Female Personalities of Romanian Folkloristics. Elena Niculiță-Voronca (1862–1939) Cover Image

PERSONALITĂȚI FEMININE ALE FOLCLORISTICII ROMÂNEȘTI. ELENA NICULIȚĂ-VORONCA (1862–1939)
Female Personalities of Romanian Folkloristics. Elena Niculiță-Voronca (1862–1939)

Author(s): Elena Pascaniuc
Subject(s): Ethnohistory
Published by: Editura Academiei Române
Keywords: Elena Niculiță-Voronca;history of folkloristics; Bukovina; traditions; folk beliefs;

Summary/Abstract: The History of Romanian Folkloristics, written by Ovidiu Bîrlea, mentions only three female names that contributed, more or less controversial, to the development of this science in the late nineteen than dearly twentieth century. Elena Didina Odorica Sevastos distinguishes herself through studies and folklore collections in Moldavia, Pauline Schullerus is collecting and translating Romanian folk narratives from Transylvania, and Elena Niculiţă-variance is among the first Romanian florists to make regional typologies and text corpuses of Romanian folklore, with a massive collection of folk customs and popular beliefs representative of Bukovina: The Traditions and the Beliefs of the Romanian People Collected and Placed in Mythological Order (1903). She is also the author of the volumes: Studies in Folklore (1908, 1912) and Sărbătoarea Moșilor în București (i. e. an orthodox feast honoring one’s dead parents and ancestors) (Bucharest, 1915). Elena Niculiţă-Voronca, settled in Bukovina by marriage, dedicated herself to the folkloric activity with the clear conviction that she did this “for the benefit of the nationˮ, following Simion Florea Marian’s example. Known representative personalities of folklore and culture referred to and use din formation from her writings in their own works: Andrei Birseanu, Simion Florea Marian, Artur Gorovei, Tudor Pamfile, Elena Sevastos. Subsequently, others criticized them hard or appreciated them: Ion Bogdan, Ion Muşlea, Ion Diaconu, Romul Vuia, Petru Caraman, Ovidiu Bîrlea, Iordan Datcu, Lucia Berdan. The collection The Traditions and the Beliefs of the Romanian People Collected and Placed in Mythological Order, marked at the time of its appearance by a “harshdestinyˮ, went through critical reevaluations (made by Ovidiu Bârlea, Iordan Datcu, Lucia Berdan) and was re-edited three times in a decade: twice in 1998, once in 2008). Elena Niculiţă-Voronca is regarded today as the author of a representative writing for Romanian ethnology, whosevaluelies not only in therichness of folkloric information but also in linguistic terms and semantic meanings that can contribute to a better understanding of the history of Romanian linguistics.

  • Issue Year: 52/2019
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 13-17
  • Page Count: 5
  • Language: Romanian
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