Case file · Fairy lore
Cantemir describes the Călușari
Prince Dimitrie Cantemir's 'Description of Moldavia' (1714–16) describes the Călușari, bands of men who danced for days at Pentecost to protect villages from the Iele, dangerous fairies.
1714 CE · 47.16, 27.60 · status: account
The account
The dancers carried sticks, garlic and wormwood and had to keep strict silence and rules for years. People 'taken' by the Iele, suffering from fits or paralysis, were healed by the dance. The ritual survives in southern Romania and is on UNESCO's intangible heritage list.