In the traditional Transylvanian village, boys’ groups, children and masked men were sending their good wishes to the community for the year to come, each group having a distinct role. Children were responsible with the singing of carols, on Christmas Eve, who were making abundance wishes in every house, receiving nuts, apples and bread wreaths in return. The church intervened in this archaic aspect, adding to the carol the custom of walking with the Star (Seaua), the Viflaim (Viflaimul) and the Herods (Irozii). The small folk theatre scenes, presented by masked children and young people, capture different moments of the mystery of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ: the sacred family, the visit of the shepherds, the confrontation between Herod and the three magicians defending baby Jesus.
The word “Viflaim” designates not only the birthplace of Messiah, the town of Bethlehem, but the
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The artefact of November is măngălău. Also called in certain areas mangalău, tăvălug, maglă, scândură, zolitor, mai de pânză etc., it is made of wood, and in fact it is a long and rectangular board, with a wavy or smooth surface, on which thick cloth laundry, wrapped around a prop, is being rubbed or smoothed. Once the flat iron became widespread in the village world too, the functionality of
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Considering the fact that we are in full hunting season, the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography proposes to you, as artefact of October, the antler gunpowder case, an indispensable object in practising hunting with fire arms at a time when this type of weapons was not yet perfected.
Unlike other types of horns (for eg: cattle horn which was mainly used to make various
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An important part of traditional diet, fruits were considered a source of food in all seasons, being a consistent alternative during fasting periods, whether they were freshly consumed, or kept in the cellar or turned into marmalade (sometimes called “lictar” or “silvoiță”). Some of the fruits were dried for consumption during long winters. These dried fruits were part of the daily diet,
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Since the Universal Day of the Romanian Traditional Blouse (“Ia”) is unofficially celebrated (but perhaps more fastuously) on Midsummer Day (“Sânziene”), the artefact of June at the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography is an “ie” from central Romania. Not any Romanian traditional blouse was named “ie”, this term being used in Wallachia and southern Transylvania; in other regions, the same piece of
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Dear visitors,
The Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography reopens on Wednesday, May 27th 2020, at 10 a.m. The visiting programme is between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., the last entry at 5 p.m., from Wednesday to Sunday.
We are waiting for you again in our exhibition spaces, both in the inside section, hosted by the Reduta Palace (the institution’s headquarters, 21, Memorandum street), as well as in the
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The ewe-cheese mold – our proposal for the artefact of May – was used at the end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century in the Romanian pastoral environment from Bran and Vrancea ethnographic areas. The piece consists of two overlapping wooden boards. Both inner sides are decorated on the whole surface. Due to the anthropomorphic shape of the lid, the mold has the traditional name of “
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April (in Latin – aprilis, from the Latin word “aperio, -ire” = to open), the 4th month of the year, traditionally named “prier”, is the period in which spring enters its rights, the plants sprout, at the same time, marking the beginning of the pastoral season, a period when the animal herds are formed, when the sheep gathering (milk measurement) takes place. As an object of the month, we propose
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As a result of the state of emergency on the Romanian territory, the both sections of the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography will be closed for the public until the end of the state of emergency.
In this period of time, the activity of public relations for individuals and legal entities will be done mainly by electronic means, telephone or by postal correspondence.
Thank you for your
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