Credinţe şi superstiţii negative asociate stării „de dar”
Folk beliefs and superstitions associated with pregnancy

Summary/Abstract: The majority of autochthonous studies dedicated to popular beliefs and customs about birth reveal, on the one hand, the gravity of the interdiction system throughout the Romanian cultural area, on the other hand, a high degree of their conservation over time. This article analyzes the range of precautions and superstitions that were prohibited in the pre-natal period that originated and explained the special status of the woman in the “gift” state. In order to diminish the evil influence on the pregnant woman, the popular conscience has formulated a true behavioural code expressed in the belief that a pregnant woman should not lie, swear, steal, and argue, since all these deviations from the norm can later become defects of the child. Food prohibitions and contagious taboos have a wide spread. They were dictated by the danger of contamination or transfer of certain characteristics of the food or animals touched / hit / stepped on the future child. In conclusion, the analysis of the functioning mechanisms of pregnancy bans demonstrates that these taboos narrow the boundaries between the sacred and the profane and ensure good things in this phase of maximum instability in the life of the woman and the community.

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