The Study of Romanian Folklore

Author(s): Jan H. Brunvand

Source: Journal of the Folklore Institute, Vol. 9, No. 2/3 (Aug. - Dec., 1972), pp. 133-161
Published by: Indiana University Press
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JAN H. BRUNVAND

The Studyof RomanianFolklore

INTRODUCTION

Romaniaoffersthe folkloristmaterialsprobablyunparalleledanywhere
in Europefor richnessand diversity,not only muchthat has alreadybeen
collectedandpreserved,but also a greatdealmorethatexists aliveand
functional in the countrysideitself. Manycircumstancesof Romania's
historyencouragedthe developmentandsurvivalof folk culturalelements
not to be found elsewherein such varietyand quantity.The chief con-
tributing factors have been the ancient Dacian settlers and Roman
conquerorsof the land, the successiveforeignrulingpowers,the long-
establishedconglomeratesof ethnic strains,strongregionalsuboultures,
the antiquityand continuityof traditionalculture,the uniquenessof this
Romancelinguisticislandin EasternEurope,and the relativegeographic
and politicalisolationof Romaniarightup to the presenttime.
As a resultof suchhistoricalconditions,the modernSocialistRepublic
of Romania,althoughrapidlyindustrializing, and strugglingto becomea
moreindependentsocial and economicentity,retainsin countlessways
the vestigesof peasantsocietyand a tradition-directed
culture.Enhancing
the value of the folk materialsthemselvesis a scholarlytraditionin
Romaniathat goes back at least as far as in WesternEuropefor all the
chief folk genres.This traditioncontinuesin one of the best organized
and supportedfolk researchprogramsin EasternEurope,whichsustains
a networkof institutes,archives,museums,publications,and research
activities.Also to be consideredpresentlyis the active popularizingof
folklorein Romaniavia the national"Houseof Folk Creation"and local
"housesof culture,"throughtravelingfolkloreensemblesS andin festivals,
contests,radioand televisionprograms,and publicationsfor the general
reader.

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134 JAN H. BRUNVAND

But certainly more interestingto any folklore-mindedvisitor to

Romaniathan the "arranged"(however,authentic)folk eventsthat the
statesponsorsin variouswayswill be the profusionof traditionalaspects
of dailylife that aboundeverywhere.Muchof Romanialiterallyis as
severalfriendstold me before I went there "a living ethnographic
museum."Outsideof a few largecities, and despitethe collectivizingof
manufacturing,handcraftingof everydaynecessitiesis still a way of life
that includes spinning, dyeing, weaving, embroidery,wood carving,
ceramics,home brewingand distilling,and many other such activities.
Most Romanianvillagersown regionalcostumesoften severalgenera-
tions old, and what is more, they frequentlywear them. Folk instru-
mentalists,singers, storytellers,and specializedcraftsmen(e.g. mask
makers,carversof gates and otherdecorations,instrumentmakers),are
easy to locate almosteverywhere.Funeralsand weddingsevoke age-old
celebrations;agricultureand animalhusbandryare often surroundedby
ritual and ceremony;shepherds,hunters,and fishermenobservetradi-
tional customs. Gypsieswanderthroughmuch of the country,and in
Transylvania,Saxonand Hungarianinfluencesare manifestedin numer-
ous ways.In urbancenters especiallyBucharestandthe otheruniversity
towns one noticesthe disparitybetweenthe traditionaldressandhabits
amongolderfolk and a modernlife-style(notwithoutits owntraditions)
among the best educated and best informedyouth of contemporary
Romania.

The chief difficultiesfor the Westernscholarinterestedin Romanian

folkloremay be linguisticand bibliographicones: Romanianis neither
widelytaughtnor easilylearned,and publicationsin Romanianare rare
outside of specialcollectionsor within the countryitself. (Even within
Romaniait maybe difficultto locatepublications,includingrecentworks,
which tend to appearand disappearfrom bookshopsalmost overnight
beforegoingout of printindefinitely.)Thereis also the practicalproblem
of considerableexpenseinvolvedin gettingto Romania,livingthere, or
securingresearchmaterialsby mail.
Despite difficulties,something of an American-Romanian folklore
exchangehas been going on informallyfor a numberof years. In 1965
Dr. MihaiPop, directorof the Instituteof Ethnographyand Folklorein
Bucharest,did researchfor five months at the Center for Advanced
BehavioralStudiesat StanfordUniversity.He also lecturedinformallyat

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 THESTUDY0F RONAN FOLKLORE 135

Indiana University.During the first six months in 1969, Mrs. Ann

Brieglebof the Instituteof Ethnomusicology,Universityof Californiaat
Los Angeles,did research(supportedby a Fulbrightgrant)in the Bucha-
rest institute.In Bucharestin the summerof 1969the FirstInternational
Folk Festival("Romania'69")andthe FifthCongressof the International
Society for Folk Narrative Research (August 26-31) brought many
Americanfolkloriststo Romania,includingDaniel Crowley,RichardM.
Dorson,AlanDundes,WaylandD. Hand,WilliamHughJansen,Katha-
rine Luomala, Stith Thompson, and Francis Lee Utley. Ethnomusi-
cologist MarianaKahane of the Bucharestfolkloreinstitutestudiedat
IndianaUniversitywith an AAUWfellowship(aidedby an IREXtravel
grant) for nearly one year in 1969-70.Linguist and folklorist Sanda
Golopentia-Eretescucame to Indiana Universityfor nine months in
1969-70;her husbandConstantinEretescu,from the literarysection of
the institutein Bucharest,lecturedat IndianaUniversityfor six months
in 1971.In 1970-71the presentwriterwas a FulbrightResearchScholar
in Folklore(aidedby a GuggenheimFellowship)in Romania.

The number and success of these contacts between Americanand

Romanian folklorists encourage future cooperation. (Some earlier
exchangescholarsare alreadyplanningreturntrips, and discussionis
underwaybetween the institutes of Bloomington and Bucharestfor
larger cooperativeprojects. For three weeks in the summer of 1971
BarbaraKrader,firstvice-presidentof the Societyfor Ethnomusicology,
was in Romaniato discuss means of promotingcollaborationbetween
North Americanand Romanianfolklore scholars.)The purposeof this
articleis to facilitatefurtherexchangesby introducingthe readerto the
organizationof currentfolklorestudiesin Romaniaand to directhim to
a few representativepublished sources, especially in the Romanian
language,on majorgenresof folklore.
In Romania,as elsewherein Europe, folklore is distinguishedfrom
folklife, or ethnography(i.e., customaryand materialtraditions).I have
emphasizedthe formersubjectwhich was more the object of my own
investigations,but some worksare indicatedfor all branchesof research
in Romanianfolk traditions.I havenot triedto coverthe earlyhistoryof
Romanianfolklore studies,neitherhave I tried to be more than repre-
sentative.Whereverpossible I have let the citation of another good
surveystand in place of a detaileddescriptionof ny own concerning

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136 JAN H. BRUNVAND

specialaspectsof research.In all citationsRomaniantitlesaretranslated,

unlessconsistingof all cognatesto Englishwordsor alreadyparaphrased
in the text of the article.The presenceof summariesin otherlanguagesis
indicated.Whennot otherwisestated,books are publishedin Bucharest.
Informationon currentresearchinstitutesand individualscholarsin
Romaniawas generallyacquireddirectlyfrom these sources?for whichI
expressmy deep gratitude,without repeatingnames mentionedin the
appropriatesectionsbelow. For generalhelp of all kinds translation,
correspondence,schedulingand all-aroundfacilitatingof my work-I
am especiallyindebtedto Mrs. ConstantaSpirtaru,generalsecretaryfor
the Instituteof Ethnographyand Folklore.I also particularlythankthe
personnelin the technicaland documentarysectionsof the institutefor
many favors. ProfessorMihai Pop, directorof the institute,made me
welcomein Romania,was alwaysreadyto discussmy workwithme, and
helpedme in countlessways.

BACKGROUND OF ROMANIAN FOLKLORE STUDIES

The nineteenth-century beginningof Romanianfolkloreresearchrequires

a long special introductionof its own. The general bibliographyof
ethnographyand folklorefor the years 1800to 1891containsreferences
to 8,300 items gleaned from hundredsof books and some 1,700-odd
periodical sources.1Summariesof earlier studies of some individual
genres have been published(see the sections below), and very useful
chapterson the seminalresearchdone by nine transitionalfiguresappear
in r. c. Chitimia'sbook, RomanianFolkloristsand Folkloristics.2 The
scholars discussed (some part-timefolklorists) are Vasile Alecsandri
(1821-90),B. P. Hasdeu (1838-1907),T. T. Burada(1839-1923),S. Fl.
Marian(1847-1907),Gr. G. Tocilescu(1850-1909),A. Lambrior(1846-
83), M. Gaster (1856-1939),G. I. Pitis (1858-1920),and D. Stancescu
(1866-99).Illustrativeof the conceptof folklorearldthe scopeof materials
studiedin Romanianearthe turn of the centuryare resultsof a folklife
questionnaireconcerning206 topics whichwas circulatedby Hasdeuin

1 AdrianFochi, ed., Bibliografiageneralaa etnografei zi foleloruluiromdnesc,vol. 1

(1800-91)(EdituraPentruLiteratura,1968).
2 Ion C. Chitimia, Folelori,stizi foleloristica romdnesca(Editura Academiei RSR,
1968).

