The Căluşari (Romanian pronunciation: [kəluˈʃarʲ]) were the members of a Romanian fraternal secret society who practiced a ritual acrobatic dance known as the căluş. According to the Romanian historian Mircea Eliade, the Căluşari were known for "their ability to create the impression of flying in the air"[1] which he believed represented both the galloping of a horse and the dancing of the fairies (zine). Indeed, the group’s patron was the "Queen of the Fairies" (Doamna Zinelor), who was also known as Irodiada and Arada, and who Eliade connected with the folkloric figure Diana.[2]
Due to their connection with the fairies, the Căluşari were believed to be able to cure the victims of fairies and for around two weeks - from three weeks after Easter till Pentecost - would travel to all the local communities where they would dance, accompanied by a few fiddlers, in order to do so.[3] In their dance, the Căluşari carried clubs and a sword, as well as a flag and a wooden horsehead. They swore on the group’s flag to treat each other as brothers, to respect the customs of the Căluşari and to remain chaste for the next nine days.[1] Upon their return home, their flag was fixed into the ground, with one member climbing it and crying out "war, dear ones, war!".[3]
The origins of the Căluşari are unknown, although the first written attestations are from the 17th century musical notations of Ioan Căianu.[citation needed] Eliade noted that "Although the oath taken is made in the name of God, the mythico-ritual scenario enacted by the calusari has nothing in common with Christianity" and that, in the 19th century at least, there was clerical opposition to the group, with its members being excluded from taking communion for three years in some regions.[3]
Etymology
The Romanian historian of religion Mircea Eliade believed that the term Căluşari originated with the Romanian word for horse, cal, from the Latin caballus.[4]The generally accepted derivation of Căluş is from the old Latin double form "collusium, collusii", meaning both "a dance group" and "a secret society", however other derivations have been proposed. The Romanian word căluş also means "a small piece of wood placed in the mouth to prevent talking", and derivation from this word has some support from the presence of the mute figure in some groups, and the ritual silence that used to be observed by the entire group. Others see căluş as a diminutive of cal "horse", in turn derived from the Latin caballus, and point to the horse's mythical associations with fertility and war, as well as the imitation of horses found in certain Căluş dances, although these dances do not currently play a principal role in the ritual. Another theory is that it derives from "Coli-Salii", the Roman priests dedicated to the worship of Mars.[5]
Description
Traditionally, the Căluşari group is a secret, male-only society associated with a spring rite, possibly a remnant of tribal warrior societies. The group leader (usually an older man) recruits a number of acolytes, always young, single adults chosen for physical prowess. The group members take an oath of secrecy, whereupon they participate in an initiation rite and taught the forms of the dance. The groups of Căluşari roam the country in spring-time, visiting villages by turns and taking part in the week-end dances - hora.
The căluş is a male group dance, although there are records of traditions from Oltenia region that included 1-2 young girls, now obsolete. A "bride" would be chosen by the group from each village they passed through, based on her dancing skills. The "bride" would be oath-bound to join in the ritual dance, for three years in a row.
Dancers wear white trousers and white tunics, with brightly coloured ribbons streaming from their hats. Bells are attached to their ankles, and dances include the use of ornate sticks held upright whilst dancing, or pointing at the ground as a prop. The dance itself is highly acrobatic, emphasizing extension and high jumps, much like the Ceili dance.
Like many Morris dances, in many traditions Căluşari dancers include a fool, known as the "nebun", or "crazy".
The dance includes the following elements.
- The starting figure of walking (plimbări), or a basic step, in a circle moving counter clockwise.
- More complex figures (mişcare) performed in place between walking steps.
- Figures are formed from combinations of elements, often have a beginning-middle-end structure.
