On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! So the king, enraged (somehow) by her answer, banished his daughter from the castle, unwilling to listen to any explanation. Or a love story would be better, to melt your other half's heart? Werewolves, vampires, capcaun, zmeu and many other mythical creatures originated in East Europe in Transylvania, Romania. anything that can shape shift scares me! Rememeber, Romania has the largest population of canis lupus (wolves) in Europe. Also, there is a story which repeats regardless of region, when giants seeing people plowing the land, took them in their hands as little toys, smiled at them and then put them back carefully. Some people believe that Solomonars are successors of the Dacian High Priests known as Kapnobatai, but received their name after King Solomon, famous for his wisdom and great knowledge. Known as the Powerful Ones, and The Holy Ones, as well as many other names, these feminine creatures hate to be watched. Perhaps the most well known form of vampire, popularized by fiction and film in the Western world, is the nosferatu. What can I say, Romanians have a wild imagination , Thank you for visiting twice today Id forgotten this post in drafts. With legends such as those of Baba Dochia, Manole, or the Ballad of Miorita, we can surely say that Romania is pretty creative when it comes to mythology. When great floods came, Jidovii took care of people and their animals without asking for any reward. It's related to the Polish striga and the Albanian shtriga. If sorcerers are known to have disappeared long ago, the love stories and passionate dreams certainly are not. The wedding day came, and the princess knew her father would be coming to the wedding, totally unawares. First, the rural character of the Romanian communities resulted in an exceptionally vital and creative traditional culture. The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. But if you spot them, dont linger. Some of the most beautiful fairy tales and legends have been translated into English. In the Carpathians, Jidovii are often named Blajini, which means the Kind Ones, or Novaci, which means the Powerful Ones as they could snatch a tree without any effort. They have similarities to brownies and to dwarves. Are these some fantasy creatures? According to Adrien Cremene . But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Similarly gigantic, the Jidovi are the giants of the Carpathian Mountains. The Transylvanian Folklore has a lot of legends, myths and haunting creatures: from the well-known vampires to werewolves, Moroi, Strigoi, iele, and all kinds of monsters! Myths and Legends have always interested me from a young age, on this channel we discuss all kinds Mythology and fiction from all around the world. Those who know the series The Strain surely know this creature too; Strigoi is the product of the same culture that created Count Dracula: Romania. You may be able to gather his favourite form of torture from his title Vlad Dracul liked to impale his enemies on stakes, alive, leaving their tortured bodies for the advancing enemy to find. This list may not reflect recent changes . They were both a source of . Seen as the Romanian version of Valentine's Day, Dragobete is celebrated on February 24th.Dragobete, personified as a young handsome man, is the protector of lovers in Romanian folk culture. Muma Pdurii is a mythological representation of a long ago civilization, mainly focused on woods as she personifies everything that comes out of a forest and you can read more about her in my blog post here. How cruel it must have been for them to be judged by the entire community only because their dreams become their second reality, one full of love and passion. What are some unique aspects of Romanian folklore and legend? Romania's rich folk traditions have been nourished by many sources, some of which predate the Roman occupation. In the historical county of Maramures, famous for its Merry Cemetery Sapanta as well as its picturesque wooden churches, folk legend says that giant, huge people inhabited its hills, thousands of years ago. Vlad the Impaler. Overcome by sadness, he walked through every room in search of the room where he was born. If the latter, hes a dark embodiment of the Romanian peoples fear of their invading enemies. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. I do remember being scared of this mosnter, for he was supposed to eat naughty children (which I was not!). One day, the empress son was injured in battle, and he returned home to be nursed back to health. Youll find that Strigoi, some of the creepiest mythological creatures, captured the whole area around Romania, with similar myths appearing in Hungary and Poland. Or be a werewolf that died, and came back as a vampire . It too kidnaps young ladies, with an individual preference for princesses, but also children who are eventually rescued by knights and princes. The king loved his daughters very much, and when his wife died, he made sure they had every luxury and educational advantage. Despite the popularity of the vampire mythology, Romania holds her own myths and legends. Were from South Africa, and have a keen interest in history, mythology and culture. These are usually, in our world, psychological creations that children invent as a way to socialize, be creative, and altogether develop cognitively. But if they are helped, they offer gifts to the rivers and please the water fairies. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. At the beginning of 1900, there were still some people who claimed to have heard real stories about Jidovi from their grandparents who saw them in person. Romanians, Hungarians, Saxons, Ottomans, Jews, and Roma Gypsies inhabited the whimsical territory of "the land behind the forests" ( trans silvae), shaping the local folklore and giving birth to fantastic creatures, magic legends, and a fascinating tradition of storytelling. Moroii and their legends are as old as Dacian times -especially in Orastie area and thus it is believed that they used charms to steal the cattles milk, rendering the cows dry. They also used magic plants like wild garlic, Mandrake, lovage or deer grass to create strong potions to bathe the women for 3 days in a row. The founding father of vampire literature, Bram Stoker, introduced the cruelest Wallachian ruler of XVth century Romania to the world. From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. This is a mythical creature in South Slavic mythology. