In the course of centuries, the Romanian people have
created for themselves a rich stock of artistic and cultural possessions,
ornaments of their existence. Their artistic creations are, to this day,
the object of a common preoccupation: at every stage, from the cradle to
the grave, they are bound to the life of the people whose thoughts, feelings
and aspirations they embody.
The child itself creates its own world of sonorous toys,
of songs and dances. The yearly feasts are adorned and cheered by special
songs and dances. The shepherd accompanies his daily work with special
melodies and certain songs and dances have been conceived in direct connection
with the work of the field. Weddings have their characteristic songs and
dances, and death has given rise to the creation of certain heartrending
songs.
The genres of folklore being historic categories with
a social function and content and having their own means of artistic realisation,
continuously change their aspect in time and space according to the evolution
of the people's conception of life.
Folk customs, ritual and ceremonial in their essence,
are a vestige of the past. Their origin, lost in the mists of past ages,
lies in the continuous aspiration of man to understand life and all that
is happening around him and to master surrounding nature, to make it actively
his slave.
The knowledge of these creations is particularly useful
to those who for the development of a national art at the service of the
people. |
