Tag Archives: Romanian

Turn Over a Glass

So Romanian tradition, if you uh lose something, you can not find it, umm you can turn a glass, an empty glass, you can turn it over on the table and think about what you lost. And then after that you will be able to think about it and find it. And I, I have experience that. The only time I wasn’t able to find something was when it was truly lost and wasn’t in the house. 

Background: This informant has grown up in Romania and has absorbed some of the folk superstitions from Romania. They only tend to believe these superstitions if they have already experienced their effects.

Interpretation: The flipping of the glass may signify that you are making a conscious effort to find something. Since you have to actively think about the object it almost reinforces that you will find it. The glass staying flipped over may also serve as a reminder to try and find it.

Szekely Kapu (Szekely Gates)

Nationality: Romanian; Hungarian
Age: 47
Residence: Oxford, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/25/2021
Primary Language: Hungarian
Language: English; French; Romanian

Main Text: 

Szekely Kapu (Szekely Gates)


Background on Informant: 

My informant is originally from Romania, specifically the Transylvania region that is intermixed with Romanian and Hungarian roots. They came to the United States at 24 and have been here since. They are very knowledgable with the cultural context of Romania and Hungary, having grown up in Szekely tradition (a subgroup of Hungarian people living in Romania). They have graciously shared with me parts of their folklore and heritage. 

Context: 

They explain: 

“Growing up in Szekely tradition, this concept of the Szekely “kapu” gate was a phenomenon we saw everywhere. 

It’s symbolism is as a kind of barrier between the family home and the outside world. Usually these gates are wooden and have important carvings that are meant to either be religious or represent something that the maker found important enough to etch in. 

It’s a connection to the ancestral past, and what’s interesting to note about them is that because in the old days it was so common, you can observe differences from these type of gates in West versus where I grew up in the East. 

But they are unique and an important connection to heritage, I know my parents looked upon it as sacred because it was supposed to be guard our ‘sanctuary’. 

My parents and their parents before them were very religious so I remember ours had a giant Isten Hozott carved into it which means ‘God has brought you’. 

The gates aren’t really created anymore but the ones left have beautiful legacies of rich culture and of course the folklore reflect in them. The carvings have immortalized the period they were created with paintings, visual imageries like crosses and doves, and of course like I mentioned before words of wisdom or associated with religion. But because of how old most of them are, they are fading from weathering. 

People in my hometown take pride in them because it shows off our village identity and it’s our little corner of the world where we get to shine with our cultural traditions. 

I think people still sell them, but it’s lost its sacredness and it’s mostly for tourism or decoration. My family still has ours up in front of the house, but it’s been up for so long that you can barely make out the carvings but still it serves as a reminder and protection of the past.”

Analysis/Thoughts: 

Before this interview I had never even heard of the concept of the Szekely gate and was astounded at how much I was able to learn from it. From researching, I learned that often times these gates were made for the wealthy and as time went on it became a large part of lower households histories as well. It is fascinating how much pride the people of the Szekelyfold hold towards their cultural and folk identity. 

I admire the beautiful carvings and art that are the gates and wish it were still around as much as it was in the past rather than just a relic. I love how much emotional connection the person I interviewed had and overall just the connection the gate has with ancestral past. I love how unique the carvings are and how it can be anything from flowers, to the sun, moon, and angels.  It is also funny to note that oftentimes some of the houses are long gone yet the gates remain as reminders of what was. Overall, I learned so much about the beautiful tradition and past of Szekely kapu and hope to see one in the future. 

Annotations: 

For visual reference: 

https://live.staticflickr.com/6077/6095656579_79e62a1bee_b.jpg

For more information: 

https://wondersoftransylvania.com/wonder/the-szekler-gates-of-marefalva

“Mountains do not meet but people do”

Nationality: French
Age: 59
Occupation: n/a
Residence: Guadeloupe
Performance Date: 04/19/20
Primary Language: French
Language: English

The original language and script: Munte cu munte nu se-ntâlnește, dar om cu om se-ntâlnește.

The original is represented in Roman form as a Romanian proverb

The transliterated proverb: Mountain with mountain does not meet, but man with man meets

The fully translated proverb: A mountain doesn’t meet a mountain, but a man meets a man.

H: My mum always told me mountains do not meet but people do. I tell that to people till this day.

