Unseen Romania » Traditions

Udatorii from Surdesti, Agricultural Holiday

Daniel Voicu — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:40:07 +0000

The name "Udatorii" (the wetters) suits best a certain agricultural tradition, that makes the Romanian village people from the Surdesti village (Maramures) take the most hospitable man from the settlement and wet him in the nearest river, for richer crops in that year. This is the new version of the habit, since many years ago, the one taken to the river was the first villager to start ploughing. The village community is a great part of this habit and the “wetters” are the ones keeping it alive. The word "Udatoriu" and the tradition lives on till this day in the Surdesti village only, in the ethnographical area of Chioar (situated in Maramures department).

This is quite an old tradition, meant to ensure the fertility of the fields and the old men say that it's performed in the second Easter day. “Udatoriu” stands for fertility and the resurrection of nature, but it's also linked to the Easter, that means "passing" in Hebrew and it's also a great non-working holiday. This is how “Udatoriu” made it to the second Easter day.

The chosen plougher must be a pretty important man in the local community and he has to live with this "title". Weeks before the celebration, two young men from the village become “crai” and they have to find the first man ploughing. Once they find the next "Udatoriu", the "crai" start negotiating with the man, with the contribution of local authorities, who confirm the qualities of the chosen one.

On the second Easter day, the "crai", the young men, married people and women come to church in Surdesti, where the Udatoriu is brought in order to meet the priest and give the people the permission to start the celebration

The church's bell ringer officially announces the chosen “Udatoriu” and afterwards the two “crai” lift him up saying "Up With the Udatoriu!". And the crowd answer "May he live in peace!". Next, there are more "titles" to be given: four young men are made "fesnici", the best of them is called a "comarnic", four more (the brightest) become "jendari". Others become "judges", "doctors", "pig caretakers" and much more, all of symbolic nature and according to each man's skill (the brightest is the judge or the village's economist).The chosen man has to pay a small amount of money, as a symbol and this is followed by the confrontation between the "crai" and the "diac", who will not open the church’s door unless he's "paid" with a litter of the local alcoholic drink "horinca".

The Magic of Books in Romanian Popular Legends

Daniel Voicu — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:05:22 +0000

One of the most important features of Romanian popular spirituality, that greatly differentiates it from the cult one is orality, or the way that information is passed on to future generations through speech. The lack of access to modern culture and in some regions, even the lack of education, allowed all mentions of learning and the educational process in popular legends to lack, specially in fairy tales.

These focused more on orality, while the books were showing up as a variety of symbols in legends and tales, sometimes even with evil attributes or magic ones. Such "diabolical tools" (the books) were deemed as something that people should beware of, or at least they should keep their distance, in order no to be contaminated.

However, in more modern literature, the new creators of popular culture use the advantages of reading and writing extensively, sometimes blending the cult and popular genres. It's interesting to notice that in most Romanian legends you'll find a "solomonar" (wizard), an evil character that's skilled in magic and his talents are developed through initiation and schooling, that will enhance its birth-given gift. This way, the "initiation" and "secret training" of heroes, wizards and even dragons can be associated with schooling or the period of being an apprentice.

The devil also appears as the "master" of those who want to get acquainted with dark arts and the demon is shown as a creature living beneath the ground, where his evil school exists, also known as "solomanta" or "solomonarie". It's surprising when you find out that dark arts aren't everything that a young boy is taught, when he reaches the dark realm. He'll learn all the languages of living beings, the secrets of nature and all the magic, charms and wizardry that one being can perform (solomonii).

Such a concept tells us that "knowledge is bad" or even evil, an unfair advantage over those who are untrained. Orality spreads these legends, that include mysterious books, unavailable to normal men and women and allowing the apprentices to summon beasts and change the weather. Legend has is that 7 pupils are schooled in hell by the demons for 7 years and only 6 of them come back, wielding a book, a rod, a hook and other magic items. Coincidence or just a metaphor for the years of modern schooling?

