In times of drought, when the sun burns the fields and hope for rich harvests is lost, a young girl walks the dusty street of the village. She’s wearing willow leaves around her waist, she walks and dances with a graceful pace, yet sometimes her movements are daring, erotic almost as her arms reach to the sky and her voice sends an ancient calling to Paparuda, the goddess of rain:

“Paparuda, ruda,
Vino de ne uda
Ca sa-nceapa ploaie,
Sa curga siroaie”

(Come litle rain, come and make us wet. When you come with the sieve, let it be a barnful.)

The girl walks on every street and stops to dance her pagan dance at every house in the village. Sometimes she is followed by other villagers who dance and sing around her, sometimes she performs the ritual alone. She has to please the goddess, who in return will bless the thirsty fields with heavy rain.

I watched the dance as a young girl – I remember I was 12 years old. That summer was particularly dry so the people in my grandma’s village decided it was time to call the goddess of rain. A pagan incantation, an heresy if you want, but even the priest of the village believed… A young gypsy girl was chosen to dance. She started the ritual at the village’s public fountain then continued on every street… at every house, as the tradition required.

It was in incredible experience, one of the dearest memories from my childhood and sure one of the most extraordinary, unbelievable, incredible. Do you know why? Because it did rain a heavy rain that evening. It rained a storm, it poured and I remember hearing joyful laughters in the rain, happy cheers, but in the end… the people were all thanking God for the rain. The rain goddess was forgotten…

I don’t know if they still perform this ritual in the village of my childhood. There are probably villages where young girls still dance the dance that brings the rain, but I doubt that the belief is still there. Yet… I think it would be a pity for such a beautiful tradition to perish…

In areas where rains suffice the ritual was never not known. Originally the dance involved partial nudity, but this has changed in the last 30 years. When I was young the girls wore popular costumes under the willow skirts. But in the times when this ritual was common to every village affected by drought, partial nudity was common and necessary, as people would pour water on the rain callers. The rain callers were rewarded for their performance with corn, eggs, grains, milk, bread, fruits or money.

The text of the incantation varies from region to region, from village to village. It has an official version but the text is not known in its entire form everywhere. Only the first verse “Paparuda, ruda” seems to be common.

The ritual was performed originally by native Romanians, and later by gypsies. It’s still unclear why the change of actors. Folklorists believe that since the ritual is performed by gypsies a lot of its essence was lost. They are probably right, especially when we consider all the variations in the text of the incantation. On the other hand, since it is customary for the rain caller to be rewarded with gifts of all sorts for her performance it is possible that the gypsies misused the ritual for material gain. There are however other explanations: as the dance involved partial nudity it makes sense that only gypsy girls would dare to expose their bodies. The Romanian girls, educated in strict Orthodox spirit, wouldn’t expose themselves.

Paparuda and The Rainmakers is a post from: Rounite

In Romania, the sound of an angel’s song is absolutely unique, something you will never ever hear some place else. That’s because angels use the tulnic or bucium to deliver their musical messages.

The term “bucium”, derived from the Latin word “bucinum” (meaning curved horn or trumpet blast) is used n the Muntenian Carpathians of Arges and Prahova, and in the Moldavian Carpathians of Vrancea and Neamt. In Romania’s northern regions the name might be linked to the Slavic “trambica”, and may have been taken over from the Huţul populations. Other names of the same instrument are “trambita” in Bucovina and “trambita” or “tranghita” in Oas and Maramures.

Photo credit – Gandul

The tulnic is an instrument with origins lost in our Dacian roots, somewhere at the dawn of civilization. It resembles the Alpenhorn but the sounds of the two instruments are quite different. Their usage however is sometimes similar. Specific to mountain dwellers in particular, it is mostly used by shepherds for signaling and communication in the forested mountains, as well as for guiding sheep and dogs, and it also used to be way to signal military conflicts in the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Although it’s a huge instrument, ranging from 1.5 to 3 meters, women in the Apuseni mountains are using it frequently, sometimes to call their loved ones, other times for more practical purposes.

Depending on the region of the country, communications through the bucium song happen in different times of the day and have different meaning. While the shepherds are those who mostly use it (in the evening to call their sheep and dogs, or in the morning to take the sheep out), it is also an instrument leading funeral processions in Oas, Maramures and other villages in the north of Neamt. In the Apuseni, where women are the patrons of the tulnic, it’s mainly a communication device for those living in the highlands, similar to how Scandinavians use their luur.