The informant communicated that this saying is one that always gives them hope of seeing someone again. That their paths will cross again for them to come face to face. It’s a reminder, for most, of how small our worlds really are. We are more connected than we know.

Derogatory Joke About Romani People

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Charleston, South Carolina
Performance Date: 4/5/20
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Subject: This is more of just like a classic- I think- Old man folklore. My Grandfather was basically like, “Yeah you know, you can’t trust gypsies.” He’s from Alabama. But he said, “You can’t trust gypsies. One time when I was little, we had a gypsy neighbor go around and ask for sugar and what not. So every time he came to my house my mom would give him some sugar. And what he would do is he would take the cup of sugar, he would walk out to the yard and stick his thumb in it so there would be a dent in it. Then he would come back to the house and say, ‘Oh you didn’t fill it all the way.’” And he was like, “Yeah that’s what gypsies will do, you know. They’ll put their thumb in the sugar and take twice.” And I was like, “Huh?”

Interviewer: Huh. Um… Where do you think he picked that up from?

Subject: It was like a joke basically. Definitely from his family members. Like just whatever they talk about or whatever.

Interviewer: Okay and like… How does that.. How does hearing this make you feel? How do you react to hearing this?

Subject: I mean… I took this one time and… actually the original twenty pages of my Senior Thesis that I wrote was a short story about this, that I didn’t end up leaving in the thesis. But that story influenced what I wrote and like… and it was like… as a character…

Interviewer: So you used it in a short story?

Subject: Like this folklore was kind of incorporated into it. I took the story and gave it to another character. So I guess you could say it was intriguing. I obviously understood the implications but I was like, “Okay… Who comes up with this? Why do you tell this?” It’s a joke I get it but… I don’t know. Clever I suppose but I don’t know.

Context: The subject is a 20-year-old African American male in his sophomore year at Columbia University studying creative writing. The subject and I were best friends in high school, and we are both currently quarantined in our homes in Charleston. I asked the subject if he would like to meet up for a six feet apart walk one evening, and asked him if he had heard any folklore he could share with me, and he told me this offensive joke his grandfather used to say.

Interpretation: I am pretty familiar with the use of the derogatory term of “gypsy” against Romani people, as well as the stereotype that they are thieves and swindlers. It was not long ago that I learned the origin of that the expression of getting “gypped”, meaning getting cheated or swindled, is derived from the word gypsy. I was actually hesitant about treating this derogatory joke as folklore, but I think it is significant to acknowledge these stereotypes are still around and still being passed down and taught to younger generations. I think of how antiziganism (Romani discrimination) compares to how antisemitism is viewed. For one, both people groups suffered devastating population death percentages during the Holocaust. But antizagnism is far more widely accepted in society. Just in 2017, a TV show called “Gypsy” was released by Netflix about a white woman’s path of becoming a cheater, manipulator, seductress, etc. She took on all of the horrid stereotypes and assumptions of the word. The term gypsy has only just started to be challenged as a derogatory slur. I think the prejudice, oppression, and discrimination against Romani people has generally been pushed to the side in American public education. People still dress up as “gypsies” for Halloween, the term “gypped” is still extremely common. There does not seem to be much reckoning with the discrimination against this particular group.

Furthermore, I found it interesting how detached the subject seemed to be from his grandfather’s telling of the joke. The way he imitated him was a sort of rambling that pretty clearly revealed his personal attitude towards the joke, this being that he was not a fan. He seemed generally both accustomed and fed up by this rhetoric from his grandfather.

See more at: https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/gypsy-slur-netlflix

Easter games and traditions

Nationality: Romanian Italian American
Age: 53
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/17/2013
Primary Language: English

My informant came from a mixed background.  One side of her family was Romanian and the other side was Italian.  During Easter, she would take part in traditions from both groups.  One of the Romanian traditions she would partake in was called Choking Eggs, where two people make painted eggs and then hard-boiled them.  Each person would then take their egg and smash them against each other until one of them broke.  The value of winning was increased if your egg was especially pretty.  One of the Italian traditions involved playing a game called Bachi in the lawn and the game involved throwing marbles.  Also an Italian Easter tradition involved making all sorts of breads.  One such bread was a woven bread filled with breakfast foods like hardboiled eggs and salami and such.