Magia începutului şi umbra ca jertfă a zidirii în riturile de construcţie din Moldova
The Magic of the Beginning and the Shadow as Sacrifice in the Construction Rites of Moldavia

Summary/Abstract: After having found the right place for a home, villagers from Moldova start building a new house by paying attention to various magic implications; the day of the week when work starts, the phase of the moon, the stones and the wood they use for the construction are treated as keys to future life. The article presents and analyzes suggestive information from the Folklore Archive of Moldova and Bukovina, collected between 1970 and present day. The ancient immolation of humans in buildings left important traces in the collective mind of rural communities and data on the shadow as a substitute for the walled-up person is discussed from a diachronic point of view.

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