Cultural Study of Romania

After studying Romania's history it occurred to me that the majority of their history was more-or-less occupied by foreign nations. Romans, Byzantines, Bulgarians, Ottomans, Hungarians, and the Austrian Habsburgs. Hardly were they in charge of their own destiny without some form of foreign influence. So it's fair to say that much of their history and culture is a byproduct of those other nations. However quite often when an empire becomes vast, new sub-cultures emerge within the primary culture. It's not so much about the governing authority, rather the geographical region and it's local history that establishes a culture. Think of how different Los Angeles is from Texas, Minnesota, or New York City, even though they are all members of the same national culture. 

This is certainty the case for Romania located on the far southeastern pocket of Europe along the Black Sea. The nation is defined not by it's foreign influence but more so it's geographical identity; the impenetrable Carpathian Mountains. And while these foreign powers came and went, the native Romanians (such as the Dacians, Maygars, and Avars) endures up in these mountains. Throughout history these various foreign nations integrated with the local natives to create something uniquely Romanian. While it's still considered a fairly new nation, it has ancient roots within it's land that defined it's current culture.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this random fascination with Romania comes from the books Dracula and The Historian. To be fair though I have always admired European history as a whole. I probably first began with a fascination of Western Europe, but the past few years I have been quite pulled to Central and Eastern Europe. With academic studies on Russia, Germany, Czech, Austria, and the Baltics. There's still so many more regions in Europe I need to study some day, but for now it's Romania's turn. I must confess the only Romanians things that come to mind are Vlad the Impaler, Dracula, and the Romani people (also known as gypsies). I can't really think of any Romanian cuisines, writers, musicians, or great athletes. So this will be a learning experience for me, and I know it will not disappoint as I am already very inspired by their history, architecture, and folklore.   

Geography

So the story of every culture and civilization always begins with the geographical location. It's the distinctive features of the land, the climate, and the resources that help establish a people's identity. The land of Romania is defined by the Carpathian mountains that have protected them throughout history. This horseshoe mountain range, creates a valley a the center of Romania, which was once known as Transylvania. It is here that many native tribes survived foreign influence, and developed some of Romania's earliest known traditions. The iconic Danube river runs at it's Southern border dividing it from Bulgaria. The Black Sea sits at it's eastern coast like a gateway into the Middle East. 

Ethnicity

What makes Romania so unique is it's ethnic diversity, a product of cultural integration that occurred as far back as the Roman Empire. It's location on the eastern border of Europe has made it buffer zone for the West and the East. So it has Western European ethnicities while also Asian ethnicities. It's early western identity is mostly derived from Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Balkans. Their is also some identity that comes from the Slavs during migrations from Poland in the 500-800s. Although not as much compared to the rest of Eastern Europe. The Magyar Hungarians also made a big chunk of their ethnicity in the 800-900s.

Romania also has a deep middle-eastern/Asian identity beginning with the Avars from Turkey and Iran. Then the heavy influence of the Ottomans during the Middle Ages.  And of course there's the iconic Romani gypsies who migrated from northern India, into Persia, and arrived to the Balkans by the 1300s. The majority of this nomadic people eventually settled in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. Today they make up 3% of Romania's ethnic minorities. It's quite coincidental that the term Romani sounds like Romania, but they are actually quite different. The term "Romani" means people in the Indian language, while the term "Romania" is Latin and refers to the nation's cultural ancestors of the Romans. The common language today of Romania is a distinctive form of Vulgar Latin.   

Folklore

For me the most curious aspect of Romania's culture is their folklore, much thanks to Bram Stoker. It's quite interesting that he never set foot in Romania before writing Dracula, however he seemed well versed in the folklore of Transylvania. This famous reference to vampires is of course a mythological species, but it is very much rooted in Romanian folklore as far back as the 1300s. It is unique practice that developed there during the Middle Ages, which was ultimately a superstition of the undead. This ritualistic belief was most common among rural Romanians and gypsies. It of course led to the many written narratives and legends about this belief in the undead (nosferatu), spirits (known as Strigoi), and most famously the vampire.

Romanian folklore also dives into other magical elements made famous by Ion Creanga's Povesti stories. Such as the Zane and Iele fairies, the spiritual forest mother known as Muma Padurii, Solomonari the heroic Fat-Frumos, the princess Ileana Cosanzeana, wizards, dragons, and so forth. They also have unique seasonal traditions such as the Colinda Christmas carol, the Martisor tradition (wearing a brooch during the New Moon of Spring), and the Paparuda rain dance during the summertime. Grim rituals include the use of garlic, holy water, and charms to protect from evil spirits. Celebratory rituals include jumping over a broom for weddings, the midsummer fairy festival of Sanziene, and other crafts that feature magical elements. It's no question their cultural folklore is very much rooted in the mystical. 

