ASPECTS OF TOPONYMY AND ETHNOGRAPHY IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF CÂNDEŞTI COMMUNE

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1 ASPECTS OF TOPONYMY AND ETHNOGRAPHY IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF CÂNDEŞTI COMMUNE Mihaela Sencovici *, Irina Constantinescu **, Dobrin Pârvan *** Key words: settlement, the precincts of the village, traditions. Abstract: Situated in the north-west of Dâmboviţa County, Cândeşti Commune has a surface of 52.4 km 2 and a population of 3300 inhabitants, comprising the villages: Cândeşti Vale, Aninoşani, Cândeşti Deal, Dragodăneşti and Valea Mare. The territory of the commune is watered by Dâmboviţa River and by Valea Mare and Aninoasa Rivulets. The geographical area of Cândeşti Commune is the keeper of a symbol- and value-generating memory, conserving and asserting its identity in time. The past, the traditions and the traditional values play an essential role in the formation of the personality of this rural community and constitute elements of life quality. Thus, the structure and typology of the households were maintained, being determined by the occupations specific to this area: fruit growing and pastoral life. In Cândeşti Commune, the main components of the geographical landscape have achieved particular features due to large-scale processes like: the accentuation of human pressure on the geographical space; the impact of natural processes and of risk factors; the acute need to administrate and valorize the ethnographic and toponymic patrimony. West of Dâmboviţa River a high relief unit unfolds: Cândeşti Piemont, a relief unit at the contact between the plain and the mountains, on which Cândeşti Commune is situated. Cândeşti Piemont is located in the western extremity of the Getic Plateau, being crossed by the 45 o northern latitude parallel (in the north) and the 25 o eastern longitude meridian (in the west). It appeared in the Villafranchien (the beginning of the Quaternary period) due to the accumulation of a large deposit of crystalline gravels (Cândeşti gravels) and is characterized by an inclination of the relief from north to south, a flat appearance and active slope geomorphological processes. Cândeşti Commune, situated in the north-west of Dâmboviţa County, has a surface of 52.4km 2 and a population of 3300 inhabitants (according to the data from 2004). It includes the villages: Cândeşti Vale (attested since ), Aninoşani (formerly named Aninişani, attested since , its name deriving from the phytonym anin = alder tree), Cândeşti Deal (in a document from it is mentioned that the village split into two parts: Cândeşti Deal and Cândeşti Vale), Dragodăneşti (which was given this name by the inhabitants that had come from Dragodana, attested since ) and Valea Mare (its name comes from the hydronym vale = valley, river, stream; attested since ). The territory of Cândeşti Commune is watered by Dâmboviţa River and by the rivulets: Valea Mare and Aninoasa. The economic profile of this settlement is given by fruit growing and zootechny, imposed by the traditionally large areas cultivated with fruit trees, quite fragmented nevertheless due to the property regime. In the area of the commune, coal (lignite) deposits, natural gas and oil fields were discovered. The geographical landscape at a micro-territorial scale is determined and influenced by the complex actions of the rural communities from the rural area. In Cândeşti Commune the main elements of the geographic landscape acquire new characteristics due to important processes like: -the accentuation of human pressure on the geographical environment * Valahia University of Târgovişte ** Cândeşti School *** Dâmboviţa State Archives 300

2 -the impact of natural processes and of risk factors -the acute need to administer and valorize the ethnographic patrimony. Cândeşti Vale Village is an old settlement of freeholders; it has kept its character of free village along the centuries. The joint ownership had its consequences on the structure of the villages included in Cândeşti Commune, in the location of some land properties, in the collective psychology, in the conservation of certain rich folk traditions. The toponym moşneni (freeholders) is explainable taking into account the villagers joint ownership of the land and the other goods. In the feudal context the village begins to be identified as the freeholders community and the name of the village often took the popular forms representing the forefather of the community. Aspects related to the organization of the freeholders community: -the land was divided into plots of land which started from the lower areas and ended on the forested hills (Cândeasca plot of land, Aninoşanca plot of land) 301

