Bay Ganyo ( bg, Бай Ганьо, ; also transliterated as ''Bai Ganio'' or ''Baj Ganjo'') is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

created by the

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n author

Aleko Konstantinov Aleko Konstantinov ( bg, Алеко Константинов) (1 January 1863 – 11 May 1897) ( NS: 13 January 1863 – 23 May 1897) was a Bulgarian writer, best known for his character Bay Ganyo, one of the most popular characters in Bulgarian ...

(1863–1897). He is considered an exemplary image of an anti-hero: an uneducated, ignorant, egoistic and poor villager. Sometimes perceived as a stereotype of the uneducated, profit-driven Bulgarian and indeed the average

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

person, he is often seen merely as a social stereotype, a member of the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...

's newly formed lower

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...

. The archetype of the fictional character was inspired by Ganyo Somov, a rose trader from Enina (a village in the Kazanlak municipality). At the international fair in Chicago in 1893, Aleko Konstantinov met Ganyo Somov and used him to create one of the most famous Bulgarian literature characters. ''Bay'' is a Bulgarian honorary title to refer to older or more influential persons: the character's first name is Ganyo, and his family name has been attested as either Ganyo Somov or Ganyo Balkanski. Bay Ganyo is the protagonist of a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

-like series of

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...

s by Aleko Konstantinov. The first part of the series tells of Bay Ganyo's journeys to various

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an cities and compares the character's culture to that of their residents. The second part satirizes the political problems of the day of the post-

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

Bulgarian society in the late 19th century. The character has been a subject of films picturing his adventures in Bulgaria and Western Europe which were largely based on the original literary work of Aleko Konstantinov. Konstantinov was inspired to create Bay Ganyo during a visit to Chicago's

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893. Debuting in the cinemas in a silent

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

of 1922, Bay Ganyo was the subject of a full-length

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

by Ivan Nichev in 1991; the character was played by

Georgi Kaloyanchev Georgi Todorov Kaloyanchev ( bg, Георги Калоянчев; January 13, 1925 – December 18, 2012) was a Bulgarian actor. He was born in the city of Burgas. He studied in the former theatrical school in Sofia. Immediately after graduati ...

. Bay Ganyo has been likened in importance and symbolism for the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

to Švejk for the

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...

Tartarin of Tarascon ''Tartarin of Tarascon'' (french: Tartarin de Tarascon) is an 1872 novel written by the French author Alphonse Daudet. Synopsis The Provençal town of Tarascon is so enthusiastic about hunting that no game lives anywhere near it, and its inhabi ...

for the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Ostap Bender Ostap Bender (russian: Остап Бендер; in ''The Twelve Chairs'' he called himself Ostap-Suleyman-Berta-Maria-Bender-Bey, in ''The Little Golden Calf'' he called himself Bender-Zadunaysky, in later novels he was also called Ostap Ibragimo ...

for the

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

Feuilletons

The collection of feuilletons consists of two parts. Each feuilleton is presented by a different narrator, a member of a group of like-minded Bulgarians telling of Bay Ganyo's adventures; this group of narrators is itself a direct opposition to Bay Ganyo: they are educated, courteous and civilized people with

an manners and clothing.

''Bay Ganyo goes around Europe''

The first part tells of the retail

rose oil Rose oil (rose otto, attar of rose, attar of roses, or rose essence) is the essential oil extracted from the petals of various types of rose. ''Rose ottos'' are extracted through steam distillation, while ''rose absolutes'' are obtained through ...

merchant Bay Ganyo's travels around Europe, seeking to sell his produce. The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

of the character was a real person whom Konstantinov met during his journey to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

described in ''

To Chicago and Back ''To Chicago and Back'' ( bg, До Чикаго и назад, Do Chikago i nazad) is a travel book written by Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov in 1894, describing his visit to the United States in order to see the World's Columbian Exposition ...

''. Bay Ganyo is compared to the residents of the countries he visits (

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, etc.) to contrast him in a funny but unsympathetic way. Bay Ganyo is simple-minded, swindling, speculating and manipulating, yet tenacious, struggling and breaking-through. * ''Beginning'' * ''Bay Ganyo travels'' (through

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) * ''Bay Ganyo at the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

(in Vienna)'' * ''Bay Ganyo at the

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

'' * ''Bay Ganyo in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

'' * ''Bay Ganyo at the Prague Exhibition'' (through

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

) * ''Bay Ganyo stays with Jireček'' * ''Bay Ganyo on a visit'' (in Prague) * ''Bay Ganyo in

'' * ''Bay Ganyo in

Political feuilletons

The second part consists of several independent feuilletons and deals with the new major middle-class and Bulgaria's political life. Bay Ganyo is not a petty rose oil dealer anymore, but a big-time politician who writes a petition to the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, runs for

National Assembly of Bulgaria The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria. The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution. Ordi ...

member, issues a political newspaper. Instead of working alone as in the first part, Bay Ganyo is the leader of a group of like-minded people propelled by mean acts. * ''Bay Ganyo comes back from Europe'' * ''Bay Ganyo organizes

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s'' * ''Bay Ganyo is a journalist'' * ''Bay Ganyo at

the palace ''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of the death of King ...

'' * ''Bay Ganyo in the deputation'' * ''Bay Ganyo and the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

— no way'' * ''Association of

Teetotalism Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...

'' * ''Letter from Bay Ganyo to

Konstantin Velichkov Konstantin Velichkov (full name Konstantin Velichkov Petkov; in bg, Констaнтин Величков; 1855 – 3 November 1907) was a Bulgarian writer and public figure. Biography He was born in the town of Pazardzhik. Velichkov received hi ...

'' * ''Out of Bay Ganyo Balkanski's correspondence''

References

External links

Full collection of Bay Ganyo works
at Slovo.bg {{in lang, bg
Who is Bay Ganyo? What foreigners in Bulgaria think
Bulgarian books Bulgarian humour Balkan culture Fictional Bulgarian people

Feuilletons

''Bay Ganyo goes around Europe''

Political feuilletons

References

Further reading

External links