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIANFOLKLORE 137
1884-85.Ion Musleaand Ovidiu Blrleaindexedand evaluatedthe con-
tents of the nineteenvolumesof materialresultingfrom this survey,the
bulk of them comprisinga systematicclassificationof folkloreand folk-
life materials.3
The Romanian"AcademicSociety"foundedin 1866gave way to the
formationof the academyitselfin 1879(stillthe chiefscholarlyinstitution
in Romania apart from the universities)which has a distinguished
history of folklore research,especiallyconcerningliteraryaspects.4An
academysponsoredjournalStudiii cercetaride istorieliteraraXifolelor
(SCLF: Studiesand researchin literaryhistoryand folklore)contained
frequentarticleson folklorefrom the first numbersin 1952 until 1965,
whenthe title changeto Revistade istoriei teorieliterara(RITL:Review
of the history and theory of literature)reflectedits new emphasis.
Typicalof the occasionalfolklorestudiesstill appearinghere is Viorica
Niscov's essay on "Echoesin Romaniaof the FolkloreActivitiesof the
GrimmBrothers:Myth Theories."5

The consolidation,systematizing,and professionalizingof Romanian

folkloreresearchin the twentiethcenturywas in largepartinfluencedby
such individualpacesettersas Ovid Densusianuof the Universityof
Bucharest,6the prominentsociologist Dimitrie Gusti (many of whose
students direct and staff researchinstitutes of the present), and Ion
Muslea,who foundeda folklorearchivein Clujin 1930whichlater was
a branchof the Bucharestinstituteand is now a "sector"of the Academy
of Social Sciences.

The nationalInstituteof Folklorefoundedin 1949(nowthe Instituteof

Ethnographyand Folklore)has drawnto itselfeitherthe performanceor
the coordinationof majorprojectsof folkloreresearchin Romania.The
institute'sjournal Revistade folelor (RF) containedin its first volume
thoroughaccountsof its backgroundandgoalsby MihaiPop7 andSabina
3 Ion Muslea and Ovidiu Birlea, Tipologia fo lclorului din rdspunsurile la chestionarele
lui B. P. HaEdeu (EdituraMinerva,1970).
4 See Ovidiu Birlea, "Academia romana si cultura populara" [The Rotnanian
Academyand foLkculture], REF 11 (1966): 411-441. French summary.
5 Viorica Nicov, "Ecouriin Romania ale activitatiifolcloristicea fratilor Grimm:
teoria mitologica,"RITL 16 (1967): 289-303.
6 See Mihai Pop, "Cercetarileinterdisciplinarei studiile de poetica si stilistica m
teoria folcloristicaa lui O. Densusianu,"REF 11 (1966): 443-449.Frenchsummary.
7 Mihai Pop, "Problemelei perspectivelefolc'^risticiinoastre,"RF 1 (1956): 9-35.

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 138 JAN H. BRUNVAND

C. Stroescu.8These statementsmay be comparedwith Pop's evaluation

of "Accomplishmentsand Perspectivesin Romanian Folklore" in a
paper read at the twentiethanniversaryconferenceof the institutein
1969.9In 1964 the journal's title changed to Revista de etnografie
i
folelor (REF) to accommodatethe new organizationof researcheForts.l°

PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH

An up-to-datecapsulesummaryof Romanianfolklore researchis con-

tained in annual reportsof the RomanianNational ComTnitteeof the
InternationalFolk Music Council.1lA more generaloutline of all im-
portantfolk researchorganizationsin Romania,as well as the museum
and educationalactivities, is contained in Paul Henri Stahl's recent
article "CulturalAnthropologyin Romania.''12The whole range of
relevantwork that is presentlygoing on in Romaniamay be surveyed
underthese main headings:the BucharestFolklore Instituteitself and
smallerinstitutesin the provinces,two other institutesof the Academy
of the SocialistRepublicof Romaniawhoseinterestsoverlapwithfolklore,
the nationaland regionalethnographicmuseums,the universityfolklore
programs,and the organizationswhich popularizeand interpretfolk
materialsin the modernage.
The Institut de etnografie i folelor directedby Mihai Pop has four
research sections (ethrlographic,literary, ethnomusicological, and
choreographic) plus a technicalsection,severaldocumentaryworkers,a
librarian,an archivist,and a crew of secretaries,clerks,drivers,porters,
and other functionaries.The main buildinghousing this team (at Str.
Nikos Beloiannis25) contains offices, the libraryand archive, sound
recordingstudio, electronic repair workshop,photo laboratory and
storagespace. The offices of the ethnographicsection are in another
8 Sabina C. Stroescu,"Din activitateaInstitutuluide folclor,"RF I (1956): 296-304.
9 Mihai Pop, "Realizarisi perspectiveln folcloristicaromaneasca,"REF 15 (1970):
3-10.French summary.
10 Americanreadersmay be interestedto know that authorsof articleswho are from
outsidethe institute are paid for them; even institute members, when they write on
subjectsseparatefrom their currentapprovedprogramsof research,receivepayment.
ll See, for 1969,the reportin the I1EMCBulletin,no. 37 (October, 1970): 6-8.
12 Paul Henry Stahl, "CulturalAnthropologyin
Romania,"East EuropeanQuarterly
(specialissue: "Anthropologyin East-Centraland South-EastEurope")4: 3 (Septem-
ber,1970):319-327.See also, JamesPatterson,"AnthropologicalResearchin Romania,
1970-71," AmericanAnthropologicalAssociationNewsletter12 (March 1971): 20-21.

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIAN FOLKLORE 139

building a few blocks away. From this headquarters,hummingwith

activitysix days a week from 7 :30to 3 :30, all the presentmajorresearch
in Romanianfolklore either originatesor is given strong support.The
journal Revistade etnografie i foleloris edited, published,and mailed
here;internationalcorrespondence andvisitorsarereceived;budgetsand
plans are discussed;lecturesand seminarsheld; informantsinterviewed;
fieldtripsandothertoursinitiated;andcollectedmaterialsaretranscribed,
archived,and studied.
The resourcesof the instituteare considerable.The librarycontains
some 40,000 volumes,includingmany foreign books and journals.An
inventoryin 1969of archivalholdingsrevealedsome 7,000 reelsof tape,
morethan 40,000individualphotographs,about 20,000itemsof musical
folklore transcribed,and nearly 4,000 documentedexamples of folk
dance.
To illustratethe professionalapproachof the institute'swork, I can
describea typicalcollectingsessionwhichI observed.Amongsome folk-
singersfrom a village in southernTransylvaniabroughtto the capital
for a televisionprogram,was a woman of 75 years, a good storyteller.
She was recordedin the sound studio before she returnedhome. First
MarianaKahane,who had discoveredherin the fieldand sponsoredher
visit, interviewedher privatelyabout the generalbackgroundof her life
and ascertainedwhichstoriesshe wouldtell. Whenshewas broughtin for
the recordingsession,the equipmenthad been set up, a technicianhad
adjustedthe soundbalanceand was in place at his controls,and a small
audiencewas gathered,includingthe informant'sdaughterand some
staff membersshe had met. The woman was completelyat ease and
spoke to Mrs. Kahane across a table, ignoringboth the studio micro-
phone and my own portablerecordingmachine.The techniciansignalled
his readinessthroughthe glass of his soundproofbooth, Mrs. Kahane
introducedeach item on the tape, and a colleagueunobtrusivelykept
track of the timing with a stopwatch. Following each recordeditem
Mrs. Kahane asked questionsabout it to fill out her field data forms.
(Theseforms are standardizedfor all stagesof collecting,archiving,and
transcribingand they are carefullykept from beginningto end of any
field researchproject.) When the informantwanted to conclude her
performancewith a song, a pitch-pipetone was also recordedas well as a
"test"recording.As it happened,the second performancehad an extra
verseand a slightlyvaryingmelody,indicatingthat studioconditionshad

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140 JAN H. BRUNVAND

not inhibitedthe freeflow of creativity.

All staff membersof the institute are strictly researchor technical
personnel;only the directoris also a universityprofessor.The research
staff, presentlytotalling about thirty-fivemembers,comes well trained
either from universityor conservatoryprograms.They are advanced
throughthegrades"documentarian," "researcher,
""principalresearcher,"
dependingupon their training,abilities,publications,and the available
positions. Researcherscontinue a steady programof enrichmentafter
theyjoin theinstitute,boththroughtheirdailyinterchangewithcolleagues
and in weekly seminarsand other special lectures.During my year of
residence,subjectsof such programsincludedthe structureof charms,
currentresearchin Bulgaria,an applicationof a Proppianfunctionto
balladanalysis,a problemin studyingthe dual cosmogonyin myths of
creation,and reportson Americanfolklore study, Americanfolksong,
and Americanfolk architecture.
The presentlarge-scaleprojectof the instituteas a whole is to begin
publicationby 1975of a "NationalCollectionof Folklore"basedupon
the most authenticand characteristicmaterialsin the archives.To this
end, each sectionhas for the past severalyearsconcentratedon matters
of general organization,indexing, and analysis of materialscoming
undertheirsphereof interest.Bearingthis in mind,as well as the day-to-
day vagariesof travel,retirements,new assignments,and administrative
changes,the workingstatus of each section as of spring 1971 may be
summarizedas follows:
The literary section is headed by Al. Amzulescu,author of many
works on ballads and folksongs as well as the major collection and
classificationof Romanianballads (see below). His staS includes one
principalresearcher(CorneliuBarbulescu)and a dozen otherfolklorists
and documentarians,mostlyeitherfolksongor folk narrativespecialists.
All of the majorindexesthat have beenin progressin this sectionfor at
least a decadeare now readyfor publicationor nearlycompleted,which
include an index of lyrical motifs (finished 1969), a classificationof
colinde(1970)and type indexesfor animaltales, formulatales, legends,
Marchen?andjokes (published1970).
The directorof the ethnomusicologicalsection is TiberiusAlexandru
whose majorwork has been in Romanianfolk instruments(see below)
and who has also studiedfor some time in Egyptand has issuedarticles
and phonographrecordson Egyptianfolk music.His staff,some thirteen

