Sociologie Românească, Vol. III, no. 3/2005, pp. 86-108.
Maramureș: tradiție în practica turistică
Maramureș: traditions in tourist practices
Sonia Hristescu*
*Universitatea din București
Abstract (Rezumat în limba engleză): In this article, I focus on the way material elements of Maramureºan culture are transformed in social symbols, which are then interpreted and deconstructed by the locals in front of the tourists who visit this region. In this research, my major objective has been an accurate understanding of the elements of family identity that are used by the local villagers in their interactions with visitors, going through articulation of tourist traditions in the rural areas. In order to adequately address this research question, I have done an ethnographic field research and a careful and detailed analysis of this type of tourism. Such approach is necessary in order to understand the choices that lie at the foundations of these practices, as well as the decision of Maramuresan villages to orient towards a particular touristic practice. The data collection phase of research has been followed by the analysis of some intentional elements, such as household instruments, traditional costumes, or local gastronomy, which all constitute signals addressed to the tourists in a village community (Botiza village).