MUMMERS’ GAMES in Stara Zagora
An interesting ritual takes place on March in some parts of Bulgaria – the Mummer’s Games / KOUKEROVDEN /. Only men take part in the Mummer’s Games. Each man wears a mask and a special costume. The masks are faces of goats, rams or bulls. Many masks are made of wood. There are pieces of colorful thread, fabric leather and mirror on them. The mummers hang small or big bells on their costumes. Some masks have two faces. One face shows good and the other shows the evil. The masks are usually red because red is the colour of the sun and fire.
According to the folk beliefs the mummers only go out at night. Mummers’ band visits all houses for health and prosperity and the hosts give them generous presents. At the end the band of mummers symbolically ploughs and sows in the village square, driving evil away and bringing happiness and prosperity to the people in the village. The mummer bride or *hadjibaba* (as the leader of the mummers is called in some villages) standing upright on the collar of the harnessed *ox-mummers*, blesses:
*Listen you all!!!! Where mummer dances are danced let there be health and prosperity. Let your gold coins be as many as the threads in my skirt, let your children be as many as the bees in the hive, let the voices in your house be as many as the sand in the sea.!!! Let evil be buried deep into the ground and let good reign !!!!*
The day ends with a winding horo dance in the village square. Mummers dance, hop and fight. Everyone is noisy and cheerful.
The festival is like an open-air theater.
An interesting ritual takes place on March in some parts of Bulgaria – the Mummer’s Games / KOUKEROVDEN /. Only men take part in the Mummer’s Games. Each man wears a mask and a special costume. The masks are faces of goats, rams or bulls. Many masks are made of wood. There are pieces of colorful thread, fabric leather and mirror on them. The mummers hang small or big bells on their costumes. Some masks have two faces. One face shows good and the other shows the evil. The masks are usually red because red is the colour of the sun and fire.
According to the folk beliefs the mummers only go out at night. Mummers’ band visits all houses for health and prosperity and the hosts give them generous presents. At the end the band of mummers symbolically ploughs and sows in the village square, driving evil away and bringing happiness and prosperity to the people in the village. The mummer bride or *hadjibaba* (as the leader of the mummers is called in some villages) standing upright on the collar of the harnessed *ox-mummers*, blesses:
*Listen you all!!!! Where mummer dances are danced let there be health and prosperity. Let your gold coins be as many as the threads in my skirt, let your children be as many as the bees in the hive, let the voices in your house be as many as the sand in the sea.!!! Let evil be buried deep into the ground and let good reign !!!!*
The day ends with a winding horo dance in the village square. Mummers dance, hop and fight. Everyone is noisy and cheerful.
The festival is like an open-air theater.
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