“Plague shirt” and plague commemoration: mythological representations and ritual practices associated with the personification of the Plague among the Romanians of Oltenia and Timok Valley

Abstract

The article considers mythological representations and ritual practices associated with the personification of the plague among the Romanians of Oltenia (Romania) and the Romanians (or Vlachs) of the Timok Valley (Serbia). It is based on materials from the author’s field research in southwestern Romania and eastern Serbia. The custom of organising the plague commemoration on different calendar dates is analysed. Along with it, the author consistently examines the ways of making a “plague shirt” (Rom. cămaşa ciumii), the spread of this ritual practice, and the contexts of its use as a protection against diseases (plague and cholera) and death during the war, as well as correlations between the practice of making a “plague shirt” and the custom of the plague commemoration.