ROMANIANS FROM THE VALLEY OF THE TIMOK – THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS LIFE
Decebal Marius Floroaica
1PhD student University of Craiova, Romania, decebalflor@yahoo.com
Abstract
This study is the result of long-standing concerns on the issue of the Romanian population from the Valley of Timok in Serbia. The Valley of Timok is an ethnographic - and, I might add, an ethnographic - paradox. Here, elements belonging to the traditional Romanian culture, that have long disappeared from the territory comprised within the Romanian borders, have survived, as if untouched by time, as in a natural ethnographic reserve, of an outdoor-museum type, while other aspects of this culture have developed into a specific direction, unknown to other regions in the country. Thus, today, this traditional community lying at the fringe of the Romanian living space provides the researcher with a fascinating image of a world in which the newest components of modern culture evolved, or were grafted. Thus, the system of beliefs and ritual practices that we meet here is deeply Romanian, but, at the same time, profoundly characteristic of this area, acting as a true identity landmark of the inhabitants of this allogeneic environment. The purpose of the research is to learn about the current situation of the Vlach community and to identify the historical elements, the geodemographical element, the human settlements, and their spiritual life.
The analysis of the theme was carried out based on qualitative research which made use firstly of observation (observation of social life in its space-time totality) as a method that is precursory of the launch of the other instruments, the sociological research and the study of social documents. The research aimed to analyse the demographic structure, the religious structure of the population, the ethnic groups, the typology of rural settlements, the households and traditional crafts, the traditions, the spiritual life of the Vlachs, and folk culture. The wealth of the information sources, the wide variety of documents used to reconstitute social life contributed to the description and explanation of the social processes and phenomena of the community.
The results of this study demonstrate that the Romanians of Timok preserved in their customs and traditions the entire beauty of folk culture, which most often resisted by itself, with deep attachment to language and tradition. Although they were almost always deprived of churches and schools to cultivate their ethnic knowledge, the Romanians from this community never lost their ancient speech and customs, not even after hundreds of years, these being almost identical to those from Oltenia, a fact that demonstrates their belonging to the Romanian nation.
| FULL TEXT PDF |  |