Paper short abstract:

The paper examines the changes that occurred in the development of the "Ploughman" ritual (celebration of the first man that plough his land) in some Transylvanian communities: its turn into a local festival, but also an adaptation of the custom in order not to be lost, changing the main performers.

Paper long abstract:

At the beginning of Spring, (second day of Easter, or 23rd of April–St. George feast), in some communities in Transylvania (Romania), it is celebrated "The Ploughman", honouring the first man to start ploughing his land. The custom, bearing several names, but with a similar structure, was attested in many communities by Traian Gherman (a research conducted in 1930s, but published in 1981), and other researchers. It suffered many changes, especially during communism, when it disappeared in most of the communities (due to collectivisation, or mechanization of agriculture, or political/religious persecution). Only in a few communities the custom still exists, although changed. In Maramures region (northern Romania) it was turned into a local festival: in 1970 (Hoteni village); or it was re-performed as local festival in 1996 (Surdesti village), after being abandoned since the late 1950s, performed once in 1968 for research purposes (film at the Ethnography and Folklore Research Institute; Bucharest). In some villages in Fagaras region it was not been turned into a festival, but, since early 1990s, it was performed by the group of young lads (performers of Christmas carolling ritual in Winter), who in Spring celebrate their leader ("vataf") as "Ploughman" in some communities, as a result of the ritual revival. The paper presents the custom, examines the changes that occurred in time and the factors (e.g.: involvement of researchers, local intellectuals, or members of the communities) that influenced the revival of the custom, but also focuses on the meanings of the customs today, for the communities.