Culture of Villiage

Rosia Valley area: rural customs and traditions

Rosia Valley is one of the main entrance routes to Apuseni Mountains, when coming from Oradea (the capital of Bihor County, N-W Romania) to Beius.

Remetea is a nice village situated in this valley, surrounded by green hills, where Romanians and Hungarians have been living together for centuries.

Visiting this area, you can discover the local history in century old monuments and enjoy local multiethnic flavours in traditional cuisine.

The Reformed Church in Remetea is a page of history that was written in XIII th century where one can admire, even today, the fascinating wall paintings.

As usual, a shot of palinka (traditional plum brandy) before a delicious meal based on a local receipes (Romanian and/or Hungarian) can be a nice oportunity to get a taste of the place and learn about local people .

The villages of Remetea and Rosia were included in a recent project sucessfully run by the Centre for Protected Areas and Sustainable Development Bihor, aimed to contribute to the tourist development of the area in a responsible and sustainable way.

In Rosia village you can visit a century old water mill or learn about the craft of manufacturing the horn-violin at a traditional workshop. This instrument is specific for Bihor area and here you can listen to its sound and stories behind, performed by the man who manufactures it.

In Remetea and Rosia you can find accomodation at local guesthouses, hike on hills, valley, participate in everyday farm activities or just enjoy the peacefull, countryside atmosphere.

From Rosia you can head on to Runcuri Karst Plateau – home of a private innitiative whichcan be considered an example of good practice in the field of responsible tourism. Here you can be accommodated in an old style mountain house, refurbished in order to be able to host tourists and you can learn about the social and environmental responsibility this initiative displays.

In Meziad village you will still find some families who are making lime from limestone, in traditional kilns, using a centuries old method that is specific to this area.

At Meziad Cave Nature Reserve (about 3 km from Meziad village) you can learn about an underground ecosystem where bats have a very important role. The Meziad Cave with its large halls and karstic formations wth strange names hosts large populations of different species of bats. A local cave guide will take you on an unforgetable underground trip.

For those who are looking for adventure, Cutilor Gorges is the right place. You can ask for professional monitors who will introduce you in cave rope climbing techniques in two caves which will challenge your skills and knowledge about speology. For those willing to do rock cllimbing on gorges’ walls, this option is available too.

And one more tip: I think the best way to discover this area is biking. The bike routes are low level of difficulty. Green hills and valleys, country side roads crossing villages with an athmosphere and life style that will take you back in time – enjoy!

Chiscau: Bears’ Cave and ethnography

The village, is well-known for the Bears’ Cave and for the Ethnographical Museum established by Flutur family.

The museum hosts an impressive collection of old traditional objects telling the fascinating story of the communities living in the region since ever.

The founder of this museum is a living history, a grey haired country man with a shiny face and wisdom in his eyes, always welcoming people who enter the largely open gate and visit the ethnographical museum he has set up. Good food, specific local receipes.

The Bears’ Cave was named so as numerous Ursus Spelaeus were found in it. The cave was visited by

these large animals more than 15.000 years ago. But one day, a rock slide closed the entrance while more than 140 bears were still in the cave. Becoming hungry, the bears killed one another until all were dead. This story is told by their remains, tons of bear bones covering the floor of large parts of the cave with the marks of bear teeth. But the Bears’ Cave is also a beautiful cave and this is due to the abundance of speleothemes, stalactites and stalagmites – all forms, all sizes, specifically for karst.

Leheceni: the craft of red pottery

Leheceni is a village that once was an important pottery centre, in the area. Here you can meet and see at work (and you can even practice) a young man who is continuing the tradition of red pottery, once the village was very famous for. Nowadays, it is only him and his uncle who are still working red pottery, shaped in traditional forms and decorated with traditional patterns

Fânate: the story behind the old wooden church and its unique paintings

Here, a young priest will tell you the story of the old wooden church (raised

in the XVII – th century, well-known for the priceless interior paintings on wooden walls) and its restoration and will introduce you in the specificities of the Orthodox ritual. You can then enjoy the traditional cheese-pies (based on a famous local receipe) and a cup of fresh milk or a glass of local wine.

Cultural and traditional values are of great importance to the lives of the young people, as it will determine their behaviour in the future.

Studies have revealed that Papua New Guinea cultures and traditions are fast disappearing due to the negative influence of the western culture upon our lives.

Gone are the days when cultural values, beliefs and practices played a very significant role in our everyday living.

