PAPI and RECL edit the monograph of Valea Moldovei

07.11.2011

Valea Moldovei RECL manager Mihai Fedorovici is the coordinator of a large monograph of the locality, which will be richly illustrated with old photographs. Following his initiative, a team of teachers from the Valea Moldovei school was formed.

Geography teacher Elena Geamăn will write the geography section, Romanian language and literature teacher Cristina Timu will present local customs and traditions, history teacher Florina Floriștean will write about the commune’s past and the chapter about “urbanism, population, habitation” is in the care of the RECL manager. The team also has a partner in curator Mihai Camilar, from the Museum of Popular Customs in Bucovina, in Gura Humorului.

The work will be massive, but authors must also keep in mind printing costs which will only be partially supported by the City Hall and Local Council. “We will not go towards 300 pages, because printing costs would be great. The City Hall promised to support part of the costs, if they are reasonable. We will print 300 copies and the City Hall will buy at least 100”, Fedorovici explains.

It is very likely for the school library and the communal library to buy 20 copies each, and many of the locals will probably want one. The rest of the costs will be supported by the authors. They decided to pay great attention to the illustration of the monograph, so they collected old photos from locals; before being used in the book, will be used in an exhibition.

“Right now we are working on an old photos exhibition, from the 1900s and the time between the two World Wars. We have chosen photos which are relevant to the popular costume and events in the life of the community. To help with the monograph we actually had a competition for old photographs. The inauguration is set for November 6th; the exhibit will be seen at the school and City Hall in Valea Moldovei”, the RECL manager says.

At the same time the exhibition opens, a regional presentation of folkloric traditions and customs will take place. Mayor Constantin Moroșanu and members of the folkloric ensemble will be the guest on a 30 minute TV show in Suceava, presenting a charm and several popular dances specific to Valea Moldovei.

An exhaustive work to analyse economic and social evolutions

According to the RECL manager Mihai Fedorovici, the monograph will open with a chapter dedicated to the geography of the area, followed by one on „human geography” and a section dedicated to the relationship between man and nature in the Valea Moldovei area. The pages dedicated to presenting the evolution of the local populace will include not just statistics and the anthropological structure, but also a section dedicated to the „History of familial ancestry” in Valea Moldovei.

Of course, there are chapters like „The locality’s name”, “First documentary mention”, “Historical events” and “Archaeological sites”, included in the “History” chapter. Another very interesting chapter deals with spirituality, including subsections like “The collective peasant psyche” and “Spiritual manifestations”, with the sections of “School”, “Church”, “Popular theology”, “Popular science”, “Popular art, architecture and literature” as well as “Ceremonies and habits”. Other chapters analyse the statistical information and data regarding the economic evolutions and mains sectors of economic activity, as well as a chapter called “Moral and legal manifestations” which includes a section on “Legal life in the past”.

Another chapter is dedicated to administration, while the chapter with information about the social life has topics like “Family”, “Homesteads and family”, “Gypsies” and “Processes and social tendencies”.

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