Naraţiuni magice din Arhiva de Folclor a Moldovei şi Bucovinei
Magical Narratives in the Folklore Archive of Moldavia and Bukovina

Summary/Abstract: The paper intends to analyze the folk imaginary embedded by different types of the Romanian folklore texts in which supernatural forest beings – such as the Forest’s Mother (the Romanian Baba Iaga) or the forest’s ogre are the main malefic agency. According to Romanian beliefs documented by the Folklore Archive of Moldavia and Bukovina stored at the Romanian Academy – Iasi Branch, this forest demon is associated with forest wildlife, she is the master of savage animals and may hinder or help the human beings which step on her territory. The presentation of the various narratives, beliefs and superstitions in which this character is displayed reveals that the mythological being is also associated with different types of discourse belonging to the broad narrative genre: superstitious opinions, memorates, belief tale, belief narrative, belief legend, historiola in incantations, etc. Words and narratives that address the supernatural are also seen as rhetorical tools through which people in the traditional society used to manipulate fearful forces that are either needed to be ward off or put to work for the benefit of the humans.

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