The Moon, the Stars and the Sun...a look at Celestial Objects in Bulgarian Folklore

(photo from Wikipedia commons)

Bulgarians are really into outer space judging from the number of references in their folklore about the Sun, the Moon, and the stars. Here's a glimpse into their fascination with heavenly objects in folk songs and folk music.

Zornitsa means morning star and probably refers to the planet Venus. Although Venus is technically a planet, it looks like a star and is one of the brightest objects (after the moon) in the predawn/evening sky. (Venus can only be seen two hours before sunrise and two hours after sunset). Zornitsa is a popular female name, which is most likely given to girls born just before sunrise. The morning star must be something really special to the Bulgarians because there are so many folk ensembles with that name. Here's Zornitsa, from Sofia, performing at a festival in Luxembourg:



This beautiful song is Izgrejla e Mesechinka (the moon has risen). The moon is often seen as a feminine object; if you know a language in which nouns are considered masculine or feminine, for example, Spanish, the moon is feminine (la luna). What's really unique about this version of Izgrejla e Mesechinka is that there's only one female singer in the group, and it gives this "feminine" song an interesting masculine quality.



Fire rituals were used in the old days, before Christianity, to summon the sun back around the time of the winter solstice and to chase away evil spirits. Although modern people know that the the sun will eventually triumph over winter, the Surva celebrations are held in Bulgaria every year. Which is a good thing, because if they weren't, everyone would probably freeze to death :)

This video, depicting another ritual which takes place shortly before Lent, gives a new meaning to the term "fire dancing," and the brass band music accompanying the dancers is loud enough to wake the dead. That and the bonfires will certainly keep those evil spirits away, especially the cold ones that bring long, snowy winters. Lent falls at the very end of winter, and is the start of the 40 day fasting season before Easter.



For more on the Shrovetide (pre-lenten) ritual, read:

http://bnr.bg/Audio.aspx?lang=1033#http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Folklore/Pages/2602Shrovetide(firstSundaybeforeLent).aspx

For more on the sun in Bulgarian folklore, here's a link to a broadcast from the Bulgarian National Radio.

http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Folklore/Pages/0906folkloreslunze.aspx

For more on the Bulgarian connection with outer space, read:
http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/03/outer-space-bulgarian-connection-we-are.html

For the Bulgarian take on astrology and folklore read:

http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Folklore/Pages/0504Folkloreastrologyandnumerology.aspx


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Outer Space: The Bulgarian Connection: "We are not alone"

Many years ago I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a science fiction movie from the year 1977. I was captivated by the main character, Roy Neary, who happened upon a UFO during a shift at work. Life was never the same for him after that.

His fascination with things extraterrestrial got him into big trouble with his family, who thought he had gone crazy. His wife and family left him, and he eventually lost his job.

Neary's obsession eventually led him to Devil's Tower, where he and another woman find the mothership and meet the Aliens. He boards the spaceship and supposedly lives happily ever after.

Aliens are often portrayed as evil in science fiction movies, but Close Encounters portrayed them as benign creatures, not wanting to take over Planet Earth, but simply curious about it and its people. They were musical as well, as shown by this excerpt from the movie:



I have often wondered if Bulgarians are aliens from outer space, there is certainly enough evidence on the Internet to prove this :) They have an affinity for the extraterrestrial; and have even blasted a golden record containing one of their folk songs into space, with the help of NASA. They are hoping somebody somewhere in the universe will find them. We don't know for sure if anyone in the Milky Way has located this small Eastern European country, but I'm sure one of these days an odd looking creature resembling E.T. will stop by the building of the Bulgarian National Radio in Sofia, holding a flat, gold object, and asking "Does this belong to you?" He will probably be welcomed like a long-lost relative.

The record, titled "Voices of Earth", went up with other artifacts of our civilization on the Voyager Spacecraft in 1977. For all we know, it may still be out in the galaxy, with a lot of other space junk. On the other hand, it may have been found without our knowledge. Maybe the Bulgarian National Radio knows and isn't telling....

According to an old post on the Bulgarian National Radio's website: "30 years ago a Bulgarian folk song performed by Valya Balkanska was flown into outer space as a musical message from the Earth." The name of the song is Izlel e Delyu Haidutin, sung by Valya Balkanska.  



There is even an asteroid named after a city in Bulgaria. The House of Humor and Satire, located in Gabrovo, posted this on its web site:

..."the humour capital of Bulgaria has already secured its future reserving an extraterrestrial piece of land - just in case. It is Gabrovo planet, a small asteroid discovered on April 1st, 1976 and named after the town that has become famous for folklore humour and traditions."

The motto of the Humor House is: "The world lasts because it laughs." I guess when we stop laughing, the end of the world will come, and the Bulgarians will launch a spaceship to their new home in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

A movie, titled Alien Apocalypse aired some years back on the Sci-Fi Channel. The plot involves astronauts, who after a long journey in space, have found the earth taken over by alien termites who have devoured the trees and enslaved the inhabitants. Wikipedia mentions that:

"Most of the shooting for this film was done in Bulgaria, and according to the DVD commentary, many of the actors in the film were Bulgarian and spoke little English........"

I wonder if the producers of this movie were onto something. Why did they go to Bulgaria to film it? Another one of those unsolved mysteries, I suppose.



The Bulgarian Radio had an article on its website about a year ago, complete with music, which described the role of astronomy in Bulgarian folklore. It stated "The sun, the moon and the stars dot the imagery of Bulgarian folk songs, tales, proverbs and rituals." Hmmm...a nation of stargazers!

Here's an article from a British newspaper, that was published last fall. According to this, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences claims that aliens are already living on Earth and have made contact with humans. I'm sure they are the same guys who wear elaborate embroidered costumes, dance horo and rachenitsa, and play that haunting and beautiful music that some people find annoying. I know my kids feel that way about it, and have bought me several pairs of headphones.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bulgaria/6650677/Aliens-already-exist-on-earth-Bulgarian-scientists-claim.html

And here is some recent evidence from the Bulgarian National Radio Website that proves that a number of famous people believe in aliens, including an astrophysicist from Bulgaria:

http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Profiles/Pages/1403Bulgarianscientistamong10topbelieversinaliens.aspx

One of these days the Alien spaceship will land in front of my house and take me to Planet Bulgaria. My family will wonder why I've disappeared. And I may never come back.

"We are not alone." Trust me on this one.

And finally, a couple of links from the Bulgarian National Radio about astronomy, time keeping and space exploration for you doubters out there:

http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/ScienceAndNature/Pages/031109_technology.aspx

http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/HistoryAndReligion/Pages/301209_Calendar.aspx