Every year on January 1, early in the morning, the town of Razlog is resounded with the sound of the 50-kilogram bells (chans and clappers) hitting the bodies of the “chaushes”, accompanied by the drums and zurnas. This is the “Starchevata”! The New Year’s Kukeri fun begins.
The real power and energy of the holiday is in the dance – in the long, beautiful and colorful festive horo. Today, 6-month-old babies and 80-year-old people can be seen in it – all dressed in traditional costumes. The demons, called “karakonjuri” in Razlog, are present in the whole custom, although invisibly, and chaos is also present. According to the ideas of our ancestors, they come from another world – the afterlife.
A noisy celebration and a real holiday occurs when collective groups of “chaushi” (kukeri), girls and bachelors in folk costumes, survakar groups, bear riders with bears, jokers and an orchestra of zurna and tampani come out from the seven neighborhoods of the city.
The most attractive group from the “Starchevata” is that of the “chaushi” – the armed guards. According to tradition, these are young men, unmarried, who have not taken a military oath, dressed in a special ritual costume made of sheep or goat skins, with a high pointed hat also made of skins, which also covers the face of the ritual character. They carry four large chans on their waists, and in their hands they carry a whip. They are organized in companies of 10 armed guards, who have their own leader – leader, three voivodes and six warriors. In the time of chaos, according to folk beliefs from Ignazhden to Voditsi /Jordan’s Day/, i.e. for nearly a month, these young men every night until the first cockcrow to go around the city and its land, in order to drive away the evil demons that have come from the other world. On the day of the Young God, i.e. On January 1, armed guards must guard the ritual persons, maintain the order of the procession, and with their dance in a circle provide a “clean place” for the descent of the Young God to the earth, for the arrival of the new year. The leader and organizer of the group is the “Elder” – a young and authoritative man, with a family. On the day of the holiday, he is dressed in a festive male winter costume, without a mask on his face, but necessarily with a scepter in his hand, it is his “scepter”. The semantic content of this character is the viceroy of the God on the earth. Next to him is the “chief bachelor”, dressed in festive bachelor attire, and his ritual attributes are the mask on his face, the pointed hat and the sword in his hand. His function to gather people, to lead the dance, the pointed hat and the sword, unambiguously determine the symbolic meaning of this irrevocable character – he is a materialized image of the active, fertilizing masculine principle. Another main character from “The Old Woman” is the “bride” – a woman who has given birth and will give birth again. And this is a masked young unmarried man who has not taken a military oath. He has a mask on his face, is dressed in a traditional female costume and is clearly pregnant. On his back, in a traditional strainer, he carries a piece of wood – pine, oak, beech, which are the sacred trees for Bulgarians. The character “bride” is nothing other than the giving birth, giving life to the feminine principle.
Thus, holding hands in a common dance, with unceasing good wishes and smiles throughout the carnival procession, the people of Razlog and their guests always welcome the new year. On this holiday, the people of Razlog strive to give something of themselves and to others. Wishes, addresses and blessings are sent.
With its originality, the Kukeri fun in Razlog is known not only in our country, but also abroad. Collective groups from the seven districts of Razlog have participated in many international and national carnivals
16 years ago, Razlog became a member of the Federation of European Carnival Cities. Every second year, the city hosts the International Kukeri Carnival, which brings together masquerade and Kukeri groups from all over the world.
