Calusul
The calusari are played during the Palm Days, the purpose of the dance being to protect from the bad influences the people, the live stock and the fields but also to heal. For 2-3 weeks the calusari go from village to village and do their dance to heal the sick with the power invested in them by their determination and unity.
This dance was first described in the time of Dimitrie Cantemir.
The band is made of many dancers, one being the captain and another wearing a mask and having the main part. The dance includes several ritual dances: the dance of the warrior, fertility, healing and so on.
It’s a dance from Muntenia done only by boys, with the striking of their heals, beatings on the ground, jumps in the air. It has become a tradition that every year, on Palm Day the oldest Romanian dance comes to attention. The Calus is the one that every year opens and closes the festivities being danced before and after sun set. Over the year many dances evolved from it: Murgulet, Sarba or Baltareasa. Some experts consider it a military dance from the Romans or the tracks, considered it was created along with the Romanian people.
Other experts say that it’s a theatrical dance from the Romans or the Egyptians representing the kidnapping of fairies or the killing of the god Osiris by Seth. In the old days it was thought that the dance and the dancers posses healing powers. The peasants welcomed it every year into their homes thinking that it was the only way to have good luck and to have a rich year. The girls would enter the dance to gain luck in love and marriage.
An important role of the dance is represented by the outfits. This is made of hats with various decorations. The waist is tied with ribbons and decorated handkerchiefs. They also have shoes with bells that they use during the dance. Every calusar has a stick. The calusari are considered the servants of God and they can’t do no harm or evil. The young boys who want to join up must know the dance and go to a ritual and say an oath. Through this oath the boys respect the tradition of the calusari and are vowed to carry on the tradition. The Calus remains the only virtuous and technical dance, being an important folkloric treasure but also living history.
