Unseen Romania » History and Legends

Ghosts in Romanian Traditions

Daniel Voicu — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:50:19 +0000

As every European country has its own set of traditions related to the way life evolves after death, the Romanians also have their own folkloric superstitions about ghosts and undead entities.

According to Romanian traditions, there are several kinds of ghosts, dependant on the way a person died. The first kind is represented by the ”building sacrifices”. This is a common superstition to many South-Eastern European populations, according to which no construction can be finished until a sacrifice is performed. Among other variants, this superstition generated the beautiful legend of the master mason Manole, who had to sacrifice his own wife, in order for the Monastery of Arges to be completed.

A related ceremonial is that consisting in taking or stealing a man’s shade and burying it at a building’s foundation. The master mason measures the shade, preferably belonging to persons bearing names like Oprea (derived from a Romanian word meaning “to stop”) or Stan, Stanca, Stana (derived from a Romanian word meaning “to stay”) with a reed and then he walls it. The consequences were fatal to that whose shade has been stolen – he or she died at maximum 40 days after the ceremonial. The masons’ bad reputation was enforced by some cases of illnesses and deaths of people accusing they were victims of the “stealing the shade” practice. Today, the humans were replaced by animals as sacrifices for the successful completion of a building.

In some areas, the oldest in the family used to step on the threshold of the new house first, because it was said that the first person to enter in a newly constructed building would die within a year and he or she would become a ghost, a guardian spirit of the house.

The friendly ghosts are said to get out every night, just after the roosters announce the midnight, in order to patrol their houses. When the night is over they return to the place they or their shade has been buried. Usually, the ghosts do not reveal themselves and do not disturb those living in the house, but they appear in front of the strangers who mean harm and scare them away; they also fight other evil spirits who try to destroy the house.

There are places where even the friendly ghosts enter the house and make noise so the owners give them food offerings, consisting in bread, boiled corn and salt.

A different kind of ghosts is represented by those who were victims of violent deaths: drowning, thunderstruck, murder and hanging, especially. These ghosts are generally aggressive with everyone, because they have been condemned to roam through unwanted spaces (inns, isolated roads or mills). There are also vengeful ghosts who came from people who suffered injustices, sinned and were not forgiven during lifetime, were victims of evil charms or they were people who were buried inappropriately.

The wandering ghosts have the same social needs as the living. They gather to have council and throw parties in places people usually avoid, in order not to be disturbed: graveyards, mills, ruins or deserted houses. If these meeting places are destroyed or moved, the ghosts scatter and seek revenge. These ghosts can be seen, but they cannot be touched; they resemble living humans, but they wear white, red or black garments. Mostly, the ghosts just give people a scare, but sometimes they can make them trip, get dizzy or they can even kill a living. That is why, when passing by a haunted place and seeing a ghost, one should cross himself, not look at it and not speak to it.

The holiday of Saint Andrew, celebrated on the 30th of November is a moment related to the Romanian ghost superstitions. During the night before the holiday, it is said that “strigoii” (ghosts with vampire features) came out, attack the animals, steal the men’s virility and play with the beasts (especially wolves, as this superstition related to Saint Andrew dates from pagan times, when this animal was the most important in the Dacian bestiary). The people try to prevent the nefarious actions of the “strigoi” by making great use of the garlic’s protective properties.

Author: Iulian Fira

Saint Nicholas – An Alternate Santa Claus

Daniel Voicu — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:44:31 +0000

A couple of weeks before Christmas, during the night between the 5th and 6th of December, Romanian children, but also adults, clean their boots until they shine, because they wait for Santa Claus’ close collaborator, Saint Nicholas, who would also bring them gifts.

Saint Nicholas’s figure is surrounded by legends and only a few historical facts are known. He was born in the Middle East in a wealthy family, in the IVth century and he was cardinal of Myra (located on the territory of modern Turkey). When he inherited his parents’ fortune, he used it to help the poor and unhappy.