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), Die Fennek of Woestynjakkals, the Fennec or Desert Jackal and a Story, Patricia Furstenberg Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Kids Books Author, Privacy Policy, Terms of use, Disclosures. Wood used to be the main construction material, and heavily ornamented wooden objects were common in old houses. Since they live in isolation, they have no way of knowing when Easter comes. [1]:1314, Another question commonly addressed is that of the origin of God, which is explained in a Russian doll-type fashion; before every God there was another God that created him. Nuggets of Romanian Folklore, Myths and Legends Jewels of Romanian History and Travel. Thus explaining the many names the Bible used for God, the Oltenians believed the first God was called Sabaoth, followed by Amon, Apollo, the Creator God of the Bible and, finally, Jesus Christ. So Nefrtatul pushed in each of the four cardinal directions, trying with all his might to claim the earth for himself. The Adventures of Kiara Yew 2019 All rights reserved | Designed by One Graphic Street, The Adventures of Kiara Yew 2019 All rights reservedDesigned by One Graphic Street, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), The Adventures of Kiara Yew 2019 All rights reserved | Designed by, the most beautiful fairy tales and legends, Transylvania Vampires | Historic Mysteries, Romanian Folklore | Fascinating Stories and Rituals. According to the tale of creation, God and the Devil are master and servant, the devil (Nefrtatul) being Gods foolish brother. is the Slavonian blan meaning 'kind, well-minding person'. This is my own version of the Romanian creation story with elements taken from all. Would you like to find out the latest trips and stories from the land of Romania? Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. It was a combination snake, rooster, bat, and sometimes other animals, that was born from an . In the latter case, they are equalized with demons and provoke human resentment. One day, God decided to create the earth, and enlisted the help of the animals and of his brother. DEX, Romanian Academy Publishing House, Bucharest, 1998, Marian Simion Florea, Cultural Romanian Foundation Publishing House, Bucharest 1994, Michael Hitchcock (1998): Tourism, Tam An Mini, and national identity, Indonesia and the Malay World, 26:75, 124-135: 129. Folklore of Romania. Even if they did or did not exist, they left us beautiful stories about their way of living. Youll also find that some of the figures are shared with the neighbouring Hungarian mythology, as borders were fluid and travellers have been moving between the two forever. She forgave him, and they all lived happily ever after. There are blood parasites called Strigeidida. Thank you! In his search, Ft-Frumos had many adventures, acquiring a flying horse and fighting many of the monsters we mention below. That is, until he realised he had drawn a giant cross in the ground, and backed off in fear of the sacred symbol. Because there is a long history of walking corpses and bloodsucking ghouls in folklore . Kites are a favorite way of entertaining both children and adults on the Romanian Black Sea beaches, where the wind is mighty. The Cpcun is a violent ogre-like creature. These top five Romanian folktales send us on a quest for 'Youth without Age and Life without Death', engage us with Half-man-riding-on-the-worse-half-of-a-lame-rabbit and 'Emperor Aleodor', introduce us to sorcery in the 'Enchanted Pig', teach us that love is . kobolds - these little German guys might live in mines or in your house. Strong folk traditions have survived to this day due to the rural character of the Romanian communities, which has resulted in an exceptionally vital and creative traditional culture. [1]:61, If these warnings should fail, God will initiate the End of the World. This article has multiple issues. As a matter of fact, the author of this incredibly popular novel never traveled to Romania in his life. How to Reason with Scientists and Other Partially Rational Creatures. Folk creations (the best known is the ballad Mioria) were the main literary genre until the 18th century. Once, in an old anonymous folk tale, Ft-Frumos even goes on a quest to gain immortality. In most local folklore, moroi are the souls of unbaptised children or faithless adults. Vlad Hagyak epe, the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia, died 1477. Ce zici? One account is that mountains formed as a response to God demanding the Earth to nurture all life, to which the earth shuddered and brought forth mountains. Males are somewhat larger than females, with a weight of 30-60 kg . The original story came from Ancient Greek and Roman legend of Strix creature, a bird of ill omen which fed on human blood and flesh. His eldest daughter said I love you like honey, father, and he was very pleased. Every story has a beginning, and our tale of the five most beloved Romanian villains starts with the Dacian Draco. Where they dance, they are often said to leave the ground burnt, and no living thing will grow there for years. And after old Cingalau died, his grave became the hill of Gogasa, and the place where Rozalinda found the group of people she took home is today the village of Rozavlea, its inhabitants being descendants from Rozalinda and Robonban. 3. wikipedia-en:List_of_legendary_creatures_(B) This content was extracted from Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License They met and consume their love in the world of dreams but everything is so intense, almost real that the young woman becomes exhausted and obsessively in love.