customs and traditions
The căluș ritual of southern Romania (also found in certain villages in northern Bulgaria) takes place every year at the time of Rusalii (Pentecost, 50 days after Orthodox Easter). The căluș has drawn the attention of many researchers, from a range of backgrounds and disciplines including folklorists, religious historians (spiritual …read more
The “Balkan dance” scene emerged as a sub-scene of the recreational “international folk dance” scene in the post second world war period in the US, UK, Netherlands and other western European countries, as well as in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. However the history of interest in dances …read more
At Easter in 2013 we took part in a ‘fieldwork experience’ with the ‘ICTM Ethnochoreology sub study group for field research’ in the village of Svinița on the Danube Gorge in southern Banat. This trip was organised by our Serbian colleague, Selena Rakočević, from the Institute of Musicology in Belgrade, …read more
Carnivalesque events known as fășanc, fărșang or fășang, nunta cornilor take place in Banat during the week preceding the start of the pre-Easter fasting, postul mare, (the precise week depending on catholic or orthodox calendars). These events mark the transition between the end of the winter and the beginning (re-birth) …read more
The annual celebration of the patron saint’s day for the local church is widespread. Within southeast Europe these celebrations mostly follow similar formats. These celebrations are known as ruga (plural ruge) in Banat, or in the Banat mountains also as nedeia (spelt in various ways). Ruge in Banat usually take …read more