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Capra (goat Dance)
Capra is the name of a traditional Ukrainian and Romanian dance, performed around New Year. It's executed by a young man with a goat mask and a sheep skin on his back. The 'goat' and his companions go from house to house, dancing at each door on New Year's Eve. This custom was first mentioned in 1656, when the Swedish ambassador to Moldavia visited Iași and described the custom in which the dancing ended when the goat was shot by an arrow. In his 1796 book, ', Dimitrie Cantemir devoted a paragraph to this custom. During the 19th century, Romanians believed goats could predict the year's weather, and the Capra dance, considered a pagan dance, became a ritual to bring fertility. It has become a component of folklore culture. See also *Kukeri *Mari Lwyd *Hoodening *Folklore of Italy References External links

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Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later autonomous state, it existed from the 14th century to 1859, when it united with Wallachia () as the basis of the modern Romanian state; at various times, Moldavia included the regions of Bessarabia (with the Budjak), all of Bukovina and Hertsa region , Hertsa. The region of Pokuttya was also part of it for a period of time. The Moldavia (region of Romania) , western half of Moldavia is now part of Romania, the eastern side belongs to the Moldova , Republic of Moldova, and the Chernivtsi Oblast , northern and Budjak , southeastern parts are territories of Ukraine. Name and etymology The original and short-lived reference to the region was ''Bogdania'', after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality. The name ...
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Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, it has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life. The city was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia from 1564 to 1859, then of the United Principalities from 1859 to 1862, and the capital of Kingdom of Romania, Romania from 1916 to 1918. Known as the Cultural Capital of Romania Iași is a symbol of Romanian history. Historian Nicolae Iorga stated that "there should be no Romanian who does not know of it". Still referred to as "The Moldavian Capital", Iași is the main economic and business centre of Romania's Moldavian region. In December 2018, Iași was officially declared the Historical Capital of Romania. At the 2021 Romanian censu ...
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Dimitrie Cantemir
Dimitrie or Demetrius; Cantemir (; ; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Moldavian prince, statesman, and man of letters. He twice served as voivode of Moldavia (March–April 1693 and 1710–1711). During his second term, he allied his state with Russia in a war against Moldavia's Ottoman overlords; Russia's defeat forced Cantemir's family into exile and the replacement of the native voivodes by Greek phanariots. Cantemir was also a prolific writer, variously a: philosopher, historian, composer, musicologist, linguist, ethnographer and geographer. His son, Antioch, Russia's ambassador to Great Britain and France and a friend of Montesquieu and Voltaire, would become known as "the father of Russian poetry". Name Dimitrie is the Romanian form of the name Latinized as Demetrius and, less often, anglicized as Demeter. The Russian form of his name was (). He is also known as ''Dimitri Kantemiroğlu'' in Turkish contexts, ''Dymitr ...
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Kukeri
Kukeri (; singular: kuker, кукер) are elaborately costumed Bulgarian men, who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. Closely related traditions are found throughout the Balkans and Greece (including Romania and the Pontus). The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and large bells attached to the belt. Around New Year and before Lent, the Kukeri walk and dance through villages to scare away evil spirits with their costumes and the sound of their bells. They are also believed to provide a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village for the year ahead. The Kukeri traditionally visit people's houses at night so that "the sun would not catch them on the road." After parading around the village, they usually gather at the village square to dance wildly and amuse the people. Kukeri rituals vary by region, but remain largely the same in essence. 19th century scholars considered the ...
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Mari Lwyd
The Mari Lwyd (, ) is a wassailing tradition, folk custom in South Wales. The tradition entails the use of an eponymous hobby horse which is made from a horse's skull mounted on a pole and carried by an individual hidden under a sheet. The custom was first recorded in 1800, with subsequent accounts of it being produced into the early twentieth century. According to these, the Mari Lwyd was a tradition performed at Christmas time by groups of men who would accompany the horse on its travels around the local area, and although the makeup of such groups varied, they typically included an individual to carry the horse, a leader, and individuals dressed as stock characters such as Punch and Judy. The men would carry the Mari Lwyd to local houses, where they would request entry through song. The householders would be expected to deny them entry, again through song, and the two sides would continue their responses to one another in this manner. If the householders eventually relented, th ...
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Hoodening
Hoodening (), also spelled ''hodening'' and ''oodening'', is a tradition, folk custom found in Kent, a county in South East England. The tradition entails the use of a wooden hobby horse known as a hooden horse that is mounted on a pole and carried by a person hidden under a sackcloth. Originally, the tradition was restricted to the area of East Kent, although in the twentieth century it spread into neighbouring West Kent. It represents a regional variation of a "hooded animal" tradition that appears in various forms throughout Britain and Ireland. As recorded from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries, hoodening was a tradition performed at Christmas time by groups of farm labourers. They would form into teams to accompany the hooden horse on its travels around the local area, and although the makeup of such groups varied, they typically included someone to carry the horse, a leader, a man in female clothing known as a "Molly house, Mollie", and several musicians. The ...
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Folklore Of Italy
Folklore of Italy refers to the folklore and urban legends of Italy. Within the Italian territory, various people have followed each other over time, each of which has left its mark on current culture. Some tales also come from Christianization, especially those concerning Devil, demons, which are sometimes recognized by Christian demonology. Italian folklore also includes the genre of the fairy tale (where the term itself was born), folk music, folk dance and folk heroes. Figures and Heroes of Italian folklore Below is a list of the folklore figures who have animated Italian folk tales since ancient Rome. Traditional characters * In Italian folklore, the Befana is an old woman who Christmas gift-bringer, delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany (holiday), Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Biblical Magi, Three Magi Kings. A popular belief is that her name derives from the Calendar of saints, Feast of Epiphany (Christi ...
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Culture Of Romania
The culture of Romania is an umbrella term used to encapsulate the ideas, customs and social behaviours of the people of Romania that developed due to the country's distinct geopolitical history and evolution. It is theorized that Romanians and related peoples (Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, and Istro-Romanians) were formed through the admixture of the descendants of Roman colonists and the indigenous Dacian people who were subsequently Romanization (cultural), Romanized. Background Romania's history has been full of rebounds: the culturally productive epochs were those of stability when the people proved quite an impressive resourcefulness in the making up for less propitious periods and were able to rejoin the mainstream of Culture of Europe, European culture. This stands true for the years after the Phanariotes, Phanariote-Ottoman Empire, Ottoman period, at the beginning of the 19th century, when Romanians had a historical context and Romania started to become westerniz ...
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