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Romanian teenager Cosmin, sweating under his giant bearskin costume, ushered in the new year with drums, flutes and whistles.
The parade starring Cosmin has a rich history and is increasingly becoming a tourist attraction in Romania, especially for young people looking to reintegrate into national traditions.
Performing in a 40-kilogram (88-pound) costume made of real bear skin is physically demanding, but Cosmin doesn’t miss out on dancing out of this world.
“The skin I’m wearing belongs to my grandfather,” the 17-year-old student said proudly, shaking the animal’s head from side to side.
The northeastern town of Comanesti puts on colorful, loud shows between Christmas and New Year’s Day to ward off evil spirits.
This centuries-old tradition takes place across the country, but is celebrated most fervently in the region including Comanesti, which has become a center for the bearskin dance troupe.
Preparations begin in the autumn when the local council selects hundreds of mostly young performers, aged from 8 and rarely older than 30.
Prizes are won for the most expressive performances, while a majestic bearskin costume features the animal’s scariest features, including claws, claws and mouth.
Traditional “mici” sausages and kebabs are on the menu for spectators and dancers, and the names of the participants’ hometowns are listed on a bulletin board.
Romania is home to more than half of Europe’s brown bears, animals considered a sign of strength and bravery but now under threat from deforestation and protected.
The dance, which has pre-Christian roots, has become a tourist magnet and an important source of income in recent years.
– ‘Search Identity’ –
According to anthropologist Valer Simion Cosma, the festival has undergone a “renaissance” since 2007 and Romania’s accession to the European Union.
With many citizens choosing to leave the country of 19 million people in search of brighter prospects abroad, younger generations have seen the event’s value as part of “finding their identity,” he said.
Cosma noted that nearly 6 million Romanians living abroad want to keep local customs with their families when they return home.
This, the researchers added, breaks with recent trends in which “cultural interest turns outward” in Romania, with folklore “conceived as outdated and restricted to older generations”.
Encouraged by television coverage, people’s enthusiasm for the bear dance was revived, bringing new life to the garment production industry and attracting thousands of tourists.
“The value of folklore is no longer in the meaning it was once assigned, but in its function as a spectacle and its economic impact,” Cosma said.
hbo/bg/anb/imm/ah
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