There are many stories about his fine deeds. One of them is that about three sisters, who were so poor, that it would have been impossible for them to get married, because they had no dowries. When the first of them reached the appropriate age, Saint Nicholas (a cardinal at Myra that time) left a bag full of gold coins on the threshold of their house. The same thing happened when the second sister was old enough to get married. Their father was very curious to find out who their mysterious benefactor was so hid himself outside the house when the youngest girl reached the age. He saw Saint Nicholas dropping a bag of gold on the chimney into a sock drying at the fireplace. The saint asked him to keep the secret, but the father was so grateful, that he couldn’t help telling the others. From that moment on, everyone who received an unexpected gift thanked Saint Nicholas for it.

Another legend recounts how the saint made a journey to the Holy Land and decided to return by taking a ship back to Myra. A terrible storm started and the sailors were sure they have met their doom, but Saint Nicholas prayed and the clouds scattered. Since then, he became the protector of sailors and travelers.

Another story explains how he became the protector of children and pupils. It is said that there were three young theologians who were travelling to Athens to complete their studies. They stopped at an inn and they were robbed and killed by the owner and their remains were secretly buried. Not long after, Saint Nicholas came to this inn and, at night, he dreamt about the crime and forced the inn-keeper to confess and reveal the place where he had hidden their remains. Saint Nicholas fervently prayed to God and the three were resurrected.

Capidava and Carsium – Guarding The Waves

Daniel Voicu — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:23:52 +0000

The Southern border of Romania is mostly represented by the Danube, but, 20 km far from Cernavoda, the river decides to curve towards North, before joining the Black Sea. In the piece of land formed between its course and the Bulgarian frontier there are two ancient fortresses: Capidava and Carsium.

The name “Capidava” is of Dacian origin and the Romans have preserved it, even after they conquered a great part of Dobrogea region around 30 B.C. That time, the Roman Empire had reached the right shore of the Danube and befriended a local ruler, Roles. The Romans’ ally was attacked by another Dacian chieftain, Dapyx, who had the capital of his kingdom at Capidava. The Empire reacted and sent an expedition lead by Marcus Licinius Crassus, proconsul of Macedonia and the nephew of that Crassus who shared the Triumvirate with Caesar and Pompei. The story of Dapyx’s defeat and occupation of Capidava, connected to the discovery of some human bones in a nearby cave, gave birth to a sad and heroic legend.

The Dacian king had a beautiful daughter, Gebila, and she was in love with a young nobleman, Gebeides, and he shared her feelings. The king agreed to this marriage, but the harmonious life of Capidava’s inhabitants was spoiled when two emissaries from Crassus asked Dapyx to surrender his fortress, people and wealth and to send his daughter to be married to a Roman, as a sign of loyalty.

Of course, the king refused and the Romans ravaged the country and ended up besieging Capidava. Led by Gebila, the elders, the women and children took refuge in a nearby cave and the Dacian warriors fell one by one, while defending the fortress. In the end, only two remained: the king and Gebeides. They made a lot of noise and put straw dummies on the walls, so the Romans won’t notice they are the only ones left.

The Controversial Tartaria Tablets

Daniel Voicu — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:28:05 +0000

The discovery of some mysterious tablets at Tartaria (Alba County, Transylvania) has lead some enthusiasts to question the generally accepted theory that Sumer is the cradle of civilization.

Tartaria is a rural settlement of approximately 5000 inhabitants, situated on the Northern side of Sureanu Mountains, on river Mures, not very far from Zlatna region (famous since Antiquity for its gold and copper deposits) and 18 – 20 km far from the sites of two important Neolithic cultures: Turdas and Alba Iulia – Lumea Noua. Some archaeological excavations were executed here between 1895 and 1910 and the results (the discovery of some intriguing artifacts, among which a pot dated as being older than the seals from Sumer) triggered the interest for this area.

