Martisorul

Sarbatorit in fiecare an la 1 Martie, Martisorul  este una din sarbatorile traditionale romanesti, cu vechi radacini geto-dace.  

Datand de peste 8.000 de ani – primele dovezi arheologice care-i atesta existenta  pe teritoriul tarii fiind descoperite la Schela Cladovei in judetul Mehedinti -  obiceiul Martisorului reprezinta un ritual de innoire a timpului si a anului, odata cu moartea Dochiei, urmata de renasterea ei simbolica, la 9 Martie. Tragandu-si seva din stravechile credinte si practici agrare in cadrul carora soarele ocupa un loc central, Martisorul exprima victoria soarelului si, invariabil a luminii, asupra intunericului iernii. Incepe astfel primavara, cand intreaga natura renaste din cenusa anului ce tocmai s-a incheiat.

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Celebrated every year on 1^st of March, Martisorul (Romanian pronunciation [mərtsiʃor]) is a folk Romanian tradition, with old Dacians roots.

8.000 years old (the first archaeological evidence attesting its existence on our country’s territory had been made in Schela Cladovei, Mehedinti County), the custom of Martisor represents a renewal ritual of both time and year, along with Dochia’s death (the correspondent of goddess Gaia) followed by her symbolic rebirth, at March the 9^th. Feeding out of ancient agrarian beliefs and habits, who worshiped the Sun, the Martisor expresses the Sun’s victory over the darkness of winter. Hereby spring arrives, when all nature comes to life, reborn from the ashes of the year that had come to a close. 

Format din doua snururi rasucite, unul de culoare rosie, celalalt de culoare alba, Martisorul era purtat timp de 12 zile sau pana la aparitia primelor semne autentice ale primaverii - inflorirea ciresilor, sosirea berzelor etc., ulterior fiind legat de creanga unui copac, avand rol protector impotriva frigurilor si a bolilor in general. cele doua culori nu sunt deloc intamplatoare, rosul reprezentand sangele, vitalitatea si deci, principiul feminin, iar albul claritatea si luciditatea principiului masculin, din impletirea lor inseparabila luand mereu nastere viul. 

In vremuri si mai vechi, snurul se impletea din fire de canepa sau lana, de culoare alba si neagra, simbolizand aceeasi contopire a contrariilor, creatoare de echilibru si de viata. 

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Formed out of two twisted strings, one red and the other white, the Martisor was worn for 12 days or until the first authentic signs of spring – the blooming of cherry trees, the arrival of storks etc. – and had a protective influence against fever and sickness in general.  The two colours are not by any chance accidental, red representing blood and vitality, therefore the feminine spirit and white the lucidity and rational mind of the masculine spirit, of whose inseparable interlace life appears.

In even older times, the braid was stranded from hemp or wool strings, coloured in black and white, symbolizing the same merging of opposite principles, in germinating equilibrium and life itself. 

Despre Matisor exista insa si multe legende.

Povestea spune ca-ntr-o buna zi, jinduind la bucuria si pofta de viata a oamenilor, Soarele a coborat la hora, luand infatisarea unui fecior chipes. Un zmeu l-a pandit si l-a rapit dintre oameni, inchizandu-l intr-o temnita. Lumea s-a mahnit tare: pasarile nu mai cantau, izvoarele isi incetasera curgerea, copiii nu mai erau vazuti razand. Dar nimeni nu indraznea sa-l infrunte pe zmeu. Pana intr-o zi, cand un voinic s-a hotarat sa plece si sa salveze soarele. Multi dintre pamanteni l-au condus si i-au dat din puterile lor ca sa-l ajute in lupta, sa poata iesi invingator. Drumul voinicului dura 3 anotimpuri: vara, toamna si iarna. In cele din urma, gasi castelul zmeului si incepura lupta. S-au infruntat zile intregi pana cand zmeul fu doborat, iar tanarul reusi sa elibereze soarele. Reintors pe bolta cereasca, Soarele reinvie natura si readuse bucuria oamenilor. Insa voinicul, ranit si sleit de puteri, nu mai apuca sa se bucure de sosirea primaverii. Sangele sau cald, se scurse din rani in zapada. Iar cand aceasta se topea,  rasareau flori albe: ghioceii, vestitorii primaverii.

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There are also a lot of legends about Martisor. 

One story says that one day, yearning for the happiness and joy of life that men had, the Sun came down to a rural dance celebration (hora), as a handsome young man. But a dragon lurked and kidnapped him from among people and locked him in a cave. The world saddened deeply: birds stopped singing, streams ceased their flowing and even the children gave up laughing. However, no one dared confront the dragon. Up to a day when a courageous young man decided to leave and try and save the Sun. Many of the people showed him the way and gave him their powers, in order to help him into battle and win the confrontation. The young man travelled for 3 seasons: summer, autumn and winter. Finally, he arrived at the dragon’s castle and the battle began. They fought for many days until the dragon had been defeated and the Sun released. Returned on the celestial vault, the Sun brought nature back to life along with the joy of the people. But the courageous young man, wounded and weakened, didn’t live to see the arrival of springtime. His warm blood dripped from his wounds, wetting the snow. And while the snow melted, white flowers sprung: snowdrops, the messengers of spring.

Si daca legenda spune ca Soarele a coborat printre pamanteni la hora, cultura traditionala romaneasca a lasat in urma ei si o Hora a Martisorului, interpretata magistral de maestrul Ion Voicu, la vioara sa Stradivarius. Aproape ca putem simti tumultul vietii clocotind, gata sa izbucneasca la suprafata.

