Intangible Heritage in Buzău Land

In the Buzău region, the landscape surrounding communities is not a neutral space, but rather an active and meaningful one (Tilley 1994), populated by cultural symbols and linked to symbolic references, constituting a cultural construct (Tylor 2008; Ingold 1993). These spaces and their uses are imbued with intangible heritage, reflected in local tales of ogres, dragons, strange apparitions, or giants. This chapter explores how intangible heritage is considered important in local communities in the Buzău area, taking into account local legends and stories that explain and narrate the landscape, as well as experiences people have personally encountered or those passed down through cultural transmission. Another point of interest in this chapter concerns the ritual and symbolic gestures and knowledge that local healers still use to cure people through magical practices and beliefs. Both of these features of intangible heritage are considered important for explaining local communities’ attachment to their traditional values and heritage, thus becoming a point of reference for defining local identity.