Seasons of Folk by jackieraiola

Seasons of Folk by

Jacolyn Raiola

Introduction

raditional European folk culture is rich and expansive. It includes all collective customs, beliefs, values, rituals, festivals, skills, art, music, food, religion, dance and lore expressed by a shared community. A study of this traditional folk culture reveals a marked appreciation for the natural cycles of the earth and of the shared human experience. Social practices which recognized these moments of transformation through the seasons and the stages of life provided structure, meaning and a reaffirmation of identity. This earth-based insight honored the four focal points of the year: Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice while illuminating the stages of an individual and collective human journey.

“In early times change was slower and less frequent, so earlier customs and beliefs had longer to form…These primitive patterns ripened and mellowed like hand-rubbed woods, have persisted beneath the hasty veneers of later civilizations, to surprise us with their beauty when we chance to uncover them…They were formed slowly, close to nature herself and reflect her symmetry and simplicity. So in a sense, folklore is how we used to do it and wish we could now.” -Charles Francis Potter, Humanist and Author

he arrival of Spring signifies a shift in energy from the inward focus of winter to an outward projection of light and rebirth. The earth begins to reawaken after a long rest and with this transition a season of birth and growth commences. The Spring equinox brings a day of balance between light and dark, day and night and a promise of further growth. Traditional folk culture displays an emphatic welcoming of spring. Rituals and festivals during this period focus on marking a definitive end to winter and initiating a pleading welcome of this new season. The natural world is celebrated and revived through customs targeting a clearing out of old energy making way for new growth. New life and birth in the community is safe guarded through rituals focusing on protection and transition into a new phase.

Marzanna, Goddess of Winter

pring Equinox, the official first day of Spring, has arrived in Poland. It is late March and a winter chill still hangs in the air. Villagers, anxious for the return of Spring, are preparing for a pagan tradition which has endured for generations. Marzanna, the Slavic goddess incarnation of winter, death and plague must release her icy grip from the community, allowing for the return of Spring and an ushering in of a successful planting season and eventual harvest. Villagers craft a life-size effigy doll of Marzanna, often composed of straw and linen, dressed in traditional costume, decorated with ribbons and beads and mounted on a long wooden stick. The day begins as children parade the symbolic goddess through the streets while cheerfully dunking her in each puddle they encounter along the way. As evening approaches, villagers gather to carry the doll to the bank of the river where it is set ablaze and tossed into the water. Marzanna, the goddess personification of Winter, is put to rest in a symbolic ritual to welcome Spring and the promise of rebirth.

Carnival in Sardinia

arnival festivities throughout Europe commence before the period of lent in the Western Christian tradition, marking the first Spring festival of the New Year. This is a time of public celebration, parades, costumes and masks. Community norms regarding behavior are suspended allowing for a period of feasting and celebration before the fasting of lent begins. Off the coast of Italy the island of Sardinia awakens with a mysterious energy stepping into another time-honored season of carnival traditions beginning with the ritual lighting of bonfires in honor of Sant’Antonio Abate, the saint protector of animals and fire. Su Karrasecare is celebrated throughout the island as passion and mystery collide in centuries-old ritual displays. The streets in the village of Mamoiada, deep in the heart of Sardinia, are alive with energy as all focus centers on two main characters engaged in reenactments related to ancient farming rites.

The Mamuthones hide their faces behind eerie black, wooden masks hand-carved into jutting angular planes by expert mask makers. Dressed in bulky black sheepskins, they carry heavy masses of copper cowbells on their backs. Walking as a group of 12, one representing each month of the year, they are led like animals by the Issohadores, their guardians. The Issohadores’ colorful costumes: smooth white masks, red tunics, colorful hip scarfs and black hats tied down with red rope; present a stark contrast to their dark counterparts. Unencumbered by the weight of the heavy cowbells, they are free to move among the Mamuthones, threatening them along with a lasso rope, a soha, or ‘mortal lace,’ to their final sacrificial location. The Mamuthones’ bells resound with each of their ancestral dance steps creating a restrained rhythmic and gloomy, atmosphere. Suddenly there is a burst of liberation in their short jumps, mirroring the paradox of the human experience. The Mamuthones echo the darkness while the Issohadores rope in the light.

