Ipostaze ale divinităţilor destinului în credinţe arhaice şi în literatura populară
Hypostases of the Destiny Gods in Secular Beliefs and olk Literature

Summary/Abstract: The three Fates of Ancient mythology are named Ursitoare in the Romanian folklore. The paper discusses the variants this lexeme phonetically encounters and also the etymology of other known names for the Parcae. Descriptions given by different informants in Romania and fragments from fairy-tales are analyzed in the context of these universal deities. Fates could be heard by parents and traditional midwives, and when people lost this ability different signs made by them were investigated. The Meal of Fates consists in food oblation that may change its aspect over night, a fact which is interpreted as a proof of the Fates’ arrival. Parents try to assure a happy destiny for their infant by pleasing them with a rich meal of sacred aliments.

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