This kind of image comes from the habit of having the village's priest as the teacher (and sometimes doctor) of the settlement, even the mayor and basically the wisest man of all. His asset? The Book… the Holy Scripture, respected and feared by the people. Biblical writings portray a "book" used by angels, who write all the good or bad deeds of each and every man in it.

The “Living Fire”

Daniel Voicu — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:11:49 +0000

"Foc viu" (or "foc ziu") is a Romanian tradition of making fire, "living fire" just by lighting the wood with the bare hands, no source of fire involved. It's all done "by the man, with the aid of his strength", as historians and researchers claim. It's called living fire, not because it's “alive” the entire time, but because the man heats up the wood, till the fire “resurrects”, as traditions claim.

The Wood

In order to make a living fire you'll have to use the wood of trees that don't bear fruit, specially fir trees, beech wood, hazel nut trees and oak. Rubbing together two pieces of wood from these trees will ignite a fire, a fact that got tested, specially in the case of beech wood. Popular tradition says that rubbing two pieces of dried fir tree wood together will also create a fire. It is also recommended that you use two species of wood with the same essence.

Historians claim that in Maramures fir tree and beech wood are used to light fires, while in Bucovina beech wood and dried fir tree are the most common. The "living fire" is only made with the aid of fir free wood, if it has lots of resin in it, considered its "vitality". Locals claim that fir tree wood is the fastest to be set on fire, while others say that beech wood is the best, since the fir tree is too "soft".

Tradition says that making a “living fire” from wood cut from a tree that's been struck by lighting is bad, because the evil spirits have messed with it. In the area of the Apuseni Mountains, this belief works backwards: the wood is supposed to be from a tree struck by lightning and people even search for such pieces.

Dream and Sign Interpretation in Romania

Daniel Voicu — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:48:01 +0000

It is a well known fact that Romanians are a superstitious people, so it's time to have a look at the way they interpret dreams and certain signs they find in the everyday life. Passed on from the elders, these traditions are kept even nowadays even in the greatest of cities.

Dreams and interpretations

Here's a list with the most common interpretations of different symbols that might appear in your dreams:

clear water – great worries
dirty water – disease
falling in unclear water – disease
fire – argument, worry, good weather
infant – danger
going to a wedding – argument
having a tooth fall off and hurting teeth – a member of your family will die
somebody dies – changing weather
visitors – news
somebody's house crumbles – death of someone living in that house
a bull or a pig chases you – illness
receiving news – having guests
plane, soldier – getting news
gipsies – good luck
attending church – loss of money
playing, dancing, laughing – upset
flying – growing
getting dirty – shame
if a pregnant woman dreams of a boy's hat or a ring – she'll give birth to baby boy
if she dreams of a scarf or woman's ring – she'll give birth to a baby girl
wolves – problems with the law
crossing a bridge – winning in front of the law, achieving something
going uphill – progress, health improvement
descending a hill – money loss
priest – religious holiday
white clothing – joy, success
widow man/woman – danger

Tradition also says that Monday night dreams, as well as those on Thursday and Saturday night come true, while those on Sunday (towards morning) usually don't come true. Some use special books for interpreting dreams, while others consider that dreams are sent either by your guardian angel or by the evil spirits.

The Girl Fair of Mount Gaina

Daniel Voicu — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:54:49 +0000

Near Mount Gaina you’ll witness one of the most interesting traditions of Romania: the Gaina Girl Fair, taking place each year in the Sunday closest to July 20. Known as "targul de fete", this is the greatest outdoor holiday of the country and it hosts the greatest traditional song and dance groups from Romania.

The history of this celebration was lost in the mist of time, but Mount Gaina was mentioned by Strabon, "the father of geography", who claimed that Dacians had a "cogaiom" mountain near their capital, Sarmisegetuza, where they made their sacrifices. Gaina is probably the peak where Dacians invoked their Gods and offered them such sacrifices.

The girl fair is first mentioned officially in 1816 with people from all over Romania taking part in it, specially those from the Bihor, Aries and dwelling near the river Crisul Alb. They’ll exchange traditional products, like food or clothing and have a good time singing old songs and taking part in dances. This place is not only a symbol of Dacian traditions, but also one of the landmarks of the local "gold rush", as the precious metal seemed to have been widespread in this area.

