Reflectarea păstoritului în textele literare din Arhiva de Folclor a Moldovei și Bucovinei
The image of sheep husbandry in literary texts from The Folklore Archive of Moldavia and Bucovina

Summary/Abstract: The article revisits the controversial discussion on Miorița folk ballad by drawing new comparisons among its variants and other folk genres. Details such as the weep of the little ewe can be traced back to fairy-tales, but also to active beliefs of shepherds interviewed in present days, while as the wedding of the dead was performed by Greeks from the 5th century AD. Lullabies confirm the statute of the stranger that gets murdered in Miorița, various other interconnections proving that purely aesthetic interpretations of the ballad are out of place. The literary texts from The Folklore Archive of Moldavia and Bucovina reveal a congruous outlook on life shepherds appearing in the fairy-tales recorded from 1970 to 1990 are depicted as clever, honest lads that confront sacred powers. This obviously implies an initiatory rite. Magic help involves three unusual dogs mentioned both in Miorița and fairy-tales, the article arguing once more that a wide ethnographic frame should be used at all times to understand a particular image or folk expressions.

• Details
• Contents