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2000 Mummers Gather for Kukeri Festival in South west Bulgaria



The small south western town of Simitli hosted Saturday a huge festival of "
kukeri"
, or mummers, a beloved Bulgarian folklore tradition with roots from Ancient Thrace.

The Kukeri ritual is performed between Christmas and Lent by costumed men with scary animal masks, who walk around and dance to scare away the evil spirits, as well as to provide a good harvest, health, fertility, and happiness. Similar rituals can also be found in Romania, Serbia, Italy and Spain.

Over 2000 kukeri from a total of 15 groups South western Bulgaria - from Blagoevgrad, Petrich, Kyustendil – as well as from Karlovo in central Bulgaria and from the town of Berovo in Macedonia – gathered in Simitli for the traditional dances.

They attracted some 10 000 spectators - more than the actual population of the town.

The youngest mummer was a one-year-old kid, and the oldest – an 85-year-old man.

In Southwestern Bulgaria the mummers, or kukeri, are also known as "
babugeri"
.

The kukeri tradition is performed all over Bulgaria;
one of the most famous performance is the Surva Festival in the city of Pernik, to the west of Sofia.


Mummers aged from 1 to 85 gathered in Simitli Saturday

I have been to one of these but I didn't quite get it but it was very colorful and the music I didn't get either

Does anyone know if there is a calendar for this event that takes place all over Bulgaria

Here is a little old news here

[size=55:ilzd0ujn]novinite
6,000 Perform Ancient Rites to Drive Off Evil in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's largest Kukeri event, a tradition in which people gather in traditional costumes to drive off evil spirits, is under way in the western city of Pernik over the weekend.

More than 6,200 participants from around the world have gathered at the festival, which has its 21th edition since being founded in 1966.

99 folklore groups take part in this year's Surva Festival in Pernik, 12 of them from abroad - Albania, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Romania Serbia, Slovenia - and China.

Henry van der Kroon, chair of the European festival towns federation, is honorary guest to the festival this year.

A number of events, such a costume-making workshop, and a bazaar for kukeri outfits, are featured at the event.

The closing of the festival will be with a traditional horo dance at the Pernik central square at 6 pm Sunday.

The Kukeri ritual is performed between Christmas and Lent by costumed men with scary animal masks, who walk around and dance to scare away the evil spirits, as well as to provide a good harvest, health, fertility, and happiness. Similar rituals can also be found in Romania, Serbia, Italy and Spain.

The Surva Festival, which first took place in 1966 as a cultural event based on Bulgaria's folklore traditions, is the largest carnival event in Bulgaria and the Balkans.

In 2011, a representative of UNESCO announced that the kukeri tradition and theSurva Festival in Pernik will be included in UNESCO's list of protected non-material cultural heritage once the respective procedure is completed.

Photo's from today's festival in Yambol.

Great pictures Tony thanks did you enjoy yourself.

I was there too Tony sorry I missed you some more photo's

Love the pictures guy's I bet you had a great time it certainly looks like they were all enjoying themselves and all ages to.

I went with a friend and my son - We had a great day out. The noise, from the bells, was almost deafening!!!

My son used to be terrified, and I mean REALLY terrified of the kukeri until the end of last summer (when we saw them on the coast) so it could have gone either way. Will definitely go next time it is on.