About the fruits of life at the "Time of Man" Museum | Mânzălești, Buzău

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We recommend that you call the museum's volunteer curator, Mrs Cecilia Petrescu, whose advanced age does not allow her much time - 0742904462 - in advance.

In a world of modernism Museum "Time of Man" in the village of Mânzălești in Buzoi is a living place, which merges the life of the people of the traditional village of Mânzălești of long ago.

The stairs of the museum are brightly coloured and vividly painted with traditional motifs by students from the village of Mânzălești, even before the museum opened. At the entrance you will be struck Tree of Life in salt roots. Although, we know that nothing grows in salt, this is an important element of the area.

It is said that there is so much salt at Mânzălești that it could last the whole globe for decades. Here there was a salt civilization, all the peoples exploited the salt that was found on the surface but also in depth, being easy to exploit.

The Tree of Life is the earth's connection to heaven. The fruits of the tree (which is often likened to man) are the wipes that signify the results of work. The lower the wipes are, the older they are, and the higher they are, the newer they are.

The oldest towel is almost 200 years old, as can be seen from the colouring of the fabric, which is not as strong as the modern ones.

The path of life is represented on the wipe by three parallel lines (top photo) which signify: birth, marriage and death.

The Tree of Life is also worked on the cloth. The year 1970 was the year when electricity arrived in the village of Mânzălești, and until then the work on the wipers was done by gas lamp.

On display at the museum are also traditional yachts whose stories are unique and you will only hear them from Mrs Cecilia Petrescu, a village teacher and museum curator. The authentic Ia had to have a wrist at the neck and hands to keep out evil spirits. The traditional lace is not machine buttoned so there are no hems and they were made by women who learned the craft from their great-grandmothers, because there were no sewing schools. Thus their value is increasing, considered every day.

Other elements specific to the traditional village exhibited at the museum are: the loom, ceramic pots and pots made in Mânzălești, the clay pottery kiln, the potter's wheel and other old tools.

The heaviest piece is the functional hand mill which is said to grind everything from stones to suffering.

Human creation is based on things in nature: stone, wood, salt, clay, etc. Clay pots were placed in the kiln until they were full and a fire was made until a blue flame appeared that potters said reached 2000 degrees.

In the life of the traditional man the days were hard and expectations low. Hard work was the basis of survival and daily routine was the daily joy. Although man's life ends, the fruits of his labour remain, on which life is still built.

We invite you to the museum to discover the stories of man's time, in the company of Mrs Cecilia, whose gentle teacher's voice you can hardly get out of your mind. 

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