{"id":975,"date":"2019-05-10T18:12:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T15:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/survakari.com\/en\/?p=975"},"modified":"2019-05-15T21:52:34","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T18:52:34","slug":"kalishte-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/survakari.com\/en\/2019\/05\/10\/kalishte-village\/","title":{"rendered":"Kalishte Village"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kalishta village belongs to\nthe Kavochevtsi municipality and is 9 km from its center. It is situated on the\nsouthern-most heights of Chetna gora and on the northern foothills of Konyavska\nMountain. Close to the village is Pchelina dam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most enthusiastic survakari<\/em> in the village is the leader of\nthe group. He started participating in Surova<\/em>\nwhen he was still a child, at the age of seven. He masked together with his\nolder brother, who was also the group\u2019s leader before him. The whole family\nparticipates in Surova. His son was only 2 years old when they disguised him as\na little leader \u2013 kokorbashia<\/em>. His\ndaughter carries the signboard of the survakari<\/em>\ngroup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor\nthe last 20 years I have been the leader of the group. In the time when my\nbrother was the leader, I conducted the bell-wearers. I had also disguised like\na \u201cpriest\u201d. We make the masks together with my brother, but some other people\nhelp us too. Every year we prepare some new mask, there always should be\nsomething new. For example, we have a mask from feathers, which represents the\nsun. You haven\u2019t seen a \u201csun\u201d anywhere else! We have also masks of various\nanimals \u2013 we have a mask of a deer, lions, tigers, wolves. Our masks are about\n2\u20133\u20134 meters. We have bears as well \u2013 a brown bear, a white bear, panda, we\nhave bear cubs. There are no prettier bears from that of Kalishta\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ntradition of Surova in Kalishta village exists from times immemorial. On the\nevening of 13 January, we set a fire and dance around it. Then we meet with the\ngroup from Lobosh village. We perform a big chain dance (horo) at the railway\nstation. On that same evening, we visit the lower part of the village. On the\nmorning of 14 January, we start at about six o\u2019clock and continue going around\nthe upper part of the village. The village is big and the people are used to\nthat situation. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\ninevitably visit all the houses where there are inhabitants. We are careful not\nto miss someone, because people are offended and afterwards ask us \u201cWhy didn\u2019t\nyou come?\u201d The tradition is like that and everybody is waiting for us to visit\ntheir home. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nSurova we perform the ritual \u201cwedding\u201d. We perform the \u201cwedding ceremony\u201d, the\nbear \u201cmauls\u201d the householder (the host), we jungle the bells to \u201cdrive away the\nevil powers\u201d and like that. The hosts gift us with money, wine, meat, rakia\n(brandy), sweets, banitsa (cheese pie).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leader of the group says\nthat they are about 60 participants in the village, and sometimes they could\neven reach 75\u201380 people. The group has 60 pairs of bells, and he himself has\n105 bells. The weight of one full set is over 70 kg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Surova everybody, who are\nfrom the village but live in the towns, by all means come back in Kalishta. They\ntake a leave or sick-leave. Girls, boys \u2013 all of them come back in the village.\nSome years ago, when he still went to school, the current leader did not go to\nan exam, since it was appointed on 14 January (on Surova). He passed his exam\nlater\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, the leader of the\nsurvakari and his family prepare themselves and cheerfully take part in the\nfeast because they believe that \u201cthe\ntradition in the village should be maintained!\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recorded: 2018 <\/p>\n\n\n\n