3 -the boundary of the community was precisely defined -the joint ownership was the freeholders communities main characteristic, it was hereditarily passed on, while individual ownership was known under the denomination of stăpânire omenească (manly ownership) -the specific ownership was delniţa, which meant part of the delimited area, being an intermediary form of ownership between the individual and joint property. The settlement is much older than the date when it appears for the first time in documents (10 May 1576). A very important document for the village historian is the order of prince Mihai Viteazul from 20 September 1597, which confirms the brothers Dragomir and Băncilă from Aninoşani as landowners of several plots of land, including the delniţa from Cândeşti. Concerning Cândeşti village, the documents talk about the presence of two distinct plots of land within the locality: Cândeşti village, situated on Cândeasca estate, and a part of the village called Valinas, which had a different evolution. Cândeasca estate was situated between Aninoşanca estate and Drăgoi valley in width and between Dâmboviţa River and Potopului Rivulet in length. It was divided since times out of mind into three estates: Darie, Mircea and Vlădescu. From forefather Mircea four lineages originated: Bratina, Ciortan, Bratic and Francul. Another helpful document concerning the situation and the evolution of the property right over Cândeasca estate is Matei Basarab s document from 5 November 1642, which confirms the brothers Neagoe, Dragomir and Băncilă as landowners of Cândeşti estate and confirms Darie as owner of an orchard and Dragomir as holder of 2 parts of a field. For Darie s property (situated between Dâmboviţa River and Potopului Rivulet) 2000 aspri (Turkish monetary units) and 2000 bani (Romanian monetary units) were paid. The document mentions a joint ownership of certain brothers and a trial concerning this estate in the year 1570 during the reign of Alexandru II Mircea. Valinas or Velinas estate, belonging to the freeholders of Cândeşti was situated between Dâmboviţa River and Valea Mare Rivulet. This part of the estate is mentioned in an order of Radu Mihnea from April 1614, which confirms Mircea and Stanislav from Cândeşti as owners of a house place with a garden, of parts of different plots of land, some inherited, some bought. The beneficiaries brought witnesses who attested that the old property documents had been destroyed during Gabriel Bathory s war campaign from Valinas community continued to exist until Beginning with the 17-th century, numerous documents referring to Cândeşti were preserved, which attest the joint property concerning the forests and the waters only. These documents also show that the main occupations of the inhabitants were fruit growing and cattle raising, although surfaces given to cereal or vegetable cultivation are mentioned as well. Wood processing was an activity practiced by many of the peasants. Being a free community, the village is not well known, an exception being the temporary lordship of the Tifeni boyar family over Valinas or the involvement in the life of the village of some boyar families or religious communities. There were however people in the community who managed to rise to a better living standard and become prominent members of the community during some periods of time. In the second half of the 17-th century, the locality splits into two villages: Cândeştii din Deal, with the village hearth near the source of Potopului Rivulet and Cândeştii din Vale, which descends from its former location towards the large terraces of Dâmboviţa River. The first time Cândeşti Deal village is mentioned in documents is the year 1658, when the estate of Cristea Miclescu is chosen by the freeholders of Schei. Unlike their neighbors from the surrounding villages from Dâmboviţa County, the inhabitants of Cândeşti no longer have to face major threats concerning their land, with the exception, maybe, of Captain Alexe 302

