Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Yambol immersed in the magic of the Kuker games

5
Photo: kukerlandia

Thousands of cowbells of different sizes and shapes filled the streets of Yambol with chiming, jingling and ringing at the 25th International Masquerade Festival "Kukerlandia". 
Photo: Nezabravka KirovaЗгдшд 
More than two thousand mummers - called kukeri, sourvakari, babugeri, camillari, etc. - showed the richness of the masquerade rite from all over Bulgaria. Nearly 50 groups of mummers took part in the parade. 
Photo: Daniela Kostova
They were judged by a jury of folklorists, ethnologists, ethnographers and choreographers
Photo: Nezabravka Kirova
"The groups should stick to the authenticity of the tradition and not rely on attractiveness and cultural engineering," urged Dr Iglika Mishkova of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Women and children have no place in these rituals, which are typically only for men, she explained.  "If we go into this role reversal, we would really expect to see men as lazarki (a wedding tradition for women only - ed)," Mishkova added.
Photo: Daniela Kostova




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

Gallery

More from category

Czech artist Ludvík Kuba dedicates a book to Bulgarian folk songs

At the end of the 19th century, the Czech artist and folklorist Ludvík Kuba travelled to Bulgaria with one goal in mind: to explore the country's rich song heritage.  The melodies he collected were published in a separate volume of his Slavic Song..

published on 4/28/25 12:04 PM

Why is it important for each lazarka girl to participate in the ritual kumichene on Palm Sunday?

In the Bulgarian folk tradition, the feasts of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday are related holidays. From Lazarus Saturday  (Lazarovden in Bulgaria), girls prepare for the ritual kumichene, which is performed on the morning of Palm Sunday. A very old..

published on 4/13/25 11:56 AM

The Strelcha Museum presents the exhibition "A Fine Easter, a Finer St. George’s Day". 

In April and May the visitors of the Strelcha Historical Museum will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the traditions connected with the Easter holiday cycle through the exhibition A Fine Easter, a Finer St. George’s Day .  Easter..

published on 4/13/25 7:50 AM