Kukeri: The Ancient Winter Ritual That Holds Families Together in the Rhodopes

According to the narrator, the origin of the kukeri, as well as of the name itself, is unclear. The name probably comes from the Proto-Slavic "kuker," meaning evil spirit. The ritual of fertility and purification is described as rooted in the culture of the Thracians. It is also linked to the cult of Dionysus, at whose ecstatic celebrations dancers wore similar costumes made of goatskin and bells. The film emphasizes that these connections are "attributed to it." It does not present them as proven.

In the film, the ritual is part of Bulgarian identity. Especially in the harsh mountain regions of the Rhodopes, it creates cohesion and confidence. The narrator also gives a sense of the physical effort involved. The bell alone weighs heavily on the shoulders, and an elaborate costume can exceed 40 kg. It uses up to a dozen skins, most often from billy goats. Later on, Todor, one of the main characters, estimates his own costume at around 20 kg.

The two families in the film are those of Margarita and Todor. They met at kukeri events together with Margarita's father, Georgi, and have been meeting every winter since then at festivals such as Surva. As is customary in most villages in the southwestern Rhodopes, Margarita has already celebrated New Year's with her partner and her brother. She says they went around from morning until late in the evening, "as always, until 11."

Locals from the village of Bachevo explain that the custom there is somewhat different. The village is toured at around noon, the music is outdoors, and everyone first waits for all the participants to gather.

Margarita thanks her parents for dressing her as a kuker since she was little and for continuing to hold on to the tradition. She says she wanted to quit many times and said she wouldn't continue. Her parents, however, replied that she had grown up with it and couldn't leave it behind. According to her, that is exactly how it turns out.

The film's protagonists describe taking part as a deeply personal, almost indescribable experience. Margarita says that in the costume she focuses only on what is inside it, gives herself over to the rhythm of the dances and thinks of nothing else. For her, kukeri is a very important part of life and makes them happy inside, because it comes "from the heart and from the soul" and from the tradition of their region. Through the kukeri, she says, they drive evil away from people and from their homes and bring prosperity. She also speaks of "merak," the passion for the costumes, for the animals and for the whole tradition. She stresses that kukeri is not so much about helping as it is about cohesion between people.

One of the participants talks about the COVID pandemic. All his life he had a merak for kukeri and helped people, but during COVID they weren't allowed to go out into the streets. They performed the ritual at home, with music, but he cried because he saw that he couldn't help people.

The narrator describes the Rhodopes as a place of untouched nature but also of meager living. Todor and his father Dimitar tend a herd of goats in the cold. The footage shows that the work is hard, and by the end both of them are freezing and hurrying to get home. Todor inherited the herd from his grandfather, but according to the narrator the family cannot live on it alone. For almost the entire year, Todor works on construction sites in various Western European countries.

Todor speaks of a very strong bond with the animals. They grew up with them; his father and grandfather started keeping goats, and he gradually took on the merak from them. The goats are an important part of the family, and the gratitude toward them is great, because they are "one of the most important parts" of their lives.

He also describes the mutual dependence between the tradition and the breed. Through the kukeri costumes, this breed of goat has been preserved, and through the goats the kukeri tradition continues. The narrator also links the population of the long-haired breed to the kukeri. Todor says he massages the animals every day so that they are calmer and feel better. In this way, the bond between him and the animal grows stronger. They have become so used to them that "we can't do without them anymore."

Later in the film he shows a billy goat named Stoycho, white with a black head, who will become Mitko's future costume. Todor notes that this is the favorite color of most kukeri.

Margarita has a talent for singing and has a university degree as a music teacher. She cannot find work, however, because in her town it is hard for a teaching position to open up. She says it is very hard to work somewhere you have no desire to be. Like Toshko, she too has thought about going abroad. She went for a month, but things didn't work out. She can't bear being far from home: "Bulgaria is Bulgaria."

