Kukeri ( bg, кукери; singular: kuker, кукер) are elaborately costumed Bulgarian men, who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. This Bulgarian tradition has been practiced since Thracian times and is of a Thracian origin. Closely related traditions are found throughout the Balkans and Greece (including Romania and the Pontus). The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and large bells attached to the belt. Around New Year and before

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

, the kukeri walk and dance through villages to scare away evil spirits with their costumes and the sound of their bells. They are also believed to provide a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village during the year. The kukeri traditionally visit peoples' houses at night so that "the sun would not catch them on the road." After parading around the village they usually gather at the village square to dance wildly and amuse the people. Kukeri rituals vary by region but remain largely the same in essence.

Distribution and etymology

The custom is generally thought to be related to the Thracian Dionysos cult in the wider area of Thracia and similar rituals can be also found in much of the Balkans. The term could be derived from Proto-Slavic ("evil spirit") with the agentive suffix (i.e. literally meaning a "chaser of evil spirits"), or from a pre-Slavic divinity named Kuk. Another theory suggests the name derived from Latin meaning "hood, cowl" or , " quiver" (i.e. in the sense of a container; an abbreviation of ), though the practice pre-dates Roman rule by several centuries. The corresponding figure in Greek-speaking Thrace is known as "rod-carrier", also shortened to ''cuci'', in former Yugoslavia known as , , in Bulgaria as or , as in Pontic Anatolia, in North Macedonia it is known as or . In Romania, this figure mostly appears together with a goat, known as , or .

Kukeri

Kukeri is a divinity personifying fecundity. Sometimes in Bulgaria and Serbia it is a plural divinity. In Bulgaria, a ritual spectacle of spring (a sort of

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

) takes place after a scenario of folk theatre, in which Kuker's role is interpreted by a man attired in a sheep- or goat-pelt, wearing a horned mask and girded with a large wooden

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...

. During the ritual, various physiological acts are interpreted, including the sexual act, as a symbol of the god's sacred marriage, while the symbolical wife, appearing pregnant, mimes the pains of giving birth. This ritual inaugurates the labors of the fields ( ploughing,

sowing Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

) and is carried out with the participation of numerous allegorical personages, among which is the Emperor and his entourage.

Capra

Capra comes from the Latin capra, meaning goat. A halo like head piece was worn as a crown to symbolize the spiritual divine realm while fur, feathers and other external body-parts of an animal attached to represent the natural world. The fact that nature has good and evil, and that humans are the intermediary between spirit and nature. It was a time to pay homage to the Spieth gods. Some cultures imbibed in human flesh to satiate the gods thirst for blood, as an act of solidarity for the gods.

Kukeri in the media

Kukeri or Kuker Warriors are some of the main characters in the epic fantasy animated series ''The Golden Apple'', which is currently being developed by Studio Zmei. In it, young brothers Bran and Vlad have been trained as Kuker Warriors to fight evil spirits but they have to question what they have been taught when they are forced to team up with half-spirit Vihra and Samodiva-spirit Tina in order to protect their world. Kukeri are featured in the music video for the song " Fish on", by the

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band

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, and in the film ''

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'', directed by

Maren Ade Maren Ade (; born 12 December 1976) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Ade lives in Berlin, teaching screenwriting at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg. Together with Janine Jackowski and Jonas Dornbach, she r ...

Gallery

Kukeri Rodopi.JPG, Kukeri from

Smolyan Smolyan ( bg, Смолян) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Smolyan Province. The town is built ...

Kukeri from Blagoevgrad.jpg, Kukeri from Blagoevgrad Kukeri-from-Gorna-Vasilitsa.jpg, Kukeri from Gorna Vasilitsa, Sofia Province Кукерски маски от с. Зидарово, Бургаско.jpg, Kukeri masks from the village of Zidarovo, Burgas Кукерски маски от Пернишко.jpg, Kukeri masks from Pernik, near Sofia BASA-2072K-1-373-5-Kukeri from Bulgaria.JPG, Kukeri from before 1945 BASA-2072K-1-373-19-Kukeri from Bulgaria.JPG, Kukeri from before 1945 BASA-2072K-1-373-29-Kukeri from Bulgaria.JPG, Kukeri from before 1945 BASA-2072K-1-373-39-Kukeri from Bulgaria.JPG, Kukeri from before 1945 BASA-2072K-1-373-31-Kukeri from Bulgaria.JPG, Kuker from before 1945 BASA-2072K-1-373-30-Kukeri from Bulgaria.JPG, Kukeri from before 1945 Brezhani kukeri (babugeri).jpg, Kukeri in the village of

Brezhani Brezhani is a village in Simitli Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province, in southwestern Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on ...

Kukeri s maski selo Drugan.JPG, Kukeri parade in the village of Drugan Pudarevo-kukeri-games.jpg, Kukeri in the village of Pudarevo Kalishte-Surova.jpg, Kukeri in

Kalishte Kalista is a village in southwestern Bulgaria. Kalista is located within the jurisdiction of the nearby city Radomir, Pernik Province Pernik Province is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring Serbia. Its main city is Pernik, and other ...

during Burgas-Ethnographic-museum-kukeri-mask.jpg, A kuker mask at the Burgas Ethnographic Museum Burgas-Ethnographic-museum-kukeri-03.JPG, A kuker costume at the Burgas Ethnographic Museum Burgas-Ethnographic-museum-kukeri-02.JPG, A kuker mask at the Burgas Ethnographic Museum Kukeri-imagesfrombulgaria.JPG, Kukeri from the region of

Karlovo Karlovo ( bg, Карлово ) is a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is administratively part of Plovdiv Province and has a p ...

Kukeri E4.jpg, Kukeri in

Lesichovo Lesichovo ( bg, Лесичово) is a village in the Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria. As of 2005 it has 982 inhabitants. The village is a centre of the Lesichovo Municipality. It hosts an annual Kukeri Kukeri ( bg, кукери; singular: kuker ...

in 2009 Kukeri 2.jpg, Kuker in

in 2009 Kukeri E1.jpg, Kukeri in

in 2009 Maska Kukiera, Jamboł, Bułgaria.jpg, A kuker mask from Yambol at the

National Museum of Ethnography The National Museum of Ethnography (Polish: ''Państwowe Muzeum Etnograficzne w Warszawie'') is a museum of ethnography in Warsaw, Poland. It was established in 1888. Collection and exhibitions The collection is made up of objects, folk art, ...

in Warsaw Kukeri Begunovtsi-Surva 2012 18.JPG, Kukeri in Begunovți during Survaki in 2012 Kuker Burgas.JPG, Kuker in Burgas

References

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://kukeri-karlovsko.eu , title=Startsi-Kukeri-Mummers of Karlovo Region, Bulgaria , access-date=2011-10-23 , publisher=Kukeri Foundation , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330085800/http://www.kukeri-karlovsko.eu/ , archive-date=2012-03-30 * http://kukeriwines.com/ * http://www.surva-bg.com/ * http://www.kukerlandia.com/en/ Bulgarian folklore Romanian folklore Serbian folklore Greek folklore Cult of Dionysus Thrace Sexuality and society Ritual animal disguise Slavic carnival