{"id":956,"date":"2019-05-10T17:58:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T14:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/survakari.com\/en\/?p=956"},"modified":"2019-05-12T12:15:22","modified_gmt":"2019-05-12T09:15:22","slug":"elovdol-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/survakari.com\/en\/2019\/05\/10\/elovdol-village\/","title":{"rendered":"Elovdol Village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Elov dol village is located in the\noutskirts of the Ruysko-Verilska Mountain. It is part of the Zemen municipality.\nOne of its inhabitants, born in the distant 1882, has left his memories about\nthe Surova<\/em> celebration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn\nthe past (in the first decades of the 20th<\/sup> century) we in Elov Dol used\nto wear only masks with plumage and feathers. The animal heads and the wooden\nhollows on the face came out later. In 1900 I was a soldier, but on Surova I\nescaped from the barracks, came to the village, made a mask from a big gourd,\ncut holes for the eyes and the mouth, decorated it with feathers and paper, put\nmustache from hemp, put on the fur-coat inside out and tied bells to the belt.\nMany survashkarye made their masks from gourds. Some placed on their upper part\nrabbit or cat leathers or feathers \u2013 whatever it occurs to them. Some of the costumes\nwere from fur-coats turned inside out, others were made of rags. Even those\nmade of rags seemed to be more. Some men in the group did not wear masks, they\nonly had their faces painted black instead. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsurvashkari would not go playing without \u201ca bride\u201d and \u201ca groom\u201d \u2013 without \u201ca\nwedding\u201d. They are the most important. The man \u2013 \u201cbride\u201d dresses in the clothes\nof an eminent maiden from the village and \u201cthe groom\u201d struts in his own best\nclothes. In the \u201cwedding procession\u201d there are also: a \u201cbrother in law\u201d, a \u201cmother\nin law\u201d and a \u201cfather in law\u201d. The \u201cbrother in law\u201d and the \u201cgroom\u201d have towels\nand socks on their shoulders and flowers on their caps. There is also one who\nis dressed as a priest. He carries a censer in which he has put hot peppers and\nwhen he smokes the people with it, there is much laughter all over the village.\nThe real priest from the church at first was somewhat angry at the survashkari,\nbut then he got used to it. He used to say \u201cThis is not good, but what can I do\nwith you?…\u201d And he got used to it. Even, when going around all the houses in the\nneighborhoods, we visited his yard as well. We also played there. Everyone\ngifted us and he did too. There was a \u201cbear keeper with a bear\u201d. The \u201cbear\u201d mauls\nthe hosts for good health and against pains in the back, or plays and rolls on\nthe ground while the bear keeper plays the fiddle. We went throughout the whole\nnight in the village. We visit every house, but not a one where someone has\nrecently deceased. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nthe 70s they started to wear colorful rag costumes, and even, I do not know\nwhere that came from, they made them in three colors \u2013 white, green and red,\nlike the Bulgarian flag. It did not use to be like that, but now they go to\nplay in other countries, so people should recognize where they come from. The\nmasks are not made from gourds anymore. They put wooden hollows on their faces and\non top of them horns, leathers, feathers, wings and even whole heads of rabbits,\nfoxes, of all kinds of animals\u2026 Quite different, but as they go now to various\nfestivals, they must be the prettiest. The most important thing is that they\nplay here on Surova! Ever since I can remember, the Surova is the biggest and\nthe best feast in the year. It has never stopped. The whole village prepares,\nin each house we are welcomed and invited inside, they gift us generously and\nwe wish them good health.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today in Elov Dol Surova<\/em> is the most anticipated holyday\nas well. In the recent years, survakari<\/em>\ngroups from the neighboring villages also gather on the village square around\nthe bonfire. They visit each other in turns so the whole region can enjoy the\nincredible beauty of the Surova<\/em> days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archive of the Regional Historical\nMuseum \u2013 Pernik<\/p>\n\n\n\n