Over the weekend, I attended our very own Kukeri here in Stara Zagora. I woke early and headed down to the center of town following the sound of the loud clanging bells and was greeted by character faces that you only imagine in folk tales.
It is that time of year with the winter fading away and spring making its bounds. 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 dressed in sheepskin garments and wearing scary masks and copper bells on their belts. Transdressers, scary doctors, men on "horses" 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. Men wear decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and bells on their belts. Girls even join in the fun in the national costume of Bulgaria and start up the horo (the national dance). According to the tradition, this festival, like many other traditions in Bulgaria, will provide a good harvest, health and happiness in the village during the whole year.
Kukeri is a an amusing ritual with men in tights or big fur masks dancing wildly in the center of town. It is a rather authentic and unique Bulgarian tradition. One of the many traditions I will miss when back in the states.
No comments:
Post a Comment