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIANFOLKLORE 141

members,like the literarysection, has six holdingthe rank of principal

researcher.Thereis a good deal of activefieldworkgoing on in this area
with most researchbeing devotedto specialaspectsof regionalmusical
styles or to the refinementof definitionsand classificationsof the basic
song types.Amongongoingprojectsis the preparationof a new encyclo-
pedia of the Romanianfolk instruments.
The choreographicsection,headedby AndreiBucsan,has threeother
researchersandone documentarian assignedto it. Fromthe richcollected
materialalreadyprocessed,seven majorworkson folk dancehave been
publishedand numerousarticleshave appearedin the institute'sjournal.
The outline for a generaltypology of Romanianfolk dance has been
worked out, and the section is presentlyexploringthe possibilitiesof
usingmovingpicturecamerasto recorddances.
Directorof the ethnographicsectionis RomulusVulcanescuwho has
published,amongmany othervariedworks,a large study of Romanian
masks.13His staffincludestwenty-twomembers,and theirentirepresent
eSorts are devotedto the compilationof data and the organizationof
materialsfor an eventualethnographicatlas of Romania.14
Othersmallinstitutesdevotedto folklorestudy are scatteredthrough
majorcities of Romania.The one in Iasi, for instance,combinesfolklore
with other subsectionsfor linguistic and literarystudy and has only
four researchersin folk material proper. Similar groups exist in
Timisoara, Craiova, and Sibiu, but a larger and more important
institute(secondonlyto Bucharest)is in Cluj.Originallyfoundedin 1930,
the Cluj"sector"(as it is now termed)was basedon the foundationof Ion
Muslea's private collection of some 60,000 pieces, mainly of literary
folklore,whichwasgatheredpartlythroughcorrespondence withteachers,
priests, and other village intellectuals.From 1933 to 1945 this group
publisheda yearbookof regionalfolklorestudies;l5in 1949it wasjoined
to the Bucharestinstituteas a branch,but it is now independent.The
Cluj sectorstudiesthe lore of the threemajorethnicgroupsof Transyl-
vania, Romanians,Germans (or "Saxons")and Hungarians.Besides
technicians,documentaryworkers, and a librarian,there are sixteen

13 RomulusVulcanescu,MaEtilepopulare(EdituraAcademiei,1969).
14 "Atlasuletnografical Romaniei,"a specialissue of REF(14, 1969)devotedto various
aspectsof work on the atlas. Seven articleswith Frenchsummaries.
15 AnuarulArchiveide Folelor.

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142 JAN H. BRUNVAND

researchersorganizedin four sectionscorrespondingexactlyto those in

Bucharest.The presentdirector,Ion Talos, completedhis doctoralwork
at the Universityof Bucharestin the fall of 1970andhaspublishedstudies
and read papers abroad, includingin WesternEurope. I visited their
center (at Str. Rakoczy 60) completelywithout warningin September
1970 and receiveda friendlywelcome; in Novemberwhen I returned
more officiallyI was providedwith a translator,a tour of the facilitiesS
and answersto all my questionsabout their work. In May 1971 I re-
turnedto Clujto lectureand to makea fieldexcursionwith two of their
researchers.
Accompaniedby EmilPetrutiu,a dancespecialist,and LuciaIstoc, an
ethnomusicologist,I touredValea Gurghiului,an area now underclose
studyby the Clujfolklorists.Locatedin Murescountysome sixty miles
directlyeast of Cluj,the "valleyof Gurghiu"extendsabout thirtymiles
into centralTransylvania,from the provincialtown of Reghinup to the
logging and huntingcenterof Lapusna.The one pavedroad traversing
the valleyhas ten villagesstrungalong it and is intersectedby numerous
forestry tracks and crossed occasionallyby a narrow-gaugelogging
railway.The valleywas heavilydamagedby the floods of 1970,but has
now largelyrecovered;the inhabitantseitherfarm,grazecattleandsheep,
or (mostcommonly)workas loggersto helpsupplythe millsandfactories
of Reghinwith their raw materials.Here, side by side with a thriving
economy and bustlingindustry,exist rich traditionsof seasonal rites,
music, dance, storytelling,and instrumentmaking.At least half of the
people we saw (including schoolchildren)wore complete or partial
costume of the region. Flute makersdemonstratedtechniquesof their
craft(fivetypesaremade,mostlyin the villageof Hodac)andwe recorded
their traditionaltunes. A group of women sang in unison laments of
death and leave-taking.Childrensang and counted out (matchingmy
own kidsrhymefor rhyme).A gypsyviolinistsat on a floweryhillsideand
playeddancetunes and doina.The folkloristsguidingus describedtheir
eventualpublicationproject(threevolumes of texts and analysis)and
recalledthe many local customsof the folk calendar.Back in the small
ethnographicmuseumof Reghinwe saw interpretivedisplaysof photos,
mapsand artifactsthat werejust beingarrangedfor display,and looked
into the rich storesof other materialson deposit.We were also able to
see two excellentmoviesdocumentingwinterfestivitiescenteringon the
turca(a masked';goat"dancer)and springritesof plowing.

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIANFOLKLORE 143

Two specializedresearchinstitutesat the nationalAcademyin Bucha-

rest have sections that are concernedwith folklore. Within a compre-
hensive programthat embracesart from the Middle Ages to modern
cinema,the Instituteof Art History(CaleaVictoria 196) has a section,
headed by ProfessorPaul Petrescu,devoted to folk art, taken here to
include architecture,furniture,ceramics,costumes and other fabrics,
and decorativeforms.The missionof the sectionis strictlyto engagein
documentaryresearch- largelythroughfieldwork but not to collect
any objects,onlyto locate,map,photograph,anddrawthem.Thetraining
of researchersin this instituteis generallyin literattlsre,
history,and art
ratherthan folkloreor ethnography,and theirworkis organizedaround
large-scaleprojectsintendedto constitute,eventually,a completehistori-
cal descriptionof Romanianfolk art. Presentlythe sectionis initiatinga
five-yearplan devotedto thoroughcoverageof the regionof Olteniathat
has been dividedinto five subsections(one per year) and that will be
studiedby teams of specialists.When I visited this instituteto describe
Americanfolk art and architecturestudies,I inspectedtheirlargearchive,
and I met a well-informedand questioningaudience. One particular
interestthereat the momentis in the artisticand commercial-decorative
applicationsof folk art motifs borrowedfrom tradition.
Anotherbranchof the Romanianacademy,the Instituteof Southeast
EuropeanStudies,has a sectionof "Linguistics,Literature,andFolklore"
surroundedby other sectionsdevotedto such subjectsas history,arche-
ology, economics,and art.l6As its title suggests,all researchdone in this
institute is comparativein nature and concentrateson southeastern
Europe,especiallythe Balkancountries.In generalthe studiesare text-
and library-oriented,though field materialsfrom other institutes are
often employed.Thereis activeliaisonwith othersoutheasternEuropean
countries,as well as with scholarsof the West, includingthe United
States.(At the time I visitedthe institutein April,1971, one memberwas
lecturingin the UnitedStatesandanotherwasplanninga tourto Canada.)
Mostlyliteraryfolkloreis studied,but musicand dance,legaltraditions,
and folk aspects of family organizationhave also been investigated
recently.Directorof the instituteis ProfessorMihaiBerzaandthe section
includingfolklore is headed by Professor H. Mihaescu, a Hellenist
scholar;the chief folkloristis AdrianFochi whose massivework on the
16 This institute was somewhat reorganizedsince Stahl's published description(see
footnote 12). Stahl himselfwas in Paris duringmy own stay in Romania.

