How to Ward Evil Spirits Away – Surva '24 | 4K | BG

Last week my channel turned one year since I uploaded my first video which is about the Surva ethno festival 2023 in the city of Pernik, Bulgaria. So I decided to celebrate this first anniversary with a video from this year Surva festival. But above all, I want to express my gratitude to you for your support through this entire year.

Thank you!

And here are some interesting info about the Surva festival. I found that Surva is an old word no longer in use in Bulgarian language, but once, many centuries ago, even before Christianity, when these lands were inhabited by the Thracians, it was used as the name of the sun-god. Subsequently, it remained in the ancient Bulgarian with the meaning of light, dawn, shine, radiance, glow, etc., and later also as a byword for something bright and for health. Nowadays, it seems that the word has already fallen out of the vocabulary of the modern language, except in old fairy tales and traditional New Year's wishes.

The traditional costumes of the different troupes are also very different because they come from different parts of the country. What is interesting about them are the different motifs that have their own symbolism. It was believed that the different embroideries and the figures on them had a protective role against evil forces and bad luck, but in each area of the country there were differences in the way the clothes were made.

It's the same with the masks. Although most of them look the same, gradually one begins to notice the differences between them. In general, all masks are made as they were once wrought and are mostly made of natural materials such as wool, leather, feathers, various natural fabrics, wood, and so on. This also applies to the rites that the troupes perform.

Although there are differences, the basic idea is that the people in traditional costumes represent the folk in the world, and the kukeri, as the masked figures are called, symbolize the elements, the spirits, and the evil that often hover around the people. At the same time, the role of the kukeri is to frighten and thus drive away the evil forces so that people enjoy a good life, health and success.

Another interesting detail is that once kukeri were played only by men, while today, as you can see, many women also participate, as well as children, who are not at all afraid of the scary masks and genuinely enjoy themselves. In this way the memory of the traditions is passed on to the next generation, though these old beliefs have long since fallen away and have none of the force they once had.

And here are the pages i found of some of the performers that took part in the opening show:

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00:00 Words of gratitude
01:12 Preparations for the festival
02:09 Opening ceremony
28:47 Second day of the Surva festival
39:39 Third day of the Surva festival

#festivals #pagan #ethnoworld #streetambience #festivalvibes #masques #masquerade #traditionalmusic #traditionalcostumes

[BeginningsAndPaths]

I'm grateful to you for your support through the entire first year of my @BeginningsAndPaths channel. ~Philip 🙏
➡As usual, find more interesting facts and information on the video's topic in the description section.

[worldwalkerwoman]

My congratulations! Wish you many subscribers and views this year! Beautiful festival, thanks😍👍

[asmr-pov]

I have never seen anything like this before. You are doing a good job!