Realizing the negative impact western influence has on our dying cultures and traditions, the Biangai people of Winima and Kuwembu villages in Wau, Morobe province, embarked on a mission to revive and preserve their rich cultures and traditions.

Hidden Valley landowner executives and committees, with the support of Morobe Consolidated Goldfields Abelle, successfully planned and hosted the inaugural cultural day at Winima village on December 18.

Their own tribesmen from Kaisenik, Biawen, Elauru, Werewere and Wandumi villages teamed up with them and took part in the event.

Three live cows and two pigs were slaughtered for the occasion where all the women folk of Winima and Kuwembu villages were involved in the preparation of the traditional food.

The people performed traditional singsings, string band songs, dramas and mourning songs.

They also displayed their traditional ways of hunting, gathering of food, aiming and shooting of bow and arrows and placing of traps.

Due to time limitations and the bad weather, other traditional plays and dramas did not take place.

MCG Abelle’s chief executive officer George Niumataiwalu, external affairs manager Peter Leahy, exploration manager David Osikore, PNG government consultant Bill Searson and project co-ordinator Jerry Naime accepted the invitation and attended the cultural day to strengthen the company and the government's commitment to work closely with the local people of Biangai and Watut.

They were also very impressed with the Biangai people and their desire to learn the importance of preserving their rich cultural heritage and traditions.

China is a big and united family made up of 56 ethnic groups. Geographically speaking, they are distributed in different parts of China with the resulting difficulty of experiencing each ethnic group's architecture, their festivals and tasting their snacks during one of your visits. But the China Folk Cultural Village, lying at the Overseas Chinese Town, Shenzhen, will help solve this problem. It is the first spot in China where you can learn of the folk cultures of China. The more than 200,000 square meters (about 494 acres) has 24 peculiar cottages which are constructed at a ratio of 1:1 and are very welcoming to all visitors.

In the village, you will see the distinctive architecture of ethnic groups and join their brilliant festivals. Buying some handicrafts or tasting local snacks is another way to experience the China Folk Culture Village.

Distinctive Architecture
The stone village of the Buyi ethnic group, distributed mainly in the Sichuan and Guizhou Provinces, is a wonderful stone world. The simple furniture such as tables, stoves and basins are made of stone as it the stone-paved path. When you come to the Mosuo people's yard, you will find that the prototype of modern flats originated from the Mosuo people's living structures. They piled the solid wooden stocks crossways into a square or rectangular house which was quakeproof. What really interests tourists is that this group is today the world's only matriarchal community in existence. The Dai ethnic group inhabits Yunnan Province where there is an abundance of bamboo. Because of this, all the girders, tiles and roofs in their homes are made entirely of bamboo. Yes, you may call it 'a bamboo garden'. Actually, this kind of building is a two-storied attic in the air. Dozens of wooden stocks support the whole attic and the floor is tiled with flakes of bamboo. Here is the Mongol ethnic group which is generally known as 'a group on horse back' because of their nomadic living habits. Mongols live in the yurts which are not only cool in summer and warm in winter but easy to set up or dismantle. No matter which group you are visiting, young boys and girls will warmly welcome your arrival.

Brilliant Festivals
If you come at right time, you will be able to experience some unique festivals of the minorities. In the Water-Splashing Festival, water is splashed on each other. In addition, the dragon-boat contest each spring, maintains the most important event in Dai people's lunar calendar. They hope to get rid of evil and misfortune from the last year and anticipate blessings in the coming year. Come prepared to get thoroughly soaked. In contrast, The Torch Festival is the most traditional event of the Yi ethnic group and held in the sixth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Tourists will see the Yi people in bright garments carrying torches as they walk around their houses and farmlands. Usually, chickens or ducks will be sacrificed to pay homage to ancestors. Maybe you will be invited to take part in the performance when the villagers happily sing and dance around their bonfires. The breathtaking and memorable Knife Bar Festival of the Lisu ethnic group is celebrated in the second month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This two part festival starts on the first day by demonstrating the 'jumping into the fire sea'. Several barefooted men jump in and out of a blazing fire. The performance on the second day is as adventurous as that on the first day. It is called 'climbing the mountain studded with knives' because courageous men will climb a ladder formed by two wooden poles with 32 sharp long knives inserted crosswise on their inner surfaces. When barefooted heroes reach the top of ladder, they light the firecrackers to declare their success. This traditional festival commemorates Wang Ji, a hero who valiantly helped the Lisu people to resist foreign invaders during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).