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Folk Masks story
History, fairy-tales, customs and traditions
History
Folk Masks have been a constant presence in our ancestors’ traditions and customs. They date back to two thousand years ago and originate from Romania’s eastern region, known as Moldavia.
The art and craft of Folk Masks conquered the hearts of Romanians from several neighbouring areas, reaching as far as Transylvania, the center of olden Romania.
Transylvania is a special place not only because it captures the essence of our country’s rich history and traditions, but because it is also the very home of Sibiu, the city where the Elrond family and community was born and continues to grow to this day.
Fairy-tales
Folk Masks originated from our ancestors’ needs and beliefs. Back in the pre-Christian era, the Thracians believed that at the very end of every winter, when the new year was just about to begin, all the evil spirits would gather on Earth to unleash malicious forces over the people, their lands and animals.
According to this belief, if the land became infertile, if the fields were scorched by drought or the animals got sick and died, the evil spirits were at play. Thus, the Thracians decided to fight against them by disguising themselves as UGLY and POWERFUL beings. These special powers were given by the Folk Masks they were wearing! They were crafted out of bear heads or different leathers, using rooster claws as teeth, pieces of wood and clay, sharpened stone for the ears… As it was once thought “The ugly can only be killed by ugliness”, Folk Masks along the rituals performed offered Thracians the power to defeat evil spirits.
Customs and Traditions
As time passed by, our ancestors began using Folk Masks for various rituals and important events in a person’s life, like birth, wedding and death. Some of the new rituals consisted in using Folk Masks to bring or drive away the rain, for a rich harvest or in order to cure sickness. Because the masks were now present in such a wide range of rituals and cultural endeavours, our ancestors began customising them and new identities came to light:
- Death Masks — were used to purify the body, and take control of the lost soul that was stuck on Earth as a flying bird or butterfly. It was tought that Folk Masks were ancestors who came to release the soul of the dead, and to purify the body and the rest of the family and friends.
- Birth Masks — were used by the new born’s relatives in order to keep away the evil spirits and surround him with joy and happiness.
- Wedding Masks — were used to purify the wedding and the wedded pair, to guide them through their new life as a whole and to bless them with a healthy and strong child.
- Seasons Masks — used to perform various rituals to increase wealth; rain rituals, harvesting rituals, equinox/solstice rituals
One day will be our day, and we are here to stay!
