Romanian Funerary Rites and Magical Charms as Case Studies in Pagan-Christian Syncretism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.25790Keywords:
funerals, ritual studies, syncretism, folklore, Romanian folkloreAbstract
This paper explores the interaction between magic and the Orthodox Church in Romania, with a short discussion on a magical rite called descântec (magic charm). Romanian magic and the Orthodox faith have an interesting history together, one in which the latter acted as an apparent supporter and at times even preserver of elements belonging to the former. As it will be demonstrated later, Orthodoxy went as far as adapting and practicing the descântec through its clergy. A parallel between a magic charm and a Christian-Orthodox adaptation will be presented in order to briefly highlight the deep-rooted contact between Orthodox Christianity and magic and the aid provided by the former towards the survivability of a magic charm.
References
Barbu, Robert-Catalin. In Search of History and Tradition: A Study on ohe Historical Potential and Passage of Tradition in the Romanian Colind and Descântec with Comparisons o Eddic Poems Case Studies. MA thesis. University of Gävle, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-32672.
Blaga, Lucian. Trilogia valorilor, volumul 2. Gandire magica si religie, [Values trilogy, wolume 2. Magical thinking and religion]. Bucharest: Humanitas, 1996.
Candrea, Aurel. Folklorul medical român comparat: privire generala; medicina magica. [Romanian medical folklore compared: general overview; medical magic]. Bucharest: Casa Scoalelor, 1944.
Cantemir, Dimitrie. Descrierea Moldovei [Description of Moldova]. Bucharest: Litera International, 2001.
Caraman, Petru. Substratul mitologic al sarbatorilor de iarna la români si slavi. Contributie la studiul mitologiei crestine din orientul Europei [The mythological substratum of the Romanian and Slavic winter holidays. Contribution to the study of Eastern European Christian mythology]. Iasi: Institutul de Arte Grafice-Presa buna, 1931.
Ciausanu, Gheorghe. Superstitiile poporului român în asemanare cu ale altor popoare vechi si noi [The superstitions of the Romanian people in comparison to those of other old and new peoples]. Bucharest: Saeculum I.O, 2007.
Ciausanu, Gheorghe. Superstitiile poporului român în asemanare cu ale altor popoare vechi si noi [The superstitions of the Romanian people in comparison to those of other old and new peoples]. Bucharest: Saeculum Vizual, 2014.
Cosma, Valer Simion. 2015. “Lupta clerului cu mentalitatile satului.” Paradigma “Popa Tanda” [The Struggle of the clergy with the village mentality. The “Popa Tanda” paradigm].” In Religie-Cultura-Societate. Perspective Interdisciplinare Asupra Vietii Religioase, edited by Valer Simion Cosma, 39–66. Cluj-Napoca: Scoala Ardeleana, 2015.
Cosma, Valer Simion. “Magie si religie în context liturgic în lumea taraneasca a românilor ardeleni din secolul al XIX-lea”[Magic and religion in a liturgical context in the peasant world of Transylvanian Romanians in the nineteenth century]. In Magie si Vrajitorie. Perspective Istorice, Antropologice si Artistice, edited by Ioan-Pop Curseu and Valer-Simion Cosma, 105–28. Cluj-Napoca: Editura MEGA, 2020.
Cosma, Valer Simion. “Curses, Incantations and the Undoing of Spells: The Romanian Priest as Enchanter (Transylvania, 19th Century).” In Charms and Charming. Studies on Magic in Everyday Life, edited by Éva Pócs, 45–68. Ljubljana: Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology, Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, 2019.
Curseu, Ioan-Pop. Magie si Vrajitorie în cultura româna. Istorie, literatura, mentalitati [Magic and witchcraft in Romanian culture. History, literature, mentalities]. Bucharest: Polirom, 2013.
Danciu, Liliana, and Petru, Adrian Danciu. Zmei, draci si strigoi. Eseuri de hermeneutica a basmului popular romanesc [Kites, devils and the undead. Essays on the hermeneutics of Romanian folk tales]. Bucharest:Universitara, 2021. https://doi.org/10.5682/9786062812911.
Dutu, Alexandru. Practici magice de pe valea Nehoiulu [Magical practices from the Nehoiului valley]. Brasov: Etnous, 2008.
Eliade, Mircea. Zalmoxis, The Vanishing God; Comparative Studies in the Religions and Folklore of Dacia and Eastern Europe, translated by Willard R. Trask. Chicago : University of Chicago Press: 1972.
Eliade, Mircea. Occultisme, Sorcellerie et modes culturelles [Occultism, sorcery and cultural fashions]. Paris: Gallimard, 1978.
Eliade, Mircea. De la Zalmoxis la Ginghis-Han [From Zalmoxis to Genghis Khan]. Bucharest: Editura stiintific si enciclopedic, 1980.
Florea-Marian, Simion. Inmormântarea la români. Studiu Etnografic [The Romanian funeral. Ethnographic Study]. Bucharest: Saeculum I.O., 2019.
Florea-Marian, Simion. Nunta la români. Studiu istorico-comparativ etnografic [The Romanian wedding. Ethnographic comparative historical study]. Bucharest: Saeculum I.O., 2019 .
Frazer, Sir James. The Golden Bough. New York: Penguin Books, 1996 [1922].
Ghinoiu, Ion. Sarbatori si obiceiuri românesti [Romanian holidays and customs]. Bucharest: Elion, 2003.
Gorovei, Artur. Descântecele românilor: studiu de folklor [Enchantments of the Romanians: studies in folklore]. Bucharest: Imprimeria Nationala, Bucharest: 1931.
