The village of Golemo Buchino\nis situated in Pernik Municipality. It is in the region of Lyulin Mountain and\nnot far from the capital Sofia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the survakari<\/em> in the village \u2013 Vasil\nSlavchev \u2013 recounts that he keeps masking for already 19 years. He started\nparticipating in the group in 2000. When a child, he disguised as a young\n\u2018gypsy\u2019. Later he became a bell-wearer and continues like that already about\nten years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am\na native inhabitant of Buchino \u2013 both my mother and my father are from there. I\nhave lived in the town (Pernik), but have grown up in the village. I am one of\nthose who manufacture many masks. The important thing is to find feathers. We\nbuy the glue, this is the easiest. We prepare the construction and then glue\nthe feathers one by one. It is quite a work! We make it mainly in December. The\nmasks with feathers are easily ruined. It is rather rare that someone would go\nout with one and the same mask for two successive years. Some 3-4 years ago, I\nmade a mask with wolves in the front \u2013 two wolves. There is no such beauty! It\nis still available. But I have glued it with a shoemaker\u2019s glue. I gave about\n250 lv. for that mask and glued the feathers of 14 turkeys on it. A friend gave\nme seven turkeys, from another place I took four more and from still another \u2013\nthree more. An artist made me the pattern \u2013 he drew it and I glued it. An\nexceptional work! That mask, how many pictures were taken of it! It is quite a\ntrouble, but it is somewhat a disease, fellow! Anyone who gets caught cannot\nget away!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nalso make belts and masks for the little children in the group. The year that\npassed, I made some for four children. They are with thin sticks not to be\nheavy, for the children are young. We help then so that they do not give up and\nkeep on participating.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Golemo Buchino survakari<\/em> group comprises about 80\npersons. The participants are mainly local people, who live in the village or\nwhose origin is from it, although living in the town. Most of them are young\npeople, and the oldest are about 60-years. About 15 children participate in the\ngroup, among whom there are 2-3-years old and they go with their mothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The survakari<\/em> costumes are from rags, and the masks are manufactured\nfrom birds\u2019 feathers. In the past, they used more leather, but some changes\ntook place afterwards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On 13 January, the survakari<\/em> start preparing from the very\nmorning. Everyone arranges his bells and fixes his belt or mask. They get ready\nthe torches and the fire in the center. The villagers cut wood and arrange the\nfire. When the fire kindles, the survakari<\/em>\nstart towards the square. There the musicians play and people dance chain\ndances \u2013 hora. On the night of 13 January, the merriment lasts until one or two,\nand sometimes even until three-four in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the morning of 14 January\nthe survakari with the bolyukbashiya<\/em>\n(the leader) ahead start visiting the houses in the village. In the group there\nare a \u2018bride\u2019, a \u2018bridegroom\u2019, \u2018sponsors\u2019, a \u2018bear\u2019 and a \u2018bear keeper\u2019,\n\u2018gypsies\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\nis a ritual in every house; this is the \u2018wedding\u2019 of Vasil and Vasilka. And we jangle\nfor good health and for fertility. They give us money, meat, pickles, rakia\n(brandy) and some sweets \u2013 chocolates, candies. They also give us dried meat,\nprepared at home. We gather all those things and organize a banquet in the\nevening of 14 January. And all the money we invest in the group \u2013 everything!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nbought clothes and a hat for the bolyukbashiya. We especially went to buy the\nhat from the Guards. We buy bells for the bell-wearers. There is a\nbell-manufacturer in Daskalovo (Tsarkva quarter). We go and order bells to him.\nOur cassock (for the priest) is bought from the Sofia Seminary \u2013 with a cross,\na gospel, with everything. We gave 570 lv. for it. A bell costs <\/em>200-300-400<\/em> lv. I have bells up to No 24. Some have Turkish ones,\nwhich have remained from their grandfathers and grand-grandfathers \u2013 everything\nis preserved. My bells are \u201cAngel\u2019s\u201d. They are from the very beginning, when\nthe master Angel produced them. This was 50-60 years ago. They were arranged \u2013\nlike a piano, fellow! Only tan-tan-tan\u2026 This is the idea. Otherwise, one rings\nin one way, the other in another\u2026 Nothing happens. These are my bells; I keep\nthem and do not give them to anybody. When I hang them on the belt, I do not\ntake them off. Afterwards for a week I cannot move, I am all aches and pains \u2013\nmy arms, my legs!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My\nbells weigh about 45 kg and the mask 30 kg more. There were some occasions at\nthe festival in Pernik when I go out in 12 o\u2019clock and I present on the square\nat about 5 p.m. But this can never be too heavy for me. I should put on God\nknows how much in order to feel it heavy. The energy holds me: adrenaline! That\nis adrenaline!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recorded in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n