Transylvania

GIANT HAYSTACKSVisitors to Transylvania will return home with one abiding image: hayricks and horse and carts covered with enormous piles of hay balancing precariously. The traditional hayrick (capita de fan) is built according to age-old methods and usually by the grandmother in the family. A central wooden pole is fixed on a bed of dry leaves and the cut, drying grass is built up around the pole while granny stands on top packing the layers down. It's highly skilful work and the shape of the haystack varies throughout Transylvania: sometimes it's pear-shaped, sometimes quite thin and pointed, sometimes a chunky pyramid, but always with a sloping watertight top layer. The hay gradually dries in the autumn sun and then the ricks are toppled onto carts and transported to barns for the winter livestock fodder. Excerpted from Transylvania by Rudolf Abraham, Lucinda Mallows All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.