"Momarlanii" - descendents of the dacians - are documentary attested as habitants of The Jiu Valley from very old times, even from the times that the roman legion crossed this area. Nobody knows exactly where this name of "momarlani" comes from. Certain researchers think that it came from latin, from "momo" (peasant) and "lan" (indigenous).
Others sustain that the term comes from the Hungarian language, from the word "maradyany", which in translation means "remainder", meaning descendents of the old dacians habitants.
The momarlani build their houses closed to each other, as higher in the mountain as possible, same as the dacians, on higher fields, where nobody can expropriate their land.
We find out from documents that sheperding was the main occupation of these habitants. This occupation still predomins today, the same as in the old times, at the old habitants, who kept thier customs and traditions.
In the past, in the traditional structures of the momarlani's culture, the predominat role was taken by the man. He was the one that was going with the sheeps to pasture and guarded them from the attacks of wild animals. Although he didn't spend so much time at home, the man was considered the mainstay of the family. He was also the one that was taking care of sacrificing the animals (especially in the celebrations period), while the woman had a harder work to do. She was supposed to prepare meat products and also traditional foods in time of celebration. The woman was also taking care of children, whose number was quite large.
Among other duties, another primary task of women was to deliver food to their husbands to the fold. But the most important task was preparing the food for the winter. Here, the woman was obliged to do quite an expensive and delicate work, that of preparing the pickles, the meat and the frankfurters. Men were supposed to prepare the drinks, custom that it is still popular and necessary. Families had a large number of members, but the economic roles were well known, so that every member knew what he or she had to do.