Christian tradition placed this holiday in the second decade of July, so it'll be close to the celebration of Saint Ilie. The girl fair of Mount Gaina also has economical reasons, like the need of buying or selling various products, including girls, but only symbolically. The festivities of the girl fair take place in a beautiful local forest, surrounded by fir trees and situated at 1467 metres altitude.

There's also a romantic and ethnic motivation of the fair, as young people who live in very remote regions get together in this celebration, meet each other and sometimes fall in love and get married. In the past, girls would arrive at the fair with their dowry on their horses and the marriage was done on the spot by priests who came to mount Gaina for this purpose alone.

Romanian Wedding Traditions

Daniel Voicu — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:52:34 +0000

The wedding is one of the most important events in a family and since it involves the free will of two persons in love, it's the perfect occasion to blend milenia old traditions with elements of the local Romanian culture.

Basically the "institution of marriage", as it's officially known includes these phases: asking the future bride to marry the man, the call to the wedding, the “fox” game, the bride's party, the dowry game, the bride bringing, the forgiving, the actual wedding, the party afterwards, the bride dressing and the "primary way". This last tradition involves a family meal, one week after the wedding, meant to strengthen familial relationships and to gather more money for the newly weds, in case the parents didn't collect enough during the wedding.

The call to the wedding takes place a couple of days before the event and specially in the eve of the wedding. The callers are usually related to the bride and groom and are specially the parents of the two about to be wed. During a habit called "petit", the relatives will choose the future godfathers, the cooks and the people who will help with the wedding.

Pe?it

Pe?it is also known as "in?elegere", "pe?itura", "croiala", "starostie", "impe?it" and either involves the groom (alone), or him and his parents. In case the young man doesn't know if the bride likes him or not, he must send the "pe?itori" before he arrives. Those are usually outspoken men or women who are daring enough to ask the bride in marriage for the groom.

There's a romantic twist for this situation, as when the parents of the future bride don't agree with the marriage, the two can run away and after a while, a relative of the man will visit the bride's family for reconciliation. They usually brought a bottle of their finest drink, which they drank and celebrated, in case things went fine.

In Romania, three weeks before the wedding the priest makes the wedding calls in the church, which are basically the public announcement of the wedding, meant to discover if anyone has a reason to spoil the marriage.

Dowry

In the old days, in Romania both the future groom and the bride had their dowry set before the wedding. This habit reflected the social status of the family from which the young man and woman came from. Girls without a dowry would usually remain unmaried or find it difficult to get married.

In Transylvania parents would set the dowry, and the agreement can be verbal or written, involving witnesses and a contract, usually made official by the priest on the engadgement day.

The girl's dowry usually included animals (cows, sheep, pigs, birds etc), several lands, cereals, money and the dowry chest that held clothing. The boy had to have a house, lands, a carriage, other animals and money. The dowry chest or the coffer, "lada miresii" in Transylvania, "lada de Brasov" in Oltenia, "sipet" or "cufar" in Moldova was the object that proved the status of the bride.

It was usually made out of wood, beautifully painted with floral motifs or adorned with sculptures.

Easter – The Most Important Christian Holiday

Daniel Voicu — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:10:25 +0000

Easter was first celebrated around 1400 B.C, the day when the Judaists left Egypt with the aid of God, as the Old Testament claims. Since those times, the Judaists celebrate the fact that the Divinity saved them from their Egyptian slavery. This is the old version of Easter, which got a new meaning, when God's son, Jesus Messiah took physical form and sacrificed for the sake of mankind.

This new commitment of the Divinity is not only one made to the Judaists, but to all of the humans that walk the Earth. It is interesting to notice that in the New Testament Jesus and his followers celebrate the new holy day through the Last Supper, as commanded by God. Before 325 B.C., Easter was celebrated on different days of the week, even Saturday or Friday sometimes. In that year the council of Nicaea was organized by the emperor Constantine, who approved the "pascal law", which set the Easter in the first Sunday after the full moon or after the spring equinox.

