Fig. 1. Găina Mountain

DOI: 10.29302/Pangeea 17.12

MOUNT GĂINA, THE MATRIMONIAL AGENCY OFTHE INHABITANTS OF APUSENI MOUNTAINS

Prof. NICOLAE - RUSALIN SICOESchool of Ciuruleasa common, Alba County

ABSTRACT: The present paper is an essay of the author about the most importantmountain in the Western Carpathians, Mount Gaina, a true Pantheon of Motians, theinhabitants of these mountains. There are many legends, traditions, customs, celebrations,fairs that once were part of the everyday life of its inhabitants.

Keywords: Apuseni Mountains; Mount Găina; Geography; legend.

MOTTO: “Barbarians, just like the Greeks,offer the gods the highest places”

ARISTOTELOS

Mount Găina (1,484 m)Geography-legend-festivity-tourism

Although it occupies a central position inthe Apuseni Mountains, having also animportant altitude for these mountains,Mount Găina is famous in the country andaround the world for the "fair of girls"organized here. Everyone has heard of thecelebration, fewer can and locate it.

It is a place with a wide panoramabetween the “country” of the ApuseniMountains (the country of Moti and thecountry of Zarand), as well as parts of theHunedoara and Bihor countrys (Fig. 1).

Access is made on the Arieş Valley from

Turda and Cluj, on the Ampoei Valley inAlba Iulia, on the Crisul Alb Valley fromBrad, Arad and Deva and on the CrişulNegru Valley (then Arieş Valley) from Şteiand Oradea. The roads are good and paved,in the center of Avram Iancu commune,climbs on cobbled roads or on mountainpaths, The locals come from all sides, fromvalleys, slopes and mountain peaks,traveling per - pedes.

Geography

The Găina Massif is located in thesouthern part of the Bihor Mountains,forming an uneven stage with 400 - 500 m

77Mount Găina, the matrimonial agency of the inhabitants of Apuseni Mountains

from them. Gain Peak rises to 1,484 maltitude, at the intersection of the 46 degreeand 2 minutes parallel, with the meridian 22degrees 46 minutes and 9 seconds (Fig. 2).

From Găina to the north you can see the"as a rainbow" round peak of the BihorMountains (Curcubăta Mare, 1.849 m), thehigh depression of Moţi country and the longpeak of the Great Mountain, in the southerndepression of Brad and MetaliferiMountains, at the eastern Munceii RoşiaMontană, the limestone peaks of TrascăuMountain and the Arieş gorge, and at thevalley Halmagiu depression and the quietpeaks of the mountains beyond the PeaksVârfurile (Codru Moma Mountains).

The Găina Massif is situated in the centerof the Apuseni Mountains, being "glued" tothe central Bihor with its Curcubăta Mare.The southern slopes of the Gina massif

belong to the Land of Crişuri, and the northto the Land of Moţi [1].

At the base of Gaina Peak, the slopes aremore relaxed, creating a plateau where the

waters of the Dobranea and Păltinişuluivalleys, tributaries of Arieşul Mic, and thesouthern slopes of Ribiţa, Bulzu and Obârşia(Fig. 3).

The climate of the massif is temperatecontinental moderate, specific to theclimatic level of the middle mountains. Theaverage annual temperature is 2 to 4 degreesCelsius and the average annual rainfall is1000 - 1300 mm/year. The peak is 40 dayswith clear sky, in 160 is covered with totalclouds. The snow layer lasts, on average,120-140 days a year.

The vegetation is characteristic of theforest area, the forested forest floor rising tothe pseudo-alpine floor, while the slopes and

Fig. 2. The location of the Găina Peak

78 Nicolae - Rusalim Sicoe

valleys with northern orientation set updeciduous forests (beech) mixed with theresinous (fir, spruce, yew). The uppersurfaces are covered with subalpine meadowsintercalated with medium (jnepeni) andsmall (bushes and apricot) shrubs (Fig. 4).

The legend

There are many beautiful stories aboutGăina Mountain, which also explains this

strange toponym for a mountainous peak.He said long ago, “in the time of the

Giants”, the man who had this mountainhad a pickled chicken that made goldeneggs. Following a fight between the Giants,the hen's master is killed and the hen with

the stolen golden eggs. The eggs broke andsince then there is golden sand in the watersof Arieş Valley. The chicken wrestled,escaped and flew directly to Roşia Montană

Fig. 4. Pseudo-alpine floor

Fig. 3. These are the Apuseni Mountains

79Mount Găina, the matrimonial agency of the inhabitants of Apuseni Mountains

Fig. 5. Girls with alphorns in Găina Mountain

Mountain where he continued to makegolden eggs. Evidence is the golden deposithere, which has so many passions at themoment.

Another story says that for a long time,

on the plateau of Mount Gaina there was abright palace where a rich and beautifulgoddess. Beautiful boys came from far awayto ask her for marriage, but she did not wantto give up the happy virgin life spent on thismountain. Nothing was more enjoyable tothe goddess than to help the surroundinggirls when they married.. Every one gave it,if she went to her palace, a golden egg, forthe goddess had a hen of golden feathers thatmade such eggs. The news of this miraculousbird has gone so far, so one night the thieveskidnap her, and since then the mum and herpalace have disappeared miraculously! For along time, golden eggs have been foundamong the rocks, and since then the boysand girls have climbed this mountain to themid-summer fair.