Fujara, the Shepherd’s Flute

he deep meditative timbre of the fujara shepherd’s flute resonates through the mountains of central Slovakia. Shepherds are tending their flocks at the start of their long highland stay in the Podpol’anie region in the forested Pol’ana Mountain range. As the slow melancholic melody of the fujara flute flows through the pastures a calming effect is activated for the surrounding sheep herd. The shepherd’s use of harmonic vocals accompanies the flute in a ballad of signaling and calling used to guide the herds and communicate with other shepherds. The fujara flute presents a striking presence with its length near the height of the shepherd himself. Two elder wood tubes connected by a leather strip and three finger holes compose the structure of this fipple flute. The shepherd activates its natural harmonics system by creating tones controlled through the strength of the breath he expels. The instrument is guided by feeling and intuition. The length of the flute is carved, burned or engraved with abstract and symbolic motifs representative of the region’s culture. The intricacy and artisanship of the embellishment elevate the instrument into an impressive work of folk art. A sense of freedom, identity and pride mingles with a deep connection to the natural world as the flute’s rhapsodic sound dances amongst the babbling springs and rolling pastures. The countryside emerges as a bucolic soundscape for the senses.

olk culture recognizes the period of summer as a display of earth’s full bounty and life force of energy. Celebrations and rituals focus on giving back in gratitude some of the energy and abundance bestowed by the earth. Midsummer dances convey this gratitude while mirroring the sun’s movements through joined hands and winding contraction from the center outward and back again. This abundant summer season mirrored in the cycle of life is revealed through the rites of passage evident in wedding traditions throughout traditional folk culture. The passage from one metaphorical season into the next is marked by time-honored traditions solidifying meaning and purpose within individual and shared experience.

Kupala Night

he sun appears to stand still in the sky as the Summer Solstice, the year’s longest day, arrives in the Slavic regions. Communities gather to celebrate Kupala Night, originally a pagan fertility rite which later merged into Orthodox Christianity, as a time to honor the earth’s abundant offerings during this period of natural fullness, strength and fertility. Crowns of wildflowers and medicinal herbs adorn the heads of women and girls as they create floral wreaths to encircle a candle which they will float down the river in search of romantic insight. Young couples grasp hands in preparation to jump a blazing bonfire lit to mimic and boost the sun’s strength for crop growth. This test of bravery and faith is believed to purify and strengthen their relationship. Those who fail to complete the jump are doomed for inevitable separation. Villagers roam the forest searching for the elusive fern flower, said only to bloom on this night. Anyone who finds this mystical flower is rewarded with prosperity and power, a further display of earth’s offering during this season of abundance.

Rozpleciny, the Unbraiding Ceremony

s the transition from spring into summer welcomes a new level of natural growth and abundance, Polish folk culture reveals a transformative season marked by ceremonial rites of passage. On the night before she is to be married a bride gathers with her bridesmaids for the dziewczyny wieczor, the maiden evening. It is a time to honor the transition from childhood to marriage. The group collects rosemary, myrtle and rue from the garden and weaves them together creating a floral crown for the bride to wear for the last time. This marks an emotional moment for all involved, a moment of transition away from girlhood and life in the family home. The rozpleciny, or unbraiding ceremony, begins as the groom arrives to the home. He is given bread, a symbol of abundance, and salt, a reminder to cope with life’s difficulties. He stands in a straight line with his family facing the bride. A juniper branch decorated with ribbon and flowers and lit by two attached candles is handed to the bride, seated on a doughbox, to initiate the ceremony. The bridesmaids begin to remove the ribbons from the bride’s long, braided hair and eventually the freshly-made wreath is removed and placed on top of the juniper branch. The event culminates with the ceremonious unbraiding of the bride’s hair. The atmosphere is emotional and nostalgic as this rite of passage concludes. Tomorrow will be a day of celebration marking the dawn of a new season of life.

