International Journal of Literature and Arts

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Nestinar Feast in the Village of Stomanovo, the Smolyan Region

Received: 25 August 2017    Accepted: 26 August 2017    Published: 31 August 2017
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Abstract

The nestinar (fire-dancer) rituals, involving dances on embers, were practiced by the ancient Thracians. Today, they have been preserved in several Bulgarian villages in south-eastern Strandzha Mountain, as well as in the village of Stomanovo, the Rhodope Mountains, Southwestern Bulgaria. Such rituals are performed also in several villages in Northern Greece, where they have been carried over by migrants from Strandzha. While in the villages in Strandzha and in Northern Greece, Christian traditions have been overlaid on the ancient pagan ritual - the faith and devotion to Sv. Sv. Konstantin and Elena, for the inhabitants of Stomanovo (whose ritual I will describe in the present exposition), the ritual has not be Christianized - for them, it has remained a pagan Thracian Orphic tradition (well, the legendary Thracian singer and healer, Orpheus, creator of the "Orphism" belief system, lived in the Rhodope Mountains), an expression of the cult to the Great Goddess-Mother, her son Sabazios (Sun-Fire), Zagrey (the Bull God) and, as the people of Stomanovo described it themselves - a celebration of life, of fertility.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.s.2017050501.15
Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 5, Issue 5-1, October 2017)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Music and Dance

Page(s) 37-47
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Fire-Dancer, Dance on Embers, Pagan Feast, Sacrifice, Stomanovo

References
[1] Almaleh, M. Colours in Balkan Folklore. Sofia, University Publishing House "Sv. Kliment Ohridski" 1993 (Алмалех, М. Цветовете в балканския фолклор. София, Университетско издателство “Св. Климент Охридски” 1993)
[2] Bauer, W., Dümotz, I., S. Golowin. Encyclopedia of Symbols. Moscow, "Kron-Press" 2000 (Бауэр, В., И. Дюмотц, С. Головин. Энциклопедия символов. Москва, “Крон-пресс” 2000)
[3] Bulgarian Folk Art, t. 11, Folk Tales and Legends. Edited by Arnaudov, M., Iv. Burin, Hr. Vakarelski, P. Dinekov, D. Osinin. (Българско народно творчество, т. 11, Народни предания и легенди. Ред. Арнаудов, М., Ив. Бурин, Хр. Вакарелски, П. Динеков, Д. Осинин.)
[4] Bulgarov, St. Bulgarian Folk Horos and Dances. Sofia, "Meditsina I Fizkultura", 1976 (Българов, Ст. Български народни хора и танци. София, Медицина и физкултура, 1976)
[5] Chevalier, Jean and Alain Gheerbrant. Dictionary of Symbols, t. 1 Sofia, "Petrkov" 1995 (Шевалие, Жан и Ален Геебрант. Речник на символите, т. 1. София, Петриков 1995)
[6] Chevalier, Jean and Alain Gheerbrant. Dictionary of Symbols, t. 2 Sofia, "Petrkov" 1996 (Шевалие, Жан и Ален Геебрант. Речник на символите, т. 2. София, Петриков 1996)
[7] Fol, Valeria and Ruzha Neykova. Fire and Music. Sofia, Academic Publishing House "Prof. Marin Drinov", Publishing House "Tilia" 2000 (Фол, Валерия и Ружа Нейкова. Огън и музика. София, академично издателство “Проф. Марин Дринов”, издателство “Тилия” 2000)
[8] Katsarova-Kukudova, R., K. Dzhenev. Bulgarian Folk Dances. Sofia, "Nauka I Izkustvo", 1958 (Кацарова-Кукудова, Р., К. Дженев. Болгарские народные танцы. София, “Наука и изкуство”, 1958)
[9] Manolova, L. – The Traditional Instrumental Music in Southwestern Bulgaria, Sofia, 1987. (Манолова, Лилия – Традиционната инструментална музика в Югозападна България, София, 1987 г.)
[10] Petkanov, K. Characteristic Features of the Bulgarian. Newspaper: Modern Geography of Culture. Native and Foreign. Coll. Albena Vacheva. Varna, Electronic Publishing House Liter Net, 2006. (Петканов, К. Характерни черти на българина. В: Модерната география на културата. Родно и чуждо. Съст. Албена Вачева. Варна, Електронно издателство LiterNet, 2006)
Author Information
  • Department of Piano and Accordion, Faculty of Musical Education, Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

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  • APA Style

    Krasimira Georgieva Fileva-Ruseva. (2017). Nestinar Feast in the Village of Stomanovo, the Smolyan Region. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 5(5-1), 37-47. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.s.2017050501.15

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    ACS Style

    Krasimira Georgieva Fileva-Ruseva. Nestinar Feast in the Village of Stomanovo, the Smolyan Region. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2017, 5(5-1), 37-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.s.2017050501.15

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    AMA Style

    Krasimira Georgieva Fileva-Ruseva. Nestinar Feast in the Village of Stomanovo, the Smolyan Region. Int J Lit Arts. 2017;5(5-1):37-47. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.s.2017050501.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.s.2017050501.15,
      author = {Krasimira Georgieva Fileva-Ruseva},
      title = {Nestinar Feast in the Village of Stomanovo, the Smolyan Region},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {5},
      number = {5-1},
      pages = {37-47},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.s.2017050501.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.s.2017050501.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.s.2017050501.15},
      abstract = {The nestinar (fire-dancer) rituals, involving dances on embers, were practiced by the ancient Thracians. Today, they have been preserved in several Bulgarian villages in south-eastern Strandzha Mountain, as well as in the village of Stomanovo, the Rhodope Mountains, Southwestern Bulgaria. Such rituals are performed also in several villages in Northern Greece, where they have been carried over by migrants from Strandzha. While in the villages in Strandzha and in Northern Greece, Christian traditions have been overlaid on the ancient pagan ritual - the faith and devotion to Sv. Sv. Konstantin and Elena, for the inhabitants of Stomanovo (whose ritual I will describe in the present exposition), the ritual has not be Christianized - for them, it has remained a pagan Thracian Orphic tradition (well, the legendary Thracian singer and healer, Orpheus, creator of the "Orphism" belief system, lived in the Rhodope Mountains), an expression of the cult to the Great Goddess-Mother, her son Sabazios (Sun-Fire), Zagrey (the Bull God) and, as the people of Stomanovo described it themselves - a celebration of life, of fertility.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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