SÂNGEORZ LARGE PAINTING

A collection of 14 paintings depicting 14 of the most important celebrations of the pastoral Romanian year, all created in chronological order (but not necessarily previewed in this manner here). The inspiration came from the rich culture, traditions and mythology of one of the most authentic Romanian area, Mărginimea Sibiului. After thoroughly studying the landmarks of the celebratory year of the locals, rich in traditions, songs and dances, it’s clear that we’re looking at 3 main cultural layers- the base one, an ancestral religion that’s left only residual information for us, a middle layer of the solar cult (inherited by the cult of Mithra) and the last and most present in today’s collective conscience, the Christian layer (their initiators made a clear effort, at Christianity’s beginnings to change the subject of the “pagan”’s celebrations- instead of celebrating the winter Solstice we celebrate the birth of Jesus, instead of celebrating an old Thracian god of thunder and rain, on the exact day, we celebrate Saint Elijah).

THE STORY

On the eve of St. George’s day, April 22, popularly called the St. George of the Cows or the Chosen One, a series of customs are held that ritually mark the beginning of the pastoral year, being a celebration of the shepherds. These include the choice of shepherds, the place where the lathe or fold will be made, the choice of lambs and the preparation of the sheep for the first milking, as well as the preparation of the first curd. The first milking of the sheep is marked by ritual gestures, since the celebration involves entering a sacred time interval in which the forces of nature could be influenced. The first milking was done through a traditional bagel or through a wreath of plants with magical properties, which were believed to be able to ensure the health of the animals and abundance in milk production.