree " and some other elements of Hungarian folklore seem to have been inherited from the period of the Finno @-@ Ugric unity . The melodies of the most common Hungarian funeral songs show similarities to tunes of Khanty epic songs . 
