A pagan festival

I just got back from the big traditional festival in a town called Shiroka Luka, out in south central Bulgaria. Its a little town located deep in the Rhodopi mountains, surrounded by snow covered pine forests and clear mountain streams. It was my first time out in that region and I have to say that I was impressed. Its a beautiful area and all the little mountain towns have a really cool vibe to them.

The festival itself is called the 'kukuri festival' held every first of March, and it is the largest one in the whole country. Its almost a parade of groups representing their different towns, all dressed up in kukuri costumes and preforming dances and songs. The kukuri costumes are usually made out of goat skins and their dances drive away the evil spirits and help bring a good harvest. They are fascinating to see, but I have to admit that some of them are pretty creepy looking.

(this one is downright creepy)

These kukuri dances are an ancient pagan tradition that have survived the years and have been incorporated into modern Bulgarian culture. The most interesting part about it though is that they have blended slightly with the Bulgarian Orthodox church, so during these pagan dances you would see people dressed up as priests going around blessing the kukuri. Its one of the many examples where religion here is heavily used as a cultural and traditional instrument.

Of course, as with any big Bulgarian festival, this one wouldn't be complete with out the accompaniment of sausage and beer vendors. There were hordes of people dancing around the town with bottles in hand, sometimes giving the feeling of one giant outdoor party. It was a lot of energy and really added to the over all effect of the event.

We also traded martenitsi again like last year. I have to wear them until I see a white stork, at which time I'm supposed to tie them to a tree for good luck for the rest of the year.

You can check out my picasa page for more pics. http://picasaweb.google.com/justinrobarge