Gorovei, Artur. Credinte si superstitii ale poporului Român [Beliefs and superstitions of the Romanian people]. Bucharest: Saeculum I.O, 2012.
Iorga, Nicolae. Istoria Românilor si a civilisatiei lor [The History of the Romanians and their civilization]. Bucharest: Editura Fundatiei Ferdinand I-iu, 1929.
Kivelson, Valiere A. “Witchcraft Trials in Russia: History and Historiography.” Chapter 20 in The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, edited by Brian P. Levack, n.p. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199578160.013.0021.
Kivelson, Valiere A. Desperate Magic: The Moral Economy of Witchcraft in Seventeeth-century Russia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.7591/9780801469381.
Klaniczay, Gábor, and Éva Pócs. (Eds.) Witchcraft and Demonology in Hungary and Transylvania. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54756-5.
Leeson Peter T., and Jacob W. Russ. “Witch Trials.” The Economic Journal 128, no. 613 (2018): 2066–2105. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12498.
Magliocco. Sabina. Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812202700.
Maior, Petru. Istoria besearicei românilor atât a cestor dincoace, precum si a celor dincolo de Dunare [The history of the besearica of the Romanians both from here and beyond the Danube]. Budapest, Tipogragria Universitatii, 1813.
Marian-Balasa. Marin. “Conceptul de religie populara: oportunitate, aplicabilitate, adecvari”[The concept of popular religion: appropriateness, applicability, suitability]. In Eshatologia popular [Popular eschatology], edited by Avram Cristea and Jan Nicolae, 209–35. Alba Iulia: Reîntregirea, 2010.
Monter, William. “Witch trials in Continental Europe, 1560–1660.” In Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume IV: The Period of the Witch Trials, edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark, 1–52. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2002.
Oisteanu, Andrei. Cosmos vs. Chaos: Myth and Magic in Romanian Traditional Culture: a Comparative Approach. Bucharest: Romanian Cultural Foundation, 1999.
Olteanu, Antoaneta. Mitologie româna [Romanian mythology].Volume 2. Bucharest: Cetatea de Scaun, 2021.
Papadima, Ovidiu. Literatura populara româna [Romanian popular literature]. Bucharest: Editura Pentru Literatura, 1968.
Pearson, Joanne. A Popular Dictionary of Paganism. London: Routledge, 2002.
Popescu, Ioana. “Priveghiul cu masti hidoase, o rara avis a obiceiurilor românesti” [Vigil with hideous masks, a rare example of Romanian customs]. Evz.Ro online news site, May 23, 2010. https://evz.ro/priveghiul-cu-masti-hidoase-o-rara-avis-a-obiceiurilor-romanesti-895305.html.
Rountree, Kathryn. Crafting Contemporary Pagan Identities in a Catholic Society. New York: Routledge, 2010.
Rountree, Kathryn. “Neo-Paganism, Native Faith and Indigenous Religion: A Case Study of Malta within the European Ccontext.” Social Anthropology 22, no. 1 (2014): 81–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8676.12063.
Rowlands, Alison. Witchcraft Narratives in Germany: Rothenburg, 1561–1652. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526137982.
Saineanu, Lazar. Ielele sau zânele rele. Studii folclorice [The evil elves or fairies. Studies in folklore]. Bucharest: Saeculum I. O., 2012.
Smith, W. Bradford. “Friedrich Förner, the Catholic Reformation, and Witch-Hunting in Bamberg.” The Sixteenth Century Journal 36, no. 1 (2005): 115–28. https://doi.org/10.1086/SCJ20477245.
Strmiska, Michael F. “Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives.” In Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, edited by Michael Strmiska, 1–54. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2005. https://doi.org/10.5040/9798400686818.
Strmiska, Michael F. “The Music of the Past in Modern Baltic Paganism.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 8, no. 3 (2005): 39–58. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2005.8.3.39.
Subcarpati (Romanian band). https://subcarpati.com/discografie/ .
Subcarpati . “Subcarpati - Da-I Foale “ YouTube. https://youtu.be/sfacevnz6iE?si=2lecxZzHh3yLjyAo.
Teodorescu, Gheorghe Dem. Poezii populare române [Romanian folk poetry]. Bucharest: Tipografia Moderna, 1885.
Tocilescu, Grigore George. Materialuri folkloristice [Folkloric materials]. Bucharest: Tipografia corpului didactic-C. Ispasescu & G. Bratanescu, 1900.
Ungureanu, Mihail Adeodatus. Ritualul ortodox al înmormântarii pe întelesul tuturor [The Orthodox funeral ritual for everyone]. Bucharest: Doxologia, 2012.
Voronca, Elena Niculita. Datinile si credintele poporului roman adunate si asezate in ordine mitologica [The traditions and beliefs of the Romanian people collected and arranged in mythological order]. Iasi: Polirom 1998.
Voronca, Elena Niculita. Datinile si credintele poporului roman adunate si asezate in ordine mitologica [The traditions and beliefs of the Romanian people collected and arranged in mythological order]. Volumes I and I. Bucharest: Saeculum, 2015.
Waite, Garry K. Heresy, Magic, and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. New York: Palgrave, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-09576-3.
York, Michael. Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion. New York: New York University Press, 2003.
Zavatti, Francesco. “Romans, Dacians, Thracians, Slavs, or Pelasgians? A history of the debate on the ethnogenesis of the Romanians since 17th century until the computer age.” Cadernos do Tempo Presente Sept.-Oct. (2014): 41–54. Accessed November 29, 2023 at http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-26017.
Zguta, Russell. “Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth-Century Russia.” American Historical Review 82 (1977): 1187–1207. https://doi.org/10.2307/1856344
