Stories at the turning of the seasons: the realm of the zmei
The feature “Stories at the turning of the seasons: the realm of the zmei”, published by Formula AS on 23 March 2020, follows Catalin Manole’s encounters with residents of Sălciua and Ocoliș in the Arieș Valley. It centres on the connection between the Apuseni landscape, traditional households and the stories passed down by older people. This archive page presents the feature’s themes and retains its original gallery.
The dance of the iele
Stories and households in Sălciua
The author reaches the villages as winter gives way to spring, when gardens, orchards and animals return to the centre of everyday work. Lia Rădac tells him about local traditions, the people called loajnițe and cotătură, the term used for an incantation. The accounts are presented as the memories and beliefs of the people he meets, part of a changing rural world.
Granny Ileana, aged 93
Lia shows him old objects, traditional costumes, icons and plants kept in the household. She describes customs at the end of the harvest and the crown of ears of grain, as well as dishes such as potato soup with smoked meat and dried plums, or mămăligă tiopăită, with layers of cheese and butter. Details of work, food and language give the feature the dimension of lived local history.
Lia in traditional dress from Sălciua
Ocoliș, Ileana and the mountain’s stories
The journey continues towards Ocoliș, among wooden houses, barns and hay stores. Here the author meets Ileana Harinton, aged 93. Her memories connect mountain work and sheep rearing with stories of zmei, iele and Poarta Zmeilor in Bedeleu.
Old houses in Ocoliș
Stories about the mountain’s beings sit alongside ordinary experiences: journeys by cart or narrow-gauge train, taking cheese to town and life in the upland huts. The feature preserves the women’s distinctive way of speaking and shows how closely landscape, memory and village beliefs intertwine.
Ileana and her walking stick
The memory of a rural world
Another encounter is with Maria Raț, aged 90, who lives in a house without electricity. She talks about her household and old practices and beliefs concerning love, mătrăgună and healing. These accounts belong to the people in the feature and are retained here as part of their oral heritage.
Maria Raț telling stories about loajnițe
Through these encounters, Catalin Manole’s text captures the gradual disappearance of certain occupations, words and stories, as well as their continuing presence in the Apuseni villages. The original photographs accompany this evocation of the places and people.
Source: Formula AS — “Stories at the turning of the seasons: the realm of the zmei”, Catalin Manole, 23 March 2020, issue 1408. Agent Green archive summary; the full feature can be read at the source.
