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Spring Festival Tour |
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A trip of discovery into the hidden valleys of Maramureş, north-west Romania where we join the village people celebrating a traditional Spring Festival-with music, dancing and traditional costumes. Small timber houses, with huge carved gates, wooden churches competing to reach the heavens; they all make a visit to Maramureş like a step back in time. Maramureş is a fascinating place, in north of Romania, surrounded by mountains (except to its north-west) and endowed with picturesque valleys, the most famous and beautiful being the Mara and Iza Valleys.
The highlight of this tour will be "Tânjaua de
pe Mara" Festival - a traditional folk festival held in Hoteni
village on the Mara Valley. The festival is a fertility rite that dates
back at least to Roman times and celebrates the most industrious
ploughman, the one who is the first to start tilling his land in the
early spring. Twelve to sixteen young men, known as flăcăi,
put on their finest clothes and decorate the village bulls with flowers,
leaves, ribbons and bells. Then they lead the bulls to the village's
chosen ploughman who has to plough the first field. After he finishes he
is taken from the filed on the shoulders of the flăcăi,
circling his house three times before taking him to the nearest river or
well where they ritually bath him. This is believed to stimulate the
earth's fertility and ensure a good crop. |
The region is renowned for its 17th and 18th century
spindly wooden churches and the beautiful hand carved wooden gates.
Unspoilt nature, fairy-tale hamlets, splendid displays of woodwork and
popular costume, country festivals, ancient traditions, hospitable
people, farmers and artisans who still keep the old trades. |
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