Cartografierea fenomenelor calendarului popular (în baza materialelor referitoare la vrăjile matrimoniale a populaţiei estromanice şi ucrainene din Bucovina)

Mapping of the Phenomena of the People’s Calendar (upon the materials
of the mantic rituals of the East Romanian and Ukrainian population
of Bukovina)

In our opinion, ethnographical map-making gives certain possibilities for the understanding
of the specific historical forms and peculiarities of the display of ethnic evolutional
processes in the ritual sphere. Such process gives an opportunity to distinguish local ritual
complexes within Bukovina as an ethnographic territory. Usage of this method for the investigation
of the phenomena of the people’s calendar in the frontier zones should study more
thoroughly the acculturation process in the sphere of the mantic rituals of the East Romanian
and Ukrainian population of Bukovina, and point out the ceremonies which weren’t influenced
by the traditional neighboring culture.
In the present study results of the author’s mapping investigations in the sphere of
the collective girl’s fortunetellings of the East Romanian population of Bukovina, their comparison
with the similar traditional rites of the Ukrainian population of this region are
brought forward.
During the map-making of the ritual actions on the Bukovinian territory author used
the data from the works of S.F. Marian, S. Nikulitse-Voronka, F. Horovei, T. Bizom, E. Fisher
(dated to the period of the 2nd half of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century), folklore collections
of N. Beeshu (1975), S. Chubotaru (2005), “Folklore from the Beech Land” (1994),
studies of the villages Nyzhni Pyrtivtsi (2000), Roshkany (2006), zonal studies of V. Diakonu
(2002), etc. Data of the field research, made by the Kishinevan scientists in Hertsaivskyi,
Novoselytskyi, Khotynskyi raions in 1957, 1971 (R. Kereushu, E. Zhungietu) and by the author
himself during the expeditions on the territory of Chernivtsi oblast’ and Suchavskyi
povit in 1997-2008 were also used.
Information from the Ukrainian villages of Bukovina was collected by the author
during the field researches, partly from the published works of I. Chekhovskiy (1998), S.
Dzhurzhu (2001), etc.
In the present work the following maps are brought forward to the reader’s attention:
map № 3-3-2, which shows the most widespread among the East Romanian population
of Bukovina girl’s fortunetellings with the household and agricultural objects: by the ritual
objects hidden under the bowls, “racking” of the street, by the melted wax, lead or tin; map
№ 3-3-4 (5) which shows characteristic for the East Romanian population of Bukovina girl’s
fortunetellings with the water and plants: fortunetelling at the well, spreading of the
“bridges” across the river, “digging” of the belladonna, fortunetellings with water and cornflower,
sowing of the “love” cornflower, “miraculous” garlic, map № 3-3b which shows some
of the most popular fortunetelling rituals, common for the East Romanian and Ukrainian
population of Bukovina: spoons “beating”, fortunetellings by the fence pales, by the behavior
of the swine, fortunetelling with the boot.