The Forest of Radovan
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Naluca miresei din Radovani
The ghost of the Midnight Bride from Radovani
S-a întâmplat în urmă cu mai bine de 60 de ani, însă, pentru cei mai mulţi locuitori ai Radovanului, parcă a fost ieri. Nici unul dintre aceştia nu poate uita nenorocirea care a marcat întregul sat, trista poveste a fetei care nu şi-a găsit liniştea nici după moarte.
It all happened more than 60 years ago, but, for most of the villagers from Radovani, it seems like yesterday. None of them can forget the tragedy that struck the whole village, the sad story of the girl who didn't find peace even after death.
Deşi a trecut mai bine de o jumătate de secol, povestea tinerei alungată de foamete din Moldova încă îi impresionează pe locuitorii Radovanului, care îşi fac cruce atunci când trec prin dreptul monumentului funerar al acesteia.
Although more than half of a century has passed since than, the story of the young girl who came here because of the famine in Moldova still impresses the villagers of Radovan, who pray while passing by her grave.
"S-a auzit acum câţiva ani că nişte şoferi care treceau noaptea prin pădure au văzut silueta unei femei îmbrăcate în alb. Alerga prin pădure şi de câteva ori chiar a trecut prin faţa maşinilor. S-au oprit în sat speriaţi şi ne-au întrebat cine era. Când am auzit, imediat ne-am dat seama că era mireasa din Radovan." - Ioana Ene, localnică
"A few years ago we heard that some drivers passing through the forest at night saw a woman dressed in white. She was running through the forest and a few times she even crossed the road. They stopped in the village, scared, and asked who she was. When we heard, we understood immediately she was the midnight bride from Radovan." – Ioana Ene, villager
Era prin primăvara lui ’40 ...
It was the summer of ’40…
Primăvara lui 1940. Soarele abia ieşit dintre nori străluceşte timid printre mugurii copacilor. Vremea frumoasă îi face pe localnicii din Radovan să îşi înceapă treburile gospodăreşti mai devreme ca de obicei. Alături de ei, un copilandru de 17 ani mână cireada de vaci prin pădurea de lângă sat, spre locul de păscut, fără să aibă vreo bănuială că tot ceea ce urma să vadă îi va rămâne adânc întipărit în minte pentru restul vieţii. “Şi cum mergeam eu aşa, la un moment dat, am zărit ceva atârnând de un copac. La început, nu mi-am dat seama ce era. Am crezut că cineva agăţase o treanţă de crengi. Când m-am apropiat, însă, am descoperit cu groază că era o femeie prinsă într-o funie: Ileana se spânzurase”, şi-a amintit Constantin Ţipişte, acela care a descoperit cadavrul celei care astăzi este cunoscută sub numele de mireasa de la Radovan. Cu glasul tremurând, bătrânul ne-a povestit că gestul tinerei a pus pe jar întreg satul care, aflând că fata s-a sinucis, a dat repede fuga în pădure să o vadă. “Aveam zece ani când Ileana s-a spânzurat în pădure. Eu nu o cunoşteam bine, dar auzisem că venise taman din Moldova şi se băgase slugă la ai lu’ Mitran. Când am ajuns acolo, unii o trăgeau de picioare, să vadă dacă mai trăieşte, dar nici unul nu se încumeta să taie sfoara şi să o coboare de acolo”, a spus Dinu Vasile, unul dintre martori.
Spring 1940. The sun was shining through the leaves of the trees. The sunny weather made the locals of Radovan begin their work earlier. Among them, a teenager of just 17 was with the cattle in the forest of the village, without thinking that the next sight would remain in his mind for the rest of his life. "And as I was walking I saw something hanging from a tree. At first I didn’t realize what it was. I thought somebody had hung some piece of fabric from the tree. When I got closer I realized horrified that there was a woman caught in a rope: Ileana had hung herself." remembered Constantin Tipiste, the one who discovered the body of the woman known today as the midnight bride of Radovani. With a strange voice, the old man told us that the act of the girl intrigued the whole village, which immediately came running to see her. "I was only 10 when she hung herself in the forest. I didn’t know her very well, but I'd heard she had come from Moldova and was working for a villager named Mitran. When I got there, some were pulling her feet, to see if she was still alive, but none dared to cut the rope and get her down." said Dinu Vasile, one of the witnesses.