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144 JAN H. BRUNVAND

Miorita ballad is mentionedbelow. The institutepublishesRevue des

etudes sud-est Europeennes(volume9 in 1971)in whichfolklorearticles
frequentlyappear.Also, the UNESCO sponsored"AssociationInterna-
tionale d'etudesdu sud-estEuropeen"has its headquartersin the same
buildingin Bucharestas the institute(Str. I. C. Frimu9) and publishes
its Bulletin there.
The best known ethnographicmuseumin Romaniais the "Village
Museum"(Muzeul satului) in Bucharest,which is comparableto the
greatopen-airmuseumsof Scandinavia.Plannedin the middle1930sand
finallyestablishedin a lakesideparkof some20 acresin 1948,the Village
Museum contains about sixty-fivecomplete units representinghome-
steads, farms, millsSchurchesand other folk establishmentsof rural
Romania.Each buildingis authenticallyfurnishedand decorated,fitted
with a descriptiveplaque and floor plan, and usuallycan be explained
by a friendlyguide. Although maintenancework on the collection is
continuous,and some expansionis going on, the VillageMuseumis now
essentiallya static display, though indeed a rich and valuableone. A
visit there(whichtakesthe best part of a dayjust for an overview)is the
best possibleintroductionto Romanianfolklife.
In contrastto the VillageMuseum,the Folk Art Museuinof Romania
(Muzeul de Arta Populclraal Republicii Socialiste Romania) is principally
a researchorganizationwith only very limited displayspace. (A much
largerbuildingthan the presentone at CaleaVictoria104was originally
intendedfor it but this was turnedinsteadinto a Museumof the Com-
munist Party and RevolutionaryMovements.)Although the present
researchstaff of the museumis relativelysmall (only nine full profess-
ionals)theirworkis vigorousand the storedcollectionis enormous.The
generaldirector TancredBanateanu,is a publishedscholarof note17as
are most of his staS members.
Visitingthe storeroomsand warehousesof the museumfor several
days,I was only able to scanthe contentsof literallyhundredsof shelves,
cabinets,and cases.Some40,000itemsof ceramicsarethicklystackedon
numberedshelves, arrangedchronologicallywithin regional sections.
About 12S000items of costumeand other textilecreationsfill most of a
largesecondarybuildingof the museum,and in one day I saw examples
from the collectionof more than 800 icons and 1,000decoratedEaster
17 See, for example, Tancred Banateanu, Arta populara din nordul Transilvaniei
(Casa CreatieiPopularea JudetuluiMaramure,s,1969).

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIAN FOLKLORE 145

eggs. Therewas no time to look in detail at the furniture,tools, wood

carving,masks,dolls, and dozens of otherformssimilarlyarrangedand
protected.
This collectingprogramof this museumis rigorous(to say the least)as
I discoveredby joining a field team for a mid-winterweek of sloughing
throughmountainvillagesin searchof costumes.The documentationof
collectaneais thorough(the basicindex cardincludesthirty-threebits of
information,plus spacefor a photographor drawing).Butunfortunately,
sincethe displayspaceis limited,only a tiny fractionof any one section
may be shown to the public at a time. Some visitorssigningthe guest
book expressdisappointmentat the meagernessof Romanianfolk art,
althoughillustratedbooks and brochuresavailablein the same lobby
attestto the hiddentreasureslying in storage.
The nationalfolk art museumis nominallyresponsiblefor the creation
and directionof regionalmuseumsaroundthe country,but this task has
becomemuch too large for the staff to handle. A travelerin Romania
soon discoversthat everycity of any size has eithera folk museumor an
ethnographicsectionin anothermuseum.Majorcollectionsof regional
folk artifactsseemto be gatheredevenin obscuretowns.Thesearefar too
numerousto describein detail,andI can onlycall attentionto someof the
biggestand best, such as the ethnographicmuseumof Cluj,the folk art
sectionof the Brukentahlmuseumin Sibiu(both with open-airsections),
the ethnographicmuseumof Iasi (housedwith severalother collections
in the imposing"palaceof culture")and specialcollectionsin Timi,soara,
Baia Mare, Alba Iulia, Bra,sov,Craiova,Suceava,Sighetul-Marmatiei,
and a host of other places. A completeethnographicmuseumtour of
Romaniawould take a yearin itself. I mentionfinallyhere only my visit
to the storagerooms of the Cluj museumwhich took about two hours
movingsteadilyfromshelfto shelfand cabinetto cabinetonly pausingto
inspectcloselyabout one item in a hundred.
The scope of Romanianuniversityprogramsin folklore depends(as
anywherein the world)on the resourcesand resourcefulness of faculties
and administrators.Generallyspeaking,the directorsof institutes,and
sometimeschiefs of sections,are universityprofessorswho in largepart
trainand recruittheirfuturestaffs.In Bucharest,ProfessorMihaiPop is,
of course, the leadingfigure,but his teachingand researchare closely
coordinatedwith interestedcolleagueswhose officialuniversityassign-
mentsmay be in linguistics,art history,literature,or otherfields.There

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146 JAN H. BRUNVAND

are otherprofessorsof folkloreat provincialuniversitiessuchas Craiova,

Pitesti,andTimisoara;the latter(Prof.GabrielManolescu)has succeeded
since 1967 in publishinga yearbook titled Folelor Literar containing
mostly monographson folklore by his own colleaguesand others (see
referencesbelow).
By way of example,I will describethe group I encounteredat the
Universityof Iasi.Herefolkloreis theconcernof lectorVasileAdascalitei
of the Romanianliteraturefacultywho has a particularinterestin the
ritualfolk dramaof Moldavia.Interpretingthe requiredfolkloreportion
of the curriculumratherbroadly,Mr. Adascaliteihas built up a solid
seriesof folklorecourses,and he involveshis best studentsin fieldwork
and analysisof regionalmaterials.WhenI lecturedto somethirty-fiveof
his studentson currenttrendsin AmericanfolkloreresearchI foundthem
to be well groundedin folkloretheory and anxiousto ask penetrating
questionsabout my own ideas.18

Since this article is primarilyabout folklore research, only passing

mention will be made of two organizationsdevoted to popularizing
efforts,and only insofar as they are relatedto the study of Romanian
folklore.On a nationalscale,the relevantgroupsare the central"house
of folk creation"and the nationaldirectoratefor makingand marketing
folk crafts(UCECOM).
The Casa Centrala Creatiei Populare has a table of organization,staff,
budget,andinRuencenearlyas greatas thatof somecabinetlevelbureaus
of the Romaniangovernment.Promotingand publicizingfolk activities
for touristsand the generalpublic approachesbig businessdimensions.
In brief, the role of this organizationis to organizeamateuractivities
(local contests, concerts,festivals, etc.), to find ways to make use of
folklore,to teach folk materials(mostlyto instructorsfor the regions),
and to organizefolk art exhibitsfor Romaniaand abroad.The areasof
folkloremost emphasizedare music,dance,folk theater,and traditional
plastic arts. The centralplanningfiltersdown to the local level in the
regional"housesof creation"or "housesof culture"via trained"method-
ists" who are liberallysuppliedwith printedmaterialsarldideas. These

18 The scholar who is especiallyinterestedin folk music should be aware that some
importantteachingand researchprogramsare conductedat various conservatoriesin
Romania. However, I did not have the opportunityto look into these institutions.

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIANFOLKLORE 147

materialsrange from simple song books19or exhibition catalogs to

fieldwork guides,20a study of peasant weddings,21and a complete
simplifiedmethodfor folk dancenotation.22Althoughthe Casa Creatiei
does littledirectfieldcollestingof its own, its staffworkersarefrequently
in touch with the naturaltraditionsthey seek to promote, and their
publicationsare often based on the specializedstudies of the research
institutes.
UCECOMis an acronymfor UniuneaCentralaa CooperatieiMete-
EugareEti(The centralunion of handicraftcooperatives),a large and
diversifiedmanufacturing and marketingoperationwhichhas a "folkart
and artistichandicraft"sectionas only one of its manyconcerns.Organ-
ized in 1951to providecentraldirectionfor regionalcraftcooperatives,
UCECOMtoday involvessome 200,000workersand administratorsat
all levels, rangingfrom home craftsmenin one-manshops throughtop
level executiveswho exhibitprototypeproductsto internationalclients
and negotiate the export agreements(through a subbureaudubbed
ICECOOP).Of the roughly400largehandicraftcooperativesin existence,
aboutfortyare now devotedentirelyto folk art production,whilespecial
sectionsof many other shops also producefolk objects.The items pro-
duced fall into three categories:direct reproductionsof original folk
artifacts,adaptationsfrom folk tradition,and moderncreationsof folk
inspiration,some typicalitems are embroideredfolk costumes,dolls in
regionaldress, ceramics,carpets,blankets,tapestries,objectsof wood,
baskets,and leatherwork.
Designsproposedfor productionby UCECOMmay be selectedfrom
museums,ethnographicpublications,or even directlyfrom peasants'
homes. New designs are suggestedby the regional cooperativesand
judged by "artisticcouncils"of advisorsat both the regionaland state
level. Scholarlyand artisticopinionsare representedon these councils,
but (as one executivetold me) UCECOMmust"answerto the market...
we producewhat our clients will buy." When new designs have been
approved,the "creationdepartment"plans the materials,colors, sizes,
18 Suchas L. Paceag,O cununa-ifara-Ntreagaw (1969),a paperbackbook of nearly300
texts and tunes, sourcesnot given.
20 See footnote 32, and Paul Petrescuand Elena Secoan, Arta Populara:tndreptar
metodic(1966).
21 Ioan Meitoiu, SpectacoluiNuntilor(1969).
22 TheodorVasilescuand SeverTita, FolelorcoreograficRomdnesc(1969). The basic
manualis also publishedin Frenchand Englishpaperbackeditions.

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 148 JAN H. BRUNVAND

styles, etc., and the actual productionoften takes place in individual

villagehomesor shopswith UCECOMonly furnishingmaterials,collec-
ting finished products, and paying salaries. Some rather large-scale
enterprisesare thus organized,such as the weaving and embroidery
complexof Breaza(in the PrahovaValley)wheresome 3,000people are
involved, many in their own homes making things which are closely
related to the old traditionalartifactsof that region. On the whole,
most Romanianfolk scholarsseemto agreethat UCECOMmaintainsa
reasonabledegree of traditional authenticity,consistent with sound
business practices.(The Americanmarketfor Romaniancrafts, inci-
dentally,has barelybeenopenedin the past few years;the majorexports
now go to WesternEuropeand the Soviet Union. UCECOMproducts
are availablein shops scatteredthroughoutRomania,and many non-
membercraftsmenmakingthingsfor local consumptionwill sell tourists
products that have not been standardizedby any business-oriented
nationalbureau.)
I turnnow to the bibliographyof Romanianfolklorestudy,reminding
thereaderagainof the necessityfor me to be highlyselectiveand concise.

