Haylife and Haylore in Starchiojd (Prahova county, Romania): from Present to Past
Haylife and Haylore in Starchiojd (Prahova county, Romania): from Present to Past
Author(s): Ioana-Ruxandra Fruntelată, Elena Dudău, Cristian MușaContributor(s): Cristian Mușa (Photographer), Kathleen Laraia Mclaughlin (Photographer)
Subject(s): Anthropology
Published by: Muzeul Ţăranului Român, Editura Martor
Keywords: haylife; haylore; home ethnology; local identity; community; hay culture; Starchiojd;
Summary/Abstract: Starchiojd village lies on Teleajen plateau, in a hilly area of the eastern sub-Carpathians, Romania, at the crossroads upon the border of historical provinces Wallachia and Transylvania. Animal (cattle and sheep) husbandry is still an active and dominant occupation for villagers in Starchiojd, therefore so is haymaking. During our ethnological field research in 2013 and 2014 we collected different types of information on local hay culture, that were found in both written private documents and oral accounts, which we stored in the form of photographs, recordings or field notes. Our paper relies mainly on audio recordings that suggest that hay culture imprints a certain organization of space, time and social relations at present, which could be coined “haylife”. We also show that talking with informants about hay activates certain memories of the past village life, including “haylore”, i.e. knowledge, beliefs and superstitions associated to hay.
Journal: Martor. Revue d’Anthropologie du Musée du Paysan Roumain
- Issue Year: 2016
- Issue No: 21
- Page Range: 86-100
- Page Count: 15
- Language: English