Moldoveanca furase inimile băieţilor
The girl From Moldova had stolen the hearts of the boys
Ileana venise în Radovan cu câteva luni înainte de a-şi curma viaţa. Foametea din Moldova o împinsese, ca de altfel pe mai toţi localnicii de acolo, să-şi caute de lucru prin părţile de sud ale ţării. Avea în jur de 20 de ani, nimeni nu-i ştie încă cu exactitate vârsta. Venise împreună cu una dintre surori şi-şi găsise de lucru în gospodăria lui Marin Mitran. Deşi a văzut-o cu mai bine de 60 de ani în urmă, Constantin Ţipişte nu a putut uita niciodată chipul frumos al fetei pe care sărăcia o alungase din Moldova. “Era frumoasă foc şi toţi tinerii din sat îi făceau curte. Dar ea îşi vedea de treaba ei, nu ne băga pe nici unul în seamă. Venea la horă, dar pe ea o interesa mai mult să muncească şi să scoată din foamete familia care rămăsese în Moldova. Pesemne că nu voia să rămână aici, în sat, doar să se căpătuiască şi să plece înapoi la rudele ei”, a continuat Constantin Ţipişte.
Ileana had come to Radovan a few months before taking her life. The famine in Moldova made her, among others from that region, search for work in the southern parts of the country. She was around 20, nobody know the age for sure. She came with one of her sisters and found work in the house of Marin Mitran. Although he saw her more than 60 years ago, Constantin Tipiste has never forgotten the beautiful face of the girl from Moldova. "She was very pretty and all the men from the village wanted to be with her. But she had no interest for any of them. She came to the meetings in the village, but was more interested in working hard to keep her family in Moldova safe. Probably she didn’t intend to stay here, just to earn money and go back to her relatives" continued Constantin Tipiste.
Satul a fost alături de mireasă şi la autopsie
The people were close to the bride even at the autopsy
“Cum puţini bărbaţi rezistau să nu îi facă avansuri Ilenei, la un moment dat, prin sat circula zvonul că al lu’ Mitran se încurcase cu moldoveanca. Cică o forţase şi o lăsase grea. De-asta s-a şi omorât, săraca. A crezut că are copil şi, decât să se facă de ruşine, mai bine şi-a luat zilele. A plecat într-o dimineaţă de acasă şi dusă a fost”, a completat Ioana Ene, una dintre bătrânele care nu au uitat povestea miresei din Radovan. La fel ca ea, sătenii îşi aduc aminte cu oroare de momentul în care Ileana a fost dusă de către organele de poliţie pentru efectuarea autopsiei. Curiozitatea nu le-a dat pace şi, impresionaţi de soarta tristă a fetei pentru care viaţa nu a mai avut nici un sens, i-au fost alături chiar şi la autopsie. “Şi au pus-o, maică, pe o uşă în mijlocul curţii lu’ Mitran şi au început s-o despice. Tăiau din ea doctorii ca dintr-un animal. Plângeau femeile şi bărbaţii de după gard de nu mai puteau. Pe toată uliţa, nici un ac nu mai puteai arunca, de lume ce se strânsese. I-au scos tot ce avea în ea, până când s-au convins ei că n-avea nici un copil în pântec. De’, n-a fost să fie aşa, că fata era cuminte şi la sfârşit s-a văzut că s-a omorât degeaba”, a mai spus Nicolina Şania, una dintre femeile care au asistat la autopsie.
"As few men were able to resist flirting with her, she was said to be involved with Mitran. Some said he raped her and left her pregnant. That’s why she took her life. She thought she was pregnant and, for fear she will be embarrassed, she killed herself. She left home one morning and was gone" added Ioana Ene, one of the old women who didn’t forget the story of the bride of Radovani. Like her, the villagers remember, horrified, the moment Ileana was taken by the police for the autopsy. The curiosity didn’t let them stay away and, impressed by the sad story of the girl, they were close to her even at the autopsy. "And they put her on a door in the middle of Mitran’s yard and started cutting her. The doctors were slicing her like she was an animal. The people were crying their eyes out, watching across the fence . The whole street was full of people. They took everything out until they convinced she was not pregnant. She was honest, and in the end they all saw she killed herself for nothing" said Nicolina Sania, one of the women who saw the autopsy.
