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Accepted Paper:
From traditions to local politics, pastoral life and its events. Measuring milk in Oas county, Romania
Corina Sirbu
(National Museum of the Romanian Peasant)
A significant moment in pastoral life in Romania is the milk measurement, "Sambra". Over the last 60 years, a local event has been organized by the political authority in Oas County, in addition to private omologue "sambra". Their interactions shed light on the social uncertainty of local cultures.
Paper long abstract:
One of the most significant moments of pastoral life in Romania is that of milk measurement, named "Sambra". It is an event organized in the spring, before the sheep are taken to the mountains. On this occasion, every sheep owner, after the milk of his sheep is weighed, finds out the amount of cheese he will receive at the end of the season. "Sambra" involves ritual aspects and ceremonial expectations, but also moments of entertainment. Over the last 60 years, a local event has been organized by the local political and administrative authority in Oas County (north of Romania), in addition to private omologue events. Given that migration (and emigration) for work has reached extremely high levels in the area, the two complementary types of sambra annually stage both the practices of regional traditions related to shepherding, as well as forms of political instrumentalization of them. The processes of cultural fusion and metissage that arise from here shed light not only on the dynamics of local social systems but also on the social precariousness and uncertainity of their local cultures.