The Wedding Ceremony in the Traditional Villages of Oltenia. Preliminary Rites Cover Image

The Wedding Ceremony in the Traditional Villages of Oltenia. Preliminary Rites
The Wedding Ceremony in the Traditional Villages of Oltenia. Preliminary Rites

Author(s): Anca Ceaușescu
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies
Published by: Editura Academiei Române
Keywords: Oltenia; the nuptial ceremony; preliminary rites; wooing; the engagement

Summary/Abstract: Marriage is the second most significant moment from a man’s life, an event that gives the opportunity of a rich display of folkloric manifestations. The ceremonial complex of the wedding mark, in a festive manner, the passing to another social statute. In Oltenia, it generally has a unitary structure, with small individualising elements, from one village to the other. The nuptial ceremony also presents in its development the three categories of rites, specific to the passing rites, such are: preliminary, liminary, post-liminary. Therefore, the nuptial scenario includes the existence of new rules and a logical succession in the development of the sequences. In the present material, we are going to stop on the customs from the stage that precedes the nuptial ceremony (wooing, discussing the dowry of the girl, the engagement), trying to point towards few dominant element of the phenomenon.

  • Issue Year: 2016
  • Issue No: XVII
  • Page Range: 253-261
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: English