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By Rumyana Yotova, American Councils Bulgaria Program Assistant

On January 28, 2017, the American Councils team in Sofia, and YES Abroad students Rachel F. and Elijah S. attended Surva, the International Festival of the Masquerade Games. The festival traditionally takes place in the city of Pernik every year during the last weekend of January, and it is the biggest event of its type in all of the Balkans.

The festival promotes ancient masquerade rituals known in Bulgaria as Kukeri and Survakari, that are still alive in the folklore tradition, but also integrates new interpretations of the mask culture. It is a competitive event in which more than 100 groups from almost every folklore region in Bulgaria take part. There is also an international competition with groups from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The participants march in a procession to show off their masks and costumes. During the march, they also dance and make sounds with huge bells hanging from their belts or performing different shows. According to tradition, these pre-spring rituals are performed by single men and are related to the end of the old year and the advent of the new, with the wish for a rich harvest, and health and fertility for humans and farm animals. The role of the mask is to protect humans and farm animals from the harmful influence of impure powers, and masks usually represent heads of peculiar creatures with scary faces.

During the festival, YES Abroad students had the chance to get familiar with these ancient pagan rituals that are part of Bulgarian culture. Besides the variety of handcrafted masks, Rachel and Elijah also saw national costumes, as well as folk music and dance performance from different ethnological regions.