Batiste, ştergare, scoarţe. Valenţe magice şi ritual-ceremoniale
Handkerchiefs, Traditional Towels, “Scoarțe”. Magic and Ritual-Ceremonial Valences

Summary/Abstract: The present study focuses on the meanings of handkerchiefs, towels, lăicere and scoarțe , taking into account the magical context as well as the ritual and ceremonial one. Peasant textile items are not only adapted to their practical aim within the household, but they are part of every manifestation of the folk life and culture within which they perform various functions. They are present in the witchcraft arsenal, related to the empirical medicine and love charms, in defending the newborn, on the table of Ursitoare , next to the baptism’s crijma . The wedding, in all its stages, is assisted by ritual weavings, representing the creation of new bridges between blood relatives and affinity relatives. Nuptial gifts are covered with towels or head coverings, to preserve their sacredness. In funerals, from the moment of taking the coffin out of the house until reaching the graveyard, the fabrics mark the passage of the dalb călător to the Other Side. The funeral rites performed for the unmarried young people included the wedding they were supposed to have had during their lifetime, with druște , vătăjei and stolnici wearing the specific ritual insignia.

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