If you ask the average Russian citizen what kind of associations he has with the word “Moldova” or “Moldavians”, in response, most likely, a number of fairly common stereotypes about wine, the construction business, mumalig and noisy festivities will sound. Meanwhile, Moldavians are a nation with a rich history and culture, beautiful traditions and excellent cuisine. And most of its representatives are hardworking, friendly and hospitable. It is not surprising that in recent years the interest of tourists in this country is gradually increasing.
Origin of Moldavians
How and where did this nation come from? Historians distinguish two main stages of formation: the emergence of the ethnic community of “Vlachs” (the ancestors of most of the East Romanesque peoples) and the separation of the Moldavian nationality directly from them.
The territory of the Vlach settlement was the Carpathian Mountains and the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Ethnicity was formed since the VI century, from the Romanized Thracian tribes and Slavs who settled in this region. They were mentioned in Greek, German, Roman, Hungarian written sources under the names of the Thracians, Dacians, Vlachs and Volokhs.
The Moldavian nationality itself has been developing since the 12th century in the Eastern Carpathian region as a result of the ethnic interaction of the Vlachs who migrated from Transylvania and the Eastern Slavs (Rusyns).
Throughout the history of its existence, various migration flows have repeatedly passed through this region, however, the Moldovans managed to maintain an ethnic community. In most cases, the arrived ethnic groups successfully assimilated, without having a decisive influence on the appearance of Moldavians, their language, traditions, beliefs and rites.
Pages of history
Until the 14th century, the territory of modern Moldova was mainly under the control of various tribes and state entities. The most important stage in the formation of the ethnic and state identity of Moldavians was the time of the existence of the Principality of Moldova.
According to an ancient legend, the Wallach shepherds, hunting for bison, met a Rusich beekeeper and, having agreed, began to populate the lands once devastated by the Tatars with their fellow tribesmen. Thus, Moldavians belong to the East Romanesque and Slavic groups. Romance and Slavic linguistic communities coexisted within the principality, while there were no acute ethnic conflicts.
The principality itself, which existed during the XIV-XIX centuries, was located on the territory of modern Moldova, partly Ukraine and Romania. Culturally and economically, it was firmly connected with the Wallachian Principality, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Until the mid-14th century, it was under the protectorate of the Kingdom of Hungary.
A key moment in the history of Moldavians was the recognition of independence in 1365. The Principality was divided into Upper and Lower Moldova and Bessarabia. Over the years, these territories have repeatedly come under the control of different states. So, in 1812 Bessarabia was annexed to Russia, and in the 60s. The 19th century saw the emergence of a united principality of Wallachia and Moldavia, known since 1881 as Romania.
In 1917, the Republic of Moldova was proclaimed, which a few years later became part of the USSR. For Moldova, the period of World War II became a black page of history, when it was occupied by the Romanian and German forces for several years.
After the collapse of the USSR in June 1991, the Republic of Moldova became an independent state.
Moldavian language
The creation of a single linguistic community is directly related to the formation of the nationality of Moldavians, the political and state status of the region of their residence. The first mention of the Moldavian language appears in the sources of the XVII century. Chronicler Grigory Urek writes that Wallachians, Moldavians and Transylvanians speak this language.
In the same period, the first written editions appeared in Cyrillic. Previously, Church Slavonic was used for church, administrative documentation and in literature. Moreover, it was precisely the language of official documents and was not used in oral speech.
The literary Moldavian language, which began to develop actively from the 17th century, was finally formed in the second half of the nineteenth century. At the same time, differences appeared between the Moldovan and Romanian languages. They persist today.
Therefore, the official language of the republic is considered, despite its linguistic identity with the Romanian, namely Moldavian, the Slavic component of which is more pronounced. A characteristic feature of modern Moldavians is also possession or close acquaintance with the Russian language. Depending on the situation and context of the conversation, many quite easily switch from one language to another.
Moldavians: appearance, photo
The characteristic of any nationality is rarely dispensed with without mentioning external features. When it comes to the appearance of Moldavians, the definition of "Romanesque type" is often mentioned. Indeed, a significant part of the population corresponds to these signs: dark, often curly hair; high forehead; thin nose (often with a hump); the skin is a little dark; eyes are usually brown or green, although there are also gray and blue.
Thus, Moldovans can be distinguished in the photo as a whole, but this does not apply to all representatives of the nation. Firstly, they can be confused with Italians. And the matter is not only in the swarthy face and curly hair, but also in rather emotional facial expressions, gestures and voice during communication. Secondly, the urban population is more cosmopolitan, among them there are many "European" types, including light blond and blue-eyed ones. In addition, Jews, Armenians, Gypsies, Old Believers-Lipovans, Orthodox Turks (Gagauz) traditionally live in Moldova.
As for clothes, the color here can be observed mainly in the outback. For example, wearing bathrobes and tank tops over clothes in the cool season. In Chisinau, however, they dress quite normally in the pan-European style. Moreover, tourists note the small number of informal youth movements, often distinguished by their appearance.
Mental traits
If we talk about traits of a national character, then Moldavians are a whole set of characteristic features, one part of which is true, the other often refers to the cliché category.
