ABSTRACT
Romanian literary folklore provides numerous valuable clues on the so-called tribal initiation of young men and women about to get married. The research focuses on the first phase of the rite and its feature: the road in between worlds. In order to be consecrated the protagonist has to endure the voyage through certain space – marks of the passage: the desert, open field, forest, mountains and caves. The analysis includes quotations and other stylistic tools so to better point out the absolute coherence of the Romanian archaic imaginary.