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Culture Arts and Crafts One has to see the magnificent Thracian treasures (including the oldest gold in the world), the monumental but beautiful work of the Greek and Roman cities in order to understand why Bulgaria became the cradle of Slav culture.  For thirteen centuries the Bulgarian has been creating literature, art and music. Bulgarian culture has given the world men of great achievements, unparalleled in history. In the 9th centurie the brothers Cyril and Methodius, recognised as the patrons of Europe, upset the trilingual dogma and created the alphabet of the Slav peoples. During the 14th centurie John Koukouzel - The Angel-voiced carried out a reform in Eastern Orthodox church music. Unknown painters created masterpieces which have become part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage. Born from the power of tradition, modern Bulgarian culture, too, triumphs in the world. A quatrain of the great Bulgarian poet Hristo Botev has found a place in the Sorbonne, Boris Christoff and a whole host of Bulgarian singers have conquered the world's opera stages, the "Mystery of Bulgarian Voices" has astounded melomaniacs, the paintings of Vladimir Dimitrov-The Master can be seen in the world's finest galleries.  In Bulgaria one can get acquainted with original versatile culture that represents an organic entity of various ethno-cultural communities - Proto-Bulgarians, Slavs and the ancient settlers on the Balkans, mainly Thracians. Some historical prerequisites account for co-operation and continuity - the traditions of assimilated earlier inhabitants of the Balkans underlie the Bulgarian culture.  Inherent in the Christian holidays and customs (Christmas, Shrovetide, Easter, Midsummer Day, Holy cross Day, etc.) are different heathen rites and magic symbols. The pagan pantheon is related to the Christian saints - the Thracian Heroes to St. George, the cult of Dionysis to St. Trifon, the Slavonic Perun to St. Elijan, the fire dancing (dance over live coals) to St. Constantine. Even today an enormous treasure-trove of verbal, musical and decorative works is still kept. The Bulgarian folk song embraces all spheres of life (field- and housework, customs) and contains traits of ancient heathen and Christian rites - images of supernatural creatures, legends of heroes. Predominantly monophonic, the Bulgarian folk song has preserved numerous ancient elements. This is a syncretic art form that originated from the cohesion of poetry and music and combined with dance, it is among the most ingenious in Europe. The Bulgarian folk dances - horo - are performed by groups of participants clutching their hands in a row of ring, only the rachenitsa is an individual dance.The way of life of the Bulgarian people can be traced in a miscellany of works by unknown masters. Supported by historical and archaeological data in the forms and the decorations of stone and metal articles, ceramics and jewellery, church vessels, types of clothing one can trace traditional links with peoples that Bulgarians came into contact on the Balkans - the crossroad of the East and the West. Thus the Bulgarian national costume (nosiya) bears elements, resulting from the influence of Thracian clothing (yamourlouk), of the national clothing from the Middle Ages, inherited by the Slavs (white shirt). Some of the ornaments (meander) have been adopted from ancient art, the one-apron and the double-apron dresses bear a number of common Slavonic elements. The adornments - earrings, diadem (prochelnik), rings, and bracelets - have been a part of the costume since the remote past. Conquered by the Turks, the Bulgarians preserve the memory of the tsar's and the boyar's garments, and imitate their rich decoration, but instead of silk, golden threads and precious stones they use simple cloth, trimmed with embroidery, woollen braiding, beads and small coins. Works of domestic crafts are the heavy thread loose weaves (fleecy and tufted rugs, carpets) miniature artistic textiles (aprons, pillowcases, belts, crochet-works). The crafts in which one can still trace the unbroken continuity of development are fretwork, pottery, goldsmith's, ironsmith's trade.   The Bulgarian's aesthetic sense and conception of the world makes him create art out of any material - wood and clay, wool and copper, silk and silver. Applied crafts have gradually emerged from the narrow frame work of strictly domestic life to become an art which breeds art: Bulgarian embroidery with its intricate geometrical figures, Bulgarian rugs and carpets with their vibrant colours, exquisitely painted Bulgarian ceramics, finely ornamented Bulgarian fretwork and superbly fashioned Bulgarian jewellery.  The Samovodene Market in Veliko Turnovo, the Permanent National Exhibition of Folk Art in Oreshak near Troyan and the Etura architectural and ethnographic complex near Gabrovo are all original museums of the revived beauty of Bulgarian handicrafts. You are bound to find your own particular memento from Bulgaria here - a small carved wooden wine vessel, a Troyan pottery set, a fleecy Rhodope rug, an original piece of silver jewelry, a finely embroidered silk blouse of a colourful carpet. Or you might just choose a phial of attar of roses with the intoxicating fragrance of the whole Valley of Roses. |
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