Dragobete – The Archetypal Man!

Dragobete – The Archetypal Man!

We have Dragobete – a very beautiful Dacian holiday.

This image is similar to that of a ship from 1848 at the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna and is in Goblet D’Alviella’s book “The Migration of Symbols” (London, 1894).

It depicts Dragobete (Drago beth El).

Cine este Dragobete?

He is an archetypal Man,

The Eternal Masculine,

a role model for many men.

From this point of view He manifests attributes specific to Shiva from the Hindu yogic mythology, having a fundamental similarity difficult to match by other Western myths.

The son of Baba Dochia, Dragobete is celebrated on February 24.

Sărbătoarea de Dragobete este considerată echivalentul românesc al sărbătorii Valentine’s Day sau ziua Sfântului Valentin.

In fact, it is much more than that.

Perhaps February 24 meant for the ancient man the beginning of spring, the day when nature wakes up.
The day when the bear comes out of its lair, birds look for nests, and man also had to participate in the joy of nature.

Archetypal entity similar to Eros or Cupid, Dragobete is a mythical creature described as an immortal youth, a strong, beautiful and good god, who is also popularly called Navalnic.

Some legends say that on this day Dragobete wanders through the forests accompanied by a group of mythical creatures, a kind of fairies, called Love.

Dragobete is the protector of birds but also the protector of love of those who meet on Dragobete’s day.
This love lasts all year round, just as birds “get engaged” on this day.

On this day the Romanian villages resounded with the joy of young people and the saying:

“Dragobets kiss girls”

There are many popular beliefs referring to Dragobete.
Thus, it was said that whoever participated in this feast would be protected from the diseases of the year, and especially from fever.
Dragobete helps householders to have a bountiful year.

Each young man was careful not to catch him the day of unparalleled Dragobete, this fact being considered foreboding of… solitude.

On Dragobete, bonfires were lit on the hills, and at noon the girls went down running, chased by the boys. This custom was called the Flying of Dragobete.
In some areas, on Dragobete, boys gathered in fog and became brothers of the cross.
The girls ignored by the boys on Dragobete Day accused the others of making charms.
Some traditions say that, on Dragobete, men should not upset women.

Îmbrăcați de sărbătoare, fetele și flăcăii se întâlneau în fața bisericii și plecau să caute prin păduri și lunci, flori de primăvară.

In the south of Romania, the girls returned to the village running, usually called flying, pursued by a boy to whom she had fallen dear.
If the boy was quick on the leg and reached it, and the girl liked him, she would kiss him in plain sight.

This kiss signified the engagement of the two for a year or even longer.
Dragobete is an opportunity for the community to find out what weddings are being prepared for autumn.

Even older people didn’t sit idle.
Dragobete Day is the day when they have to take care of all the birds in the yard, but also of the birds of the sky.
On this day, animals were not sacrificed because this would have ruined the purpose of mating in nature.

Femeile obișnuiau să atingă un bărbat din alt sat, pentru a fi apoi drăgăstoase tot anul.

The big girls collected the last remnants of snow, called fairy snow, in the evening.
The melt water from the omatum was used throughout the year for beautification and various love songs.

Another tradition says that Dragobete was transformed into a plant called Năvalnic, by Mother Precista, after Dragobete tried to win her love.

Young women who want to find their dear soul must, on the night of February 23 to 24, put holy basil under their pillow.
In the dream they will even be shown Dragobetele, who will show them the one who is going to conquer their heart.

Potrivit unei alte tradiții străvechi, de Dragobete gospodinele seamănă busuioc în răsadnițe,

then I nurse him until St. George’s Day.
On that day, the basil is moved to the garden. Subsequently, the basil sown by Dragobete is used in delights that attract luck.
No one is allowed to weep on this sacred day.

On Dragobete’s day, boysand girls are not allowed to cry or be sad.
It is said that those who cry on this day will experience trouble and sorrow for at least 6 months and will attract bad luck.
For Dragobete, it is good to party and to rejoice, so that the whole year will go well with the man they love.

So… so that’s with Dragobetele.

Atât cât ne stă în puteri, fiecare zi ar fi bine să fie o sărbătoare a iubirii în cuplu și a Eternului Masculin.

We can focus on giving as much as possible to the other on this occasion: a gift, watching a show, maybe even a poem, flowers or an intense thought towards the God of Love.

A pretext for men to give flowers to women and a chance for women to show their affection for a man…

Whatever name this day may have… let us love… much and without calculations … without the measure and other limitations…!

Leo Radutz

Abheda Yoga Academy, Bucharest