CULTURE || TRADITIONS || CUSTOMS || FOLKLORE
The Legend Of Baba Dochia
Romanian Myth
Origin
“Baba” in Romanian means “old woman” in country lingo. Recently, it came to my knowledge that it means the same in the Slavic languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, and Macedonian) as well as in Japanese.
It might be understandable for our European languages to influence each other since their speakers lived right next to one another, but Japan is quite far from us. I’m no linguist, but that’s an interesting coincidence.
Babele (plural for Baba, in Romanian) are mythical characters portrayed in Romanian folk stories. They were considered wise old ladies who could cast spells and read the future using their divine or supernatural powers. These women were some sort of fairy godmothers who started their activities once spring came.
“In Romanian calendarist mythology, there is a period called <<Babele Days>> that denotes the capricious state of nature when spring comes and the important influence women have on nature, society, and individual psychology.” — Ivan Evseev