The tube is made of well-seasoned deal, maple, ash, lime or hazel wood which is conical or cylindrical bored, slit length ways, hollowed out and then glued together. In northern Romania, metals are added to the tube: it can be made of galvanized iron and folded like a trombone. As it does not have valves or finger holes it can only play the pitches in the natural harmonic series.

My memories of the tulnic involve groups of women from the Apuseni mountains being brought to Bucharest to play these marvelous instruments on folk shows aired every Sunday. They came with their folk costumes and where in a complete contrast with the show host or the popular singers using makeup and modern jewelries. They were simple women, extremely modest, and you could easily tell they would have preferred not to be asked so many questions. They were there to sing, nothing more and definitely nothing less.

On those shows I found out of all the love stories behind the tulnic. The sounds of this instrument still seem to me the best to express lost love, missing the one you’ve lost or who is far away. When those women started singing, everything else just stopped, no one could think of anything else, except the song and the eyes of the musicians. There was a special glow, one seeming to hide secrets from long ago. No doubt angels chose this instrument to announce the Judgment Day!

Voices of Angels Resounding from Bucium Tunes is a post from: Rounite

While Valentine’s Day is mostly related to people (a saint and those he helped) and their actions in the name of love, the Romanian holiday dedicated to love, Dragobete, is strongly connected to nature. Celebrated on February 24th, it is linked to that special time of year when birds build their nests and mate. As the first signs of spring show, nature and man restart the cycle of life and love. What better reason to celebrate? What better reason to sing, dance and kiss girls?

Dragobete, also named Dragomir, is the local counterpart of Roman god Cupid and Greek god Eros. He isn’t however mentioned as a divine creature. He is a positive character, a symbol of pure love, completely opposite to his mother, Dochia. Dochia is said to have been a very cruel mother in law, making a habit of mistreating her daughter in law. She sent her to pick up berries in the month of February, an impossible time of year to find such fruit. God helps the girl in her task fact that leads to a tragedy.

Dochia, believing it was spring already, takes her sheep and her son, Dragobete, up the mountain. Although she carries 12 lambskins in the beginning of her journey, she looses them. The story has two versions here: they either get wet because of the rain or she throws them as it was very warm. Both Dochia and her son freeze to death on the mountain.

However, I like happier myths about who the mother of Dragobete was. One version of the story is of a proud woman, teasing the month of March who then gets even by taking a few days from February. Other stories are of Dochia, sister of Dacian ruler Decebal, who runs away in the mountains to seek refuge from the Roman Emperor Trajan. She disguises herself as a shepherd, but looses her lambskin and freezes. She is then metamorphosed into a stream and her sheep are turned into flowers.

Regardless of its origin, the myth of Dragobete speaks of pristine love, of nature’s rituals translated into people’s life, of new life cycles and of being reborn. It is also said that couples are watching out for which one of them is stepping over the others foot. It is believed that he or she will then take the lead in the couple

You all know Valentine’s Day is not a big celebration in all parts of Europe. I believe it is gaining more ground in Romania because of Dragobete. We were all used to celebrate love in February. But the celebration of Dragobete was somehow lost. There are quite a few Romanian voices frowning upon the widespread of this “imported” holiday. They see it as an US commercial scheme, forgetting all about its European roots.

I believe it was a good thing. Besides giving us a different reason to celebrate love in all its forms, it reminded us of Dragobete. The moment the foreign holiday started to become popular, voices rose to remind us of our own tradition. More of us got to know what it was all about and we do celebrate it.

In the tradition of Dragobete, this weekend has been extremely sunny and warm. Birds also seem to sing a lot more cheerfully.

I’ve heard of celebrations being organized in the Cismigiu park. I’ve heard of lover’s trips to Venice offered as prizes on Dragobete. It’s here, around us, and invites us to sing and dance. That is why I am inviting you all to come celebrate with us. Bring your loved ones along, get them flowers and warm feelings and let’s cherish the rebirth of nature!

For those of you wanting to know a little more, here are a few furtherreferences on Dragobete.

Dragobete, Romanian Celebration of Love is a post from: Rounite