Năframă/Mahramă – a word of Turkish origin, known in Romanian language since 1508 – is a long strip of fine veil, made of “borangic” (a type of fabric), which the peasant women from Oltenia and Muntenia used to wear on their heads, letting the ends hang down almost to the ground. Most of the time, it is decorated with silk or cotton threads, but slightly thicker, featuring various floral and geometric patterns. Depending on preferences and financial possibilities, some năframas were chosen with golden and silver metallic threads. The colors also varied, ranging from shades of white, pale yellow, golden yellow, light blue, green, red, and more.
Being a fine and lightweight fabric, crafting this head dress required dexterity, patience, and good eyesight for arranging the threads on the weaving loom. Only a gentle breeze would cause the „marama ” to delicately touch the woman’s face. The finesse of the weaving reflects the skill of the weavers and the meticulousness of the women working on the weaving loom.
The „marama” is an integral part of the traditional costume and serves to enhance the beauty, adding elegance and distinction to the woman wearing it. For the first time, it was worn on the wedding day, symbolizing the married woman. Placing the „năframa” on the bride’s head was done in a special ceremony, performed by the godmother.
As a masterpiece of handiwork, as noted by foreign travelers in the Romanian space in the early 18th century, the „marama” or „năframa” covered the head somewhat like the way nuns wear their headpieces, but without being tight or constricting. One part would hang a little downwards, while the other part would be brought from the neck to the middle of the chest in a multitude of beautiful folds, the end of which was also thrown over the left shoulder.
It quickly spread across all social classes and all regions of the country, being worn by ladies, noblewomen, peasant women, and later, by the Queens of Romania. The „marama” from the Mușcel region stands out for its fine weaving and rich decorations, which convinced Queen Maria of Romania to wear the năframa from Mușcel.
The current exhibition displays 26 such objects from the collection of the Golești Museum in Argeș County, specific to the regions of Olt, Gorj, Vâlcea, Argeș, and Mușcel.