Performing Traditions. Craii: A Christian Custom from the Jiu Valley, Romania

In the Jiu Valley, a region with a rich traditional culture situated in a depression in the Southern Carpathians, the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ on 25 December is one of the most important Christian holidays and its celebration, as in all regions where Romanians live, involves carolling. Here, however, carolling combines the performance of traditional songs with a popular religious play, created in the 19th century for the upper class, whose theme is the arrival of the Magi bearing gifts for the Infant Jesus. In the Jiu Valley, this religious spectacle, called Craii [The Kings], has become a feature of local identity. Although the original religious play followed the biblical narrative, it underwent changes in the course of its being performed in the local peasant communities. Masked characters who belonged to different forms of carolling were incorporated into the group of carollers. As well as giving an ethnographic description of this custom, we will examine the role and significance of the masked characters and of masks in this particular Christian-themed play.