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When we were little, the boys and girls got together on Purim and went from house to house, as on Christmas caroling, as Romanians do on New Year’s Eve. On Purim, we sang and received sweets, money. There were special Purim songs, in Yiddish. For instance, they say: “Aghitam piramoula, vidaghei foulah, der bort ist berlong, des vart ist berkronk.” You said this by the window or they took you inside the house to sing on Purim. And here, in Dorohoi, just as we, Jewish boys, went with Christian boys on New Years’s and on St. Vasile, so on Purim: we took along Christian boys who went with us. They, poor things, couldn’t say the words or sing the songs, but received some sweets instead, or a coin – precisely, back then, when I was a child, there were coins with holes in the middle: 5 bani, 10 bani.
And just as Romanians sing “Plugusorul” on New Year’s Eve and masked people wander the streets – so on Purim we wore masks on our faces, so that people couldn’t recognize us. But I didn’t have a full outfit, I wore the clothes and the pants I usually wore. I put on something else as well – a domino, meaning a black robe – over my clothes, and the mask to cover my face. But they wore uniforms here. My former employer – where I learned my trade – had a special wardrobe to lend, the outfit for Caluti [Horses], for New Year’s Eve, for Capra [Goat], for everything, and he also had outfits he lent to children on Purim. And he received money in exchange for renting these outfits. But I didn’t rent an outfit. Where could I come up with the money to pay him? But on Caluti, on St. Vasile, on New Year’s Eve – those were specific outfits. He only didn’t have Calutul [the Horse], other than that, my former employer had the entire outfit. Someone else had the Horse, and the team – as it was called –, the gang of children borrowed a horse from that person. There was a separate outfit for Capra, for Calut, for all who wore bells, including a sort of small drum like a barrel with a tuft of hair attached to it, which sounded like the bellow of a bull when you pulled it… It was simpler on Purim. On Purim, you wore a mask across your face so that people couldn’t recognize you.
And just as Romanians sing “Plugusorul” on New Year’s Eve and masked people wander the streets – so on Purim we wore masks on our faces, so that people couldn’t recognize us. But I didn’t have a full outfit, I wore the clothes and the pants I usually wore. I put on something else as well – a domino, meaning a black robe – over my clothes, and the mask to cover my face. But they wore uniforms here. My former employer – where I learned my trade – had a special wardrobe to lend, the outfit for Caluti [Horses], for New Year’s Eve, for Capra [Goat], for everything, and he also had outfits he lent to children on Purim. And he received money in exchange for renting these outfits. But I didn’t rent an outfit. Where could I come up with the money to pay him? But on Caluti, on St. Vasile, on New Year’s Eve – those were specific outfits. He only didn’t have Calutul [the Horse], other than that, my former employer had the entire outfit. Someone else had the Horse, and the team – as it was called –, the gang of children borrowed a horse from that person. There was a separate outfit for Capra, for Calut, for all who wore bells, including a sort of small drum like a barrel with a tuft of hair attached to it, which sounded like the bellow of a bull when you pulled it… It was simpler on Purim. On Purim, you wore a mask across your face so that people couldn’t recognize you.
Period
Location
Dorohoi
Romania
Interview
Simon Meer
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