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Romanian Lullabies
Lullabies represent one of the oldest and most interesting categories of the Romanian folklore. Their roots lie back in very old times when traditional relations and ways of life gave mothers the possibility to be very close to their children and sing them different songs, especially lullabies.

This is a category between ritual and lay (secular) poetry. Some format elements make them being alike to songs for children and their theme generally reflects family relations. The deep and strong feeling which is transmitted by mothers to their babies makes them closely resemble an incantation or a wish.

The content follows the human itinerary from birth to adulthood in terms of the old and traditional vision on life. There is also an idea of predestination for the human beings not in terms of inevitable events but those of stages to be crossed during one’s lifetime: going to school, joining the army for the boys, then getting married, having babies, etc.
Through lullabies mothers always show their love to the babies. Also mothers wish them a smooth and happy life so that they can help them when they are old or ill.

It seems that mothers enrich the old lullabies each time they sing them to their babies. Thus, lullabies express what mothers consider to be of the utmost importance for the baby. They also improvise and create during the lulling. This is very well depicted by the rhythm which expresses mothers’ urgent wish for their babies to sleep in a milieu of love and protection. The lullabies and the everyday song, doina or ballad have in common the same rhythmical motives and also the expression of the singer’s thoughts and wishes.
The Romanian lullabies are mainly based on a common structure in all the regions, slightly altered by each generation. The same mimetic words as nani, nani, aida, hai, haia, abu, abua can be found in the lullabies from ancient times up till now, only few words are being changed in a period of a hundred years, for instance.

Nowadays the lullabies are especially sung in the countryside by grandmothers who are bringing up their grandchildren but they are also being sung in modern families by mothers in the cities.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
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Disclaimer: The project Languages from the cradle has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.