GENERAL SURVEYS OF FOLK MATERIALSAND RESEARCH

Thereis no completesurveyof Romanianfolk materials,even in the

Romanianlanguage,althoughthe standardIstorialiteraturiiromaneis
an excellentintroductionat least to folk literature,with chaptersand
bibliographieson all major genres preparedby various specialists.23
GheorgheVrabie's book Folelorul24is more comprehensive,but its
Englishsummaryis very sketchy.More accessibleto Westernscholars
isFelix Karlinger'schapteron Romaniain Einfuhrung indieRomanische
Volksliteratur,
but this is limited to folk prose.25Octavian Buhociu's
survey"Folkloreand Ethnographyin Romania"is excellentfor earlier
studies,especiallythose dealing with legend and myth, and contains
23 IstorialiteraturEi
romane,2nd ed. rev., vol. 1 (EdituraPentruLiteratura,1970),pp.
11-226,"Folclorul,"with sections on customs, drama, narratives,poetry, children's
lore,riddles,proverbs,and folklore in literature.
24 GheorgheVrabie,Folelorul(AcademieiRSR,
1970).
25 Felix Karlinger, Einfuhrung in die RomanischeVolksliteraturvol. 1 (Munchen,
1969),"Die romanischeVoLksprosa." Romanianfolk proseis discussedon pages25-55,
withbibliographyon pages 313-315.

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 THESTUDYOP ROMANIAN
FOLKLORE 149
much valuablebibliography,but it is not suflicientfor informationon
recentresearchin Romania,havingbeen compiledoutsidethe country
aftera long absence.26
One appreciatesthe hugenessof the whole subjectfrom Mihai Pop's
descriptionof the plan for publishingthe "Corpusof RomanianFolk-
lore;"27 theseprojectedtwenty-onevolumeswill be basedon some70,000
basicfolk itemsin the nationalcollectionsand archives.Otherkeysto the
scope of studies are two generalvolumes containingindividualmono-
graphs:Ion Apostol Popescu'sStudiesin FolkloreandFolk Art,28and a
set of thirteenchaptersby variousscholarstitled Studiesin Folkloreand
Literature.29 To get beyond these few items, we must turn directlyto
works of theoreticaland practical scholarshipconcerningindividual
subjectsin folklore.

GENERAL WORKS ON THEORY AND METHODS

The need for contemporarystudiesin folklore to divergefrom the old

exclusivealignmentwith ruraltraditionswas emphasizedby Mihai Pop
in an articleof 1958titled "New Orientationsin FolkloreStudies."30 He
urgedthat collectingbe continuedas vigorouslyas ever, but that better
data for analyticalstudiesbe recorded,and that the lore of cities, fac-
tories, and "presentsocial transformations"
be included.Folklore,Pop
assertedhere, should be viewedas "an artisticreflectionof life." As he
demonstratedin another article based on a field project,even village
folkloreis rapidlytransformedby moderninfluences,and it needsto be
observedand reevaluatedobjectively.3lThese generalprinciples,plus a
methodologyfor fieldworkand documentation,are incorporatedinto

26 Octavian Buhociu, "Foklore and Ethnographyin Romania," CurrentAnthro-

pology7: 3 (June, 1966): 295-314.
27 Mihai Pop, "Corpus-ulfololorului romanesc," REF 14 (1969): 169-177.French
summary.
28 Ion Apostol Popescu, StudiidefolelorEiartapopulara(Editura Minerva, 1970).
28 Studiidefolelorzi literatura (EdituraPentru Literatura,1967).
90 MihaiPop, "Noi orientariin studiilede folclor,"RF3 (1958):7-28.
31 "Citeva observatii privind cercetarea folclorului contemporan,"RF 4 (1959)
57-66; Russian and English summaries. See also A1. Amzulescu, "Perspectivele
folcloriceale satuluicolectivizat"CFolkloricperspectivesof the villagecollectives],RF
7 (1962): 7-18. English summary.

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150 JAN H. BRUNVAND

Pop'sGuidefor Collectorsof Folklorewhichis distributedby the "Central

House of Folk Creation."32
The broad goals and the inevitableshortcomingsof a purelyphilo-
logical methodof researchwere outlinedby Ovidiu B1rleain 1957;33a
kindof counterstatement on the "Necessityof the PhilologicalMethodin
FolkloreResearch"was publishedby academymemberI. C. Chitimiain
1968.34 Thesetwo articlesrepresentthe opposingpulls of a literaryversus
an anthropologicaltraditionof researchwhichexistsin Romanianfolk-
lore scholarshipjust as in American.Blrlea'streatiseMethodsof Research
in Folkloresucceedsadmirablyin presentingboth viewpointsalong with
specificdirectionsfor collecting and interpretingverbal folklore, folk
music,and folk dance.35
The problemof adequatelydefiningfolkloreitself, always a crux of
practicalscholarship,is raised (whetherdirectlyor by implication)in
many Romanianstudies.Essentially,the matteris resolvedmuch as in
Americanfolklore: by a working agreementon the oral-traditional-
variablenatureof folklore; meanwhile,the limits and meaningsof the
terms used in definitions are exposed to continuous scrutiny. Two
sophisticatedrecentdiscussionsof the definingqualitiesof folklore(both
with summariesin English) are Radu Niculescu's "Remarkson the
AnonymousCharacterof Folk Creation"36 and MarinBuga'sarticleon
the criteriafor distinguishingfolk genres in tradition.37Both writers
express the conviction, widespread in modern Romanian folklore
studies, that the function and context of folk performancesare more
importantfor definingand differentiating folk and non-folkgenresthan
are any abstractconceptuallimits. This same preoccupationwith the
process of tradition is evident in Constantin Eretescu'spreliminary

32 Mihai Pop, Indreptarpentruculegereafolelorului(Casacentralaa creatieipopulare,

1967), paperbackS112 pp.
33 OvidiuBlrlea,"Citevaconsideratiuniasuprametodeifilologicein fololoristica,"RF
2 (1957): 7-28.
34 Ion C. Chitimia, "Necesitatea metodei filologice m studiile de folcloristica,"
FolelorLiterar2 (Timioara, 1968): 73-78.
35 Ovidiu Birlea,Metodade cercetarea folelorullli(EdituraPentruLiteratura,1969).
Frenchsummary.See also OvidiuBirleaand DumitruCaracosta,Problemeletipologiei
Folelorice(EdituraMinerva,1971).
36 Radu Niculescu, "Consideratiipe margineaanonimatuluicreatieipopulare,"REF
10 (1965): 119-150.
37 Marin Buga, "Structuracompozitionala criteriu de diferentierea genurilor
populare,":FolelorLiterar2 (Timioara, 1968): 137-168.

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 THE STUDY OF RONIANIANFOLKLORE 151

publicationon the notion of metamorphosisin folklore.38A related

theoreticalapproachis made via semioticsin Mihai Pop's article"The
Folkloric Act as a Mode of Communication"39 and in other recent
publicationsand conferences.
Althoughmany(if not most) monographsby Romanianfolkloristson
individualgenresor collectionsof folklorepursuetheoreticalmattersin
large part, a few are so generallyimportantthat they deserveseparate
mention.The questionof the relationof folkloreto history,for instance,
has beenraisedin connectionwithseveralgenres,as wellas in suchgeneral
articles as Pop's "The Historic Characterof Folk Epic Prose,"40and
B1rlea'sessay on "Folkloreand History.''4lAn interestingdiscussion
which sweeps across many genres and suggestsa viewpointfor other
topics is SabinaC. Stroescu'son "TheSocialFunctionof Satirein Folk
Literature."42 A studythat beginswith an individualinstancebut offers
generalizationsapplicable for many others is Gottfried Habenicht's
concerning"a phenomenonrarely encounteredin folklore the re-
elaborationof a virtuallyextinct folklore item." In this instance, an
informantwho was given fragmentsof an archaicba]ladspontaneously
recreatedit for the researcher.43

NON-NARRATIVE VERBAL FOLKLORE

The so-called "minor ge1lres"of verbal folklore, sometimes termed

"folksay"in the United States,have been collectedin quantitybut not
deeplystudiedin Romania.Sectionson riddles,proverbs,and sayingsin
the Istoria literaturEiromane sketchout the historyof researchandcitethe
basic bibliography.Beyondthis, I. C. Chitimia'sessay on principlesof
proverbresearchis well informed,44and a recentgeneraldiscussionby
38 ConstantinEretescu,"Notiuneade metamorfozain folclor: preliminarii,"REF15
(1970): 121-132.French summary.
39 Mihai Pop, "Le fait foRlorique, acte de communication,"ActaEthnographica 19
(1970): 319-323.
40 Mihai Pop, "Caracterulistoric al epicii populare,"REF9 (1964): 5-15.
41 Ovidiu Birlea, "Folclorai istorie,"REF11 (1966): 13-25. Frenchsummary.
42 Sabina C. Stroescu,"Functiasociala a satireiin literaturapopulara,"RF4 (1959):
243-252. Russianand English summaries.
43 Gottfried Habenicht, "Fenomenul reelaborariiunui text folcloric epic," RF 8
(1963): 74-93.
44 Ion C. Chitimia,"Paremiologie,"SCLF9 (1960): 461-484.

