2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY, BLAGOEVGRAD DISTRICT, AND SERRES,

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 1/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

SERRES Sarakatsani In the recent past, the Sarakatsani were a semi-nomadic community primarily engaged with livestock breeding. The specific way of life, requiring the migration of flocks and finding of pastures in the mountains of Macedonia and Thrace in the spring and by the Aegean Sea in the autumn as well as the production of dairy products and fabrics, contributes to the creation of an interesting everyday, social, material and festive culture, artifacts from which we can see in the Sarakatsani Museum in Serres. The museum is located in a modern building designed specifically for that purpose which allows interesting exposition. The first exhibit you will see to the right of the entrance is the mobile tent known as tsiatoura, which the Sarakatsani use when they travel. It is simple to make it - two vertical and one horizontal post covered with waterproof fabric

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 2/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

made of goat's fur and sheep's wool. The indoor space is covered with colorful fabrics and household objects.

A fireplace is displayed outside the tent: flat earthen baking dish with a lid covered with smoldering embers is put on a trivet.

Another interesting exhibit is presented on the left side of tsiatoura - the guide of the caravan. Elderly people still remember how the Sarakatsani were passing by their villages in the spring or autumn. The whole caravan was led by a beautiful bride wearing her wedding dress and drawing all the attention to herself. And indeed this honor was given to the last married bride.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 3/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

We continue our walk in the museum and reach a restoration of a school built before 1930. Having a class is recreated in the classroom. Students are seated on their benches. In front of each of them is placed a small black board and chalk for writing, which allowed multiple use. You will also see notebooks, but they are just for writing the rules. The blackboard and the teacher are at the front. Some of the benches are empty and invite the curious visitor to join the class.

We leave the school and continue to the next two exhibits that represent the part of Sarakatsani life related to animal breeding and dairy production. The large numbers of livestock required their division into herds consisting of five hundred head of stock. Each herd had two shepherds who inhabit small shepherds' huts. In the museum, you can see what the interior of the shepherd's hut looks like – a fireplace in the center and two mats on its both sides, and the scanty household objects are hung on the walls.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 4/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The production of dairy products, used in the daily diet and also market- oriented, is at the heart of the Sarakatsani economy. For the milk processing, special rectangular chalets were built in which all necessary vessels and tools were stored.

Bells are an important part of the Sarakatsani cattle breeding. Their use has a practical function as they serve as a sign for animals and for shepherds themselves. Animals, for example, could recognize the specific melody of the bells, and if one got lost, it was easy to find where the flock was. On one hand shepherds recognized the nuances of the herd's melody and, depending on whether it was calm or disturbing, could tell the condition of the animals. On

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 5/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

the other hand, the bells were a way of demonstrating prestige and musical taste because of the tonal melody coming from the combination of bronze and copper bells placed respectively on the goats and rams.

In the central part of the first floor of the museum the family home is exposed. The interior of the main and largest room is covered with colorful rugs and carpets. At its ends, along the entire length of the walls, a bench is formed. In the center there is a fireplace, and there is a dining table next to it. To the right of the entrance there are wooden shelves for keeping the household dishes and bread. Above them is the home chapel with icons of the Virgin Mary and the saints, patrons of livestock breeding. The hut also has a special room where the loom is housed and the ready fabrics are stored.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 6/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

Please pay attention to the buildings' construction. They are made of lightweight wooden scaffolding with a hive, triangular or square shape, covered with wheat bundles in a way that allows upgrading. This construction makes the hut extremely waterproof.

We continue the tour of the museum and we go upstairs on the second floor. We go left and immerse in everyday women's labor. The whole wool processing is presented through photos and exhibits. Pay attention to the straight and double wool carder, the hand spindles, the distaffs, the spinner and the niddy-noddy. These tools were used by women to scour the wool and turn it into bunches of unspun fibers, which then were spun manually into threads of varying thickness, depending on the fabric they would be used for.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 7/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 8/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

