Architecture of Transhumance in Țara Oașului, Northern Romania: Fieldnotes

Abstract

This research is an incursion into the topic of memory and recollection as processes of identity reconstruction, but also as a dimension of the heritage creation process. In the context of current social mobility and alienation, this issue receives new values, especially in the contemporary context of mobility (leaving rural communities in favour of urban living in the country or abroad). This uprooting led to the demolition of old houses with traditional architecture. The text presents a case study: the example given by a local entrepreneur, whose intention is to set up a touristic pension complex and thus, he buys old houses from all the villages in Țara Oașului (a region situated in the North-west Romania). In order to prepare the houses for their new location, detailed research was carried on, in order to find out the story of the family that lived there, the use of the objects that were discovered there. The article describes this endeavour for the house of the shepherd, making reference to the lifestyle of shepherds of yesteryear, and the objects they used. All in a strong connection with the people who actually inhabited and used the house, and the objects found inside. Last but not least, the research approach is an autoethnographic one. The insider position of the researcher is assumed and instrumentalized in the work of ethnographic description.

Keywords

• traditional culture
• transhumance
• shepherd
• architecture
• identity reconstruction
• heritage memory
• pastoral inventory