The primitive magic is related first to certain practical activities: healing(popular medicine), love affairs, to shunt the erotic behaviours, to draw near the
prey and fish, together with various aggressive practices and also of purification.
The exorcisms and charms/spells are linked to almost any magic exercise.
There are two types of magic to be considered :white and black ; the
basic functions of the idea of magic are:
(a) The onthological functions
(b) The cognitive functions
(c) The pragmatic functions
(d) The spiritual functions
(e) The poetic functions
(f) The religious functions
The idea of magic is a main element of the spiritual life led by
the Lapus eans. In the traditional society nothing occurs at random. In the Lapus peasant's opinion, everything has magic causes, is the purposeful result of an unseen power. The cause is always hidden and all the main steps of our
existence explains itself only in the same manner: witchcraft.
Against the charms that bring bad luck there is need for weapons with the same power and these are the countercharms. The reasons that make the
man resort to witchcraft are various, depending on his misfortunes. The magic solution to the evil of the most people inhabiting the Country of Lapus is the exorcism, that is based on the strong belief in the power of the word and
mind.Patterns of expressing the power of the word and mind can be found in all the faiths in the word and the most accomplished are the prayers. The church offers a wide series of prayers. But God doesn't always and at once make
the people's prayers come true and then the Lapus peasants resort to magic, that generally hastens the effect.
Against the charms that bring bad luck there is need for weapons with the same power and these are the countercharms. The reasons that make the man resort to witchcraft are various, depending on his misfortunes. The magic solution to the evil of the most people inhabiting the Country of Lapus is the exorcism, that is based on the strong belief in the power of the word and mind.Patterns of expressing the power of the word and mind can be found in all the faiths in the word and the most accomplished are the prayers. The church offers a wide series of prayers. But God doesn't always and at once make the people's prayers come true and then the Lapus peasants resort to magic, that generally hastens the effect.
But the charm claims a few conditions to be taken into account: first it is better to appeal to a specialist-the exorcist, generally a woman, who has the advantage of knowing the
conditions of the success in practising magic. The exorcism requires at least two people taking part in the action. Defined by the aim, the exorcism is positive and belongs to the white magic, apart from the deeds that the Lapus
people call "boscoane", viz. negative witchcraft belonging to the black side of the magic, the exorcists try to remote the bad magic practice, naturally called witchcraft. Exorcists can be called all the mothers living in
the countryside who can see the symptoms of their sick children and relatives and try to end the sufferance by means of good thoughts and charms. The charm is the first remedy of the magic medicine and it is achieved within the
home, usually by the mother or relatives. There is a great deal of charms: for the evil eye, for weeping, for fright, for sun, for dry sun, for scab, for bad luck, for hate, for curse and so many others.
Exorcists can also be men who are apart from the fortune-tellers and they "read" in beans, in wax, in sea-shells and recently in coffee lees, in
cards, in palm, in cigarette smoke or zodiac.
There are magic agents who embody charm performers, fortune-tellers and wizards and in this case the latter name is preferred. The wizards are thought to be the worst, asking for
help from demons of all kinds.
- What is a "country" ?
The region of Lapus, as structure and function hardly resembles other places that bear the name of "country", but it was known as "The Country of Lapus" in the past and it has been called as such ever since.
In the special nomenclature, the ethnographical
region is a place whose geographical boundaries can be perceived and that is characterised by distinct features of traditional culture of the inhabitants. The notion reflects an outside vision and refers to the splitting of a wider
space-Maramures, in the present case- that offers as the result of its variety, the possibility of a splitting. Maramures can be devised into 4 countries: the country of Maramures, the country of Lapus, the country of Chioar, the
country of the Woods.
People who live within this regions name them "countries", the same as they did before, where the Romanian ethnical teritory knew countries such as that
of Maramures, Chioar, Lapus, Oas, Hateg, Zarand, Barsa, Fagaras. As far as the native people are concerned, they don't consider their country only as a limited place that can be defined ethnologically and ethnographically.
Above all, it is a spiritual entity where the inhabitants have the same picture about the outside world, the same rules regarding their relationships and the same behaviour. A country is for them a state of conscience, the
identity that justifies their existence.
The countries used to have their own structures based on groups of native people related among them, strengthened in time by deeds and events
that sealed them.
The Country of Lapus
is only once mentioned in the old papers as Terra Lapus.