Căluşarii din Vlaşca la Moşi
The "Căluşari"
from Vlasca at Moşilor Fair
The "Calus" is the most important Romanian dance
with a ritual role, executed by a group of men with
a high hierarchy structure. The ceremonial takes
place in the Whitsuntide week, the cult of the horse
(Calus is a horse god of an indo-European origin,
protector of the horses), thus binding with the
worshipping of the pixies (a fact confirmed by the
wearing of some healing weeds, because in that week
the pixies are active and harmful.). The members of
the group become some kind of sacred characters,
with apotropaic powers, and try to resemble horses
in everything they do: they have bells and spurs on
their legs, bells on their girdle, and on their
chests crossed sticks in the form of harness.
In the Nicolae Ionescu collection there are two
photographs that present us the practicing of this
ritual. One is made in Carol Park, another at the
Mosilor Fair, most likely at the opening of the fair
because in the left side of the image one can
identify the members of the royal guard
(recognizable after their panache).
The image includes a close-up (the action space of
the dancers) and a second ground (the spectator’s
area). Another element confirms the fact that it’s
the opening of the fair: in the left side of the
image, in the crowd, one can see a man with a
violin, turned a bit towards the ones behind him.
The man is holding a violin; he seems to be the
director of an orchestra masked by the crowd and by
the dancers). This possibility seems to be confirmed
by the presence of a trumpet on the sidewalk.
The composition is not centered and catches a moment
of the dance. The crowd is situated in the sunlight
(and the light is strong enough if the spectators
need to protect their eyes), a fact confirmed by the
stretching of the dancers’ shadows in that
direction. Spectators can also be found in
hors-frame, in front of the dance floor, because
their shadows confirm their presence. Among these
shadows one can surely find that of Ionescu, because
if he wasn’t in that area he couldn’t have taken the
photo. The shadow proves the presence of an absent
body. In the right side of the image, a hand has
penetrated the frame (indicating also, although
metonymical this time, an absent body). The presence
must be signaled because Ionescu is generally very
careful when he frames, so hat he doesn’t cut
elements of the image.
