THE VIRGIN MARY – BIBLICAL CHARACTER IN THE CEREMONIAL TEXTS SPECIFIC TO CHRISTMAS CARROLS FROM ”ALMĂJULUI” VALLEY, CARAȘSERVERIN COUNTY
THE VIRGIN MARY – BIBLICAL CHARACTER IN THE CEREMONIAL TEXTS SPECIFIC TO CHRISTMAS CARROLS FROM ”ALMĂJULUI” VALLEY, CARAȘSERVERIN COUNTY

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the present paper is to discuss the presence of Virgin Mary – one of the important Biblical characters – in ceremonial texts (carols, star songs) as part of the custom of carol-singing that takes place during the winter holidays, with special reference to Almaj Valley, Caras-Severin county. These ceremonial texts belong to traditional oral culture and are known as creations through variants (in the above mentioned geographical area, there are, in fact, numerous variants of these texts); having a mystic and magical character and an outstanding original and traditional artistic value, they are characterized by diverse imagery and a multitude of topics. We will talk about Virgin Mary’s presence in the carols and star songs known in the area and analyze, at the same time, the various names by which the character is known: Sfânta Fecioară, Curata, Preanevinovata, „Maica Prĭeşĭesta”, Maica Mărie, etc. It is worth mentioning that, sometimes, the actions attributed to Virgin Mary are adapted to the traditional Romanian life, her involvement in Biblical events being rather symbolic than real. Such a study cannot be comprehensive since some of the texts have been lost, others – already collected – are incomplete or changed so that their original form is no longer available, while still others might be discovered in the future, during field research.

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