Maramureş Folk Wedding

he rolling hills of Maramureş County in northeastern Romania, dotted throughout with golden haystacks and wooden churches, flanked by vast evergreen forests, present a picture of time standing still. Folk culture in these rural villages has changed little from centuries past. The rhythmic sound of horse-drawn wagons traveling the rural roads can be heard as they pass enormous wooden gates intricately carved with ropes and symbols representing the sun. A wedding spectacle brimming with color, music and customs is about to begin. The groomsmen gather at the groom’s home where the best man prepares a flag stick decorated with an array of colorful and textural fabrics, handkerchiefs, bells, and wheat stalks. The flag stick will be raised and twirled throughout the day’s festivities in a symbol of power and vitality. The bride and groom live in different villages therefore it is customary for the bride to be fetched by horseback. The horses, elaborately decorated with an abundance of colorful garlands, ribbons and bells, are ridden with the best man in the lead. Wagons with friends, family and instruments follow in procession. Close family members enter the bride’s home while others wait outside celebrating with abundant bottles of Țuică, a powerful plum brandy. Bride and groom then make their way in separate processions to the church emerging after the religious ceremony to further celebration. Women in colorful headscarves and men in heavily decorated, tasseled vests and hand-made straw hats make their way through the village. The rhythmic beat of a drum accompanies the call and response chants of the male wedding party as they kneel to form a circle around the bride and groom. The festivities are a cultural demonstration of the entire community.

utumn’s arrival activates a shift in energy once again. The stamina and strength of the summer season is transitioning into a more settled inward state. The earth is preparing for the quiet, dormant winter. The arrival of the Autumn equinox initiates another balance between day and night as the sun begins its inward journey. With this season comes a time to honor the abundance of the harvest. The laborious work of caring for, harvesting, and storing the crops and plants culminates in nature’s bountiful offering. This is a joyous time of thanksgiving in folk culture. The community that united throughout the cycle of crop production is now entering a time of reaping, celebration and rest. Customs during this period focus on expressions of gratitude for the earth’s offerings and rituals to ensure a bountiful yield for the next year.

Dożynki, The Ancient Harvest Festival

solitary sheaf of grain remains in the field after a laborious harvest season in rural Poland. Ribbons and flowers decorate the sheaf indicating to passersby the success of the crop and to initiate an ancient harvest festival connected to ensuring future crop fertility. The much anticipated Dożynki festival begins after a short rest from the harvest. Community members gather at the field where a young girl is playfully dragged on the soil around the stalks in a symbolic act of increasing the fertility of the ground for the next harvest. The last sheaf is ceremoniously cut with a hand tool and passed to local folk artisans to be included in the construction of a wieniec, the wheat wreath or garland. As a symbolic and almost magical manifestation of the harvest’s success, the wreaths are carefully crafted and decorated with flowers, grains, herbs, fruit, roosters and quails. The shape varies but often resembles a large crown. At almost twice the hight of a person, the wreath boasts an impressive stature. A procession is formed led by the harvest wreath and followed by villagers holding loaves of bread made from the recent harvest, baskets of fruits and nuts and tools such as scythes and sickles. The assembly breaks out in joyful song, often with a humorous tone as they make their way to the landowner’s home to begin the feast and celebration.

Alpine Transhumance

s the days grow shorter in the Alpine regions of Europe a thin layer of frost covers the high mountain pastures. Farmers and herdsmen who accompanied their herds upward in late spring are now preparing to move back to the valley below. This act of transhumance, the seasonal movement of grazing livestock between low and high pastures is know as Almabtrieb in German speaking countries. The cattle have spent the warmer months grazing on the open high meadow pastures supplying local alpine cheesemakers with fresh milk. This drive upward allowed for hay in the lower valley to be saved for the winter months. The farmers spend days preparing elaborate headdresses made of flowers, ribbons, juniper, pine and moss for their cows to wear for their reentry into the village. Finally the time has come for the group to follow the ancient footpaths down the mountain. The cattle follow in line, their large bells resounding through the mountain passes, a way to inhibit evil spirits that may try to accompany them on their downhill journey. Down in the valley, villagers dressed in their best traditional costumes are anxiously awaiting their return with a homecoming celebration. Women weave garlands of fir branches and alpine roses with small mirrors attached to ward off malevolent spirits. Music, feasts and dancing ensue upon their arrival. Each animal is sorted according to its owner and then returned to the warmth and safety of its low pasture stable until the cycle begins again in the springtime.

Wool Distaffs

n the rural villages of Romania, the raw fibers of freshly sheared sheep’s wool are spun by hand almost daily. The spun thread or yarn will be used to knit socks and other garments and to weave blankets for the approaching winter cold. These woven textiles are the product of hard work and centuries-old craft skills passed on from generation to generation. The distaff is an important tool in the spinning process as it holds the raw wool or fibers in place while being pulled and twisted into yarn. Holding the distaff at the waist under the left arm, a small amount of wool fibers are pulled and spun with a spindle in the right hand. Originally just an ordinary wooden stick, distaffs evolved into highly decorated and finely crafted works of folk art with strong cultural significance within a community. An elaborately decorated distaff made a fine gift for a future spouse and carried with it an expression of wealth and status. Six-petal rosettes connected in clusters, originally meant as solar symbols, are a common motif carved on the surface of distaffs. Like many other small household items, distaffs feature decorative compositions covering the entire surface. The everyday tools of peasant life are elevated into objects of decorative art.

