Aspects of the Magic Rituals of the Weds-to-be in the Salaj Region of the Somes

Aspects of the Magic Rituals of the Weds-to-be in the Salaj Region of
the Somes
Summary
Drafted in the spirit of the Bucharest Monographic School, this article comes up
with a diachronic approach of the magic phenomenon, surprisingly present into the
Romanian rural communities’ life all along the 20th century.
For its elaboration, we examined documents collected between the years 1930 – 1940
by Ion Muslea, founder of the Folklore Academy of the Romanian Academy, the
Cluj subsidiary.We have also used collections of the Cluj researchers and students,
which date back to the Communist period, especially the 7th and 8th decades. In
order to check upon the authenticity of the previously registered statements, the
author himself attended several documentation seasons in the archaic Salaj Valley
of the Somes river, ever since the second half of the last century. The results of this
scientific approach seem to fully satisfy these efforts.
Beforehand, they reveal an extremely live magic and folklore world of the Salaj
inhabitants during the researched period and area. Among other practices, the
magic phenomenon enjoys a particular place. Its importance and scope are due to
thementality of the historical peasantmasses, according to whichmarriage occupies
the central place in the life of the whole community, a crossroads moment for every
individual’s earthly destiny. “Left-over” lads or “old” maids, under certain ritual
circumstances, become a good target for the participants’ amusement and irony. In
order to avoid such a situation, years passing by and destiny hiding away, the maids
are the ones tomainly seek for themagicmeans in order to find the husband of their
dreams, on the right moment.
The ritual incantations poetry uttered for that purpose expresses aesthetic shafts
thrilling great Romanian or international poets, such as the poet and philosopher
Lucian Blaga.
Marriage-related folklore practices from the approached ethnic and cultural area
seem to be numberless and widely spread. In this study, we aimed at clarifying
external aspects and social implications of the “marriage magic”, this being the
unique chance to thoroughly understand the structure and the functions of the
researched phenomenon.