In 1961, Nicolae Vlassa (archaeologist at the Cluj-Napoca Museum) discovered three little inscribed plates of baked clay, together with some funerary offerings and the bones of a mature human being. The Romanian archaeologist asserted that the person was a 35-40 years old man, possibly a shaman or priest, but later research on the bone structure revealed that it was an old woman (usually referred to as Milady Tartaria), possibly a holy person. The way this character died also started a controversy: some say she or he was burnt, other claim that he or she was part of cannibalistic rituals.

But the most passionate controversy concerns the tablets. They are engraved with some pictographic signs that have led some to claim that we are dealing with the oldest writing system in the world, even a millennium older than the one from Mesopotamia.

The first tablet is rectangular and contains mixed pictographic symbols, zoomorphic, isomorphic and primal symbols – An animal tree, a spiral and an animal head.

The second tablet is round and it is divided in four quadrants by two engraved lines. The sky is depicted in the upper left one and the underground universe in the lower right one. The third tablet is rectangular and contains only zoomorphic and phitomorphic representations – a tree, a goat and a third engraving which seems to be the root of a tree.

The followers of this theory began finding arguments to sustain it. An example is a fragment from one of Plato’s writings, in which it is recounted how some bronze tablets were brought to the Delos Temple by some virgins from a region identified as North of Danube (Baia de Arama).

The Snake, Wolf and Dragon Symbols in Pre-Romanian Culture

Daniel Voicu — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:08:10 +0000

The flags and the flag poles of the Geto Dacians were adorned with a warrior's symbol, a spear with a strange beast at its tip. The beast had a wolf's head and a snake's body and tail and it's also famous thanks to the depictions on Traian's Column. But what is the meaning of the wolf, the spear and the snake? Let's find out!

The wolf defines solitude and wilderness, disobedience and courage, a positive symbol, considering his abilities (night sight), that make him a hero of the fiery elements, like the Sun and also a mythical warrior. Greeks and Northern peoples also see the wolf in the same image, as a combat symbol.

Analyzing the image of the wolf, we discover a totem-like symbol, that, from a Freudian point of view can stand for the father killed in a certain ritual, in order to protect the entire tribe. We must also mention the myth of the White Wolf, some sort of Cerberus, guiding the dead to the "other side".

It's also important to notice that among the most important agricultural occupations in the Carpathians area, there was the shepherding, so the wolf was the main threat towards sheep, the only means of the existence for the locals. Thus, they respected and feared the beast, but they fought it each time they had the chance, aided by dogs and using fire to scare wolves away.

The White Wolf is a solar symbol, but also an earthly one, like the female wolf that fed Romuls and Remus, the two founding fathers of Rome. Moving on to another symbol, the snake stands apart from all the other animals, since it has no feet, no hair and its veins drip cold blood. In many cultures, the snake is considered the opposite of man and the Bible certainly created a bad reputation for this reptile, hunted ferociously by avid believers.

Many associate the snake with the dragon, that in turn is associated with the devil. Since we've mentioned dragons, we must talk about Saint Gheorghe, a patron of agriculture, who slew the famous "Balaur" (dragon or snake in Romanian) with the aid of a spear, thus becoming the symbol of a steady life and the reason for nomads to stop living on the go and have a normal life. Gheorghe's name signifies “the one that takes care of the earth, performs agricultural activities”.

The Unnatural Phenomenon of Bucegi, “Gura de Rai”

Daniel Voicu — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:02:59 +0000

It's said that in the Bucegi Mountains there's a one square kilometre area where any living beings won't ever feel tired and their physical and chemical functions are reset to their normal state. Specialists claim that this area links the sky and the Earth.

Back in 1999, a private research institute from Bucharest found something that resembles the legendary "Gura de Rai" (Mouth of Heaven). This is presumed to be a one square kilometre slope that shows a very strange magnetic abnormality, as it's defined by experts. This area has stunning effects on the human body and it's probably the strangest discovery in Romania.

