Botiza/Maramures

The weekend of Oct. 21-23, a bunch of Group 18-ers got together to celebrate Al and Ioana getting married. Of course, none of us were invited to the wedding! It was one of the greatest experiences tasting the Romanian culture and traditional way of life. I think it's the kind of experience all PCVs should have for their 2 years of service.


Traditional medicine woman who lives in the village. We visited her at her home which is a small wood house with one room, very basic: a dirt floor, an iron stove (probably her only means of heat), no indoor plumbing or electricity.

This woman is wearing the traditional dress for women in the region. Many people carry the wool bags over their shoulders. Most unique are the shoes and stocking which I have been assured are very warm and comfortable - you can climb mountains in them!

Tuica Making Time - It is time to make that hard alcohol that keeps you warm all winter! This region is well known for it's strong tuica. At a traditional mill - men are bringing this huge barrel of prunes, scooping it out with buckets and putting it through the process of boiling. Usually the community works together for such big productions. But many families make tuica at home.







We went to the market on Saturday morning and this lady tried to sell us some pigs. She explained to us how we should kill the pig.










An old tradition in this region is to place pots on a tree to singal that a girl in the house is ready to be married. Supposedly they no longer do this but then why are there pots on this tree?

Tapestry with traditional fibers and dyes made by Ioana and 2 women from Botiza using a traditional loom.
It took them 2 weeks to make it.