Roumanian shepherd's belt
 

Hello, again.

As there is not much information about Roumanian folk tools/weapons/accessories on the forum, I would like to share some pictures of this leather belt. Apart from the usual countryside leather belts (called chimir, șerpar, brăcinar etc., depending on the region) which do have pockets for money, tobacco etc., this one is made out of a simple leather strip, but very decorated with small tin elements. Shepherds used/use to have their belts and leather bags decorated with metal from various reasons (one of them being very practical - to keep animals away). I suspect that this belt also has some ritual and decorative purposes.
enjoy

Very interesting and rare belt! I like ethnographic jewelry as much as I like ethno weapons, but the information on the east European adornment is almost non-existant, so thank you for sharing!

Hi SLS,

That's a great belt! I've never seen one like it before.
What sort of date would it be?

Very interesting item, thanks for sharing.

Best
Gene

Thank you, Tatyana, thank you, Gene. I am happy that you enjoy the subject. Indeed, there is not much information on this topic, hopefuly that will change some day...
About the belt: it comes from the North-Eastern part of my country. It would be dated the first quarter of the XXth Century.
As much as I am interested in belts and other folk objects, I try to learn more about the weapons and tools used in the past (nowadays, it is all made in). Happy to know that there are still some traditional blacksmiths around, though.

Sașa-Liviu

Hi Sașa-Liviu

YES, I enjoy, this very beautiful belt, just ... I love it :D

which is reminiscent of ... the belts of Bedouin from Saudi Arabia (silver) :p

the best, it's to judge by for yourself, with pictures,
I love too, ethnic jewelry and objects

all the best

à +

Dom

Hi Sașa-Liviu,

Romanian items don't turn up on the forum often, I hope you'll show us more.
Dominic's belts show why this sort of thread is so valuable as the 'similarities' between these items can make them difficult to identify, especially if they are collected out of their own time and culture without provenance. Seeing your distinctive belt will make a lot of us much more aware of them.

These similarities in items can lead to lots of suggestions for identifying an unfamiliar new item.
There was a discussion some time ago centred on a pair of axes I was trying to identify and Romanian was suggested as an origin.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=romanian

Hello, again.

Dom - very nice and interesting bedouin belt! Yes, people have always tried to watch their backs...
I will probably post some other pictures with different, more utilitarian belt(s), I have noticed that in Egypt, there also seem to be items of this type. More or less, the same practical needs, I guess.
So, yes, thanks for contributing to this! Really good to see similarities between two remote cultures, even though...(just kidding - speculations over the Sinai Vlachs).


Gene - thanks for getting back. I have noticed the axe thread some time ago.
I am in no way not even near to an expert, so, I can only give you a simple opinion. I have seen a few old axes, some of them were made in villages, some were imported (Austria, I guess). They were all carpenter tools, decorated or not and not really similar to those two in question - they had different shapes (not so curved on both sides), hammer was more flat and square, the decorations were more simple and not that straight/accurate (the folk ones).
There are also some small axes named ”baltag” (from turkish ”balta” - axe), used in northern parts of the country and also in Ukraine and some other parts of Carpathian Arch. These were/are smaller than the ones you posted, more straight and were used as a sign of status (you can see them in Paradjanov's film "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" - it depicts Hutsul life and, as already stated, Hutsuls live in Roumania as well). So, no, those axes do not say anything Roumanian to me, they really look different than what I know/have seen (which, again, is very little).

S.L.

Hi S.L

Thats very useful thanks. I think we can now put that possible origin to rest, so I'm ever nearer to an answer.
I appreciate your help.

Best
Gene