The Staples of Bulgarian Folklore

Bulgaria is over 13 centuries old, and it is built upon the foundations of even more ancient cultures, most of which have left their mark upon the local folklore and traditions in one way or another. As part of our goal to show you the beauty of Plovdiv, we would like to give you a short introduction into the rich customs of our land, and the traits that are particular to the two regions that tie into Plovdiv’s culture – the Thracian and Rhodope ethnographic regions.

Hospitality

The concept of hospitality as a sacred duty can be found all across the world. Slavic groups have a particular tradition associated with the way they receive their guests. In Slavic countries, including Bulgaria, hosts are expected to welcome their guests with bread and salt. The bread is a traditional type of round handmade bread called pita, and the salt is placed upon the bread in a small wooden bowl. Guests accept the host’s hospitality by tearing off a piece of the bread and dipping it in the salt before eating.

Dances

The traditional dance of Bulgaria is actually a group of dances called “horo”. The horo is a communal dance where a group of people – the more the merrier! – join hands, either in a circle or in a curving line, and dance their way around an open area. One of its main characteristics is the irregular meter. All movements are concentrated in the legs and the feet, and they are energetic, bouncing and, depending on the dance, may involve crouching and jumping. There are masculine, feminine and unisex varieties, and they are always accompanied by a folk song with the appropriate rhythm. The horo is done in celebration, during weddings, holidays or other happy occasions. The types of horo are numerous and diverse, some are simple, while others more complicated in both the number of steps taken back versus forth and the movements involved. The dances in the Thracian ethnographic region are cheery, moderately fast-paced and lively. The ones in the Rhodope ethnographic region are smoother, calmer and more reserved, and the women often dance separately from the men.

Music

To understand Bulgarian music, first you have to learn about its instruments.

The gaida is a type of bagpipe that is perhaps Bulgaria’s most emblematic musical instrument. Known throughout Europe, North Africa and the West Asia since ancient times, bagpipes are characterized by their unusual design made up of a hide bag, wooden melody pipes, and a drone pipe that provides a constant harmonizing note that accompanies the melody. The Thracians were among the first to play the gaida, and it was later picked up by the Bulgars. After the founding of Bulgaria, it became one of its most celebrated musical instruments. The so called Kaba Gaida is found only in the Rhodope ethnographic region and it is one of the most distinctive symbols of its folklore. Its pitch is the lowest out of any bagpipe in the world, and its bag is larger than its nearest cousins. It is suitable for accompaniment, as it doesn’t drown out the voice of the singer, and it is best suited for the slow songs typical of the region.

An ancient instrument of uncertain age and origin, the kaval is a type of wooden end-blown flute traditionally associated with mountain shepherds. It is a compound instrument made out of 3 segments that fit into each other, typically 50 to 90 centimeters long, and one of its main characteristics is that it is fully open at both ends. The kaval is played by blowing into the sharpened end, and held at a 45 degree angle from the body. In order to play it, one must use the so called circular breathing method, which is characterized by an uninterrupted airflow achieved through breathing in through one’s nose while simultaneously pushing air out of the mouth using air stored in the cheeks – a difficult technique that requires great skill to employ. The kaval has 8 playing holes (7 on top for the fingers, and 1 for the thumb) located on the second segment, and 4 additional holes on the underside of the third segment that are not used for playing, but instead determine the pitch of the lowest tone and improve the tone of the instrument. In Bulgaria, these 4 holes are called the devil’s holes. According to a folk legend, the Devil tried to outplay a shepherd, so he waited for the shepherd to fall asleep and bored holes into his kaval. Instead of ruining the instrument, its song became more beautiful than ever, and the Devil lost to the shepherd. The kaval is an integral part of Bulgarian folk music found in every corner of the country. A unique feature of the Western Rhodopes are the “chifte kavali” – a duet between a lower pitched and a higher pitched kaval. The most significant kaval-playing schools in Bulgaria are in North-eastern Bulgaria and the Thracian ethnographic region.

A particularly curious instrument is the dvoyanka – a wooden double flute, sometimes nicknamed “the little gaida”. Double flutes are found in many countries across the world, including Bulgaria’s immediate neighbors, but the Bulgarian dvoyanka is unique among them due to its unusual shape. While most double flutes consist of two distinct tubes connected to each other at their base, the dvoyanka is a single piece of wood with two parallel channels running through its body. Even more interesting is that it has the external shape of a rectangular prism, not a round tube like other types of flute. It has 6 playing holes on its right pipe, through which the tune is played. The second pipe provides an even accompanying drone giving it its second voice, and by extension, its resemblance to a bagpipe.

The gadulka is a pear-shaped bowed string instrument, suitable for both solo performances and as part of an ensemble. It is carved out of a single piece of wood, and the strings are traditionally made of horse-hair. It is held upright, in an under-hand grip, and its main (melodic) strings are meant to be pressed down with the top of the player’s fingernails.

Folk Costumes

What constitutes a folk costume are the clothes worn in Bulgaria from the National Revival Period to the middle of the 20th century. Its origin is mainly Slavic, but contains elements of Thracian and Bulgar culture, as well as features that resemble those of the other groups bulgarians have been in close contact with over the ages – greeks, turks, albanians, vlachs.

While mostly featuring the same kinds of garments, styles vary greatly from region to region, and even within the regions themselves. The women’s garbs typically included a skirt, apron, shirt and buckles. The men’s were comprised of full-bottomed breches, a shirt, vest, girdle and a hat. They were designed to be comfortable and unrestrictive, allowing the wearer to perform their everyday tasks uninhibited.

The colors that dominate Bulgaria’s folk costumes are white, red and black, with an array of other colors and shades, such as green, yellow, and blue, stitched and woven into the fabrics to further decorate them.

Women’s costumes are more decorated and often include jewelry. Gold coins called pendari were stitched into clothing or belts or worn in earrings as a sign of wealth and social status. They were part of the currency of the Ottoman empire and were equal to 5 golden Turkish liras. Women in families who could not afford gold would substitute it with silver, bronze, copper, silvered copper, etc. The coins themselves were carved and decorated, made by craftsmen.

Pafti are intricately decorated belt buckles worn traditionally by married women. They were meant to be received as wedding gifts and worn for protection from malicious spirits and forces, believed to protect a woman’s reproductive system. They were crafted on this territory as early as thte 9th-10th century during the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Sizes vary from the size of a coin to 20-25 cm. The typical structure of the pafti is that of a pair of flat disks or palmetas, clasped together in the middle. They are richly ornamented with floral or geometric carvings, beads, mother of pearl, horn, bone, enamel, etc.

The ornate embroideries typical of the Bulgarian national costume are called shevitzi.  They are a staple of both women’s and men’s garments. Their shape is usually gometric with an element of symmetry, predominantly red with multi-colored accents. They are always embroidered along the edges – around the collar and the edges of the sleeves, in varying sizes and designs, at the hems of skirts, along the edges of vests. Geometrical shevitzi have a complicated symbolic meaning akin to a language, denoting concepts like “engagement”, “wedding”, “family”, “tribe”. Such symbols, along with floral motifs and animal shapes, were often woven into meaningful scenes that are today studied and interpreted by ethnologists.