• Home
  • Site map
  • Site design
• About us
  • Liz & Nick
  • Booklets
  • Dance teaching
• SE Europe
  • History
• Romania
  • Traditional Costume
  • Traditional Music
  • Traditional Dance
  • Ethnographic regions
  • Romanian History
  • Photo library
• Bulgaria
  • Traditional Costume
  • Traditional Music
  • Traditional Dance
  • Bulgarian History
• Links
  • Romania links
  • Bulgaria links
  • East Europe links

Câmpia Transilvaniei - the predominantly Romanian villages

The majority of villages and comune in the centre of the plain are Romanian or predominantly Romanian and were once the properties of wealthy families, including the very wealthy Banffy  and Bethlen families. The gypsies in the tarafs have Romanian names and play both Romanian and Gypsy melodies. Some villages with music and dances recorded are: Frata, Soporul de Câmpia, Valea Largă, Sărmaşu,  Zău de Câmpie, Sânmărtinu de Câmpie, Miheşu de Câmpie, Iclanzel. The Romanian dances often have very asymmetric and uneven rhythms for the older dance repertoire.

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
			Fecioresc, De ponturi, De ponturi Româneşte, Rara (slow) De ponturi bătrâneşte (fast)

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
Purtată, De purtat, De-a lungu, Româneşte	Învârtita rară, De doi paşi, Ţigăneşte, De doi paşi (slow) Harţagu (fast)

Gherla sub region

The Romanians use the term Gherla region to refer to the villages from Gherla along the Frizeş valley, plus a few villages around Gherla and south along the Someş Mic river, most notably the village of Bontida.  The music and dances are typical of Câmpia with some mixing of Codru and Chioar styles.

Bontida is famous for its stately home of the Banffy family which was in use until the 1950s and is currently being renovated. The Banffy family were one of the wealthiest families of Transylvania and inherited Bontida from the Csaki family. The village was previously a mix of Hungarian, German, and Romanian, but is now predominantly Romanian.

The village of Rasruci (Válaszút)  close to Bontida was once an important Hungarian town and is left with a stronger Hungarian repertoire of men's dances and the Csárdás.

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
		Româneşte în botă	Ritka & Sűrű Magyar (Ungareşte ra & des), Rar Româneşte in ponturi Târnăveana	Bărbunc

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
Româneşte	De începtut, Bătrâneşte, învârtita, Româneşte (slow) Bătută (fast)		Csárdás, Cigánytánc, ţigăneşte rar (slow) sűrű, ţigăneşte iute (fast)	Şapte Paşi

Sic (Szék) - Hungarian village

The Transylvanian salt deposits have been extracted here from at least Roman times making Sic (Szék) an important small town throughout history, although it is now a remote large village with poor road communications. The town was granted free town status by the Hungarian King Andrew III in the 13th century. There was a German population from the 15th century which has left the layout of the streets and houses in German style, a common feature of many Transylvanian industrial and mining towns. The village is now almost entirely Hungarian, but has maintained a wide repertoire or dances.

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
			Ritka, Sűrű	Verbunk

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
Lassú	Sebes lassú		Csárdás	Porka, Hétlépés	Négyes (foursome)

Villages with both Romanian and Hungarian repertoire

Music and dance has been collected by Hungarian enthusiasts from some of the mixed villages. In these collections the typical Hungarian dances are presented along with the Romanian dances.

Budeşti (Budetelke)

Budeşti is in a predominantly Romanian area, but in addition to the typical Romanian dances versions of the Hungarian lad's dances and the Csárdás are danced.

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
		Româneste-n bota	Ritka and Sűrű Magyar (Romanians: ungureşte rar and des)	Verbunk, Bărbunc

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
De-a lungu, De-purtat	Târnăveana (music related to the învârtita of Târnave region) De ungurime (similar music to sebes, magyar forduló, Szabora of Mureş regions)		Lassú Csárdás, Leneşa (slow) Sűrű csárdás,  Hăţegană (fast)		Jocul steagului

Suatu (Magyarszovát)

The village was first documented in 1213. The population is about two thirds Hungarian and one third Romanian. Added to the typical Hungarian dance repertoire is the predominantly Romanian asymmetric învârtita under the title "slow gypsy dance", more recently the men's Târnăveana (korcsos), and rhythmical shouts during dances (strigături).

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
			Târnăveana	Ritka verbunk, Sűrű Verbunk

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
	örges ciganánytanc ( asymmetric învârtita) összerázás, Szökős,  Bătută (fast)		Szászka, Szásztánc, Cigánytánc (slow) Sűrű csárdás (fast)	Germanic origin dances	Magyar ( foursome only otherwise in Szek)

Pălatca (Magyarpalatka)

The repertoire is typical of Romanians in the region with the addition of Hungarian dances known as ungareşte, the Verbunk, the Csárdás known as ţigăneşte, and more recently the men's Târnăveana. The Hungarians add a purtată type dance called Lassú cigánytánc (slow gypsy dance) and rhythmic shouts "rikótozás" (strigaturi) to the typical Hungarian dances repertoire.

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
		Româneşte în botă	Tânăveana Legényes, Ponturi, Rara Ritka magyar, Sűrű magyar	Verbunk, Bărbunc

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
De-a lungu, Lassú cigánytánc (împiedicata) (Hungarians)	Szökős, Bătută Korcsos		Ritka Csárdás, Cigánytánc, ţigăneşte (slow) Sűrű csárdás,  Hăţegană (fast)

Villages at the eastern interference zone

At the eastern side of the Transylvanian plain the villages have a mixed repertoire from the plain and from the Szekely regions. These villages have at times been classified in the zones of Szekely or upper Mureş

Voivodeni (Vajdaszentivány)

The couple dance is now famous with dance enthusiasts due to the unique use of a hand kerchief to link the partners during the pirouetting figures.

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
			Korcsos

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
	Batuka		Forduló, Csárdás, Cigánycsárdás

Teaca

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
	De ungurime (similar music to sebes, magyar forduló, Szabora of Mureş regions), ţigăneasca, învârtita

Tonciu

A once Saxons village that is now inhabited by Hungarians and Gypsies. Folklorically it was previously classified as "upper Mureş" by Hungarian musicologists.

Men's dances

Ritual dances	Brâul	Group men's dances	Lad's dances	Verbunk
			Korcsos	Verbunk

Couple dances

Processional walking dance	Turning dances	Column dances	Csardas	Germanic & central European	Others
			Forduló csárdás, Gypsy csárdás

Costume

Women's costume

Shirt	Aprons/skirt	Headwear	Belt	Overgarments

Men's costume

Shirt	Trousers	Headwear	Belt	Overgarments