Another mythological version tells aboutGaea, the mother of the Greek gods, whichwas made by the romanians “Baba Dochia”.This comes from ancient Greeks andThracians. The famous sculptor Fidias,working on the Gaia statue for her temple inAthens, portrays her on the throne holding aalphorn (tulnic in Romanian) . Other ancient

sources describe this goddess with a alphornin hand. Alphorn is one of the mostimportant elements that entitles us tosupport the close connection between thisdivinity and the Găina Mountain celebration

(fig. 5).Usually, the celebration did not begin on

the morning of Sunday, but from theevening of the day before, when some of thevisitors arrived at the top of the mountain,where according to custom burned firesburning all night around which the"henchmen", they were saying fairytales,singing and playing. These fires wereprobably preserved as a reminiscence of thesacred fires of the past by burning a portionof the sacrifices brought in honor of thisdeity. It is very likely that in this place theheathen ritual that Christianity has replacedwith the sign of the cross has beencelebrated. A divine show does, at itsappearance, THE SUN! It appears from theDetunate Mountains, overcoming thedarkness of the night! Magnificent! TheSunrise is welcome through souls ofalphorns!

The Festivity

Here, every year, at the weekend closestto July 20 (Holy Prophet Ilie Tesvitean), the

80 Nicolae - Rusalim Sicoe

famous "Fair of Girls" on Mount Gaina tookplace. [2]. Not that virgins have ever beensold! Here they met the people of themountains, sold, traded something, thenbegan dancing and fun, and often the boysknew their future bride (fig. 6).

Many written and unwritten sources bearwitness to this fair, undoubtedly the mostfamous of Romanian space.

In the last few years, the celebration has"globalized", degenerating, and the Chinesecommodities, manners and many othergarbage that have nothing in common withthe old spirit of the "girl fair". Pity !

An important contribution to the goodrelations between the inhabitants of themountains was the friendship between theheroes of Apuseni Mountains: Horia, Cloşcaand Crişan, or the fact that Avram Iancu,another hero of the mountains, was born onArieş, and died at the Crişul Alb (Fig. 7).

In the last quarter century there havebeen numerous cultural and patrioticmanifestations on the Găina Peak, whichsomewhat represent the ethno-folklore andeconomic manifestations that took place inthe Middle Ages lately and throughout themodern and contemporary period ofRomania! The “Avram Iancu”, cultural-

patriotic society in Romania, has animportant role to play in organizing theseevents (including raising the cross and bustof white marble). They are members of thispatriotic society here, from Romania andfrom all over the world!

Tourism

I recommend visiting Mount Găinaoutside the so-called traditional feast. Twodays and adequate equipment are required.On the first day you can reach the mountainafter visiting Avram Iancu Memorial House,Pisoaia Waterfall and Hill with the Slipsthat are on their way. It is obligatory to usethe tent on the mountain to see themagnificent appearance of the Sun fromdawn! The next day, go down and visit, inthe evening, the sights of Câmpeni city,where you can also have a night out.

Make this soul journey, for anyRomanian, in the warm semester, preferablyin the summer. And winter is nice, but youhave to be specially trained.

The ones who want to go by car, can goto Mount Găina by going through thewell-maintained forest road that goes up (10km). The road takes them to the plateaufrom Avram Iancu on the Dobrana valley at

Fig. 6. The Festivity in Găina Mountain

81Mount Găina, the matrimonial agency of the inhabitants of Apuseni Mountains

the foot of the Gaina peak, where a parkingfrom Avram Iancu on the Dobrana valley atthe foot of the Gaina peak, where a parkingspace is arranged. The descent can be doneon the forest road from the Vidrişoara valley

to the entrance to the center of Avram Iancuvillage (8 km).

Tourists eager to hike, walk through theroute Avram Iancu-Mount Găina, markedblue band, walking time approx. 3 hours. Itdeparts from the center of the commune,climbs through meadows and woods, on theeastern slope of the Stones Hill, among thesparse houses of Coceşti. We cross a fir treemixed with beech and we reach an openplace, sprinkled with many "mutes", awonderful place to stop. From here, after aclimb of approx. half an hour, we reach theplateau at the foot of the peak Găina, where

the fair takes place. Hiking that comes to the"girls fair" can go through this route in twovariants: - he was climbing up the mountain after

Saturday afternoon, here on the night, in

tents and huts, around hundreds of fires; - stay down, in Avram Iancu village, until

around 1 o'clock, when in groups, withtorches, go on the route presented above.The time of departure is conditional

upon reaching the top of the mountain insuch a way as to catch the Sunrise, afascinating, unforgettable spectacle, whenthe fiery disc appears from the distance,from the high peaks of the TrascauMountains. Still, in the midst of the gentlewinds, they send from Găina to themountains and valleys the so-known signalof the beginning of the celebration.

REFERENCES:

[1]. Resiga, C, (2002), Muntele Găina - Olimpul moţilor, in rev. Pangeea, no. 2. Ed.Aeternitas, Alba Iulia.[2]. Luduşan, N.; Hanciu, Melania; Hanciu, I.; Munteanu, M. (2003), Geografia judeţuluiAlba, Editura Aeternitas, Alba-Iulia.

Fig. 7. Avram Iancu, the most famous hero of the Apuseni Mountains(statue on Găina Mountain)