A Piece from the Romanian Mythology

The rural romanian mythology, so poor apreciated and renowned is in fact very beautiful and interesting to study thoroughly. I am saying this because, unfortunately, as a consequence of the excessive industrialization of our country, few Romanians know tradition elements and even fewer respect them. Eventhough it sounds unusual, the traditional customs of the rural environment, were ocassions of celebration which mantained a very strong spiritual connection between the members of the village as in a real family, connection which isn’t found in the arid verticality of the cities.

Anyway, surely is the fact that the romanian collective imaginary has specific elements which aren’t found in others mythologies and which deserv to be known precisely for their picturesque character. There are many things which can be told about the Romanian’s traditions and myths but we will further refer to the mythology elements which are specific to Easter, because this project was made in this holly period.

Concretely, I will try to detail some characteristics of the traditional imaginary, rural and christian which are found especially in the rural environment around Easter.

So, we can say that spring and especially April are ones of the most rich periods from this point of view, because in this season are found many sorts of customs and traditions which underline the rebirth of the universe. Consequently, the one of the most known feast or ritual of this time, which precedes Easter is Lăsata Secului, celebration known, as a matter of fact, as the last day when the orthodox believers can eat what they please before they enter the Lent. Lăsatul Secului is a feast with a mobile date which assimilated many practices specific to the changing of the time, succeeding to form a cycle of two weaks : The Week Minded- Fools and The Week of Sântoader’s Horses.

In the middle of the cycle is the night of Lăsatului de Sec, celebrated like a New- Year’s Eve. The ritual of renovation of time includes a period of ageing and degradation of time, distinguished through rituals in which appear masked persons and orgiastic elements( The Weak Minded-Fools) and a period with practices of purification and regainment of the harmony and stability (The Week of Sântoader’s Horses). Of course, these two parts contain also other interesting subdivisions to study, but the space is limited

Also, we will insist on the celebration of Saint George which takes place in April, marking the begining of the pastoral summer, a celebration which deserves to be remembered because of the traditions which are practicised in this time.

In the begining, I will start with the feast Lăsatul Secului, specifying that in the rural world it represents a very complex ceremonial, with ritalic and magic acts, specific to the Agrarian Year. Further, we will discribe the two stages of this feast.

The Minded-Fools Week

It’ s also called The White Week because now is eliminated from alimentation the meat which is replaced with cheese and eggs. The name of The Minded-Fools Week has two significations. On the one hand, in some areas of the country like Banat, Muntenia, Transilvania it was an opportunity for the persons who didn’t manage to get married in the time of Caslegi, the period of parties. Simion Florea Marian says in his book « Romanian Feasts » « only the madmen are getting married, only the fools and the ugliest of the villages hurry up to get married, while the obediants are married for a long time. » Another signification of the Minded-Fools Weak is tied up to the image of ageing, death and rebirth of calendaristic time. For this period exists the tradition of the Masked Men dance who were named Mascarusi, Brondisti, Fărşăngani, Maimuşi and after some hypothesis they are compared with the famous suites dedicated to Dyonisos God. Ion Chelcea describes very well this custom sustaining : « the suite symbolised a wedding, the youths were masked in the characteristics personages such as : the wife, the bride, the priest, the godfathers, the wedding guests who walked on the villages lanes headed by the bride and the bridegroom, followed by all the pomp in the order of importance. The girls and the the young wifes met on the road were kissed. The symbolic wedding was dedicated to the old maids and the children watched the pomp, shouting their name. The marriage ceremony was celebrated under a tree and the couple washed his hands with the water from a bucket and then the hole pomp went to peoples’ houses taking the young girls to dance and making obscene gestures and swearing. In fact, this tradition reminds of the carnivals from other countryes.

Eventhoug the ethnographic informations which can attest the return of deaths among alives are missing, the practices of death commemoration are very spread. It’s an ancient custom, hold piously in the Saturday before Lasata Secului.This day is commemorated by those who died without candle or the persons who died in a terrible way : drown, killed by beasts, by accident. Generally speaking, Saturday is considered to be a malefic day being compared with the evil which surrounds the hell. Its symbolism is tied of the personification of every day’s weak considered to be a a cycle such as the nature’s cycle. So, the weak starts with Sunday, grows till Thursday and after, it gets old and dies on Saturday.

The New-Year’s Night of Lasatului de Sec

It’s considered the central point of the ritual spread along two weeks and takes place in the Saturday or the Sunday night before Lasata Secului of Meat. It’s a feast which is called different depending on the geographic zone and represents the astral time which was celebrated in an explosion of joy because this night symbolises the victory of light against darkness, of spring against winter and probably of life against death.

This feast was taking place all night long, under the blue sky and was an opportunity of joy for all the village community. A specific custom to this feast is the lightening of the ritual fires around which are gathering all the inhabitants and party till morning.

It seems that the tradition is connected with the Ancestors’ Cult, the name of “Alimori”, which is given in some regions, being the proof.