LADS’ FRATERNITIES – MYTHICAL AND ARCHAIC ELEMENTS OF LAD-BAND INITIATIONS
LADS’ FRATERNITIES – MYTHICAL AND ARCHAIC ELEMENTS OF LAD-BAND INITIATIONS

Summary/Abstract: The areas this phenomenon and its archaic aspects are best preserved are the central regions of our country, namely Transylvania. The geographical location also brings about a certain level of simplification of the ritual, a sort of dilution, up to the point of its disappearance. Nevertheless, the custom is also disseminated in the old historical provinces of Moldova, Oltenia, Muntenia and Dobrogea. Throughout these areas, the fraternity between young men from the rural community played the role of a Romanian traditional institution, comparable to the "witenagemot", the gathering of the elderly, or to the "women's bands". The common elements of these customs are the leader, the group carolling and the gathering of gifts after singing.

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