Abstract
The author intends to present some of the uses of salt and/or of the salted water from an ethnographical point of view. The starting point of this study consists of a series of information/data from villages in the Neamţ County, showing analogies in other regions of Moldavia.
The content of the article is structured according to the different ways of using salt, as resulting from information provided by ethnographical researches.
The study discusses the symbolical value of this mineral especially in the rites of passage (such as birth), weather predictions but also recalls the practical uses: halotherapy, crafts and occupations. The text is important because it tries to emphasize practices and beliefs that are unique or less known to the modern people. The conclusion points out the fact that the ethnographic information concerning salt and salted water use is extremely different and requires a correct registration and a complex analysis.
Keywords: salt, ethnography, Moldavia, beliefs, symbolism, halotherapy, rites of passage.
Cuvinte-cheie: sare, etnografie, Moldova, credinţe, simbolistică, haloterapie, rituri de trecere.