Slow Coucker’s march

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Creatures half men and half beasts 5m high with three horns, running in all directions ... Hairy monsters, brandishing wooden sticks as swords, flowing over each other in a deafening din of bells and cowbells ... 


See more photos of Mummers in Pavel bania








by Sonia Vasseva
Radio Bulgaria

 Photo:  Archives

They are crazy, these Bulgarians, you will exclaim ! Chill out, there is no reason to worry, we are amidst the Mummer , or so called Coucker festival, one of the oldest ritual celebrations whose origins take us back in ancient times, long before the Bulgarians arrived on the Balkan peninsula to found their state. For these anthropomorphic characters who utter incantations perform strictly and scrupulously a ritual that we have inherited from the Thracians .. 

 Photo:  Archives

 Thus, men wear thick goat or sheep fur as well as horrifying masks and jingle belts of bells, producing thunderous sounds. The costumes vary from region to region. The big carnival Couckeri takes place at the end of January, in the mining town of Pernik, about twenty kilometers from Sofia. And the strange creatures that hunt demons and evil spirits resurrect the myth of the Thracian god Zagrée / or Zagreus / would be a son of Zeus. As for the masks of Couckeri, once you overcome fear, it is a real pleasure to watch them. Each mask is unique, manufactured by its wearer. 

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Most masks represent wooden constructions with glued on them pieces of goat skin, cloth and mirrors. Some masks depict animals such as the bull, the ram, the goat. Others, designed in height, as caps, are adorned with stuffed crows, wings spread. It is not unusual to see two face masks - the first one, kind and reassuring and the second one ugly and aggressive. They symbolize the duality of human nature, the eternal struggle between the Good and the Evil. The predominant colors are red / for the sun, fire and renewal), white / symbol of water and light / and black, which is the color of the earth. 

 Photo:  Archives

Among the South Slavs, the ones we are, the Couckeri embody the spirit of fertility. During the games held at the end of winter, the role of Coucker is played by a man dressed in a goatskin, with a large carved wooden penis. In a round dance / the famous Bulgarian Khoro /, Coucker marries one of the girls, which later is shown as miming pregnancy and childbirth. Sometimes Coucker comes to the point of simulating ritual fecundation of the Earth. This year's 47th edition of the Festival in Pernik, Couckéri brought together 6300 participants from 8 countries. 

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This ritual is not exclusive for Bulgaria, on the contrary! It is also celebrated in Romania, Moldova, Serbia, Greece, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, carnival masks are also widely used in Italy and Sardinia. Italian mummers called "mamuthones" feature black wooden masks, their bodies are covered with black goat fur and their belts are adorned with a series of bells called "carriga." The custom is also known in Spain, in the province of Cantabria, in Poland, Hungary as well as Slovakia. In Bulgaria, Couckéri are held at the end of winter and early spring.

English version: Veneta Nikolova
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