According to the narrator, she still lives out her passion for music by giving singing lessons to the neighborhood children. At one of these lessons, Surva comes up. The children declare that they, too, want to be dressed as kukeri, and Margarita promises them that they will all go to Surva together.

Margarita's grandfather, like most older people, no longer takes part in Surva as a kuker himself. According to the narrator, the reason is mainly the heavy costume. He does, however, continue to help with the preparations together with Margarita's father, Georgi. The film shows them choosing clothing and bells and trying them on. Margarita jokes that these bells will probably be too small for her.

Margarita often goes to the mountains with her grandfather. She says that when she has time, she breaks away and comes out into nature, where people used to live long ago. Kukeri is her identity and has connected her with nature and the mountains. When she is in nature wearing the skins, she feels like a different person in a different world. Nature seems to absorb her, and she becomes stronger. She senses something more as well: if a person who had something wrong with them passed by, she would help them, recharge them, heal them. The fur of her costume, she believes, is like antennas that dig into the earth and give her energy so she can dance energetically and beautifully.

From her grandfather's stories she learned that dressing in skins is a deep, ancient tradition remembered by their great-great-grandfathers. When people dress in the skins, it is some kind of force they cannot define, and they pass "from this world to the other." Through this passage they have visions that people still cannot comprehend. For her, the kukeri "are not people dressed in a costume." The whole time her heart "boils and seethes," as if she has butterflies in her stomach, as if she were in love.

Of the three girls, only Mihi comes to Surva, and for her it is her first big kukeri festival. Todor's house is the meeting place for Surva in Bachevo. His father Dimitar founded the local kukeri group years ago.

The narrator emphasizes that, as in every Rhodope village, Surva is the high point of the year in Bachevo too. Most of the men and women who work in Western Europe come back for the most important kukeri festival, as Todor does. Mihi says that everyone jumps and dances around her and that she is a little scared of the teeth and horns. At the table, people raise toasts to health, happiness and prosperity throughout the year and wish for evil forces and spirits to be driven away from the family and from the whole village.

The narrator traces how the ritual survived through different eras. In addition to the long period of Ottoman rule, the kukeri also outlived the communist regime. At first, politicians considered the custom a backward tradition that did not fit the propagandized idea of the "new man." Over time, however, they rediscovered the ritual as Bulgarian folk heritage and even began supporting it in order to counter the cultural influence of the West and strengthen patriotism in the country.

After the end of communism, according to the narrator, state support for kukeri festivals and costumes stopped and the ritual declined. Only in the last few years has kukeri been coming back to life, increasingly among the younger generation.

Margarita asks Mihi whether she is afraid of the kukeri. The girl replies that she isn't scared at all. Margarita recalls that she also dressed up as a little girl, but was still scared. She promises Mihi that they will make her a beautiful costume and that she will become "the most beautiful kukerka." She suggests that Mihi take part with the group from Strumsko at Surva in Pernik, the largest kukeri carnival in Bulgaria. According to Margarita, many groups gather there, with more than 20,000 participants.

The two go to the market in Yakoruda, which is popular among kukeri. The narrator describes Yakoruda as a small town with a predominantly Muslim population. There they choose bells. Margarita prefers older ones, because they have surely been worn by a goat before and have sentimental value.

Then they go to Bachevo to sew the costume with Toshko and his father. Mihi wants a black costume with long fur. They choose the skins together, and Mihi points out "her" skin. Her costume requires four skins, for the front, the back and the legs. At the fitting she admits that the costume is a bit heavy, and the adults encourage her to practice the jumps and arm movements at home.

Todor shows the family's three costumes and calls them his treasure, "our golden costumes," made with much love, passion and merak. The oldest one required nine billy goat skins: one for the front, one for the back, two for the sleeves, three for the legs and one for the rear. According to him, every costume has its own soul, aura and energy. When you put it on, it fills you with charge and new strength. The costumes are like people: each one is different, and the difference is not only in the color but in their own energy.