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And if the legend says the Sun came down among humans, to dance a hora with them, the Romanian folk tradition even left us a “Hora of Martisor”, magically performed by maestro Ion Voicu on his Stradivarius violin. You can almost feel the tumult of life breaking out of the earth.

De asemenea, o alta reprezentare personala a Martisorului puteti vedea aici. Va multumesc!
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If you please, here you can see another personal representation of this Romanian solar celebration. Thank you!

Mai multe detalii interesante despre acesta frumoasa sarbatoare a romanilor, puteti gasi mai jos:

http://godessdiana88sex1.blogspot.com/2010/02/martisorul-de-1-martie-traditie-simbol.html

http://suflet-alchimic.blogspot.com/2011/03/povestea-martisorului-traditie-si.html

http://www.reteteculinare.ro/forum/discutii/martisor_legenda_traditie_si_realitate-1500/
http://www.universulcopiilor.wgz.ro/thema/datini-si-obiceiuri/1-martie-martisorul/legendele-martisorului

Acasa, in sfarsit...

Ciprian Porumbescu - Hora Detrunchiatilor

Omagiu Culturii Cucuteni / Small tribute to Cucuteni Culture

A fost o vreme cand mi-am dorit sa studiez folclorul romanesc si tot ce tine de traditiile noastre populare. Cand a venit insa vremea sa-mi aleg drumul mai departe, am decis altceva. Imi pare rau? Nu stiu… Dar din cand in cand, nostalgia unui “ceva” ce, poate, ar fi fost mai pe masura sufletului meu, revine precum chemarea mierlei in prag de primavara. 

Imi plac tesaturile si broderiile romanesti, in spatele carora intuiesc munca si dragostea de frumos a mii de perechi de maini, miscandu-se odata cu timpul si viata insasi. Ma fascineaza traditiile, versurile si cantecele ce-au insotit Taranul Roman in trecerea sa peste aceste pamanturi mult-incercate. Admir ingeniozitatea cu care si-a creat unelte menite a-i usura activitatea de zi cu zi, la fel podoabele si obiectele ritualice. Ador ceramica traditionala in care mesteri priceputi si-au inchis talentul si secretul povestilor pictate manual, in rotirea tainica a rotii de olar. 

Si mai mult insa, ma fascineaza cultura neolitica de pe teritoriul Romaniei, in fapt cea mai veche civilizatie din Europa: Cultura Cucuteni.

Cultura Cucuteni poarta numele localitatii in care, in anul 1884, s-au descoperit primele vestigii. Mai veche cu cateva sute de ani decat civilizatiile sumeriana si egipteana, Cultura Cucuteni se intindea pe o suprafata de 350.000 km², pe teritoriul actual al Romaniei, Republicii Moldova si Ucraina, caracterizandu-se printr-o ceramica de foarte buna calitate, bogat si variat pictata, cu motive in forma de spirala, meandre sau cercuri, culorile predilecte aplicate inainte de ardere fiind albul, rosul si negrul-ciocolatiu.

Ceramica de Cucuteni este unica in Europa, singurele asemanari gasite pana in prezent fiind intre ceramica Cucuteni si o ceramica neolitica din China, cea din China insa aparand cu aproape un mileniu mai tarziu.

Cu opera extraordinara a acestor Mari Anonimi in minte, am incercat sa-mi confectionez propriile cusaturi de tip Cucuteni. Am cumparat in, am cusut, am desenat si brodat si… iata rezultatul: 

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Some time ago, I wanted to study Romanian folklore as well as everything related to our folk traditions. But when the time to choose a way for my future came, I decided for something else. Am I sorry? I don’t know…  But from time to time, the nostalgia of “something” which might have been closer to my soul comes back to me, like a blackbird’s call at the first signs of springtime.

I like Romanian old homespun and embroideries, in which I can only scent the hard work and love for beauty of thousands of pairs of hands, moving together with time and life itself. I’m fascinated by old traditions, poetry and songs that accompanied the Romanian Peasant during his passing over these hard-debated lands. I admire his resourcefulness in creating tools meant to facilitate the daily chorus, or jewellery and ceremonial objects. I adore traditional pottery in which exceptional artisans locked their talent and the secret of their hand-painted stories, in the magical swirls of the potter’s wheel.

And more than that, I’m fascinated by the Neolithic culture that once was on the territory of modern-day Romania, in fact the oldest civilisation of Europe: Cucuteni Culture.  

The Cucuteni Culture bears the name of the place in which the first archaeological remnants had been found, in 1884. With a few hundred years older than the Sumerian and Egyptian civilisations, the Cucuteni Culture encompassed an area of more than 350.000 km², from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions in modern-day Romania, the Republic of Moldavia and Ukraine and it’s renowned for its great quality pottery, richly and variously painted with motifs like swirls, windings and circles in white, red or chocolate-black, the main colours applied before burning.

The Cucuteni Pottery is unique in Europe, the only resemblance found so far between the Cucuteni pottery and other Neolithic pottery being in China. However, the Chinese one only sprung almost a millennium later. 

With the extraordinary creation of this Great Anonymous in my mind, I have tried to do my own Cucuteni-like homespun. So I bought linen, I sewed, I drew a pattern and embroidered it and... here's the result: