„The plague shirt” in the „plague performance” (historical and ethnocultural aspects)

Abstract

In Romanian traditions, the making of the „plague shirt” is a spectacular event, organized in order to protect the rural community from disease and natural cataclysms. The making of the „plague shirt” was entrusted to a certain number of women (3, 7 or 9) who gathered on Tuesday evening to spin, weave and sew a hemp shirt which was later worn „over seven borders”, being brought at the end an offering to the ruthless Plague. This custom is attested in Muntenia, Oltenia, Transylvania, Maramureş, Bucovina and Dobrogea. Similar traditions are present in Greece where the „plague shirt” was offered as a gift to Saint Haralambie and in the Romanian communities in Serbia. In its essence, the „plague shirt” is an ancient agricultural practice, a magical-mythical manifestation, aimed at protecting animals and agricultural crops from evil forces.