The fair in Stomanevo

Thanks to Mr. +Boyan Dobrev we can enjoy a lovely collection of photos from the traditional fair in the village of Stomonevo, in Bulgaria's Western Rhodope mountains.

Stomanevo is located in the municipality of Devin, and each year its traditional folk fair attract thousands of visitors. The population is dominantly Turkish, with Bulgarian minority (from so called Pomak ethnographic group).

You can see the beautiful clothing of the natives. It is very interesting that the local people preserved the ancient tradition of fire-dancing - Nestinarstvo.

Preparing the fire dance. 

The Following Dance - an ancient dance from the Rhodope mountains

In the Rhodope mountains there is an unique ancient folk dance: the Following Dance (Bulgarian: Слядно хоро). This dance still exists in the small mountain village of Chernichevo. The great Bulgarian academician Lyubomir Miletich, who wrote about Chernichevo, claimed that this was a specific mournful dance, performed only once a year. And this is the truth.

The Christian community of Chernichevo danced the mournful dance each Good Friday, when Christians grieve about Jesus' death, and according to the tradition, it wasn't appropriate to dance fast and lively dances. Also the songs, sung with the dance, were sorrowful.

On September 28th, 2013, with the folklore group of the village, we presented some of the traditions in a famous TV show on air. The effect was just... sensational!

The Following Dance is special in the way in which people dance. In difference with the ordinary dances, when people stay shoulder to shoulder (see examples 1 and 2),  in this dance the dancers follow each other. Women and men dance separately, not together (the dance in the TV show was an exception, just to illustrate the know-how). Women follow one another by putting hands around the waists, and the men by putting hands on their shoulders.

We also know that during the Balkan wars gangs of Ottoman volunteers (aka bashi-bazouk) killed about 90 people from Chernichevo. Prof.Miletich wrote that a year later the people in Chernichevo still were in grief for their victims, therefore they didn't dance their playful dances. Instead, they danced only the Following dance, which as we noted previously, was performed only once per year. And even today, the local peasant still speak with a deep sorrow about their relatives, who died in the massacres. This was a collective trauma that still resonates in the locals' souls.

Additional curious fact is that several decades ago the great Bulgarian composer and arranger of folk songs Filip Kutev used the Following Dance for one of his spectacles! On its basis he created a male dance with the same steps. 

The male dance from Kalofer

Yesterday, January 6, Orthodox Bulgarians celebrated Epiphany - one of the most important Christian holidays. The ancient tradition is that the priest throws a cross in a river or spring. According to the belief, the first man who catches the cross, will be lucky and healthy during the year. Sometimes there is a very tough competition who'll reach the cross. 

But there is one place in Bulgaria, where the people are not competitive. For centuries in the town of Kalofer men perform a ritual that unites them and stresses their male brotherhood! This is the male dance! Each year they go in the cold river water and they dance a majestic dance - horo. 

During the communism, when Christianity was oppressed and the religious rituals were restricted, the men in Kalofer had secret meetings in the early mornings, and they danced in the dimness. In the last years this local tradition spread among other Bulgarian towns. It corresponds with highly valued gender traits in the society. Nowadays many Bulgarians perceive it as a symbol of patriotism and a real manhood, so yesterday in at least ten different places men danced the male dance... But the roots of the tradition lie in Kalofer. Enjoy the video!

Seven centuries later: did the dance remain the same?

Two months ago I wrote a post about medieval Bulgarians' life, seen through the frescoes of churches and monasteries from the 13th and 14th centuries. The post become very popular and this is not my merit - it is because of these spectacular masterpieces which bring the millennial heritage of the Bulgarian people. 

Today I will show you something really cool: (at least) seven centuries old tradition in folk dances. 

14th century: Bulgarian horo dancers from the Tower of Hrelyo in Rila monastery, 1334-35.

This is the medieval original: dancers hold their hands over one another. This approach is still in use today! Look at the picture below. It was taken several hours ago in the south Bulgarian town of Harmanli - seven centuries later the tradition is still alive!

21st century: Bulgarian amateur horo dancers from the town of Harmanli
during their repetition, 2013.

So, did the dance remain the same? I can't claim this with certainty but obviously the approach that dancers use to hold their hands, is the same.