A presentation of weaving and fabric samples follows. In separate showcases, parts of Sarakatsani male and female clothing, ornaments, musical instruments, weapons, etc. are shown.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 9/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The tour of the museum ends with display cases showing the magnificent wedding dress in the past, with samples of female Sarakatsani costumes from different parts of the , as well as festive men's and women's clothing.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 10/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The Vlach Museum The Vlach Museum in Serres is located at the corner of Karaiskaki and Grigorio Rakitzi. The official opening was in 2008, but the idea of setting it up is much older. The implementation of the project began in 1994 with the purchase of land. In the following years the building was built and the interior was made. At the same time exhibits, photos and archives have been collected. It is impressive that all the exhibits are donated by the personal archives and property of the Vlach families in Serres and the region. Visiting the museum is free of charge upon prior request. The customs and traditions of the Vlachs are represented in an ethnographic exposition in two halls. In the first hall you will dive into the childhood of the Vlachs through the exposed toys which are small copies of the objects used by the adults - children’s looms, niddy-noddies, spinning wheels for girls; slings, musical instruments, small balls, spinning tops, improvised horses made of sticks for the boys and of course, little bones of a lamb's ankle performing the functions of the modern dice.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 11/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 12/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The male activities of the Vlachs are outside and in the mountains. That is why they needed a well-kept and healthy livestock and a specific inventory. Next to the packsaddle and the saddle you will see the tools for horseshoe nailing, then sickles, axes, reaping-hooks ... Please pay attention to the bells which with their specific and unique clang turned the Vlachs herds into an orchestra.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 13/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The next showcase presents the woman in her traditional everyday role of spinner and weaver but female work was not limited only to those activities. Since in the recent past the household fabrics were made by women, they have mastered the whole process of wool processing to perfection: cleaning, shaping wool, thread spinning with distaff and spindle, or with a spinning wheel and a niddy-noddy, followed by the weaving of colorful rugs, carpets, blankets for the house or for their daughters‘ trousseau.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 14/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 15/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

We see one of the most important moments in life of the traditional society - the wedding, recreated in the next room. There is a wedding procession accompanying the bride to her new home. The bride is invisible behind the red veil covered with silver threads. On her right side is the bridegroom, and on the left - the brother-in-law holding the wedding banner, ending with apples. In front of them is the mother-in-law, who meets the young couple with the respective rituals and the hope for recent continuation of the genus.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 16/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The next window shows us how the traditional Vlach room looked like, and at the same time, another important everyday life moment has been demonstrated - a dinner at the table. The oldest woman is exposed frontally, surrounded by the young family – the husband on her right, his wife on her left and two children running around. The place in front of her is empty, creating a feeling of invitation to the visitor to join the table as a dear guest.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 17/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The museum houses many treasures: rich women's festive dress, jewelry, dishes, fabrics, a lot of photos. Look carefully at the people sealed in the photos to feel the spirit of the people who lived in the past, leaving their will in the exhibits and archives of the museum.

PROMAHONAS If you are going from Bulgaria to Greece through the Kulata - Promahonas BCCP and you have free time, do not miss the chance to visit the village of Promahonas and see the museum established by its residents. The museum is located in the building of the old school which was restored specially for that purpose and hosts several expositions. The exposition on the first floor consists of a restoration of a kindergarten from the recent past. Looking at the kindergarten is like a time machine,

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 18/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

because you will see toys, cubes with letters and numbers, books from your childhood, or from your parents’ childhood.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 19/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

On the second floor there is a classroom with authentic chairs, a teaching desk and teaching aids: a blackboard with compasses hanging from its both sides, a triangle and a transporter, atlases of Greece, the Balkans and the world, a globe, a transparent human body anatomy model etc.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 20/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 21/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

A special hall is designed as an ethnographic museum presenting exhibits from different periods of the 19th and 20th centuries. Immediately to the right of the entrance female and male manual labor tools are exhibited: sickles, mortar-boards, hayforks, wool carder, a yarn spinning-wheel and niddy-noddy, distaffs, spindles, etc., as well as traditional women's costumes.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 22/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 23/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

There is also an authentic gramophone with a funnel, musical instruments and urban clothing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Finally, residential interior and various household items are presented.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 24/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 25/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

BLAGOEVGRAD Masquerade games are one of the most traditional customs on the Balkans. In southwest Bulgaria and northern Greece these customs are mainly related to the New Year, which of course coincides with the beginning of the astronomical year and the increase of daylight after the winter solstice marked in the calendar with the holidays between Ignazden and Yordanovden. An interesting calendar and ritual marker are also the Pagan days - the days between Christmas and Yordanovden. In practice, this is also the time when games are taking place. The carnival is called by different names in the different regions: babugers, stanchinars, starchenars, araps and others. In the recent past, masquerade actors were young men and bachelors, even when a female role had to be performed. Today, such a requirement in Southwestern Bulgaria no longer exists, and women participate in the masquerade with men, while in Northern Greece the main participants remain men. The babugers group in the past consisted mainly of the following personages: bride, accompanied by a son-in-law, i.e. bridegroom, maids, devil, gypsy family, old men, bear and bear handler, and of course masked babugers, who in fact give the name of the whole group of participants. At the beginning of the 20th century the masquerade began to enrich with new personages and masks related to the social changes and lifestyle - priest, forester, watchman, judge and others.

