Abstract
The present study intends to emphasize the information regarding the documentary evidence on “the herb of animals”, the plant that, according to tradition, has miraculous powers, being picked in the night before the feast of Saint John the Baptist’s Birth and used for opening the locks of the places hiding treasures. Based on documents and ethnographic material, we find out that the eastern area of Moldova has legends on “the herb of animals” dating from ancient times that came in this area either by Slavic influence or by an older one. The phenomenon of searching treasures is omnipresent in history, in the Romanian space as well as worldwide; therefore, the two cases, of the monk Evghenie from Căpriana and of the so-called “group of adventurers” from Pârliţa, supplement the numerous legends and stories related to imaginary or real treasures in the territory between Prut and Dniester rivers.
Keywords: “the herb of animals”, treasure seekers, “The Ascension of Jesus” Church of Chişinău, Căpriana Monastery, Pârliţa, Moldavia, Bessarabia.
Cuvinte-cheie: „iarba fiarelor”, căutători de comori, Biserica Înălţarea Domnului din Chişinău, Mănăstirea Căpriana, Pârliţa, Țara Moldovei, Basarabia.