Kukeri Fun!

A little bit of Halloween, a little bit of the Castro, and a little bit of Star Wars. This is the scene for most Kukeri festivals in the small rural villages of Bulgaria. This past weekend, I went to one of the biggest and most well-known Kukeri festivals in Shiroka Luka, high up in the Rhodopes. This is a "must do" in Bulgaria.


Now, let me begin to explain. The Kukeri is an important masked ritual of dance in the last days of the winter, just before nature comes back to life. The participants are male only, dressed in sheepskin garments and wearing scary masks and chanove (copper bells) on their belts. (Transdressers and Chewbacha look alikes are also present.) These men dance and sing songs and chants, with the intention to scare away the evil spirits or ghosts which people believed came back to the living ones in winter.


The ritual is a mixture between Christian and pagan traditions and symbols. There is a strong correlation between the event and the peasant life. It is a unique folklore, which can be seen only in Bulgaria. The traditional mask is multi-coloured, covered with beads, ribbons and woolen tassels. The dress too, is colorful and florid once again up to the individual imagination. The heavy swaying of the main mummer is meant to represent wheat heavy with grain, and the noisy clanging of the bells is intended to drive away the evil and sickness.


To experience an "authentic" Kukeri, it seems one must travel some respectable distances. I having had traveled on three different buses in a period of 6 hours, was ready for a good show. And that is exactly what I got.