Spending time in the village we were able to learn, and in some cases experience, many area traditions and lifestyles. To a certain extent life seems to evolve around the rivers. Each village in the region sits along one of four rivers that run through the valley, and each is used in more ways than one. Many houses in the area do not have running water, and while most families have a well in the yard, some still head to the river. Laundry is also done in the river, as you’ll see in one of my photos below. Some locals take their crops to the river mills to grind their grains and others use it to help make the local moonshine, called Horinca. We met some locals that gave us a huge bottle of their home brew and we did our best to keep up with the tastings. As you look through my photos, I’ve tried to show a few more of the traditions we encountered.
One of the village ladies spinning wool with a distaff. She'll then use the wool to make everything from clothes to carpets.
Ladies all over town use baskets like this to carry everything from firewood to laundry to crops from the field.
Here's a look at the village washing machine. Water hits the pool just right to spin the clothes like a regular washing machine.
No fancy tractors to plow the fields here.
A procession through town towards the church.
Mother and daughter getting ready for church in traditional dress.
Colorful pots and pans on the front tree mean that the daughter has now reached the age where she is ready to marry. Eligible boys are free to come calling.
Hay from the fields is slowly added to racks for drying. By the end of summer it will be one large mound.
Wooden architecture abounds in this area and these tall wooden gates are a perfect example. These gates can be found on every property and are considered the threshold that separates the "sacred space" of the farmyard from the surrounding land. It keeps trouble and misfortunes out of the farmyard. In earlier times they were a defining mark of one's social status, but today they're more a source of pride for the owner.
One other traditional item we became aware of was the metal roof ornaments. We tried to locate some in various shops around the area, but with the language barrier had no luck. Finally we met a man who took us to a local craftsman he thought could help us. We later found out that this type of work is a specialty of the Gypsies and so we now own a gypsy-made roof ornament. We went to pick it up at their shed and ended up being there for quite awhile. I took the shot below while they were working and before all the pieces were assembled. While the whole ordeal had us all laughing pretty hard, the final product will make for a memorable gift. Most likely it will end up in the garden though, and not on the roof.
