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The legend of Rusalii
Charming, whimsical and revengeful, weird characters, like no others in the European mythology, without being mischievous nor good-hearted, Rusalcele can be seen sailing through the sky or in the forest, being the souls of the girls who died young and the daughters of Rusalim Emperor.
Their dance in circle, in the air or in the forest’s openings, is so gracious that every mortal desires to see it, though the punishment is terrible. They wonder around in odd souls herds. If they happen to be seen or heard by someone, that person shouldn’t move or speak to the spirits. Wherever they dance, the land remains burned and battered, the grass blackens or it stops growing.
The folk stories often portray a Prince fallen under the spell of Rusalii spirits, mistaken for Ielele. The Prince is the prisoner of the beautiful women, being forced to look at them each night while dancing, taking the vital energy away from him. The spell is so powerful that the Prince is unable to release himself. The help of a young lady is in this case compulsory, but salvation is hard to achieve.
In “Descriptio Moldaviae”, Dimitrie Cantemir spoke about “Iele “as being “the nymphs of the air, fallen in love with the most beautiful young men”. The origin of this myth is unknown, “iele” not being a name, but the personal feminine pronoun “ele” (they), spelled with a rural accent. This myth was later assimilated with the Christian Post Pascal holiday of The Fiftieth Day (Cincizecimea), which turned into the Rusalii Sunday. Rusalii is the traditional holiday which is celebrated in the same day with the Fiftieth Day (Cincizecimea), being devoted especially to the celebration of the spirits of the dead. The Christians celebrate the Rusalii for three days (in Moldavia or Transylvania), seven days (Muntenia and Oltenia) or eight days (in Banat).
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