Bucium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bucium is also a Romanian folk rock band.
Bucium is also a commune in Alba County.
1921 photo of a shepherd with a trâmbiţă, in Giuleşti (Maramureş)
1921 photo of a shepherd with a trâmbiţă, in Giuleşti (Maramureş)
A mural in Voroneţ Monastery showing an angel playing a bucium at the onset of the Last Judgment
A mural in Voroneţ Monastery showing an angel playing a bucium at the onset of the Last Judgment

The Bucium (IPA: ['bu.ʧjum], also called trâmbiţă or tulnic) is a type of Alpenhorn used by mountain dwellers in Romania. Of Dacian origin, it was used in the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia as signaling devices in military conflicts. The word is derived from Latin bucinum, originally meaning "curved horn", an instrument used by the Romans. The word is a cognate with English "bugle".

The tube is made from limetree bark, wood, or even (partially) from metal. It is mostly used by shepherds for signaling and communication in the forested mountains, as well as for guiding sheep and dogs. Trâmbiţa produces sounds altogether different from those of the Alpenhorn.

Under the name trembita, it is also used by the Hutsuls - a population which, although speaking a Slavic language, may have originated with early Romanians (see Vlachs).

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