The Social Process of Village-Swarming. The Background of Founding Sinca Noua Village (Fagaras County)

• Author: Rosculet, Gh.
• Position: Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 179-184

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 6 (55) No. 2 - 2013

THE SOCIAL PROCESS OF VILLAGE -

SWARMING. THE BACKGROUND OF

FOUNDING ŞINCA NOU VILLAGE

(FGRAŞ COUNTY)

Gheorghe ROŞCULE1

Abstract: The process of founding the villages was a long and difficult

one all over Romania. These social units bobbed up, knitted together,

configured through the interweaving of geographical, demographic and

historical determinants. Over time, the old villages (”source-villages")

generated new rural settlements (”womb-villages”) by swarming, a process

of anonymous moving of a part of the rural population. Şinca Nou village of

Fgraş County is the result of a similar process of swarming. In most

cases, the swarming process was caused by factors such as demographic

growth, resources lessening or social oppression, but as far as Şinca Nou

village is concerned, the religious factor was prevailing in the swarming

process.

Keywords: Fgraş County, Şinca Nou village, Şinca Veche, source-

village, swarming, border-guardship, uniatism.

1 Faculty of Sociology and Communication, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

The rural communities are social units

(almost complete forms of social life) that

define the Romanian territory. The

ancientness character of many of them (the

so-called villages in joint estates) is

highlighted by the outliving, sometimes in

almost full forms of the archaic types of

organization, to the present day. However,

the process of founding the Romanian

villages was a long and difficult one at

times, going up to the late Middle Ages.

Territorialising the rural communities –

organisation of the fireplace villages,

setting the village boundaries, emergence

and persistence of multiple villages in the

same milestone – reflects the steady and

constant concern of the rural communities

to create those forms of community

organisation meant to correspond to the

needs of social life. The issue of village

swarming is also related to

territorialisation.

2. Village – swarming

Throughout the ages, the number of the

rural settlements increased, adding to each

other similarly to “the catching chain

joints” including larger and larger

territorial alveoli. Subsequently, the care to

set firm boundaries for the new villages

naturally increased; the boyard and lordly