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152 JAN H. BRUNVAND

PavelRuxandoiuof;'The Proverbas a FolkloreGenref'oSers a system-

atic survey of proverbialforms currentin Romaniantradition.45The
only article on Romatlianriddles with a sophisticatedcontemporary
approachis Monica Bratulescu'sdiscussionof structuraland stylistic
elements.46
It seemslikelythat studiesof non-narrativeverbalgenreswill increase
and improveas modernRomanianresearchon semantics,semiotics,and
poeticsbeginsto overflowfrom folk narrative,folk ritual, and folksong
studies.MihaiPop is the leadingfigurein this areaas in so manyothers.
Two of his articlesof 1970 contain his latest work in textual analysis,
one concerning "Models of the Semantic Structureof Ceremonial
Texts"47and the secondon poeticsof the folktale.48MonicaBratulescu,
who has done major work in the folklore instituteon the indexes of
lyricaland narrativemotifsin folksongs,has publishedtwo recentstudies
of the poeticsof folksong,one on the "densityof metaphors"in a set of
some forty thousandverses from one regionS49 and the second on the
poetics of carols (colinde).50
Importantto mentionhere is Sanda Golo-
pentia-Eretescu,a formerstudentof Pop's,who employstransformational
linguisticsto analyzepoetics in Romanianepic songs.5lSuch works as
these would appearto point to the directionthat the studyof "folksay"
may go in Romania once it overcomesthe presentinertia caused by
majoremphasison longernarrativeand lyricaltexts.

FOLK NARRATIVES

There is an excellent survey in German of the accomplishmentsof

Romanianfolk narrativeresearchup to about 1955.52Withregardto the
45 Pavel Ruxandoiu,"Proverbeleca gen folcloric,"FolelorLiterar1 (1967): 183-198.
46 Monica Bratulescu,"Ghicitoarea,elementede structurastilistica,"REF lo (1965):
441-452. Englishsummary.
47 Mihai Pop, "Modeles de la StructureSemantiquedes Textes de Ceremonies,"
Actes du Xe CongresInternationaldes Linguistes(Bucharest,1970).
48 Mihai Pop, "La poetiquedu conte populaire,"Semiotica2 (1970): 117-127.
49 Monica Bratulescu, "Contributiila cercetareametaforei in folclorul din Mara-
mure," RE8 (1963): 94-116.
60 "Contributiila cercetareapoeticii colindelor," REF 12 (1967): 461-475. French
summary.
61 Sanda Golopentia-Eretescu,"Analiza semantica a poeziei folclorice," REF 11
(1966): 109-121.French summary.
62 Ovidiu Birlea, "Die Erforschungder Volkerzahlungin Romanien," Deutsches
Jahrbuchfur Volkskunde9 (1963): 335-352.

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANLKNFOLKLORE 153
vigorous,if often romantic,work of nineteenthcenturyscholars,I will
mentiononly an articleconcerning"The First Collectorsof Romanian
Folktales"53and a recent study evaluatingthe folkloriccontent of Ion
Creanga'shighly popularfairy tales.54The presentstatus of studiesis
outlinedin two articlesin Frenchby CorneliuBarbulescu55 and in five
essaysin Frenchor Germanin a very usefulcompilationof statements
by leadingRomanianfolktalescholarsissuedin 1969in connectionwith
the Bucharestmeetingof the InternationalSociety for Folk Narrative
Research.56
Variousearlierschemesfor catalogingRomanianfolk narrativeswere
supercededin 1928by the publicationof A. Schullerus'scatalogin Folk-
lore FellowsCommunications.57 Thisis still the basisof manyof Thomp-
son's Romanianentries, an unfortunatesituationconsideringhow in-
completeandinconsistentthe catalogprovesto be whencomparedto the
vast bulkof talescollectedandpartlypublishedsinceit appeared.In 1951
efforts were begun in the Institute of Ethnographyand Folklore to
preparea comprehensivetale catalog based on some 30,000 available
itemsfromprintand archives.Eachof the threemajorparticipantsin the
projecthas publishedstatementsdescribinghis procedures:Barbulescu
for folktalesproper;58Tony Brill for animaltales, formulatalesS59 and
folk legends;60and SabinaStroescufor jokes and anecdotes.6lOnly this
last sectionof the cataloghas been published;it fills two bulkyvolumes
printedin Frenchand outlinessome 3,000 types availablein more than

53 Al. Bistriteanu,"Primiiculegatoride basme,"SCLF5 (1956): 13-40.

54 Ovidiu Blrlea, Povestilelui Creanga(1967).
65 Corneliu Barbulescu, "Les nouvelles recherches sur les contes populaires en
Roumaine,"Fabula2 (1959): 166-174; "Aspectsactuels des recherchessur les narra-
tions populairesen Roumanie,"I V InternationalCongressfor Folk NarrativeResearch
in Athens(1965), pp. 1-10.
56 Aspekte der Volkgprosaforschungen in Rumanien/Aspectsdes rechercheysur les
narrafionspopulairesen Roumanie.A report on the congress is found in C. Eretescu,
"A1V-lea Congresal SocietatiiInternationalePentruCercetareaNaratiunilorPopulare
(I.S.F.N.R.)" REF 15 (1970): 81-85.
57 A. Schullerus, Verzeichnisder rumanischenMarchen,FFC 78 (Helsinki, 1928).
58 CorneliuBarbulescu,"Catalogulpove,stilorpopularerominesti,"RFS(1960):59-74.
59 Tony Brill, "Povestilecu animalesi poveatilecu formule,"REF 10 (1965): 375-388.
English summary.
60 Tony Brill, "Principiileclasificariilegendelorpopularerominesti,"REF 11 (1966):
259-271;"Der rumanischeSagenkatalog,"Fabula9 (1967): 293-302.
61 Sabina C. Stroescu, "Cu privire la sistemul de clasificare a snoavei populare
romme,sti,"REF 10 (1965): 585-594. Englishsummary.

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154 JAN H. BRUNVAND

10,000variants.62 The other sectionsof the catalog are eitherin manu-

scriptnow or close to completion,but they are not definitelyscheduled
for publication,although they may be consulted in the institute by
interestedscholars,and referenceswill be suppliedby mail.
Of the many editions of Romanianfolktales, the primaryone for
introductorypurposesis B1rlea'sthreevolumecollectionof 1966.63This
work has characteristictale types in verbatimtexts (some quoted in
variantperformances),contextualdata, bibliographicand comparative
notes, Germansummariesof each text) and an excellentintroductory
essay on the Romanianfolktaletradition.A usefulshortereditiondone
by Blrleain collaborationwithFelixKarlingerin 1969hastextstranslated
into German.64 Veryfew good Englishtranslationsof Romanianfolktales
exist, and mentionshould be made of only three: Moses Gaster'stwo
older collections RumcleianBird and Beast Stories65and Children's
Storiesfrom Rumanicln Legendsand FcliryTales,66and a book by Jean
Ure titled Pacala and Tandalaand other RumanianFolk-Tales67that
receiveda good reviewby KurtRankein Eabula4 (1962)but that I have
been unableto locate.
Theliteraryapproachto studyingRomanianfolktalesmaybe suggested
by threesimilararticleson the use of landscape,68fauna,fi9and flora70in
traditionalnarratives.A majorwork by George Calinescuappearedas
articleson "The Estheticof Fairy Tales"7tand then as a book of the
sametitle publishedin 1965.
A pure historic-geographic approachto folktale study never became
popularin Romania,but one individualrecentinvestigationof this kind
by a researcherat Cluj is noteworthyboth becauseof the antiquityof
some of its materialsand becauseit was publishedin English.72More

62 La TypologieBibliographEque des Faceties Roumaines(EdituraAcademiei, 1969).

63 OvidiuB¢lea, Antologiedeprozaw popularaepica (EdituraPentruLiteratura,1966).
64 Ondiu B¢lea and Felix Karlinger,RumanischeVolksmarchen(Koh, 1969).
85 Moses Gaster,RumanianBirdandBeast Stories(London, 1915).
66 Children'sStoriesfrom RumanianLegendsandFairy Tales(London,n.d.).
67 Jean Ure, Pacala and Tandalaand other RumanianFolk-Tales(London, 1960).
68 ^1. Bistriteanu,"Peisajulin basmul rommesc,"SCLF 5 (1956): 479-494.
69 Ion C. Chitimia,"Faunain basmulromlnesc,"SCLF 5 (1956): 523-546.
70 GheorgheVrabie,"Florain basmulrommesc,"SCLE 5 (1956): 547-580.
71 George Calinescu,"Esteticabasmului,"SCLE 6 (1957): 395-495; 7 (1958): 7-13.
72 Jozsef Farago, "A ContributioIlto the Tale Motif of the Bird Concealed in the
Vessel: The First Revengeof the Poor Man of Nippur,"Acta Ethnographica19 (1970):
147-lS9.