Literature

One of the most famous Romanian writers is the poet Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), considered the national poet of Romania. He worked as a journalist and wrote many famous works of poetry such as the Luceafarul (The Evening Star) and the Scrisoaerae (Letter 3). Ion Creanga (1837-1889) was another significant writers that contributed to Romanian cultural identity. He was most famously for his humorous folktales such as Memories of my Childhood and the Povesti folk-stories. Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912) was Romania's most celebrated playwrights renown for his local humor. These three writers made up the influential literary society known as the Junimea which helped establish Romanian culture during the late 1800s to early 1900s. The group was founded by the literary critic, Titu Maiorescu. 

Other famous writers include

• Mircea Eliade (1907-1986)- Philosopher, historian, fiction writer, and professor
• C.A Rosetti (1816-1885)- Journalist, Politician
• Peter Ispirescu (1830-1887)- Folklorist, wrtier
• Liviu Rebreanu (1885-1944)- Novelist, realist
• Marin Preda (1922-1980)- Novelist, social-realism
• Ion Heliade Radulescu (1802-1872)- Poet, essayist, journalist

Music

The traditional core of Romanian music is derived from Hungarian and Balkan influence. It's folk
music puts an emphasis on the violin as the driving force of the melody. The Taraf band is a popular format in Wallachia usually of string instruments, flutes, tambourines, accordions, and bagpipes. The Doina is a middle-eastern Romanian tradition popular among the peasants known for it's slow melodies of ballads, lamentation, or melancholic music (somewhat like the Blues). The most famous Roman classical composer is George Enescu (1881-1955) while their most famous opera singer is Angela Gheorghiu (1965-present). Maria Tanase was a popular singer of the 1940s-1950s considered as the Edith Piaf of Romania. 

Other famous musicians include

• Gheorghe Zamfir (1941-present)- pan flute composer
• Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950)- pianist, composer
• Ciprian Porumbescu (1853-1883)- composer

Architecture

• 
  Peles Castle (1873-1914)- Gothic castle of King Carol I in Sinaia
• Bran Castle (1377) Iconic medieval fortress in Transylvania that inspired the Dracula story
• Corvin Castle (1446-1480)- Gothic Renaissance castle in Huneadora built for the Hungarian regent John Hunyadi. It is one of Europe's largest medieval castles. 
  
• Voronet Monastery (1488)- Orthodox church famous for it's color exterior and interior blue frescoes
• Curtea de Arges Cathedral (1512-1517)- Byzantine cathedral in Curtea de Arges that houses many Romanian royal tombs
• Sucevita Monastery (1581-1601)- Orthodox fortified monastery. Once again it has unique colorful frescoes on it's exterior.
• Maramues Wooden Churches (1600-1700s) Wooden churches with high spires, that look like eerie witch temples.
• Anghel Saligny Bridge (1890-1895) Once referred to as the King Carol bridge it went across the Danube River and once was the longest bridge in Europe 
• Romanian Athenaeum (1886-1888) Neo-classical concert hall. One of the most iconic buildings in Bucharest.
• Dacian Fortress (80 BC)- Ancient ruins of the Dacian 

Sports

The first name that comes to mind in Romanian sports is their greatest Olympian of all time, the gymnast Nadia Comaneci. She famously achieved the first ever perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics during her uneven bars routine. She went on to win 9 Olympic medals at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics (5 of which were gold medals). The Romanian women's team gymnastics is the 2nd most successful in Olympic history with 6 team gold medals (behind Russia's 9 medals). They also have a strong history in Rowing and Canoeing ,where Elisabeth Lipa is their most decorated Olympian with 10 rowing medals over 6 Olympic games from 1984-2004.

It's no surprise that soccer is the most popular sport in Romania, however they have never gone too deep in the tournament. The furthest they have gone was the quarterfinals at the 1994 World Cup (after famously defeating the mighty Argentina that year). They've only once made the quarterfinals in the Euro Cup in 2000. Their most famous soccer player is Gheorghe Hagi, known as the Maradona of the Carpathians, who led Romania far in 1994. They've also had a standout tennis performer the last ten years in Simona Halep who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbeldon in 2019.  

Cuisine

I've never had any Romanian cuisine and wouldn't even know where to begin. It's of course influenced by the integration of Balkan, Ottoman, Hungarian, and Slavic traditions. It should come as no surprise that many of their dishes are heavy with the garlic (as well as cabbage, onions, and sour cream). Some of their most famous dishes include the Sarmale (cabbage, pork, rice, and spices), the Mamaliga (cornmeal porridge with cheese), the Ciorba (sour soups of meet, veggies, and fermented wheat), mititei (skinless sausages), Tocanita (hearty stews of meat and veggies). Their traditional desserts include cozonac (sweet bread with nuts, cocoa, and cream filling), papanasi (fried cheese donuts), and placinta (pastry pies with filling). Some of their most famous drinks include the Tuica and palinca (fruit brandy), various wines, and the beer brands of Timisoreana and Ciucas.