Saturday 31 March 2018

Dor de Horea, in Poiana Horea / Missing Horea, in Poiana Horea

RO: Acum cativa ani s-a inceput o traditie in aceasta locatie, o comemorare a lui Horea, cel ce a murit dupa faimoasa rascoala din 1784. Acel Horea din "Horea, Closca si Crisan", sub numele sau real de Vasile Ursu Nicola. Satul isi ia numele dupa Horea pentru ca in apropiere acesta s-a ascuns inainte de a fi capturat si omorat la finalul rascoalei.
EN: A few years ago there was a tradition started in this location, a commemoration of Horea, the one who died after the famous rebellion of 1784. The Horea from "Horea, Closca and Crisan", by his real name Vasile Ursu Nicola. The village takes it's name from him because near here, the hero hid right before he was captured and killed at the end of the rebellion.

RO: Evenimentul de comemorare este unul micut, modest, dar cu intentii bune si sanse de crestere pe viitor.
EN: The event of commemoration is a small one, modest, but with good intentions and big chances of uprising in the future.

RO: O slujba de comemorare a eroului, cu flacai venind pe cai in procesiune de la biserica satului si pana la monumentul lui Horea din centrul satului.
Cantarea doamnelor la tulnice, iar apoi mici evenimente ca la orice balci: mici, bere, si un mic spectacol cu dans si muzica populara. Un singur mester am vazut care a venit sa vanda furci si greble facute din lemn. In caminul din comuna se servea mancare facuta de localnici. De apreciat, dar ar fi trebuit sa fie in acelasi spatiu deschis ca sa se simta toata lumea implicata si invitata.
EN: A commemoration sermon is held for the hero, with young man riding horses in a procession from the village church up to the monument that was built for Horea in the center of the village.
Ladies singing on tulnic (a local traditional alpenhorn) and then small events like on any fair: some grills, beer, a show with romanian folk dance and music. We've seen a single local carpenter here, he came to sell crafted hayforks and rakes he built. In the village hall, there was a dinner offered by the locals with home-made food. It is to appreciate this, but in my opinion this nice food should have been served outside, so that everyone would feel involved and welcomed.

RO: Ce lipseste de aici? Mai mult accent pe traditii, pe mesterii zonei, pe specificul locului: lemnul si prelucrarea sa, cresterea animalelor si a produselor locale. Ar trebui sa fie mult mai prezenti si mult mai implicati localnicii, si aici nu ma refer doar la sateni ci la toti locuitorii comunei si a comunelor invecinate din Cluj si Alba. Si mai lipseste ceva, foarte important pentru retinerea "audientei": mai multe umbrele, corturi si adaposturi de soare. In ziua sarbatorii: 25 iunie 2017 a fost o caldura greu de suportat, iar statul la soare a facut multi oameni sa plece mai repede decat ar fi vrut.
EN: What is missing here? More accent on traditions on the local craftsmen, the genius locci or specific of the place: the wood and it's craftmanship, raising cattle and making local produce. There should be more locals involved and they should make their presence felt more. And by this I'm not talking about the villagers, but the entire community of the area surrounding the village. And there's something else missing, something very important for retaining the audience: more tents, umbrellas or places to hide in the shade as in the day this event is celebrated it's usually very hot: 25th of June 2017. Nobody likes to be in the sun that much, especially at noon thus many people left early cause there was not enough space in the tents that were installed.

RO: Am inteles ca pentru cativa ani evenimentul nu a mai fost sarbatorit iar actualul primar l-a readus la viata. Pentru asta credem ca merita felicitari si sustinere in vederea viitoarelor evenimente care ar putea aduce turismul local mult mai sus si economia comunei de asemenea.
EN: We understand that for a couple of years the event was no longer celebrated, but the new mayor brought it back to life. For this we believe he deserves congratulations and support for the future events which could bring local tourism much higher than it is now, not to speak about the economy of the commune.




Wednesday 21 December 2016

Traditions: Cutting the pig / Ignatul Porcului


This is a long-lasting tradition in Romanian culture and a few other cultures in East Europe. Seams it's dating isn't really known but it starts long before Christ was born. Must admit it: that is OLD.
There were loads of superstitions and customs surrounding this festivity but the main part of it is that it is a moment of gathering with family and friends, doing some work and have a real feast, letting go of the year that's coming to an end and embracing winter and family.

*NOTE: Rough images will follow and descriptive text, not recommended to the faint-hearted.

Tradition says this is supposed to start as early as the first brink of daylight and


Thursday 20 October 2016

Targul de la Negreni / The fair at Negreni



Targul de la Negreni, also called Targul de la Fechetau (the Fair from Negreni or The Fair at Fechetau) is one of the oldest fairs in Transylvania, if not actually the oldest one. As per the official sources this seams to have been documented at least since the Middle Age.
When I think of it, and the stories I hear about it, I recall the ancient classical Romanian stories such as Baltagul, imagining how people would have traveled for days or weeks to arrive to such a fair and then they would stay here for a week trying to sell and buy whatever their family is missing.
Usually the fair has two parts: animal fair and objects fair.

Thursday 29 September 2016

Dealu Botii / the Botii Hill & Bambi

Hi! So, we were not that much active this year, but now we're going to recover a bit :)
Hope you enjoy the new blog look and with that, here's a little special encounter we had in a trip, and we want to share it with you.
We went for a weekend to Dealu Botii, close to the Belis Lake from Apuseni mountains...read more below.



Monday 26 September 2016

The Winemaker - a real art and much craft

It's the season to brew your own alcohol, be it wine, moonshine/palinka or something else.

We heard this year about a man from Tileagd that is making wine himself and we went to meet him.
OK, you'll say... so what's impressive about that?
Well he is 86 years old, he makes it all with his own hands and he has a wall full of awards from Vienna for the wine he is making. He was declared a Wine's Knight at contests in Vienna.
Aha? That's more interesting, right? :) Click on "read more" below the picture, to see the full story.