Most note their diligence, friendliness, neatness, hospitality, commitment to family values, the ability to sincerely have fun and celebrate.
The conventional wisdom about the three main goals (to plant a tree, build a house and raise a son) corresponds to the life values of many Moldovans. At the same time, as they themselves note, the principle of “kum ce kade” (“like people”, “no worse than others”) is included. And this, on the one hand, motivates to achieve certain life goals, on the other hand, often leads to the desire to comply with certain imposed ideals.
Another character trait of Moldavians can be called diligence, as well as grace and readiness to observe the hierarchy, both in professional and personal life.
The ideological values of Moldavians are interesting. Two key elements can be distinguished here. This emphasizes the continuity of Moldova and the Roman Empire, as well as some mythologization of the figure of the ruler of Stephen cel Mare (Great). It was under him that the Moldavian principality experienced a heyday and for a short time became an active player in the political arena of Europe.
Religion Moldova
If we talk about the religious component, then the picture is quite homogeneous. To answer the question, what kind of faith is Moldavians, simply: Orthodox. This is confirmed by statistical data.
Almost 98% of the believing population profess Orthodoxy. But inside the Orthodox religion, Moldavians stand out two main directions. The Moldavian-Chisinau and Bessarabian metropolises are represented here. The first refers to the Moscow Patriarchate, has six dioceses. In general, it accounts for almost 90% of all the country's parishes. It has been operating since 1992, and in fact is the successor to the Khotinsko-Kishinev metropolis created at the beginning of the 19th century.
The Bessarabian metropolis of the Romanian Church remains in the minority, 11% of believers are its adherents. It is autocephalous, has a number of features, and is in rather ambiguous relations with state authorities.
The main difference between the two metropolises is the language of church service. In the first case, Church Slavonic is used, in the second - Old Moldavian. At the same time, both metropolises also use Greek. It should be noted that there are no obvious and serious frictions between them.
One of the most significant religious works in Moldova is the Catechism (136 life commandments with many comments).
Culture and art
The contribution of Moldova to the treasury of world material and intangible art is quite significant.
Fine art developed here under the great influence of Byzantine traditions. This is reflected in the frescoes, icons, and miniatures created by Moldavian painters.
There are many monuments of architecture and painting among the temples and cathedrals of Moldova. Thus, the Mazarakiev church, built in the 18th century, is the oldest surviving building in Chisinau. An interesting story is the wooden church of the Assumption of the Virgin. It was originally erected at the Hyrauk monastery in the middle of the 17th century, after which it was transferred several times from place to place, and only in 2010 it was completely disassembled and reassembled in the capital.
The style of religious buildings also differs: cross-domed buildings, tent-like ones, gravitating to the Byzantine style, neoclassical and many others.
One of the most important areas of art for Moldavians is music. They honor national musical traditions, including playing rare instruments (nai, chimpoy, kobza, fluer). Nye is a wind instrument similar to a multi-barrel flute. Folk songs are mostly composed for one or two voices. In addition to traditional music, modern pop, rock and pop styles are actively developing. The daughter of the Moldavian singer Pavel Stratan, Cleopatra, is listed in the Book of Records as the youngest performer. She has been performing on stage since 3 years old.
National dress
If you search online for photos of Moldavians, then in most cases these will be images in national clothes. She is really quite colorful.
It is usually worn during public holidays and festivals. There are still masters who are engaged in sewing just such clothes in compliance with all traditions.
The national men's costume Moldavian consists of dark pants, a white shirt, a fur sleeveless or cloth vest, a lamb hat or cap and handmade leather shoes. A mandatory element is a woolen belt of blue, red or green color up to three meters long. It is noteworthy that the tradition of wearing lamb hats and fur vests is preserved in some villages to this day.
The ensemble of women's costume includes: a multi-ribbed skirt with a linen apron, a white shirt with an ornament, a basma shawl or a coverlet, often a heavy margelia necklace. The shirt was tied with a woolen belt, a coverlet was thrown from above, partially covering his head. Also wore vests (peptar).
Traditionally, women used to spin fabric for clothes; experience was passed on from generation to generation in the family. Usually it was linen and wool. Modern analogues are made of cotton fabric.
Local cuisine and winemaking
Moldavians are a hospitable people, and their cordiality is often expressed in their readiness to sit at the table and allow them to join the national cuisine.
Given the specifics of territorial settlement and environmental conditions, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, and cornmeal dishes were traditionally traditional in Moldavian cuisine. A great many methods were used to prepare vegetables: they were consumed fresh, baked, fried, cooked, stuffed, stewed and salted. Mamalyga, a porridge based on cornmeal, was cooked almost daily. Until now, traditional dishes are:
- Zama meat soup;
- puff pastry with feta cheese;
- Chobra vegetable soup;
- mashed beans with garlic;
- vareniki;
- vegetable stew gyuvech;
- cabbage rolls in grape leaves sarmal.
A required product on the table is feta cheese. It is maintained for about two weeks, using as a basis milk of only certain breeds of sheep.
Winemaking is the absolute calling card of Moldova. It has been actively developing since the 14th century. Today, a short list of traditional wines includes more than forty items. These are ordinary and vintage dry, semisweet and strong wines, as well as divins (brandy).