4 Radovici Bârsescu s attempt to steal some of their land at the beginning of the 19-th century. From an etymological point of view, the toponym Cândeşti may come from the patronym Cândea, but it might as well come from candid = clean, white. Situated on the line of the main communication road linking Târgovişte, the capital of Wallachia, to Câmpulung and Braşov, the village suffered because of the passage of numerous armies, both during the agitated reign of Mihai Viteazul and during the years that followed it. Aninoşani Village is situated between the bigger villages of Cândeşti and Dragodăneşti, on Aninoşanca estate. The evolution of the village is closely connected to that of the surrounding localities. This village is mentioned for the first time on 20 September 1597 when Mihai Viteazul confirms Dragomir and Băncilă from Aninoşani as holders of different estates from Schei, Dragodăneşti, Cândeşti and Voineşti. The document refers to an old, fragmented and dusty act of Petru cel Tânăr ( ), son of Mircea Ciobanul, an act that the two had presented in front of the prince. The name of the locality appears under different forms, all derived from the noun anin = alder tree: Aninoşani, Anişani, Ainişani and seems to have a connection with two watercourses that cross Aninoşanca estate: Aninoasa and Aninosiţa, along which there are alder trees in abundance. In this case it is possible that the village hearth may have been situated around the spring of Aninosiţa (the area known today as Fântâna Rece), or on the upper course of Aninoasa. The hearth of the village may have been moved towards Dâmboviţa Valley, as is the case of Cândeşti village, some time around the 17-th century. As in the case of other neighboring villages, the denomination may also come from the name of an eponym hero called Aninie (a variant of Anania). Although not very numerous, the freeholders from Aninoşani held, besides their own estate situated between Cândeasca and Dragodăneasca, large plots of land that they bought from the neighboring villages. The freeholders of Aninoşani experience a period of prosperity in the 18-th century as well. A special situation is that of the descendants of the chief magistrate Dumitru Aninoşanu (Ainişanu), the first to be mentioned in documents under the name of Parnia, in The Parnias will administer their land properties well and will increase them by buying plots of land in Cândeşti, Gemenea, Boteşti. Situated on Dâmboviţa Valley, south of Aninoşeni village, Dragodăneşti Village is an old settlement of freeholders. It is mentioned in documents for the first time in an act of prince Mihnea Turcitul from 1580, which confirms the holder of the estate called Gruiu lui Nan from Dragodăneşti. According to a property act from 1819, Dragodăneşti estate comprises two parts: Dragodănesca and Sturzeasca, situated along Dâmboviţa river, above Potopului Rivulet, just like Aninoşanca and Cândeasca estates. Dragodăneşti may be a derived village whose name is a diminutive of the mother village Dragodana. Another hypothesis is that the name Dragodăneşti comes from the patronym Dragu. The locality is also mentioned in an act of prince Mihai Viteazul from As in the case of the neighboring villages, sufficient evidence was preserved, with the help of which one can trace the evolution of Dragodăneşti village and estate in time. Of course the conflicts with the neighbors, boundary violations and land thefts were present here as well. The documents certify the existence of some richer individuals, boyars, holders of larger parts of the respective areas (Slujitorii, Dragodăneştii etc.).unlike the neighboring villages, which continued to be manly the property of freeholders, Sturzeni village is mentioned beginning with the 15-th century as dependent, only a part of it being owned by the freeholders of Dragodăneşti. The first time the village is mentioned in documents was on 25 August 1469 when prince Radu cel Frumos confirms the boyar Mihail of Ruşi, his son 303

5 and master Chirtop as holders of several villages bought from the prince, among which Sturzeni, Brana and Ruşi nearby Târgovişte. The fact that the toponyms Brana and Ruşi are mentioned in the document seems to confirm without any doubt the fact that the act refers to the Sturzeni that is the object of the present study. The village is confirmed again as the property of boyar Chirtop through an act of prince Vlad Călugărul from 9 July Sturzeni and Brana are confirmed as the property of boyar Chirtop and his sons through a document of prince Vlad Înecatul from July The geographical area of Cândeşti Commune is home to a symbol- and valuegenerating memory, conserving and affirming its identity in time. The past, the tradition and the traditional values play an essential role in the formation of the personality of this rural community and represent elements of life quality. Thus the structure and typology of the households were maintained, being determined by the occupations specific to this area: fruit growing, cattle raising. The traditional dwelling was the house, mounted on a stone foundation made of slabs taken out of the river banks or fords. The walls were made of oak wood, covered with rods, clay, and whitewashed. The walls in older houses were made of long round beams with simple joints at the corners, cut with an axe on the inferior side to perfectly match the other beams they were put on. The verandahs were placed on extremely beautiful poles, along which one can see various geometric motifs, knitted works and artful cuts. The roofs were made of tiles of wood, on one or two rows, one on the other or only a half on the one beneath, and under the one above was introduced a half of the next. The ends were made to carefully match so that the water could not get into the attic. Out of the buildings with economic purposes, one can mention as part of the specific of this area the stone cellars, brandy distillers and the constructions meant to shelter the animals. Today the traditional dwelling, constructed on stone foundation, with beams and rods, specific to older times, remains a presence especially in the geographic area of Cândeşti Deal village; here the distillers and animal shelters have kept their functionality, their form remaining the same in time. In the other villages of the commune, where the contact with the urban world was more accentuated, the houses have changed their outlook, the buildings with economic purposes have become more modern or have disappeared altogether from certain dwellings. Next to the modern construction made of bricks the villagers have built wooden chalets, which complete the building and make up an architectonic ensemble specific to the hill and mountain areas. The wooden churches are specific to this area due to the way the local peasant artists have worked at their construction and embellishment. The wooden church from Vartop, dating from the 18-th century, is now situated on an outlet located on the eastern flank of Cândeşti Piemont and seems a medieval citadel in its loneliness. It is an artistic construction with special sculptural elements, with a medial frieze made of wood, twisted in the form of a cable molding, which surrounds the church on the outside. The roof and the exterior of the church bell are made of tiles of wood. It was declared a historical monument. The two wooden churches that continue to exist today date from the second half of the 18-th century and beginning of the 19-th century: the church from Cândeşti Deal, built in 1764, and the church from Cândeşti Vale, constructed between From 1826 there is an inventory of the books kept by the church Cândeşti-Valinas: The Triodyon, The Evangel, The Lives of the Saints, The Hymn Book, The Psalter, The Book of Hours, The Catavasier and The Books of the Apostles. The wooden church from Vartop is dedicated to Saint Parascheva and on the important religious celebrations the village 304

