Kuker

 

            Long ago, according to human perception of time, people saw divinity as an ever present balanced duality of masculine and feminine energies. The Sun god and the Earth goddess. Father Sky and Mother Earth. None could function by itself; only in their union did they make a whole, integrated, evolving world. Time was not conceived as linear, but as cyclic, and the Wheel of the year marked the turning motion of seasons and life. In these times, now seeming even more distant than they really are, is rooted the tradition of Kukeri.

            The Kuker is a character from a masquerade ritual that is performed in most places on the day of Sirni Zagovezni, a traditional Bulgarian feast, in the heart of winter. A group of men, wearing enormous frightful masks, decorated with horns, feathers, beads, wood and fur, depicting faces of unearthly creatures, jump around in an ecstatic dance, the huge bells on their belts producing a deafening beat, the staffs in their hands hitting the ground to the same rhythm. For many this is a mere piece of show to behold for a short while (it’s impressive, alright), before their feet get ice cold out in the winter frost. What it was for the people who conceived this peculiar masquerade was an appeal by the Sun god to the Earth mother to bring the world back to life; an act which was supposed to chase off (hence the scary looks) winter, darkness and death and invoke spring with its brilliance and bloom.  It was a plea for resurrection. A plea full of love and longing, because that’s what the ritual represents. The rhythm, the pelvis-thrusting movements of the Kukeri, their staffs (I can’t think of a more phallic symbol) prodding the ground, not to mention the ring-shaped buns slipped onto the tops of the staffs  – it’s the masculine, embodied in the Kukeri, making love to the feminine, to the earth. It’s the sacred union of dualities to which Life itself is born. 🌿

            Today’s tradition of masquerade games is closely related to the Dionysia festival of ancient Thrace.

            The masks and costumes vary a lot between regions of the country.

Different roles exist in the company of the Kukeri. As the men go from house to house in the village, they enact short, usually funny scenes and receive food and drink from their hosts in exchange for their blessings upon the house. After that comes the dancing on the village square and the ritualistic ploughing and sowing of the ground - the appeal for abundance throughout the upcoming year.

 In the recent years at the “Surva” festival in Pernik it has become very trendy for women to assume the role of a Kuker, which to me feels wrong and kind of disrespectful towards the deep meaning of the ritual; I think it is quite obvious that there is a good reason for it being a men’s thing. Not because I’m a fan of patriarchal values; quite the opposite. I just can’t help but feel that being equal and being the same are two very different things. Equality is about finding beauty in our differences and respecting each other in our differences, because that’s what draws us to each other and makes the sacred union of the opposites possible and with it the birth of life and of a healthy and happy society.

In a future post I will talk about customs that are only a girls’ thing; there are even some that are strictly forbidden not only for the participation of men, but for their eyes as well.

Finally, here is a song by the enchanting “Dead Can Dance”, who did a masterpiece album inspired by the cult of Dionysus, and a beautiful video featuring some Kukeri. Enjoy!

 

 

Image credit: my man https://www.instagram.com/vlad_tapas_/