In popular Romanian tradition, the “Gura de Rai” is a sacred place, a road to Heaven that's situated near a mountain and opens up in a large field or a mountain area. The private research institute Terra, hired in 1999 to research this myth, discovered that an area near the Ialomicioara Cave had strange effects on the human body.

They started off with a research meant to find out if hotels could be built in the area and the project included physicists, geophysicists mostly, while the tools used were geodetection devices. After a couple of days of walking up and down the area, geophysicist Dumitru Stanica, a member of the crew discovered that somewhere around the Doamnei Height his tiredness disappeared immediately. All the other researchers tested this feeling and theory and found it to be true.

The first stage of investigation involved the analysis of all the surrounding slopes and the researchers found out that no matter how tired you were when you started walking, it'll all go away, as soon as you reach the “Gura de Rai” area. Dumitru Stanica claims that all the physical and chemical functions of the body are rapidly restored.

The Christening

Daniel Voicu — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:33:01 +0000

Birth is the first moment of a person's life, so it inevitably involves the person's entire family and sometimes even the whole community. The old Romanian tales say that once you are born, there's a book that starts to be written in the heavens, the "Book of Fate", that comprises your name and your future, be it good or bad. That way, we live "as it was written".

There's a series of rituals and traditions performed by the child's mother, in order to keep the evil forces away from the newborn baby. For example, before birth, if the future mother sees someone ugly, she must remember that she's pregnant, or else the child will look like the ugly man or woman.

Also, the future mother must not steal anything, because the stolen object will appear on the body of the newborn baby as a sign. The mother mustn't get scared by anything, because she might get ill and if she's craving for something, she must get it, specially when it comes to food. If she doesn't get what she's craving for, the child will bear the mark of her need, so if the woman would like to eat an apple, the child will bear the sign of that fruit.

Among these habits, there's also one that requires the pregnant woman to tell everyone that she bears a child, or else the baby will be born mute. In case the woman risks losing the baby, elderly women from the village light and smoke a foxes' nostrils, in order to allow the pregnancy to settle. An evil spirit, that has a bad influence on birth giving is Samca, also called Avestita, Satan's Wing or Spurcata.

In Bucovina, this evil spirit is supposed to have 19 to 24 names and as many evil charms. The creature shows itself to pregnant women, specially when they're going into labour and it frightens and tortures them. To protect women from evil, the prayer of Archangel Michael must be written on a tiny book, serving as an amulet after birth. Tradition claims that an old man, close to his last years must write this book, never a young man or woman, or a wife, because the evil spirit will haunt the writer.

When the time of birth is near, an older woman from the neighbours is called and she starts to heat water, while men leave the room and a red string is attached to the upper side of the door. The string is tied to the newborn baby's hand later on, to keep evil charms away. The mother must not face the door with her feet, because that’s the way the dead are carried when they leave the house in their coffin.

After birth, the mother must not eat for a couple of hours, but when that period is over she'll be given sour milk and be dressed in wool, as part of a Moldavian tradition. Legend has it that in the first three days following birth it's not safe to let the baby sleep in the same bed as his mother does, because she won't be able to watch him all the time and the newborn could be killed or stolen by evil spirits, while she sleeps.

Saint Ilie, The Patron of Thunders and Bolts

Daniel Voicu — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:42:54 +0000

Just as summer kicks in, the Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Ilie, the driver of Heaven’s chariot and patron of lightning, thunder and bolts. The Bible says that Ilie lived in the ninth century (before Christ), when emperor Ahab was the ruler of Israel.

Back then, Ahab and his predecessors worshiped fake gods and their physical representations. Ilie couldn’t stand this fake religion and told Israel’s ruler about his wrong beliefs and his madness. Also, the enlightened man threatened the people of Israel and their leader with God’s punishment.