Lăsată să putrezească
Left to rot
Sfârşitul a fost unul tragic pentru tânăra pe care sărăcia o alungase de lângă ai ei, iar drama Ilenei a continuat să lase o urmă adâncă în sufletele celor care, deşi nu au cunoscut-o, au fost impresionaţi de povestea ei. “Au îngropat-o ca pe un câine în cimitir. Nici n-au băgat-o în biserică, din cauză că păcătuise. De’, n-avea voie să-şi pună capăt zilelor. La înmormântare au venit oameni din mai toate satele din împrejurimi, mai puţin rudele ei din Moldova, care, din cauza sărăciei, n-au mai petrecut-o pe ultimul drum. De-abia peste câţiva ani a venit o femeie care spunea că e mătuşa ei. A pus nişte flori şi a tămâiat mormântul şi de atunci nimeni nu a mai văzut-o”, a adăugat Şania. În prezent, urmaşii familiei care a găzduit-o pe fată preferă să nu îşi amintească, lăsând timpul să şteargă ruşinea pe care Ileana a lăsat-o asupra lor. “Nu ştiu mai nimic, nici nu eram născut. Toate astea s-au întâmplat de mult, iar părinţii mei au murit”, s-a apărat Ion Mitran, fiul aceluia despre care sătenii spun că şi-ar fi bătut joc de fată. Au trecut peste 60 de ani. Cu toate acestea, Ileana dăinuie în sufletele sătenilor nu numai din cauza gestului ei disperat de a-şi lua viaţa, ci şi prin intermediul apariţiilor misterioase din pădurea de la Radovan. Legendă sau adevăr, nimeni nu ştie cu exactitate. Cert este că mireasa de la Radovan continuă să bântuie prezentul acelora care au cunoscut-o.
The end was a tragic one for the young girl who was brought here by the famine, and the drama of Ileana continued to live as a trace in the hearts of those who, although they had not known her, were impressed by her story. "They put her in the grave like she was an animal. They didn’t even put her in the church because she had sinned through killing herself. She was not allowed to do so. People from other villages came to the funeral, but not her relatives, because they were too poor. After few years a woman came, pretending to be her aunt. She put some flowers on her grave and nobody saw her ever after." said Sania. At the moment, the people where the girl stayed prefer not to remember, allowing time to wipe out their guilt. "I know nothing, I wasn’t even born. All this happened long ago, and my parents are dead" claimed Ion Mitran, the son of the one said to have dishonored the girl. More than 60 years passed. Still, Ileana is alive in the hearts of the villagers, not only because of her desperate gesture, but also because of the mysterious sights in the forest of Radovan. Legend or truth, nobody knows for sure. But the bride from Radovan continues to haunt the present of those who knew her…
Translated by Alex, Alexis Project Team
The Forest of Radovan is half way between Craiova, the largest city in Oltenia, and Cioroiu Nou, the site of a Roman fortress. It lies between the villages of Podari to the north, and Radovan to the south.
It is a large and beautiful forest. Adrian and Alina were accompanied on this trip by Adrian's first son, Andrei, and his friend Ana.
Ana told the strange story of the forest. Many years ago, a young bride was killed just near a well located deep in the forest. Ever since, from time to time, at midnight, the young bride appears, all in white, coming out of the forest to the main road which passes through it, and attacks any young man passing through the forest at this time. This story is told in both Podari and in Radovan.
In Romania it is a tradition that every bride, just after she is married, should go to a well and bring home some water, as a sign of good times and happiness to come.
GPS coordinates of the well in the forest of Radovan.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 9th February 2008
This is a general view of the well deep in the Forest of Radovan.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 20th October 2007
The main well in the Forest of Radovan, protected by a pergola.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 20th October 2007
The secondary well, near the first.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 20th October 2007
Andrei, Ana and Alina at the place where, at midnight, the killed bride appears to attack any young man passing through the forest at this time.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 20th October 2007
Adrian and Alina, together with Sarbu Catalin from Radovan made a new search in the cemetery of Radovan village, to find the tomb of the Midnight Bride.
This young girl came to Radovan village from the Moldova area of eastern Romania about 1940. After being raped, she committed suicide and has sometimes appeared to visitors to the old well in Radovan Forest.
The girl's name was originally thought to have been Ileana, and lived in a house in the village, but now no one wants to talk about this sad story.
Catalin showed us this tomb in the cemetery.
Alina put two candles on the grave.
With the help of Mrs Claudia Barbu, from Oltenia Museum, who lives in Radovan village, the team has established that the name of the Midnight Bride is Patra Maria, aged 21, who died in 1947.
The Alexis Team plan to go to the forest at midnight, on a ghost hunt soon. It is also planned to enter the well, where the story goes that the well is like a cave underground, perhaps the home of the Midnight Bride.
Finally, we want to make a book about this story soon.
Photo: Adrian Gheorghe 26th October 2008
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This page last modified Friday, 14th November, 2008 12:16pm
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