Series VI: Medical Sciences – SUPPLEMENT ... - Krongres

E. G. BRODEL et al.: One of the first articles about the Romanian ethno naturopathy published 159 in
a western science paper was written by colonel dr. Jakob von Czihak and dr. Iosef Szabo
the Romanian name in a third position. In
case the Romanian name was very
different from the German one, he
translated the Romanian words into
German too. Dr. Cizhak was an emigrant
from Germany when he came to Moldavia
and so he learned the Romanian language
at the age of 27 years. The Romanian
language at this time was in its early stages
of being used as a language for scientific
purpose. So a modern day Romanian could
easily remark that Czihak wrote the
Romanian words like a German think
Romanian could be written. For example at
the plants “Pitschor Kokoschului” or
“Tschimbrischoare” you could see these
behaviours, but he also had a Russian
influence in the way he wrote the
Romanian language, for example by the
name of the plant “Jarwa Stupului”. He
used the Cyrillic character and translated it
directly into German without considering
the change of articulation in this case. In
summary, he tried to make the Romanian
language known in the German speaking
scientific world of the time [6].
Graphic no.1 – Statistic about structure of Czikak text
By reading Dr. Czihaks text you note
some structure of his catalogue. In the first
part of his text you find the normal plants,
in the last part the fungi. The plants were
first named, and then he described where
they could be found in the Moldavian
Nature, or in which regions of Moldova
they grew if they did not grow everywhere.
The next step was to describe how the
Romanians used the plants. If the plant had
a curative effect he wrote this first,
thereafter he mentioned the possibility of
using the plant for eating or other
economic scope. With fungi he only
mentioned the eatable or curative fungi.
Poisonous mushrooms where not
mentioned at all.
Dr. Czihak tried to focus his article on
the ethnic naturopathy use of the plants
and fungi in the Romanian society. This
aspect fills most of the information Dr.
Czihak put in the descriptions of the plants
and fungi. All other aspects were for him
of secondary interest.
One example translated into English:
Lilium candidum L., German: “weisse