Transylvanian village preserves old “flaming wheel” ritual to welcome spring
An ancient ritual to make the shift from winter to spring is celebrated in a beautiful village in Transylvania. The European village of Sinca Noua, Brasov county reveals Romanian ancient traditions and an amazing natural landscape, where blooming plum trees are peeping up from the hills in the spring.
The village’s lads gather at this time of the year to organise a traditional custom called “Roata in flacari/ The flaming wheel” or “The holler over the village/ Strigarea peste sat”. The tradition enables the pass from the cold season to spring, while also heralding the Easter fast.
So, the ‘flaming wheel’ is a ritual practiced by the lads and is like a theatre play where the boys are publicly judging the villagers who are straying from the community’s rules.
In time, the custom has been reformed, but the basis remained the same. The traditional village used to strictly preserve the life norms and any breach used to be punished by the public opinion.
The lads used to gather on the hills surrounding the village in the evening and embarked on an injurious dialogue against the unmarried women and men and against all people who drifted from the moral rules. The hollers, some satirical extempore verses used to be ironic and well-grounded. The climax of the ceremony was when they rolled a flaming thatched carriage wheel up from the heel.
The ritual is mainly preserved up to the present days, only that the hollers are not so acid and customized anymore. The youngsters just sing, dance and roll on the wheel. Moreover, they found a clever way to keep the fire on as much as possible. The wooden wheel is now replaced by a gum one covered in straw and set on fire with a little bit of gas. The fire lasts much longer while displaying a unique show.
The tradition says that coupling the two elements, the wheel and the fire, symbolizes renewal and purge.
The flaming wheel custom also generated a true folk costumes festival in the area, with girls and lads marching and displaying their beautiful traditional clothes through the village.
The year, the event is due in Sinca Noua on Saturday, March 5, at 7 p.m.
Sinca Noua ranks among the 20 Romanian localities which received the “European village” title. What prompted it to this performance? The village authorities built a new church, revamped the old community centre, has mobile and gas networks and has a twin German village. Now, they eye to get the “eco village” title.
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