Bulgarian Folk Dances Named After Cities and Towns

We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
Maya Angelou

Bulgaria has seven folklore regions. Oftentimes the dances are named after cities and towns, and sometimes the region. Despite the fact that it's a relatively small country, Bulgaria has a lot of diversity in its music and dance.

For those who are not familiar with Bulgarian folk dancing, the two major groups of dances in this country are rachenitsa and horo. Horo simply means "dance." It can be any rhythm, and some of them can get quite interesting, especially the asymmetrical ones.

Radio Bulgaria's translation of horo is "chain dance." The dancers hold hands or each other's belts, the idea is being linked like a chain. Rachenitsa, on the other hand can be done in singles, couples, and groups. It's a dance in an irregular rhythm, apple-apple-pineapple. There are seven beats to the measure.

There is a well-known rachenitsa from the town of Kyustendil, a town in the Shope region (west central Bulgaria) near the capital Sofia. Here's a description of Kystendil from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyustendil

The video is of Kystendilska Rachenitsa, performed by the Bulgarian ensemble Accent. This is an example of "rachenitsa na horo", which means the dance is done in a group.



The next dance, Vidinsko Horo is a lively number from the town of Vidin, in northwestern Bulgaria. In the dance notes below you can read about the Romanian influence in this dance; the steps include stamping and arm swinging. The dancers shout and make a lot of noise....that's Romanian too. There's a lot of cross-cultural pollination in the Balkans.

http://www.folkdance.com/LDNotations/Vidinskohoro1998LD.pdf

The shouts, or "calls" are known as "strigaturi" in Romanian, and they have crossed the border, however, I don't know the Bulgarian name for them. Maybe someone can enlighten me on this.



This very graceful and smooth dance, Varnensko Horo is from the seaside town of Varna, in the folklore region of Dobrudja, northeastern Bulgaria. Dobrudjan dances have also been influenced by nearby Romania in that a good number of them involve stamping (this will be covered in a future post). This one is definitely an exception to that rule.



Pazhardiska Kopanitsa is a another dance with the irregular rhythm pattern that Bulgarians are famous for. Pazhardik is in south central Bulgaria, in the region of Thrace. This dance is a Kopanitsa, a dance in 11/16, and the rhythm is like this: quick-quick-slow-quick-quick. I call the "slow" beat in the middle the hiccup.



For more on Kopanitsa and other related dances, this may be of interest:

http://www.phantomranch.net/folkdanc/articles/gankino-kopanitsa_ru.htm

If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Horo, Part 1

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/10/flavors-of-bulgarian-horo-and-diversity.html

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Horo, Part 2

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/11/flavors-of-bulgarian-horo-and-diversity.html

Dancing by the Numbers

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/10/dancing-by-numbers.html


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Christmas Folk Songs and Dances from Bulgaria

In course of time, religion came with its rites invoking the aid of good spirits which were even more powerful than the bad spirits, and thus for the time being tempered the agony of fears. Paul Harris

You may be wondering...what do evil spirits have to to with Christmas? Read more and find out!

Today's post will feature Christmas songs and dances from Bulgaria. These videos will put you in a festive mood.

In Bulgaria, the word for Christmas is Koleda. It is one of the most important holidays on the Eastern Orthodox calendar. Although it is a religious holiday, pagan elements (such as the rituals to drive away evil spirits) co-exist harmoniously with the religious ones.

The first video of a children's group is really cute, with several boys singing and playing on traditional instruments (gadulka, tambura and drum). Their teacher must be so proud :)



More Christmas songs, but the setting here is not in synch with the season, except for the hats on these guys. What I find odd here are the flowery curtains. Where are the Christmas trees and decorations? Maybe they are dreaming of spring in the middle of winter.



In Bulgarian tradition the men do the singing and dancing at Christmastime. Groups of men (Koledari) go from house to house and sing (this takes place in the smaller towns and villages) and the the hosts at each home give them food and drink. In some respects it is like the Puerto Rican parranda, which I wrote about in one of last year's posts (the link to it is at the end of this one).

Now it's time for some pagan rituals which involve the driving out of evil spirits.

Back in the old days people believed that the sun disappeared around the time of the winter solstice and that scaring the evil spirits would bring it back, which is why the Surva ceremonies were held during the time between the winter solstice and the last day of December. Here are some masked men who intimidate with looks alone. When a bunch of them play the zurna  (a double-reed oboe like instrument) and the drums, the noise is loud enough to scare away any evil spirit who dares to get close.



For more on Surva, read: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Bulgarian-Surva/1126125

Cbristmas would not be Christmas without dancing. These Koledari begin with a rachenitsa (national dance of Bulgaria) then go into a buenek (walking dance). I posted something not too long ago about folk ensembles named Dunav, this is another group with the same name.



A big thank you to everyone who stopped by and a Merry Christmas to all!

If you enjoyed this you may also like A Bulgarican Christmas, a cross cultural comparision of Christmas traditions (this includes an old Sesame Street video with Oscar the Grouch!)

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/12/bulgarican-christmas-cross-cultural.html

Dreaming of Spring in the Middle of Winter (if you like flowers and folklore you will love this one.)

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/01/dreaming-of-spring-in-middle-of-winter.html

The River of Many Names Part 3: Folk Ensembles Named Dunav (there are lots of them!)

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/10/river-of-many-names-part-3-folk.html


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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


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Sometimes Lost in Translation: Bulgarian Proverbs

You can get insight into people and culture from their proverbs and Bulgaria is no exception. The problem sometimes is that translations from one language to another can change the meaning of the original!

Many of these are connected with farming, since Bulgarian society was primarily agrarian until the 20th century.

The chicken teaches the hen to lay eggs.
Do not put all eggs in one basket.
He that wills not to feed a cat, feeds the mice.

The proverbs quoted here are literal translations taken from this Bulgarian website, a rich source of folklore
and history as well as wise sayings. The proverb about not placing all your eggs in one basket is a familiar one. And on farms, cats were kept so the mice wouldn't eat the grain, so it was a good idea to keep them happy. And what came first, the chicken or the hen (perhaps it was the egg, but who laid the egg?)

The 500 year Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria must have been connected with the following proverb, although it could have described slavery and oppression anywhere in the world:
Better the grave than a slave.

The next two are variations of Pride goes before a fall.
He that flies high falls low down.
A haughty person will not even reach down to take his own nose if it had fallen to the ground."

If you attempt too much, nothing gets done. This is as true in Bulgaria as it is in the rest of the world, and multi-tasking is frowned upon:
He who undertakes too many jobs does none.

On the farm, people had to work hard, otherwise they wouldn't eat. However, the next proverb gives you the idea that the men have something else on their minds besides work:
It is easier to fondle lassies, than to cut timbers.

Men have had difficulty resisting temptation since the time of Eve:
Money tempts women, women tempt men.

This is a variation on the devil made me do it.
What the devil is unable to do, he asks a woman to do.

Giving up smoking is difficult, if not impossible, and rationalization is a common defense mechanism:
I gave up smoking, smoking would not give me up.

If you don’t watch where you’re going bound to fall:
Watch your step when you walk: you may find nothing but you will not stumble.

Many people wish they had young bodies with the wisdom that comes with age. If there's a Fountain of Youth in Bulgaria, no one's ever told me about it :)
If only youth had knowledge and old age ability!

Here is a musical take on health proverbs from the Bulgarian National Radio:

http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Lifestyle/Folklore/Pages/270710_wisdoms.aspx

This final proverb from the Bulgarian Radio website shows a proven connection with anger, heart disease, and death:  He who gets angry gets old quickly.


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