Similar dances
Other male group dances originating from ritual dances are found along the Carpathians and in Transylvania. The Carpathian variants such as Trilişeşti and Ţânţăroiul from Moldavia and Bărbătescul and De sărit from Maramureş include only the most basic features whereas the De bâtă, Haidău, and Fecioreasca of Transylvania are very close to the Căluşari with the addition of more complex later developments.The English Morris dance is also similar in choreography, the meaning of the ritualistic sword dance, and the costumes. It could simply be a common European folk dance, hence its connections with common folk beliefs such as fairies.
In popular culture
A Season 2 episode of the television series The X-Files, entitled "The Calusari", featured a group of Romanian elders (ethnicity and religion unspecified) attempting a folk exorcism on a Romanian-American boy. Their practice — which on the show involves chicken sacrifice, ritual dagger-waving, and the drawing of a swastika in blood on the boy's stomach — is ultimately revealed to be well-intentioned and effective rather than sinister, as it first appears.COLINDA POPII
COLINDA FETII
Aici o familie din sat, de cinste si omenie, ca Dumnezeu La multi ani sa ne-o tie, cinsteste si nu glumeste c-un colac de grau frumos ca pelita lui Hristos. Cinsteasca-l Dumnezeu in poarta Raiului, in poala Ceriului, sa ajunga sa boteze firicele mititele sa creasca alaturea cu ele.
Cucu sa cante, codru sa rasune si dumnealor La multi ani sa traiasca.
Si mai pe deasupra, si mai pe deasupra ne cinstesie cu 100 lei bani frumusei, batuti la Banca romaneasca ca dumnealor La multi ani sa traiasca!.
Nu mai tot promovați prostește idioțeniile regățeanului Eliade! Ce credea el despre anumite lucruri nu înseamnă că era și corect, chiar dacă a fost considerat un mare istoric al religiilor lumii, fiindcă altcineva n-a fost preocupat până atunci de asta. N-are renumele lui de istoric nici o legătură cu logica de interpretare a unor tradiții ardelenești.
RăspundețiȘtergereNici Pitagora nu era infailibil în geometrie, că de aceea există o singură "Teoremă a lui Pitagora" și nu mai multe, sau oricare dintre Papi nu era infailibil în interpretarea problemelor de teologie creștină, că pentru asta a fost inventată dogma "infailibilității Papei", pentru a combate contestările (ce nu-și au rostul în credința unor mase imense de oameni)!
În secolul XIX s-au găsit câțiva idioți din ceea ce se credea atunci că e elita intelectuală a românilor ardeleni, care au botezat artificial și complet aiurea cu numele "Banul Mărăcine" melodia caracteristică jocului Călușerilor ardeleni. Fiindcă i-a încântat o prostie literară, o piesă de teatru scrisă de un moldovean fabulist pe tema unui personaj istorico-mitologic francez pe care regățenii în acea perioadă l-au acaparat scriptic pentru ei, doar pentru că era pomenit Dunărea în autobiografia lui poetico-romanțată medievală timpurie. Nici până acum francezii care s-au ocupat SERIOS de problemă nu au ajuns la o concluzie, iar majoritatea indiciilor duc către o origine bulgărească sau cumană a familiei personajului, dar regățenii l-au introdus în panoplia lor istorică, iar slugile din Ardeal ale regățenilor de acum peste 100 de ani s-au năpustit să numească cu numele inventat de regățeni o tradiție ardelenească proabil milenară. Așa se inventează personaje istorice la regățeni și minciuni despre ceea ce nu a existat niciodată. Tradiție veche regățenească, de la Bălcescu al lor începând, devenită ceaușistă și transplantată recent în Ardeal.
Modificați textul, ca să deveniți credibili! ...și scoateți mențiunea despre regele lor Ferdinand, din pagină, că n-a avut nici un rol în Ardeal, în afară de rolul de măscarici la Alba-Iulia îm 1922, când majoritatea greco-catolică română ardeleană (cea căreia i se datorează scrierea latină, renașterea spirituală și culturală, ținuta morală caracteristic ardelenească, ridicarea satelor, etc.) a fost EXCLUSĂ din istorie!