Plague – ”The Turkish disease”: a traditional Romanian perception (historical, theological, ethnological and epidemiological aspects)

The article addresses the issue of the traditional Romanian perception of the plague as ”Turkish disease” and presents relevant historical, theological, ethnological and epidemiological information. This perception is based on the memory of the frequent wars waged by the Ottomans on Romanian territory; wars during which contagious diseases were recurrent, and implicitly the plague. In historiography, the invocation of the plague epidemics in the context of Ottoman history was nuanced in the works of Mihail Critobul from Imbros, Dimitrie Cantemir, Montesquieu, Constantin Bazili. The reluctance of the natives towards the Turks is explained by the cultural, religious and linguistic differences, by the behavior of the Ottomans and by the non-acceptance of the other’s values. The inhabitants of the principalities believed that the plague also entered through the Ottoman ships coming from Constantinople and moored in the ports of Galați and Brăila. The epidemiological phobias of the natives were amplified by the fact that the Turks, especially those from the royal family, neglected any sanitary restrictions during the plague epidemics. The Ottoman plague’s fatalism is explained by their religious beliefs. The divine factor is also invoked in Romanian folklore, the plague being perceived as God’s punishment sent to the Turks for the misfortunes brought to the Romanians.

Folclorul ca act de conservare al conștiinței naționale

In this approach we will refer to an article-synthesis „Folklore ‒ a factor of preservation of national consciousness” signed by Sergiu Moraru with reference to the awareness of folklorists in Bessarabia of the urgent need to safeguard the elements of traditional culture of Romanians in Moldova , Ukraine (Odessa region, Chernivtsi, Nikolaev, Kirovohrad), Russian Federation (Krasnodar region) in the postwar period. We will also reflect on the development of folklore research by establishing scientific criteria for investigating and publishing field-recorded folklore materials, with the necessary parallels on the emergence of the first collections of cultural memory samples in general Romanian folklore.

John Hunyadi in Hungarian Folklore and Historiography

The folk epic songs of a nation are often associated with heroic actions of famous historical figures of the given nation, whose names are often known beyond Balkan folklore, thus becoming characters of epic folk songs and tales preserved in South Slavic or Romanian folklore. The paper analyses Hungarian, Serbian, and Romanian folklore sources about John Hunyadi’s ethnic origin, with the intention to present the biography of this historical figure from the aspect of Hungarian historiography and his folklore heritage through the eyes of some Hungarian and Serbian folklorists. One of these emblematic heroes was certainly John Hunyadi, whose feats (as well as the feats of other members of the Hunyadi family) are told throughout the cycles of Hungarian epic folk tales, as well as the folk tales of the peoples in the surrounding area. This paper is based on the analysis of the collection of Hungarian historical folk tales by Dénes Lengyel, which contains a dozen texts about John Hunyadi. These texts have several points of contact with Romanian and Serbian history and folklore. The second part of the paper presents the biography of John Hunyadi in the light of Hungarian historiography as well as the discussion of his origins.

Professor Petre V. Ștefănucă - notorious personality of romanian folklore from interwar Bessarabia

In this article, the author explains the special role of the ethnologist Petre V. Ștefănucă in creating national folkloric archive. Petre V. Ștefănucă is an illustrious personality of the cultural life in Bessarabia from the first half of the XX century, who asserted himself through his program to substantiate a historiography of the traditional culture in Romanian. Preservation and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage has its roots in the interwar period, by the prodigious activity of the Romanian Social Institute in Basarabia, led by Professor Petre Ștefănucă – disciple of Romanian Sociological School of Academician Dimitrie Gusti, who organized monographic research in ethnographic areas: Valea Nistrului de Jos, Câmpia Sorocii, Zona Codrilor and valuable materials published in the prestigious journal “Anuarul Arhivei de Folclor”.

Bats and diseases in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and magic medicine practices: perceptions, prejudices and realities (historical, zoological, epidemiological and ethnocultural interferences)

The pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has multiple unknown sides, various hypotheses regarding the causes of this plague being launched. One of the hypotheses, circulating both in science and in the media, concerns a series of animals, carriers of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, subsequently transmitted through other animals to humans. Bats are among the possible mammals that are targeted in such contamination, but there is no clear evidence in this regard. Chiroptera play an important role in ecology, economy and human life, contributing to the protection and pollination of plants, the eradication of harmful insects in agriculture, the development of new remedies and pharmacological preparations, including anticoagulants. In Romanian folklore, bats have an evil image, a fact explained by their nocturnal way of life. Some practices of magical medicine were based on the use of certain parts of the bat’s body (blood, wings, paws, down) to treat certain diseases and mental ailments. The bat appears in children’s folklore, in stories and riddles, being a creature through which the little ones got to know the fauna and learned to hate the petty qualities of the human being. In the cultures of the world, the bat is ubiquitous in folklore, magic medicine and art

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SICKLE IN ROMANIAN FOLKLORE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PERSONIFIED PLAGUE: IMAGOLOGICAL, ETHNOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL INTERFERENCES

In Romanian folklore, the personified Plague has a hideous, terrible image, bringing death and poverty. In the collective imagination, the Plague appears in its capacity as an evil creature, ruthless and merciless, devouring people and animals, but afraid of dogs and held in check by Saint Haralambie. As a rule, the plague is accompanied by other misfortunes and diseases such as cholera, locust invasions and famine. People, being frightened by the disastrous effects of the plague, believed in the existence of several plagues, their evil face being reflected in medical folklore and popular iconography. The significance of the harvest in the context of the personified Plague is versatile. Traditionally, the symbol of the sickle is linked to the completion of agricultural work by harvesting grain. In medical folklore, the personified Plague uses the sickle, the scythe and the sword to reap the world. At the same time, the sickle plays an important role in magical medicine, protecting unbaptized children from evil forces. Through the sickle placed next to the deceased, the relatives of the deceased tried to protect him from demons and undead.