“What is that impulse, that irresistible force which will not let the peasant rest content with the merely useful, but drives him to seek the best proportioned and most harmonious forms that appeal to the eye by color and line, are pleasant to the touch and produce that rare sense of contentment, poise of mind and joy which characterize aesthetic enjoyment?” -from Peasant Art in Romania, George Oprescu, 1929

he natural world lays dormant in the long, dark days of winter. The earth’s stillness mirrors an inward process of reflection and renewal targeting our own inner struggles. A time of transformation is underway. Folk culture marks the winter season with ritual and ceremony focused on transition and rebirth. The winter solstice, the longest and darkest night of the year, signifies an awakening with the gentle return of the light. The cycles of nature and life are never more apparent than during this time, revealed in the juxtaposition of death and rebirth, darkness and light.

“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is, But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity, Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards, Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.” -from Burnt Norton, T.S. Eliot, 1936

Latvian Mummers

he shadowy light of the Winter Solstice blankets Latvia as groups of community members emerge into the dark evening. Their faces are covered by traditional masks most commonly of animals like bears, horses, and goats. Others, however, are more macabre including living corpses and grotesque creatures. The sound of their singing, violins, tambourines, and drums breaches the stillness of the long night. These ķekatas, or mummers, traverse the village going from house to house sometimes scratching at the windows with thin branches to announce their arrival. They have come to bless the homes and frighten away any evil spirits. Home owners welcome their arrival with open doors, food and drinks. Back outside yule logs are dragged by community members through the cold snow. Each log collects the problems and misfortunes of the last year ready to be burned away in a plea of rebirth to the sun maiden.

Miorița, The Shepherd’s Ballad

young Moldavian shepherd is warned by his enchanted ewe that two other shepherds are plotting to kill him because of his wealth and success. Without protest, he instructs the ewe to have his killers bury his body in the sheep pen. His sheep and eventually his mother, to spare her great pain, are to be informed that he went away to marry a princess. The wedding ceremony is attended by personifications of nature and marked by a falling star. One could assume that the shepherd is decidedly resigned to his death. This may prove understandable considering the Moldavian peasants’ experiences throughout centuries of domination where they became conditioned to accept their fate with resignation. Or perhaps, the shepherd is displaying less fatalism and more empowerment through his ability to alter the meaning of his own fate. Either way, the transformation of the shepherd’s death into a wedding ceremony is directly related to one of Romanian’s funeral customs where rituals are strict and elaborate. Marriage in this traditional folk culture is highly regarded. If an unmarried person dies, a marriage of the dead, Nunta Mortului, takes place complete with a stand-in wedding party. This pastoral ballad titled Miorița, or The Little Ewe, remains one of the most important pieces of Romanian folklore. The story, passed on for generations, encompasses the strong folk themes of nature, ritual and rite of passage.

“All my listening sheep Would draw near and weep Tears, no blood so deep. How I met my death, Tell them not a breath; Say I could not tarry, I have gone to marry A princess – my bride Is the whole world’s pride. At my wedding, tell How a bright star fell, Sun and moon came down To hold my bridal crown, Firs and maple trees Were my guests; my priests Were the mountains high; Fiddlers, birds that fly, All birds of the sky; Torchlights, stars on high.” -excerpt from Miorița, 1852

“On the land an oak will grow On a bough an owl may stand From lasting cloud a rain will fall Upon the earth to water seed. Each to each returns its need To act upon the other’s call No locking ring may stay the hand Nor halt the seasons as they flow.” -from Adrift on the Star Brow of Taliesin, John Fairfax, 1974

This book was inspired by my interest and appreciation of traditional folk art and plenty of time spent in Romania and Hungary admiring the longstanding folk art traditions steeped in rich symbolism and cultural history. Subsequent discovery during research for this project revealed a profoundly interesting depth of connection and cultural significance encompassing the whole of folk culture. -Jacolyn Raiola The illustrations in this book were created from wood and linocut prints combined with other traditional media and digital techniques.

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