Todor dreams of having a child of his own to carry on the tradition, and hopes it will be a boy. He believes that losing the tradition would be very bad for his family, for many people in the village and for everyone involved in it, because "our souls are connected to this tradition." If they lose the tradition, he says, the gatherings where they sew skins and make costumes will disappear too.

Todor describes the contradiction in the physical sensation. The costume is heavy, around 20 kg, and the bell is also hard to carry. Even so, he feels it as light, because the costume frees him from all negative energies. He forgets everything bad and unjust, feels free, "as if I'm being reborn." According to him, thoughts disappear and people merge into a single whole.

He says that here, among the mountains, he feels free and his heart is full. When he has to leave, his heart breaks. That is why, on the day before he leaves, he dresses as a kuker to recharge with new energy. For him, being a kuker is something that flows in his veins and in his blood. The essence of the dances, he says, does not come from the music and the zurnas, but from the depths of the heart. His father is the one who got him hooked on the tradition; he inspires him greatly and always tells him never to give up. Todor feels pride, but also responsibility. Sometimes he wants to throw it all away, but his heart won't let him. In his view, the future of the kukeri depends on the young and on how patient and ambitious they are.

Todor has a girlfriend who was drawn to him because of his Facebook profile picture in a kukeri costume. The two have to part, because he is leaving again to work abroad. She says that just as they started their relationship, he had to leave. The reason is that the money isn't enough for anything, and the only option is to work abroad. Their goal is to build a floor onto the house so they can live separately, make their dreams come true and have children. Todor says what he will miss most is her presence, her hugs and her kisses. She admits that she feels very bad, but it has to be done, and she prays that he comes back alive and well. Todor doesn't know how long he will be away. It should be for a short time, but it could be five or six months or more.

The narrator notes that because of the emigration of young people, Bulgaria has lost a significant part of its population since the end of communism. Todor speaks openly about his anger. He doesn't want to leave, especially in winter, when the work is outdoors in the cold, wind, snow and rain, and life is spent shut away in rented lodgings. He gets angry because every time he is supposed to start a job, "somebody's guy" shows up and takes his place. In his view, there is far too much corruption, everything is paid for, and without connections you can't start a job anywhere. He believes this is why the country's economy is at the level it is, and he feels powerless.

His father Dimitar admits that, as a father and as a person, it is hard for him, because everything falls on his shoulders. Morning and evening he takes care of the animals and thinks about them constantly, even though he works as well. He says he is not angry with his son, who is leaving so that together they can fix up the old house. Young people have to work somewhere, and unfortunately there is no work here. He admits, however, that he often gets angry without being able to do anything.

Todor is sad that he won't be going to Pernik. At the same time, he is happy that his brother will go in his place and wear his costume, "as if I were there."

Even before the departure for Pernik, the Surva mood can already be felt. The narrator notes that kukeri, originally a men's ritual, is attracting more and more young women. This year Krasimir is taking part too. He has found work in the village and doesn't have to go abroad with Todor as he usually does. Krasimir says he misses his brother and that if he were by his side, he would feel calmer. Still, he expects to have fun, it isn't hard for him, and in the costume he feels "like a warm little bear."

Pernik is an old mining town where kukeri from all over Bulgaria now converge. According to the narrator, the festival was founded in 1966, during communism, attracts more than 10,000 visitors and brings together groups from every corner of the country in all kinds of costumes. Margarita says she handles the small bells better than the big ones and that this makes her nostalgic for the time when she herself was little. Their group is introduced as the survakar group from the Strumsko neighborhood of Blagoevgrad. Mihi is nervous because the skins are big and she doesn't know whether she will be able to dance in them. It seems to her that everyone is looking only at her, and she feels a little shy.

The film ends with a reflection by one of the participants. Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule for a long time, and then came communism. In his view, both regimes saw that they could not defeat the kukeri. Perhaps kukeri helped Bulgarians to be strong, to keep moving forward and to preserve their identity.

The question the protagonists themselves raise remains open: whether the tradition will survive when so many young people have to leave to earn a living. According to Todor, the answer depends on the patience and ambition of the younger generation.