Strumsko district, Blagoevgrad Strumsko is one of the districts of Blagoevgrad, established in the 70s of the 20th century, when residential blocks of flats were built near the village of Strumsko, and that way the village got connected with the town. Today the indigenous inhabitants divide Strumsko into two parts - the residential neighborhood, and the so called Old Strumsko, located across the railway connecting Sofia and Thessaloniki. In Old Strumsko are celebrated several festivities - Simeonovden, Dimitrovden and New Year in old and new style, when a kukeri (mummers) carnival is organized. The kukeri group consists of masked participants wearing several types of masks. The most interesting and at the same time extremely expensive to make and to keep are the masks and costumes made of long hair goat fur. The color of the costumes varies from gray-white, dark brown to black.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 26/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

An important part of the participants in the carnival procession are also the personages who re-create the image of an old man. Most often they are wearing a traditional costume. The men wear breeches, a shirt, a belt, and they must have an artificial hump on their back, they walk bent over and lame, leaning on curved long rods. The female personages are dressed in a traditional costume. They also walk bent over, but unlike men, they carry on their back a baby sling in which they have a baby (usually a doll) or agricultural products. The faces of old men today are hiding behind comic rubber masks. Among the main ritual personages in the masquerade group are also the bride and groom, as the re-creation of the idea of a wedding is an important part of the carnival.

Their zoomorphic version is one or two bears led by a bear handler; they often mimic sexual poses and sexual acts.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 27/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

Another important participant in the Kukeri group is the priest, dressed in a priestly garment and a kalimavkion. In his hands he is holding a copper full of water and a bunch of box shrub or wild geranium, with which he blesses people. Along with the personages mentioned above, the Kukeri group often includes gypsy belly dancers, masks from the modern reality such as nurses, doctors, singers, etc. Last but not least, we should mention that animals bred in Strumsko, usually donkeys, sometimes cocks, goats and others, are still part of the carnival procession. Donkeys are usually pulling a plough, with which they are ploughing symbolically or the donkeys are harnessed to carts decorated with agricultural equipment and products.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 28/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

Today, the Kukeri group walks around the neighborhood three times a year. On December 8, they walk around only with bells in order to get practice for the New Year. The next gathering is on Vassilyovden when all the participants in the carnival gather in the square in front of St. Dimitar church at a predetermined time and depart on the usual route. The procession is led by the musicians, priest, bride and groom. Around them, the babugeri (another word for kukeri) dance, followed by the other personages. Their goal is to walk around all the houses in Old Strumsko to wish for health and prosperity in the New Year.

Finally, they return to the square again to play their final dance in front of their waiting spectators. It should be noted that even if they have removed their masks during the tour, in the final part of the procession to the square and at the square itself, every babuger proudly wears his mask.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 29/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

The third march of the Kukeri group is on January 14, New Year's Eve in old style. Then the ritual of January 1 is repeated: the band gathers, departs on the usual route, but does not enter the houses and finally dances again at the square.

January Kukeri Festivals If you have missed the Kukeri parade and dancing on Vassilyovden, you can take time and watch the numerous January Kukeri Festivals. The Kukeri Festival in Blagoevgrad is municipal. Groups from Blagoevgrad and the municipal villages participate in it. It takes place every first Saturday of January. The parade passes along the central boulevard and performs a certain tradition, most often a wedding, on a stage which is specially designed for the event. The festival has a competitive nature and the participants receive awards in several categories: adherence to the traditions; massiveness;

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 30/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

innovation; best mask and costume; artistry; best composition; best bear group; best mask parody; best image of the devil.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 31/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

If you have missed the carnival in Blagoevgrad, you can visit the one in , which takes place a week later. The Simitli festival has the name "Simitliya - the Ancient Land of the Kukeri". It is international and the participants are numerous.

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 32/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

Each group marches and performs a traditional rite in front of a jury, which gives awards in several categories: · The oldest participant · Best-presented Survakar custom · Best-presented traditional ritual · Best masked bear and bear cub · Best masked bear’s handler · Best choreography · Most original wedding couple · Most successful interpretation of an issue of the day · Most colorful old men · Best Babuger’s (kukers’s) mask · Most original kuker (mummer) costume · Best guest group

Copyright: © 2019

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 33/34 2/12/2020 TRADITIONAL FESTIVALS AND ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS ALONG THE STRUMA RIVER VALLEY

Author and photographer: Dr. Dimitriya Spasova South-West University "Neofit Rilski"

Translated by: Dr. Ruska Krasteva South-West University "Neofit Rilski"

Map data: Google

file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/DELIVERABLES_BORDERLESS_CULTURE_01.12.2020/5.4.1_Cultural_routes/8.htm 34/34