The legend says that his words were “In these following years, there will be no dew and no rain!”. As he spoke, the skies and land went dry and a great draught followed, while no rain and dew were to be seen in the next three and a half years. Famine struck hard, as the people or Israel suffered from starvation and so did their animals.

Ahab threatened Ilie with death, so he had to stay hidden till the long years of draught passed. His secret hideout was close to a small river, where he was fed by the crows that provided his daily bread. Also, he was dwelling in the house of a Phoenician widow, who shared her poor meals with him.

It is said that during his stay in Phoenicia, Ilie had resurrected the woman’s dead child and the wise man had predicted a gruesome death for king Ahab and his wife. Ilie didn’t die as a common man, but he rose to the heavens in a chariot of fire on July 20, the date when we celebrate him.

The Legend of Poiana Negrii

Daniel Voicu — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:06:27 +0000

Poiana Negrii is a village in Moldavia (in Suceava county) but it is also a famous brand of mineral water, which obviously takes its name from the local water spring and river- Neagra.

The legend of the river and of the place is dramatic and it is placed during the reign of the enigmatic Moldavian ruler Negrea Basarab. This ruler was a wealthy man but all his fortune was nothing comparing to his most precious treasure: Neagra, his beautiful daughter. Not only was she beautiful but also active, intelligent and on top of that she was fighting better than a man.

The rumour about that beautiful but prideful girl of Negrea Voda spread all over the country and far beyond its borders so rivers of suitors came to the palace from all over to propose her. But Neagra was such a fierce young woman and she did not like any of her suitors. She said she had no intention of getting married for the moment as she had better things to do. But there was a foreign price, a pagan if we are to trust the legend who wanted to marry Neagra at all costs, so he started a terrible war against her father. Neagra was very much indignant at hearing that a pagan (not Christian) dared to ask her hand – so she decided to take her horse and sword and go to battle together with her old father.

The princess was always present where there were the most dangerous situations, doing better than some of the strongest men of the army. Suddenly she saw her pretender – she rushed at him mad with anger, defeated him and cut his head in the end. Moldavians won that battle but they lost the war against the barbarians so the pagans took the power in the country. But Negrea Voda and his daughter gathered the army again secretly and after long and bloody combats Moldavians manage to chase away the invaders from their lands.

The brave girl was though followed up by the father of the dead suitor who did not dare to fight her face to face so he let go to an arrow which hit her chest in a fit of absence. The murderer managed to escape at the beginning but he was caught later on and killed – the pagan king died in peace though as he knew he managed to revenge his son’s death. The place where Neagra was deadly injured was in a forest, close to a river, where the women from the castle took her body to be washed and purified, according to the folk custom. They undressed Neagra and washed her body crying and mourning at a racking voice. Suddenly something strange happened: the river’s waters turned black as a symbol of their mourning of the brave maiden’s death also. After that miracle everyone called the river “Neagra” in the princess honour and the glade where she was buried took the name “Poiana Negrii” which meant “Neagra’s glade”.

Author: Irina Petre

The Legend of the Olt and Mures Rivers

Daniel Voicu — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:46:46 +0000

The legend tells us about a mighty king living in a castle with two towers, on a high mountain. One summer day he left the castle to go to war against his enemies and he never came back.

Searching for the King

His queen sent emissaries to search for her husband every time further and further, till the end of the earth but none of them could find the lost king. The king had two sons, two babies when he left. Although they looked quite similar physically, they had a very different character and behaviour. One of them grew up in the western tower and the other grew up in the eastern tower. When the two brothers became adults they decided to try their luck too and go searching for their long lost father.

The queen did not know whether to be glad or sad about that decision: was she to be happy she had such brave and determined children or should she fear they might be lost for good like her much beloved husband and king. She advised the two young men to stay together and not to argue with each other during that long and probably difficult quest as she knew they were very different and proud. She reminded the brothers they were much stronger together than divided.