Romanian Folklore and its Archaic Heritage: A cultural and Linguistic Comparative Study

Description

This book presents rich information on Romanian mythology and folklore, previously under-explored in Western scholarship, placing the source material within its historical context and drawing comparisons with European and Indo-European culture and mythological tradition. The author presents a detailed comparative study and argues that Romanian mythical motifs have roots in Indo-European heritage, by analyzing and comparing mythical motifs from the archaic cultures, Greek, Latin, Celtic, Sanskrit, and Persian, with written material and folkloric data that reflects the Indo-European culture. The book begins by outlining the history of the Getae-Dacians, beginning with Herodotus' description of their customs and beliefs in the supreme god Zamolxis, then moves to the Roman wars and the Romanization process, before turning to recent debates in linguistics and genetics regarding the provenance of a shared language, religion, and culture in Europe. The author then analyzes myth creation, its relation to rites, and its functions in society, before examining specific examples of motifs and themes from Romanian folk tales and songs. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of folklore studies, comparative mythology, linguistic anthropology, and European culture.  Acknowledgements Contents About the Author Abbreviations Part I: Getae-Dacians History and Religion in Ancient Sources 1: Introduction References 2: Brief Overview of Recent Theories on the Indo-Europeans’ Homeland References 3: Cucuteni-Tripolye: The Indo-European Homeland? References 4: Some Recent Genetic and Archaeological Conclusions References 5: Daco-Romanian Language: An Indo-European Branch References Part II: Comparative Method: Myth, Fairy Tale, Folk Tale 6: The Development of the Comparative Method References 7: The Concept of Myth References 8: Myth Between Symbol and Metaphor References 9: Myth and Fairy Tales References 10: Mythic Time Versus Fairy Tale Time References Part III: Traits of Indo-European Mythic Motifs in Romanian Folk Stories 11: The Mythic Motif of Man’s Creation References 12: Cosmogony: Fârtat and Nefârtat, the Romanian Twins among the Indo-European Divine Twins References 13: God ‘Dumnezeu’ and the Creation of Earth, Sky, Mountains in Romanian Beliefs References 14: The Romanian Goddess Ileana Simziana: The Sun and the Moon Marriage References 15: The Sun and a Mortal Girl Marriage: The Romanian Song of Cicoarea ‘The Chicory’ References 16: The ‘Deer Hunt’ Motif in the Romanian Wedding Ceremony References 17: Romanian Feminine Spirits iele, rusalii, șoimane References 18: The Romanian Păcală among the Indo-European Tricksters References 19: The Hero Slaying the Dragon in the Romanian Song Iovan Iorgovan References 20: Youth Rivalry Fights: From Nart Sagas to the Romanian Song Mioriţa References 21: Metamorphoses in Myth and Fairy Tales References 22: Metamorphoses in Youth Initiation Rites References 23: The Romanian Folk Story “The Enchanted Pig”: The Motif ‘Beauty and the Beast’ References 24: Indo-European Social Structures and Youth Initiation Rites in Romanian Folk Customs References 25: Father Christmas: Romanian Moş Crăciun—A Solar Myth References 26: Conclusions References Part IV: Daco-Romanian Language Position Among the Indo-European Languages 27: The Daco-Romanian Cultural Vocabulary References Appendix From Proto-Indo-European to Daco-Romanian: A Short List Mountain, Forest, Valley, Ground Fire Water and Hydronyms Atmosphere, Light and Dark Fauna Flora Anatomical Parts Vital Functions Family Relations Habitat Clothing and Textile Material Culture Transport and Road Food, Drink, and Cooking Social Organization, Getting and Giving, Law, Order, Strife, Warfare Space, Time, Position, and Direction Placement Verbs Basic Numbers, Measure and Quantity Emotions, Perception, Knowledge, and Thought Sight Colors, Hearing, Smell, Taste, Good, Evil, Ugly Hot, Cold, and Other Qualities Speech, Interjections and Human Sounds Activities Pronouns Religious, Beliefs, and Related Vocabulary Alphabetic List of DRomanian Words Discussed Above Alphabetic List of the PIE Roots Discussed with DRom Reflexes Bibliography Index