Most summer festivals call singers and ensembles to the stage. The one held on Sunday, 19 July, in Cioropcani, also called well-diggers.
The village, in Ungheni district, hosted the folk festival “La Fântânița din Sat” (At the Village Well), organised by the Pîrlița District Culture Centre in partnership with Cioropcani Commune Town Hall, under the auspices of the Ungheni District Culture and Tourism Department. Beyond the traditional costumes, dancing and music, the celebration set out, according to the town hall, to honour the well-diggers — the people who, the organiser says, “uncover from the secrets of the earth the most precious source of life – WATER”.
Eight well-diggers, from four villages
Eight master well-diggers from four localities in the district were invited as guests of honour: Roman Regiliuc, Mihail Moraru, Vasile Feleșteanu and Serghei Lototovici from Cioropcani, Vasile Pulbere from Pîrlița, Vasile Nesteriuc and Valeriu Sanduleac from Petrești and Mihail Childescu from Zagarancea.
It is a trade that festivals usually pass over in silence, but which, in the district’s villages, remains very tangible. This summer, drought and water shortages were a real problem in the area — in Sculeni, residents ended up on a rationing schedule that supplied different parts of the network in turn. In such a context, a festival that places the well-digger at the centre of the celebration is no longer merely a folkloric gesture.
A stage with ensembles from across the district
The artistic programme brought together ensembles from several villages. The special guest was folk singer Silvia Zagoreanu. Also taking the stage were performers Natalia Ghermanschi (Petrești) and Iurie Cușcă (Sculeni), the “Gură spartă” satire and comedy theatre from Todirești, the group of folk fiddlers (lăutari) from Sculeni, the “Cioropcănencile” folk ensemble from Cioropcani, the “Drăgaica” and “Cununa Dorului” ensembles of the Pîrlița District Culture Centre, the “Datina” ensembles from Petrești and Zagarancea, and the “Blindeștenii” ensemble from Blindești.
A well, brought back to life by young people
The celebration also had a practical side. A few days earlier, members of the Cioropcani Local Youth Council carried out a volunteer action at one of the village’s wells: they cleaned it, painted it and tended the space around it. “We are glad we can contribute to the beauty of our village, and we hope such initiatives will inspire more and more people to get involved in community life,” the young people wrote.