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 THESTUDYOF ROMANL&N
FOLKLORE 155

characteristicof Romanianfolktale researchare projectsthat take in

many tale types and a broad chronologicalspan, such as Ruxandoiu's
article"NovelElementsin the PresentStateof Evolutionofthe Folktale"73
and Pop's study on national characterand historicalstratificationin
folktales.74
A few yearsago whenthe narrator'srole and techniqueswereprimary
concernsof research,two papersin this vein werereadin Frenchat the
FourthCongressof the InternationalSocietyfor FolkNarrativeResearch
in Athens.75A paper that takes these two as its point of departureto
investigatethe relations of three storytellersto their audiences was
publishedby I. I. Popa in 1968with a summaryin Frenchin the folklore
seriesof the Universityof Timisoara.76Relatedto this approachare two
repertoirestudiesof majorinformantsfrom Transylvaniapublishedby
Doina Negulescuin 1967and 1968.77
MihaiPop's interestin formularizationof folktalestylehas resultedin
two articles publishedrecentlyin German.78Another such approach,
muchmoreschematicandabstractin itspresentation,is NicolaeRosianu's
study of "ClosingFormulasin Folktales."79
The structuralapproachto folktalesis the primaryone today among
academic folklorists in Romania. Mihai Pop set forth the general
principlesof researchin 1967 in an articletitled "New Methodsin the
StructuralStudyof Folktales"as follows:"Thepopulartale is a complex
work of art, having a carefullymouldedstructure,in which nothingis
73 Pavel Ruxandoiu, "Elemente innoitoare in stadiul contemporan al evolutiei
basmului,"RF 8 (1963): 144-152.
74 "Caracteresnationaux et historiques dans le style des contes populaires," IV
InternationalCongressfor Folk Narrative Research in Athens (1965), pp. 381-390;
publishedin Romanianin REF 10 (1965): 3-11.
75 Gheorghe Vrabie, "Sur la technique de la narrationdans le conte roumain,"IV
InternationalCongressfor Folk NarrativeResearchin Athens(1965), pp. 606-615; and
Ovidiu Birlea, "La fonction de raconter dans le foLkloreroumain7"IV International
Congressfor Folk NarrativeResearchin Athens(1965), pp. 22-26.
76 I. I. Popa, "Desprerelatia narator-naratie-ascultator m basmul contemporan,"
FololorLiterar2 (Timioara, 1968): 285-294. French summary.
77 Doina Negulescu, "SechiMachedon poveatitordin Branistea,"REF 12 (1967):
223-230;"Evolutiapovetitului in Draga-Fagara," REF 13 (1968): 143-157.
78 Mihai Pop, "Der formelhafteCharakterder Volksdichtung,"DeutschesJahrbuch
fur Volkskunde14 (1968): 4-15; "Die Funktion der Anfangs-und Schlussformelnim
rumanischen Marchen," Volksuberlieferung: Festschrift Ranke (Gottingen, 1968),
pp. 321-326.
79 Nicolae Rosianu, "Formule finale m basm," REF 14 (1969): 271-293. French
summary.

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156 JAN H. BRUNVAND

arbitrary-but everythingis functionallyjustifiedin a well-shapedunity,

in a systemof its own."80Amongmanyarticlespursuingstructuralism in
tales,we mayindicateonlytwo thatareparticularly completeandcomplex
approachesmaking use of structuralmodels.81Finally, an important
stepfor Romanianfolklore(justas it wasfor American)is the publication
of a translationof V. I. Propp'sMorphologyof theFolktale;the introduc-
tion is by RaduNiculescu,a leadingyoungscholarof the institute.82

BALLADS, FOLKSONGS, AND FOLK MUSIC

Thereare numerous,voluminous,and highlyvariedpublicationsin these

areas, which are perhapsthe best studiedin Romanianfolklore. Space
permitslisting only a selectionof a few surveyarticlesplus one or two
representativeworksfor eachmajorsubjector approach.Actually,studies
of the kinds mentioned emanate from both the literary and ethno-
musicologicalsectionsof the institute,and are combinedhere only for
convenience.

The standardedition and basic classificationof Romanianballadsis

containedin a threevolume anthologycompiledby A1.Amzulescuand
publishedin 1964.83The ballad"Miorita,"best knownand most distinc-
tive narrativefolksongin the Romaniantradition,has beengivendetailed
and lengthyanalysisin AdrianFochi's edition and study publishedthe
sameyear.84Scholarsinterestedin specificgenresshouldfirstconsultthe
Istoria literaturfiromdne in the appropriatesections(doina,dancesongs
andcries,historicsongs,lullabies,etc.)andthenturnto the bibliographies
providedthere.To these I will add only referencesto a generaldescrip-
tion of the proceduresbeing used presentlyin the instituteto catalog

80 Mihai Pop, "Metode noi iIl cercetarea structurii basmelor," Folelor Literar 1
(Timioara, 1967): 5-12. English summary.See also Mihai Pop, "Aspectsactuels des
recherchessur la structuredes contes," Fabula9 (1967): 70-77.
81 N. Constantinescu,"Modeltraditionalsi improvizatiein basm, " FolelorLiterar2
(Timitoara, 1968): 115-123;Stanca Fotino, "Modelarein basmul fantastic,"REF 14
(1969): 315-329.Frenchsummary.
82 V. I. Propp, Morfologiabasmului(EdituraUnivers, 1970).
83 Al. Amzulescu,BaladepopulareromaneEti(EdituraPentru Literatura,1964).
84 Adrian Fochi, Miorita: tipologie, circulatie,geneze, texte (Editura Academiei,
1964).

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIANFOLKLORE 157
folk Iyrics,85
and one recentstudyof socialfunctionin folksongs.86Both
representmajorkinds of ongoingwork in Romania,and both, conven-
iently,have Frenchsummaries.
For the study of Romanianfolk musical tradition,one convenient
introductorysurveyis TiberiuAlexandru's1958article"ConcerningFolk
Singing"in whichsomeattemptis madeto evaluatethe influenceson oral
traditionof trained and professionalfolk singers,radio broadcasting,
and popular music.87A more recent review by GheorgheCiobanu of
"Collectionsand Publicationsof Romanian Folk Music" has useful
bibliographyand a detailedEnglish summary.88 Specificallyconcerned
with the evolutionof ethnomusicologicalresearchmethodsin Romania
is Gottfried Habenicht'sthorough article of 1966.89The best general
treatise on ethnomusicologyin Romarlia,though it lacks a foreign
languagesummary,is most useful neverthelessfor its 541 musicalex-
amples,and a bibliographyof 263 items; this is EmiliaComisel'sbook
Folelor MuzEca1.9°
Convincingevidencethat Romanianethnomusicologistskeep up to
date is presented,among many other places, in a detailed article on
experimentalmethods in folk music analysis published in 1969 by
Ghizela Suliteanuof the music section of the institute.9lThis same
author's1960 study of Romanianstreetcriesis noteworthy;it contains
223 examples, full technical analysis, and commentaryon socioeco-
nomic, psychological,and artisticaspectsof the tradition.92Two other
representativerecentstudiesamongmanythatcouldbecitedareCiobanu's
on tune-textfit in Romanianfolksongs93and Habenicht'son the distribu-

85 Radu Niculescu, "Privirecritica asupra unor procedeeactuale de sistematizaresi

clasificarea liriciipopulare,"REF 14 (1969): 207-223.
86 Anton Balota, "Functiuneasociala a cinteculuibatrinesc,"REF13 (1968):123-130.
87 TiberiuAlexandru,"Desprecintaretipopulari,"RF 3 (1958): 73-84.
88 GheorgheCiobanu, "Culegereasi publicareafolcloruluimuzicalroman,"REF 1O
(1965): 549-583.
89 GottfriedHabenicht, "Evolutiametodei de cercetarea folcloruluimuzical,"REF
11 (1966): 227-241. French summary.
90 Emilia Comi,sel,FolelorMuzEcal(EdituraDidactica ai Pedagogica,1967).
91 Ghizela Suliteanu, "Metoda experimentalam etnomuzicologie,"REF 14 (1969):
369-382.French summary.
92 "Din strigatele muncitorilor, mestesugarilor,vinzatorilor, distribuitoriloram-
bulanti" [The cries of workers, craftsmen, salesmen and peddlers], RF 5 (1960):
75-113.
93 GheorgheCiobanu, "Raportulstructuraldintrevers si melodie m cmteculpopular
rominesc,"RF 8 (1963): 41-61.