PHENOMENON OF ION DRAGOI – EXPONENTIAL FOR THE ROMANIAN FOLKLORE FROM THE BACAU AREA

Instrumental musical folklore, especially playing and listening songs, was and remains in the repertoire of professional musicians, fiddlers. Among them, the fiddlers-violinists have a special role in the preservation, promotion and development of popular instrumental music. We refer to those who are faithful to local traditions both in terms of interpretive style and repertoire. A virtuoso of the bow is the great Moldavian fiddler from the Bacau area Ion Dragoi. He left us a rich legacy of songs, which became models of inspiration, but also samples for the training of young violinists. The analysis of Ion Dragoi’s interpretive manner will allow us to achieve a further systematization of the particularities of violin performance specific to the folk space of historical Moldova.

The Second Sonata for Piano and Violin, Ópus 6 by George Enescu

The second Sonata for Piano and Violin, op. 6 by George Enescu marks the beginning of a long road of assimilation and synthesis of the Romanian folklore elements and of the way of expression“in Romanian popular character”, transposed on the characteristics of the universal language. Without knowing the authentic folk art from a scientific point of view, Enescu was deeply influenced, shaping his entire artistic personality. He consciously assimilated popular music by generalizing some essential folkloric principles, which he later organized in a personal vision. The innovative elements of the Enescian musical language are transposed in the free rhythm, the heterophonic construction, the complexity and subtleties of dynamics and agogics, the timbre color, as well as in the synthesis between freedom and rigor in the creative and interpretive act.

Stylistic aspects reflected in the musical choral volume Cântece pentru copii/Songs for children, signed by Dan Voiculescu

In Dan Voiculescu's choral compositions, music and poetry are particularly intertwined, the syncretism of the arts being a fundamental feature in the composer's approach to this type of repertoire. The more detailed analysis, with examples of excerpts from works from the volume Songs for Children, are convincing proof of the compositional mastery that is necessary for the succesful creation of a deep connection between musical construction and text. Even the choice of certain elements related to the mode of musical composition (subordinated to the melodic, harmonic, polyphonic, rhythmic, metrical, dynamic, formal structure, etc.) demonstrates the intrinsic nature of the connection between music and the message of poetic lyrics. At the same time, the capitalization of the Romanian folklore resources, the incorporation in certain works of some underlying influence from baroque music and the preoccupation of introducing innovations related to the singing technique of the choral repertoire on equal voices represent some of the multiple stylistic features reflected in this volume.

Barvaľořá (“Light Winds”) and Sərbətór’a - Summer Female Mythological Characters in the Tradition of the Kelderari Roma

В статье на материале данных, записанных в поселениях цыган-кэлдэраров группы молдовая в России, рассматривается комплекс представлений о женских мифологических персонажах, появляющихся в летнее время. Первым примером таких персонажей выбраны барвалёррá (досл. ‘ветерки’), персонифицированные духи-вихри, возникающие в теплое время года, а вторым - сэрбэтóря, женские духи, появляющиеся в неделю после Троицы. Обе группы персонажей имеют ряд общих признаков: женский пол, множественность, частотная номинация щея´ баря´ ‘девушки на выданье’, потенциальная способность нанести вред человеку. В статье подробно анализируются свойства и функции персонажей, рассматриваются различные ритуалы, запреты и модели поведения, направленные на то, чтобы не рассердить этих духов. Также в статье обсуждаются основные мотивы текстов об этих мифологических персонажах, цитируются былички и комментарии к ним на цыганском и русском языках. Делается вывод, что как барвалёрра, так и сэрбэторя представляют собой один из примеров творческого переосмысления румынского фольклора в рамках традиционной цыганской культуры. This article is based on material collected among the Kelderari Roma of the Moldovaya group in Russia. It describes a cluster of beliefs about mythological female characters appearing in summertime. The first example of such figures is the Barvaľořá (lit. ‘light winds’), personal spirits appearing as whirlwinds in the summer, and the second one is the Sərbətór’a, female spirits that appear in the week after Pentecost. Both groups of characters share common features: they are female, multiple, often referred to as śejá bar’á (lit. ‘big girls,’ i. e. ‘nubile’), and potentially able to harm people. The article analyzes the qualities and functions of these mythological characters, and deals with the various rituals, taboos and patterns of behavior whose aim is not to make these figures angry. The article also discusses the main motifs in texts about them, quoting tales and comments about them in the Romani and Russian languages. The article concludes that both Barvaľořá and Sərbətór’a represent examples of the creative reinterpretation of Romanian folklore within the framework of traditional Romani culture.