Author(s): Gabriela-Mariana Luca / Language(s): Romanian
Issue: 12/2017
"And they took him the hands and they pushed him by the back and there was an imperial diplomat (capegiu) for imperial chores, they took him to the Metropolitan church, and they took a mantle to Capegi-basa of the emperor and they dressed him in the mantle and they went into the church and read the ruling documents and they went and kissed his hand, wishing him: long live" (apud Giurescu, 2011:273). And so Constantin Brâncoveanu began his rule which would tragically end in 1714. "Aren't you going to obey?" Brâncoveanu, whispering a "yes" which the sultan's messenger assumed more than heard, found himself with the black, silk mantle on his shoulder. It was the sign of renouncing the throne. (Ucrain, Loghin, 1968) In the present study we aim to present the greatness and grandor of an epoch through analysis, with anthropological arguments, the meaning of highly important gifts in those times: the kaftan, the horse and the kerchief. "The coat is the instrument of the dignity of man and it signifies the function ", wrote Andre Leroi-Gourhan. But if this piece of attire is called a "kaftan", beyond the unsettling and disputed epic journey, began, apparently somewhere in ancient China, passed through Persia, north of Africa and in the end becoming significant for the consolidation of the ottoman empire, its meaning for the Romanian people develops a certain symbolic field. Being promoted by the offering of a kaftan, after the example of Constantinople, can not only describe the royal hierarchy, the web of intrigues and the strong desire of the nobility to get close to the king, but also an entire code of colors and textures, the art of ancient craftsmen. Also, a symbol of power, for both solar and subterranean worlds, the horse is a privileged animal and an important gift. The horse and the rider become one, under the same symbols, colors or jewelry. The royal horses, "the son-in-law's horse", the game of halca are as many support pillars in the hermeneutical exercise we propose. As noble as the others, be they "heavy handkerchiefs", "sewn with wire" or "string", such as those tied to crosses, or those which are wrapped and sent as gifts to feasts and celebrations, or being used as message, the kaftan bear semiotic functions whose codes we propose to decipher in the attempt of illustrating the customs of Brâncoveanu court. The Kaftan, the horse and the kerchief analyzed in the time and space of Constantin Brâncoveanu, are more than royal instruments of the era. We hold them responsible in building a network of identity trademarks of a society and epoch.
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