This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Greier (talk | contribs) at 11:15, 17 May 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 11:15, 17 May 2006 by Greier (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Paparuda, probably of pagan origin, is a Romanian rain ritual, performed in the spring and in times of severe drought.
A girl, wearing a skirt made of knitted vines and small branches, sings and dances through the streets of the village, stopping at every house, where the hosts pour water on her.
The name is probably derived from Perperuna, which in it`s turn is a Slavic (south slavic) goddess, or as Sorin Paliga suggests, is a divinity from the local Thracian substratum.
Like the Dodola (dudula, dudulica, dodolă in Romanian, dudulë in Albanian, tuntule in Greek, dudulya and didilya in South Slavic languages), which is another name for the same custom, and other ritual Paliga argues is of Thracian origin, the Paparuda is found only at Romanians (păpărudă), Aromanians (pirpirună) and South Slavs (peperuda, perperuna).
The name of Dodola is possibly cognate with the Lithuanian word for thunder: dundulis.
Footnotes
- Sorin Paliga: "Influenţe romane și preromane în limbile slave de sud" .pdf
- ibidem
- ibidem
 | This Romania-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |