Kukeri

Towards the end of winter in Bulgarian villages all over the country, the clanging of a multitude of cow bells will seize your attention as a parade of figures known as kukeri, often similar in appearance to those creatures found in the American kid's book Where the Wild Things Are, march through the village and chase away any lingering evil spirits. They shake their sticks, dance around, and nowadays, attract crowds from all over the country to festivals where kukeri groups get to show off their elaborate costumes and rituals.

We went to Shiroka Luka last year for their annual kukeri festival and enjoyed it so much, we convinced some of our Bulgarian friends to join us this year. Shiroka Luka is located along a picturesque river valley in the Rhodope Mountains. All the buildings are white with stone roofs and built in a style where the second floor sits larger on the first. The festival, which started around 10 and lasted an hour, was followed by a giant town dance (the horo) as a live traditional band played bagpipes, drums, horns, guitars, and bass into the city center. Vendors hawked their wares and we enjoyed looking at their traditional rugs, jewelry, pottery, and ate from the many street grill stands. Several different groups performed, some more frightening than pretty. Some had giant cone hats the size of 3-4 men tall, some had traditional dancers, some had bears (men in bear suits) who danced, and some had actual horse-heads crafted into monster masks. Each group had a slightly different ritual, but from what we could understand, a common theme involved an old lady giving birth, devils being chased and beaten, and a giant plouw tilling the ground and grain being thrown. They made a cacophony of noise as each group had members with many cow bells attached to their belts and they jumped up and down in unison. We were told it is an ancient tradition having to do with fertility rituals, preparing for spring, and chasing away evil. If you're interested, a more in-depth analysis by Bulgarians for their English-speaking readers can be found here. Some of our favorites were the groups that had little children in kuker costumes, which reminded us of the Ewoks. We also enjoyed the one that ended with the kukeri jumping over a fire and the one that had a large man beating two other men pushing a plow with a giant branch.

That night we enjoyed a nice dinner with our friends at a traditional tavern. The traditional dish most of us ordered was a potato pancake and while eating, two bagpipe players came in and like something in a movie, another one of the guests stood up and started singing. It was the sort of event I was amazed to witness; the sort of the thing you hope happens when you have guests. There is a ghastly quality to this type of Bulgarian music, regardless of how much the singer or bagpipe player may smile, and despite not understanding the lyrics, a definite sense of powerful loss and mourning permeates the songs.