Motivul mării în folclorul basarabean – mărturie a unității spirituale românești
The motif of the sea in the Bessarabian folklore – a witness of the Romanian spiritual unity

Summary/Abstract: Starting from the study of the ethnologist Petru Caraman, dedicated to the significances of the Black Sea in the folk creation, the author analyses the named motif in the Bessarabian folklore. The motif of the sea is present in several literary species: carols, “descântece” [exorcisms], wedding orations, tales, riddles and sayings. The creations collected in Bessarabia confirm P. Caraman’s conclusions that, in the Romanian phantasy, the sea depicts the immensity, the infinite space; it is an important trade route and a dwelling for miraculous creatures. Only a part of the territory inhabited by Romanians (Dobrogea and southern Bessarabia) borders the Black Sea. However, the image of the sea is present in the folklore from all the Romanian historical provinces. It is a proof of the spiritual unity of the Romanian nation, particularly, of its ethnic and cultural continuity between Prut and Nistru. The analysed folkloric texts also illustrate the value of the oral tradition as historical source – one of the permanent topics in the creation of Petru Caraman.

• Details
• Contents