НЯКОИ АСПЕКТИ НА ОБРЕДИТЕ ПРИ ПОМЕН У БЪЛГАРИ И РУМЪНЦИ
SOME ASPECTS OF POST-FUNERARY RITES AMONG BULGARIANS AND RUMANIANS

Summary/Abstract: Some similarities in post-funerary rites among the Bulgarians and the Roumanians are investigated. According to author's opinion they may be a result of late cultural influences. They comprise only certain elements of the ritual and do not change its structure and functions. A special attention is paid to the specific for the two peoples ways of satisfying the dead with water. The characteristic for Bulgarian ritual system "pouring over" of water, is not widely spread among the Rumanians — it is known only in some villages in Vallachia and Moldovia. This may be a result from dying-off of the custom. The typical Rumanian rite of "distributing of water", which in its most developed variant concludes with the rite "letting the springs free", south from Danube is recorded only in Vidin region, in several villages on Osam river and in Northeastern Servia. The ritual "burning-round" of the grave is distributed in an area of strong migration floods during XVII-XIX cc. — in Northwestern Bulgaria, in a part of South Rumania (Oltenia and Banat) and in Northeastern Servia. The rite is met also in some neighboring regions, but is not wide-spread. The specific Rumanian way of distributing the gifts "over" the coffin, "over" the grave, in Bulgaria is known only in some villages near Silistra. As a conclusion it is mentioned that some of the similarities of post-funerary rites among Bulgarians and Rumanians may result from late culture interrelations.

• Details
• Contents