#soarele si luna does have a killer flute break though

[hoochieblues]

I love Eurovision season because I always learn things. This year, it's Moldovan-Romanian folklore.

Moldova's entry, Soarele și Luna, is heavily influenced by Miorița, a poem/ballad/pillar of Romanian-old Moldavian folklore that goes back to the 1700s in its written form but probably goes back earlier.

Balada Miorița tells the story of three shepherds: a Moldovan, and a Wallachian and a Transylvanian who, jealous of the Moldovan, conspire to kill him.

The Moldovan's prized sheep Miorița (lit. little ewe), warns him - but the shepherd doesn't plan to fight back or escape. (Presumably bc shepherding in the Carpathians traditionally involved transhumance and living outdoors for months so... where's he gonna go?)

Instead, the shepherd asks Miorița to hide his death from the other sheep - and from his family - and to tell them instead that he went into the forest to marry a princess, with the sun, moon, and mountains standing as witnesses:

Soarele şi luna / Mi-au ţinut cununa. [...] Preoţi, munţii mari. The Sun and Moon came down / to hold my wedding crown [...] The priests were the mountains high

(note: I'm working from some really sketchy translations; very open to better resources pls.)

Anyway, the description of the wedding is not only beautiful, but a fantastic allegory for the shepherd accepting death, laying down with his fate and embracing it instead of showing fear. Reclaiming agency to protect the people he loves (and redefine his own memory) in the face of an existential threat.

Wildly out of my depth at the point I'm reading about the role the story - and particularly the symbolism/iconography of the lone shepherd - played in Romanian independence, but I'm pretty sure it was a thing. Likewise, the choice of this material as a starting point for Moldova's ESC entry is very interesting to me.

Moldova's 2022 offering, Trenuleţul, used a train as an allegory for a pro-unification message (for.. obvious geopolitical reasons, in addition to the strong pan-Balkan cultural ones detailed in the song):

Pleacă trenul! Unde eşti? Chişinău – București. The train's route is East to West Chisinau to Bucharest!

Idk if I'm now overthinking it too much (I got excited and I thought it was neat, okay?) but I just feel like the cultural overlap, the defiance and the energy of Pasha Parfeni's performance carries more symbolism than the entry is getting credit for. Unsurprising, given this is also the year of Croatian art rock political commentary via drag generalissimos and tractor-based analogies, but still.

Either way, I learned something new and found a new thing to read, and I thought it was beautiful. And that made me want to share. So... enjoy?

Iar tu de omor Să nu le spui lor. Să le spui curat Că m-am însurat Cu-o mândră crăiasă, A lumii mireasă; Că la nunta mea A căzut o stea; Soarele şi luna Mi-au ţinut cununa. Brazi şi paltinaşi I-am avut nuntaşi, Preoţi, munţii mari,

Of how I met my death, Tell them not a breath; Say I could not tarry, I have gone to marry A princess – my bride Is the whole world’s pride. At my wedding, tell How a bright star fell, Sun and moon came down To hold my bridal crown, Firs and maple trees Were my guests; my priests Were the mountains high;

(x) (x)