Drăgaica
The lead Sânziana.
This is part of a yearlong series on the second edition of Colière, the Euclidian Non-Isochronous Rhythms card deck. Each card is a pretext to gloss over one item of Romanian mythology, anthropomorphize it, all aimed at easier visualizing and audiating one particular rhythm.
Today it’s about “Drăgaica”.
She is the protector of the fields and of fertility in general. Dressed like a bride, she comes out on the summer solstice as a Neolithic lunar divinity. Artemis or Hera were later loosely associated with her. She is basically our south-east equivalent of our north-west Sânzienele I discussed two days ago. It seems that on this side of the Carpathians one of them has to lead, while on the other side they have them as a group. I’m sure it has to do with the Greek/Levantine influence around the Danube basin. I am picturing the northern group as blondes, and this one as more of a brunette.
She does the same things as them, with the same flowers, songs and dances, on exactly the same day. To this day.
A bit redundant, I know, but it’s all for the coming summer solstice. They say her name is of Bulgarian origin, so yet another Slavic import. South Slavs that is, because the eastern ones celebrate Ivan Kupala on the same night.
...at the time of year when the grain begins to ripen, girls from neighboring villages gather and choose the most attractive and beautiful of their number, named Drăgaica. Adorning her with a wreath woven from ears of grain and a multitude of colorful scarves, they tie the keys to the barns to her hands and lead her through the fields in front of a large crowd. Thus, with outstretched arms, adorned with scarves fluttering in the wind, Drăgaica, as if flying, returns home, surrounded by her girlfriends; dancing and dancing, they make the rounds of all the villages... — Dimitrie Cantemir
The old rituals got replaced by various fairs, places where youths get to meet future marriage prospects, the old school dating markets. We still have the Maidens Fair on Mount Gaina (Hen Mountain), held just before summer solstice,
a traditional match-making festival where villagers in traditional costume walk up to the mountain plateau for dancing, feasting and choosing a mate.
If we take a girl group like Spice Girls or Bananarama or Bangles it is very hard to pick one of the girls and crown her as “The Girl”. People get divided and conquered when asked these question. We’ll call this type of groups Sânzienele. In contrast, groups that have a girl as a lead singer present her as Drăgaica. Blondie, Pretenders, Garbage, Lamb, Cardigans, Cranberries, Portishead, Texas, No Doubt, Moloko. Name the Drăgaicas associated with each of these 10 bands. You got one point for each Drăgaica. Don’t mind these bands have some male presenting members in the background. All musicians as well as all actors are feminine / lunar on the inside so this stands on its feet as a good analogy. All bands are girl bands.
This is ῬΕΎΜΑ (Current) in the previous Coliere deck. E(8,9). A salvo of 8 punches and one respiro. Something flows excessively. A discharge of fluids getting spilled over where they do not belong is what some call rheumatism. But we only have Rheuma for now. The bright side. Drăgaica might also be upset occasionally and bring forth hale and whirlwinds. But most often than not she is nice if we keep our side of the deal.
Homework: Make Rheuma converge with Drăgaica. Make it make sense.
The yearly discharge of Drăgaica upon the Earth brings smell to flowers and all other good fertility stuff, and also marks the start of the days shortening. Foreshadowing the coming winter. It’s downhill from now, she says. It won’t get better than this, enjoy it while it lasts.
Gwen-Ste-Fa-Ni-Gwen-Ste-Fa-NI!
1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4!
B-A-N-A-N-A-S-S
“All bands are girl bands”. Catchy phrase.