ABSTRACT
In the traditional perspective, woman is an element of stability within family, while man is related to the outside world and the public sphere generally. The division according to genders deeply influenced the concept of individual identity, starting from the fact that this kind of gender division operated both in the social and religious spaces, such as in churches. Woman’s preeminence within all rituals of passage in the traditional society as well as in the normal rituals over the year make us conclude that Romanian women always had the role of maintaining the relation between mundane and sacred spaces. In past times, when coming to childbirth, the woman had the major role, while the man was responsible of only the social integration of the newborn. At present, the institution of midwifery is suffering an active process of reorganization, the woman is still the main character, but the midwifery is deeply changed. In the case of weddings, one could speak of a certain equilibrium of roles, as well as of the change of authority, as the bride passes from the parental authority to the one of the husband.
The woman had the role of spiritual sustenance in the rites of passage. In the funeral ritual, the woman was providing the balance between the real world and the netherworld. She is also the one who maintains and celebrates the memory of the deceased. The woman’s role preeminence demonstrates she is aware of her responsibilities in front of her own destiny. The individualism of the Romanian family developed through a series of rules and norms of behavior, and was maintained and adapted to the requirements of each epoch, without ignoring tradition.