Kukeri is a mask dance. Generally, only men participate in it and Kukeri is also common only in the south of Bulgaria. In this mask dance, the men of a place, village or district dress up as - usually wild or scary, threatening - animals. In these costumes they then dance through the streets, which are lined with many spectators who gladly join in the music, but do not automatically become part of this ritual.

The classical disguise at the Kukeri consists of a goat skin. In addition, there are various constructions that are worn on the heads. These make the men appear much larger than they are. Often, but not always, these are shaped like a large, very pointed cone. Here, overall, there are no uniform rules as to what such a disguise should look like. Classical and probably the most internationally known is the disguise that makes its wearer look like a wild, hairy animal by using a lot of hairy goat skin. Sometimes some of the participants dress up as sheep, but also as a threatening and powerful looking animal. But also more similar to the Baden and Swiss carnival, colorful and folkloric disguises are known at the Kukeri. This varies depending on the region, as is known in all other regions of the world where such carnival-like celebrations or rites are held.

Just as often, two or four bells are also attached to the bodies, which of course produce a fair amount of noise when walking and even more so when dancing. The other participants do not have to be dressed up and can also dance along in everyday clothes. Equally, however, there is nothing against unplanned participants joining the whole party in similar clothes.

Not entirely unimportant for the ritual acts are those people who additionally participate disguised as certain roles. There is, for example, a bride, a son-in-law and others, who are, however, not quite so important for the stories told. However, all the female roles - at least in the traditional version - are played by men. The bride is called Bulka and the son-in-law Haji.

With the following detail one comes also already to that part, which deals with the topic fertility. Thus the Kuker, as the dancers themselves are called, are supposed to touch hitherto childless women with a piece of wood, the "Falos". The purpose of this ritual act should be obvious.

As a rule, the participants meet already in the morning of the respective date to start their rituals. In the case of particularly extensive celebrations, the dances then last up to six hours at a stretch, and the entire celebrations last all day. What one could hardly expect from men even of middle age here, seems to be no problem in Bulgaria even nowadays: a lot of endurance while dancing. Of course, breaks are not forbidden.

The procession moves through the streets to the accompaniment of music, reaching large parts of the village or town where Kukeri is celebrated. This music, in turn, is produced by extra accompanying musicians, that is, not by the dancers themselves, as is common in some other "carnivals". With the exception of the bells attached to them, if any, as mentioned above. Part of the custom is now that the disguised, the individual houses of the village visit. On the one hand, they express good wishes and their blessings. On the other hand, it often comes to - of course staged - show fights with the respective householder. And so the celebration congregation moves through the streets and thus involves all the inhabitants of the village. And this social purpose is not least also a link between the members of a smaller community who do not always get along well with each other.

For the very rhythmic music, a local drummer, the tapan, is used. This is accompanied by high-pitched melodies from oboes and pipes, mostly from the bagpipe gajda. Dancing usually continues as long as the musicians can hold out, which depends not only on the mood and motivation, but also on how many people participate in addition to the actual procession.

The specific origin of Kukeri is believed to be in ancient Slavic, partly Greek traditions. In any case, it dates back to a time before Bulgaria became Christian. After all, dances and rituals as supplications for good harvests and more fertility are known in many other places well before their Christianization. However, the exact origin is unknown, just as there are no written or orally transmitted rules on how the dances and the show fights should be performed.

Furthermore, performances by amateur actors are also part of the festivities at Kukeri. Here, there are no limits to the imagination - and also to the quality of the performances.

At the end of the Kukeri, the active participants, whether dancers, musicians or actors, are presented with gifts and offerings. These do not always have to consist of monetary donations, but in poorer regions often also include food, i.e. local agricultural products. The final conclusion is then a large banquet, which is there for all and at which of course also plenty of spiritual drinks flow. But the participants have also earned this, because the whole affair often lasts around 20 hours until its final end - after all, one needs refreshment afterwards.

As mentioned above, Kukeri is celebrated only in the south and southeast of Bulgaria. Since the Balkan country, unlike its northern neighbor Romania, has very few inhabitants, about 7 million, it is a much smaller number of people who celebrate Kukeri as their own original culture. Nevertheless, despite a lot of competition in the cultural field, it has survived to this day in this region of Bulgaria as a regularly held festival. And this despite the fact that the dates for Kukeri sometimes vary from village to village.

In the southeast and south of Bulgaria you can find cities like Plovdiv or Stara Zagora. There, and especially in their more rural surroundings, kukeri is tremendously pronounced as a custom. However, all possible variants of it are also widespread in regions outside southern Bulgaria. Similar dances and rites are also known in Romania, where they are known as "Capra", the Romanian word for goat.

Also mentioned at the beginning, there is no fixed date for this typical Bulgarian festival called "Kukeri". It is rather the case that there is only one time frame, which, however, moves within the "dark" seasons. Within a village, however, there is a fixed date for Kukeri, which is usually between January and the date of the Central European carnival. However, the date is actually always on a weekend, so that you can dance all day on Saturday and celebrate together in the evening, to recover on Sunday.

A really lively, very own, entertaining and rousing festival is Kukeri. The festival, which is quite related to the carnival and typical for Bulgaria, has several functions in a metaphorical sense. But you don't have to understand them - or support them - to enjoy the performances. Thanks to the Internet, it is possible to experience Kukeri without being there. Which would be unfortunate, though, because only if you witness the haunting drumming and dancing for hours on end yourself will you be as swept away as the goal of this almost manic dancing is. In short, it's good to know what Kukeri is, the carnival-like celebration in the south of Bulgaria, and that's exactly what it should be, according to this text.