THE IMAGE OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN THE ROMANIAN VILLAGE – ETHNOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON LOVE CHARMS AND SPELLS
THE IMAGE OF THE SUPERNATURAL IN THE ROMANIAN VILLAGE – ETHNOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON LOVE CHARMS AND SPELLS

Summary/Abstract: The traditional Romanian village, often located near forests and necessarily near watercourses, was deeply connected to the data of nature not only for economic reasons, but also for metaphysical and aesthetic ones. It transfigures nature; it prays to the fir tree for forgiveness before cutting it down, it judges under sacred trees or heals from diseases in hollows and caves. Man uses what God has given him within the limits of unwritten laws, in a perfect balance, more precisely, it uses nature both as a consumer and as a creator. The space of the Romanian village was one that breathed spirituality, and for this reason the simple man full of good manners created images of his existence in accordance with the way he perceived reality and transcendence. The spells, the evil eye, the charms were invocations of that unseen world, but even if these were typological patterns of the existence of communities, they came into direct conflict with the idea of Orthodox Christianity. Before all these magical formulas, accompanied by certain gestures, were not considered sins, or at least some serious ones, and they surfaced in crisis situations.

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