Mummers, elders, chaushi... the village of Turia is hosting masquerade games

published on 3/30/24 5:35 AM

Photo: BTA archive

The Bulgarian village of Turia at the southern foothill of the Balkan Range is welcoming over a thousand participants in the Masquerade Games "Old Men in Turia". This year's edition of the festival on 30 March will feature 28 mummers' groups from all over Bulgaria. Every year the event attracts thousands of guests from home and abroad. The Masquerade parade has a competitive character, the Municipality of Pavel Banya announced.

This year prizes will be awarded for the most attractive and cheerful group, for authentic masks, costumes and characters, for overall performance and other prizes. On the day of the festival, the parade will begin with the presentation of each group, and the participating ensembles will be judged by a special jury.

The festival presents the kukeri (mummers) and masquerade tradition in all its diversity in different parts of Bulgaria. Only in the region of Pavel Banya the mummers are known as "startsi" (elders). The name comes from ancient pagan times. That is why the festival is called "Startsi Turia".

This is the last mummers' festival in the Bulgarian folklore calendar for the year, as mummers' games are traditionally performed around the Cheesefare Sunday holiday at the end of winter before the onset of spring, BTA reports.