„Loc bun de casă”. Topografia spaţiului de locuit în credinţele şi riturile de construcţie din Moldova
“Good Place to Build a House On”. Topography of the Living Space in the Construction-Related Beliefs and Rituals of Moldavia

Summary/Abstract: Foundation rites came to the attention of different specialists through archaeological findings confirming human sacrifices made for large buildings, bridges and castles. The Legend of Master Manole also maintained a scientific interest in this ritual practice and folk literature. Today, superstitions and magic gestures come to select available spaces for human settlements with the intention to ward off any possible unfortunate outcome. Taboo places to build a new home are numerous. Besides the most obvious ones (churchyards, graves, crime scenes, crossroads etc.), there are other impure spaces that endanger social life. Magic rituals are used to reveal the true nature of a place, and sometimes a dialogue with genius loci is created. The Moldavian region offers a wide variety of such beliefs with a surprising vitality. Documents from The Folklore Archive of Moldavia and Bukovina are used next to an international bibliography in order to analyze the magic topography of constructing.

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