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158 JAN H. BRUNVAND

tion and variationsof a local song whichspreadwidelyin tradition.94

Alexandruhas writtena standardbook on folk musicalinstrumentsof
Romania;95 othersurveysare to be foundin generalworkson ethnogra-
phy and even on folk art, and an updatedencyclopedicwork is now
underwayin the folklore institute.A fascinatingstudy, which though
lackinga summaryhas good illustrations,concernsthe confusionof the
classicallute with the Romaniancobza in the famous sixteenthcentury
monasteryfrescoesof northernMoldavia.96Habenichthas studiedthe
musicof the Romanianalp horn(bucium)and establishedthreezones of
traditionalstyle and the principleformulasused in their music.97An
interestingarticleon "A Flute Maker of the MuscelRegion"contains
step-by-stepphotographsof the process.98Similardiscussionson both the
productionand playingof traditionalinstrumentsmay be found in the
institute'sjournaland in books.
There are many fine recordingsof Romanianfolk music available.
Alan Lomax'sRomaniandisc in the Columbia World Libraryseries
(no. 18, KL 5799, 1963)was compiledin the institute'sarchiveanslwill
alreadybe knownto Americanspecialists.The Romanianequivalellt-
an excellentcollectionin everyway is titledAntologia MuzEciiPopulare
Romdneti and has two volumesof threeten-inchdiscs each and a third
containingtwo discs.99Volumesoneandtwo, editedbyTiberiuAlexandru,
containfolk instrumentalmusic, songs, dance tunes, "the music of folk
customs,"doinas, pastoralmusic,andballads.Volumethreeis devoteden-
tirelyto carolsingingcustomsand carols(colinde). All textsareauthentic
ones from the archiveof the folkloreinstitute.The sets are attractively
boxed,providedwith volumirlousnotes in four languages,and pricedin
94 Gottfried Habenicht,"Contributiila studiul unui cmtec popularfnchinatzilei de
23 August,"REF 10 (1965): 13-27.
95 Tiberiu Mexandru, Instrumentemuzicale ale poporului Pentru
romlAn (Editura

Literatura,1956).
96 Lucilia Georgescu,"Relatialauta-cobzain picturilemanastirilordin Moldava de
Nord," REF 12 (1967): 133-145.
97 Gottfried Habenicht, "Caracteristicistilistice zonale ale semnalelorde bucium,"
REF 12 (1967): 261-276.Frenchsummary.
98 A. Vicol, "Un constructormueclean de fluiere,"REF9 (1964): 293-307.
99 It was explainedto me that the firsttwo volumesconstitutethe plannedanthology
of Romanian folk music proper. The "third volume," which is expertly edited by
Emilia Comiseland OvidiuBirlea,is a separateprojectwhich "Electrecord"saw fit to
issue in the sameformatas the others,probably(mayit be suggested)for good business
reasons. Colindealso appearin volumetwo, but thereis no overlappingof textsbetween
the two volumes, and both are fine collectionsin their own right.

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 THE STUDY OF ROMANIANFOLKLORE 159
lei at the equivalentof about $8.90 for all three sets. These discs are
readilyavailablein Romania,but may be difficultto secureelsewhere.I
can only suggest writingto the publisher,"Electrorecord" (Str. Luigi
Cazzavillanno. 14-16,Bucharest)for informationaboutforeignshipment
andprice.Sincethe Romaniannationaltouristofiiceconsidersrecordings
of folk musicas primesouveniritems,musicstoresin Bucharestandother
touristcentersgenerallyhave largeif somewhatmiscellaneousstockson
handat low prices;the folkloristluckyenoughto findhimselfin Romania
can easilybuy more or less authenticfolk recordings,thoughnot neces-
sarilyof exactlythe kind of musiche wishesto study,for less than two
dollarsper twelve-inchstereodisc. In any case, the Instituteof Ethnog-
raphy and Folklore makes its archives'materialavailableto visiting
scholars.(It shouldbe noted that the expression"popularmusic"means
folk musicin Romania;what Americanscall popularmusic,Romanians
term muzEci uEoareor "light"music.)

FOLK DANCE AND CUSTOM

Here again,I combinesubjectsthat are separatelytreatedby Romanian

scholars but which for these few representativereferencesmay con-
veniently be grouped together. Generally speaking, choreographic
researchis conductedby other specialiststhan are concernedwith cus-
toms, but in manyforms of traditionalbehavior(i.e., weddings,holiday
ceremonies,seasonal rites) they do overlap in practiceif not in the
scholarship.For generalaccounts of the primaryforms involved, one
shouldconsultthe surveyworksalreadymentioned.
The methodsof folk danceresearchnow usedin Romaniaare outlined
by the chiefof the institute'sdancesectionand a leadingresearcherthere
in a 1966 article.l°°The former has also describedin some detail the
presentprojectto catalogall availablefolk dancematerials,whichin the
institutearchivesalone now includesome 3,500itemscollectedfrom 230
sites in 40 distincttraditionzones of Romania.l°lBoth of these recent
publicationscontainbibliographiesof the importantearlierworks, and

A. Bucsan and E. Balaci, "Metoda de cercetarea dansului popular," REF 11

(1966): 243-250.French summary.
A. Bucsan, "Un proiect de catalogarea materialuluicoregrafic,"REF 14 (1969):
193-205.Frenchsummary.

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 160 JAN H. BRUNVAND

a specialistcan find much more to study in the currentissues of the

Revista wherefolk dance is frequentlytreated.Interestingexamplesof
some of the graphicdocumentsof older folk dance forms are given in
anotherusefularticlel02
A guide to custom researchin Romania (beyond the usual survey
sourcesalreadylisted)is containedin an articleby ErnestBerneatitled
';TheoreticalIntroductionto the Studyof Customs'103Of the dozensof
basic types of occupational,seasonalSholiday, and other customsthat
could be mentioned(all occurringin hundredsof variations)only brief
referenceto threemustsuffice.An excellentaccountof a peasantwedding
as recalledby a fiddleplayerwho hadperformedformanywascollectedby
Mihai Pop in 1958.1°4 The Christmasholiday"stagdance"(only one of
manywinterritualsstillpracticedin Romania)as it occursin Moldaviais
describedby a leadingstudentof them fromthat region Vasile Adasca-
litei.105His article7thoughwithouta summary,has many photographs,
mapsntexts,andvoluminousreferences.A localizedfertilityriteperformed
at Eastertime by younggirlsandfull of paganelements(thoughcollected
as recentlyas 1966)has been well documentedin an articlewith several
illustrationsand a summaryin French.106

MATERIALTRADITIONS
As earlier explained, what Americanscall ';folklife' (in Romanian
"ethnography" and s;folkart")is a sulXectdistributedratherhaphazardly
amongvariousinstitutesand specialists.As a result,thereare numerous
publicationsof both basic materialsand studiesproducedby folklorists,
ethnographers,art historians, museum researchers,popularizersand
others,and all of theseworksare usefulin one way or another.
A good book to beginwithis Arta populara romaneascaproducedby a
team of specialistsunderthe generaldirectionof Paul Petrescuof the
Instituteof Art History.l07After an introductorychapter on folklife
102 Vera Proca-Ciortea?"Cltevadocumentegraficeprivindjocul popularrominesc,"
RF7 (1962): 79-88.
103 Ernest Bernea, "Introducereteoretica la
studiul obiceiurilor,"REF 13 (1968):
379-388.French summary.
104 Mihai Pop, ';Nuntadin satul Seliste,"RF 3
(1958): 47-78.
105 Vasile Adascalitei,"Joculcerbuluim
Moldava,"REF 13 (1968): 421-438.
106 Nicolae Radulescu "Sulul un obicei inedit din ciclul calendaristic,"REF 14
(1969):3-25. Frenchsummary.
107 Artapopulararombneasca (EdituraAcademiei,1969)

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 THESTUDYOF ROMANIAN
FOLKLORE 161
research,there are sectionsand full bibliographieson folk
architecture,
interiordesign,furniture,textiles,costumes,embroidery,
wood carving,
sculpture,metalwork,ceramics,pictorialart, egg decorating,
masks,and
artists'worksbasedon folk art themes.The 300-plus
illustrationsin both
black and white and color are uniformlygood. An
article of special
interest concerning masks in Romania, a particularly
characteristic
regionalart form, was publishedin Germanin
Switzerland.108 A com-
prehensivearticlein two parts of one folk art motif
(representations of
the hand) in Romanian ornamentaltradition has
been publishedby
RomulusVulcanescu,chief of the institute'sethnography
section.109
Sincethe bibliographiesin Petrescu'sbook can direct
one furtherinto
the whole field of Romanianfolklife, and this field is
extremelyvast, I
will concludeby indicatingsome typicalarticlesin
only one area, folk
architecture,in theinstitute'sjournalsince1963whenethnographybecame
an officialpart of its work. That year saw the
publicationof an article
co-authoredby Petrescuand N. Al. Mironescuon the
constructionof
wineriesin a regionof Moldavia;it includesphotographs
and drawings
of the buildings,floor plans, illustrationsof
equipment,and a distribu-
tion map.1l0An historic and bibliographicsurvey of
Romanianfolk
architecture researchwas publishedin 1965, evaluatingearlierworks
(beforeWorldWarII), andcharacterizing the approachesof arthistorians
and geographersas opposed to ethnographers
proper.lll A detailed
surveyof "Latchesand Locks of Wood"in folk housing
containsgood
illustrations
and an Englishsummary.1l2 Finally,an articleby PetruDan
Idupublishedin 1967 is a typicaldescriptiveessay on
one house type,
alsogivingsomeattentionto chimneyandfencetypesof
thesameregion.1l3
Universityof Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
108 Mihai Pop and ConstantinEretescu,"Die Maskenim
rumanischenBrauchtum,"
SchweizerischesArchivfur Volkskunde63 (1967): 162-176,with 63
109Romulus Vulcanescu,"Figurareamiinii m illustrations.
ornamenticapopulararomina,"REF
9(1964):213-259,413-450. Englishsummary.
110 Paul Petrescu and N. A1. Mironescu, "Constructiile
RF8(1963): 140-151. viticole din zona busilor,"
Paul Henri Stahl, "Din istoriculcercetarilorde
arhitecturapopulararomineasca,"
REF9 (1964): 275-291.
112 Ion-Radu Mircea,
"Zavoarei broaste de lemn," REF 10 (1965): 347-361.
113PetruDan Idu,
"Constructiiledin Poiana Marului tara Bl^rsei - casa,"EF 12
(1967):397-408.

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