6 priest goes up to Vartop and celebrates the memory of those who sleep their eternal sleep in the yard of the church. The wooden roadside crosses from Cândeşti have become a true symbol of the century-old village; on the complex, yet perfectly balanced form chosen by the popular artist they present naïve drawings with a strong power of communication. The wooden roadside crosses and the crosses made of wood from Cândeşti are impressive due to their size, to the combination between sculpture and naïve drawings. They have accompanied the villagers on their ways, being situated at crossroads. Today the wooden roadside crosses are still present in the less inhabited areas, along the roads linking the village to the orchards and the hayfields. In the inhabitable area of the villages their place was taken by roadside crosses in a shelter made of bricks, nicely painted, following the evolution of the Romanian village. The old traditional popular costumes have been kept with reverence by granddaughters and grand-sons. Men s costumes are composed by homespun peasant trousers, shirt and vest, and women s costumes are made up of colorful peasant s skirts decorated with geometric ornaments made with a weaving loom, handmade embroidered blouses and a very thin raw silk headkerchief. Today these beautiful popular costumes are worn on different traditional occasions: when going from house to house to sing Christmas carols, at school celebrations or at different popular celebrations. The diversity of colors and geometric decorations make the costumes from this area unique. The boys and girls who are part of Valinas waits group from Cândeşti wear these costumes with pride on different specific events. The popular garb is kept by the elders of the village as well; they put it on every Sunday at church, especially in Cândeşti Deal. An interdisciplinary research of the rural settlement and world from Cândeşti will probably prevent the loss of certain monuments that are eloquent for our regional and cultural identity. The protection of the constructed rural patrimony situated in the geographical area of Cândeşti Commune, menaced to disappear under the present conditions and even more under threat due to the development of rural tourism, is a worthy investment on the long term. References Alexandrescu M. ( ), Ştiri documentare despre aşezările moşnenilor din judeţul Dâmboviţa în sec. XVI XIX, în Valachica, Istorie X XI, Târgovişte Bugă D., Zăvoianu I.(1974), Judeţul Dâmboviţa, Edit. Academiei, Bucureşti Dumitrescu Daniela (2004), Habitatul rural din Piemontul Cândeşti, Edit. Macarie, Târgovişte Gâştescu P. (1998), Ecologia aşezărilor umane, Edit. Universitătii din Bucureşti Georgescu Maria (1973), Portul popular dâmboviţean, în Scripta Valachica IV, Târgovişte Simion Th., Simion Maria (1999), Mic dicţionar de toponimie dâmboviţeană, Edit. Roza Vânturilor, Târgovişte * * * Arhivele Statului Dâmboviţa 305

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