”Engagement” („în credinţarea” or „credinţarea” in old Romanian) ”and church announcements” („strigările” or ”vestirile in old Romanian”) – significant moments of the wedding ceremony (Câmpia – Sălaj)
Wedding ceremony within the traditional Romanian village is structured upon moments which make marraige legitimate. Wedding is a dual event – both individual and social. Therefore, though many of the wedding related moments are lived in the intimacy of the family or even couple, the wedding has a great social impact as the whole community wants to take part to its development.
To perform the customs that realate to the wedding is compulsory: even one error in this thorough scenario would would deny – at least partially – the relevance and validity of this act. Customs do not concern the life of each individual as something singular – they relate to the participation of the whole community to every important moment of his or her life. The individual is a mandatory part of a community. Therefore, customs appear as facts of culture of different human communities. Customs are ways to participate to the cultural life of the community. They insure social continuity. The main feature of the customs is therefore that of transmitting a community’s experiences.
Two such moments prior to wedding, of a special importance in the development of the complex scenario of the traditional wedding in Salaj County were the engagement (încredinţarea or credinţarea in old Romanian) – and the public announcement of the wedding in church (strigările or vestirile in old Romanian).
Keywords: wedding ceremony, traditional Romanian village, engagement, church announcements