Making the Fire

Making the living fire is a more complex process than it may seem at first: it may even involve four men, who will use two thick pieces of wood (about as thick as a shepherd's bat) and 1.5 metres in length. These pieces of wood should be carved on one side and two of the four men would grab hold of one of the pieces, while the other two must grab the second one and they should rub them against each other, also placing some dust in the middle for better contact and grip.

It is also possible for one man to ignite the fire: he must carve the wooden piece in the middle with his knife, place one of the pieces on the chest and rub the other one on top of the first. This is done for a long time, then some dried tinder is placed on the area of the wood that got hot and it'll immediately catch fire. So, this is the basic procedure: support one piece of wood with your chest, rub the other one on top of the place when you carved it (in the middle) and then the dried tinder will catch fire.

There's also another more archaic procedure: one man must use dried tinder or the rotten core of a beech wood tree. The man will try to light the fire in his house, by holding a piece of wood between the knees and rubbing another piece on it till they get heated and the rotten beech wood core catches fire.

At times, the wood is placed in a small hole made in the wall of a stable and this is usually lighting struck fir tree wood we’re talking about. The piece is carved till it gets rounded edges and then it should be cracked at its ends in four, in a cross pattern. After the edges are cracked, people open up the cracks a bit more and insert a tiny piece of wood in there, in order for the dried tinder no to be stuck and left without the oxygen needed for the ignition.

Dried tinder is inserted in the cracks, together with ash and this should be beech wood tinder, not the one from a fir tree. Afterwards the piece of wood is placed in the hole in the stable wall and it's spinned around with a rope about two times. Legend has it that two cousins must make this fire and then there's an extra man needed to hold the wood fixed into the hole in the wall. 

Traditions

There's also a tradition of making the living fire with the occasion of Sanjorz, on April 23, the time when sheep leave the village and head for the mountains. “Living fire” is also made when there's a disease among the cattle, but also when a man is in danger or he simply needs fire. If he's had a bad day, it instantly becomes better when the wood starts to smoke and then catches fire…

There are also rules when igniting the fire: it mustn't be made by step brothers, nor by women or men who are "unclean". It's usually ideal that the fire to be started by young men, brothers or cousins and people who have never sinned. Usually the shepherds light “living fires” to keep beasts away from the sheep and the fire must be kept alive at all costs. If it goes away, this is a bad sign and it must never be "borrowed" to other shepherds, because the sheep will catch diseases.

Author: Alex Stanescu

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