Easter is the most important religious holiday in Romania, as it has not been "tainted" by consumerism as has Christmas. In Bucovina, girls visit the local church's bell tower at Easter Eve and wash it with fresh water. They'll cleanse their faces with that water as soon as the sun rises on Easter day, so they'll be beautiful all year long. There are interesting traditions in Banat too, where at the Easter breakfast, each person around the table gets "pasti" (holy wine and bread). The local Easter dishes also include boiled pig meat, boiled eggs and other traditional food, plus the classic lamb roast.

Another beautiful tradition takes place in Maramures, the Lapus area, where the children who are up to 9 years old go to their friends' and neighbours' houses and announce the resurrection of Jesus. The hosts give each child an egg that's been painted red. In the valley of Crisul Alb, in Almas everyone gathers in the church's yard dressed up for holiday and ready to paint and adorn eggs. Easter wouldn't be the same in Arges without the egg bagels, which are called like this because they are cooked using lots of eggs (about 10-15 for each kilo of flour). They're among the local sweets and children go crazy for them.

Dragobete – The Lost Romanian God of Love and Lovers

Daniel Voicu — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:29:31 +0000

Dragobete was a protector of joy, love and fertility. This pagan god had different dates of celebration in different areas and those dates were sometime between the 24th of February and the 25th of March. He announced people the long winter was coming to its end and the sunny weather was approaching. The old Dacian feast was more of a fertility ritual, local human community following the lead of the blooming nature.

His name comes from the Dacian word “trago” (this meant “he – goat” which was a symbol of vitality and fecundity) and “pede” (legs). When people turned to Christianity, Dragobete became a genuine symbol of spring and pure love. People believed that Dragobete or Iovan Dragobete (as he was known in some parts of the country) was a handsome nice lad, son of the hateful Baba Dochia. So he was a positive character, a solar good symbol in opposition to his old lady, Baba Dochia, embodiment of hateful and cold elements of winter.

Dragobete was a rogue god with a typical Balkan volcanic character, somehow similar to the Greek Eros and who used to play tricks to young people. A legend says he was turned into a flower – hart’s tongue – by Virgin Mary as he dared to annoy Her too (this legend is a clear example of the mixture of religious and pagan elements and characters).

Ancient Dacian population believed Dragobete was the animals’ godfather and that he was the one to officiate the beasts’ weddings up in the sky. In time he became the symbol and protector of love, fertility and of the entire blooming nature – including plants, animals and humans too. The legend has it that people who get engaged on the 24th of February (Dragobete’s Day) would be happy, joyful and remain deeply in love with each other for the whole year round.

Romanian Spring Traditions

Mihai Dragan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:56:26 +0000

The Romanian holidays announcing the coming of spring have just passed. So maybe this would be a good time for Romanians to take a moment and think about the meanings of the celebrations they engaged themselves in. This is also a good opportunity for foreign people interested in Romania to find out more about its background. The holidays are a good place to start exploring the depths of the Romanian heritage.

The 1st of March represents the official beginning of spring worldwide.
The whole universe is coming to life after a long and harsh winter.
People are starting to spend as much time as possible outdoors, are
more optimistic and just cannot get enough of the sun. How could you
not take the opportunity of celebrating such a miracle of nature?

Romanians are no exception and cheerfully welcome the coming of spring.
In order to officially acknowledge this event, the local custom here is
for men to give all the women in their lives a “Martisor” which is a
sort of lucky charm that symbolizes the spring season. It is supposed
to protect those who wear it and bring them happiness and good luck.
The lucky charm can consist of a coin, a jewel, a flower or a cute
animal which are tied to a red and white string. But few Romanians are
aware of the actual origins of this tradition.

According to the old Roman calendar, the 1st of March was the first day
of the year. Therefore, the celebration of this day was originally
related to the beginning of a new year and not to the coming of spring
as it is considered today. Romans thus brought a tribute to the God
Mars, who allegedly was the father of the founder of Rome. In fact, the
word “Martisor” is a diminutive deriving from the word “Martie” (which
is Romanian for “March”). Moreover, “Martisor” is also the regional
name for “March”, coming from the Latin “Martius”.