KLIMENT VILLAGE - KUKER DAY PROGRAMME
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- In the morning on Kuker Day, which in Kliment Village is on Saturday before Sirnitsa (the Bulgarian and Orthodox version of the Shrove Sunday), the Kukeri will go round in the streets of the village and jangle the bells
- In the early afternoon of the feast, there will be festivity on the square that will include a parade of the masked children of the kindergarten, performances by both local and guest Kuker bands, as well as other masked with scenes, an orchestra with live music and common merriment
- They will light fires in the neighbourhoods, on crossroads and in the streets in front of the houses
- There will be a dinner in each home with traditional forgiveness taking (“proshka”) and “lamkane” (a custom where children of the family try to catch by mouth a piece of white khalva hanged on a thread)
Before Sirnitsa
Nowadays, they do not jangle the "hlopki" (round-bellied bells) in the Kliment Village before the Kuker Day as they would do in the past because they tend to have lots of participations outside the village.
The Saturday before Sirnitsa - on the Square Afternoon
In Kliment Village, they will celebrate the Kuker Day just on Saturday before Sirnitsa (the Bulgarian and Orthodox version of the Shrove Sunday) in order to be able to host and be guests themselves somewhere else on the very Sirnitsa. The local people have already got used to the shifting the date for the custom having got the chance to see something new and different. “For those who are not Kukeri and do not have the chance to travel as us, the guests are a big attraction. However, when the Kukeri of Kliment Village show the people think, “Well, there are many bands however... [our is the best]”.
The festivity starts after the lunch on the square.
The village mayor will open the feast. First, the masked children of the kindergarten will parade. They are fifteen and will be lead by some elder children. Their masks will be for instance ones of Pinocchio, flowers, bears, Musketeers, princesses, fairies depending on what their mothers will have prepared. The village mayoralty will always buy something for the kindergarten for the feast.
After the masks, the amateur groups will show, and the Kukeri of Kliment Village will always be first in order to be able to change their clothes and take part in the arrangements concerning the guest Kuker groups participation. There will be a local Chitalisthe's (community cultural centre) staff member attached to each guest Kuker group, who will well know the presentation order.
Each Kuker band performance duration will depends on the regulation, however in Kliment Village it will not last more than 15-20 minutes; otherwise it would be tiring for the performance and monotonous and boring for the audience.
Besides the Kukeri, there are also “funny masked” (other masked that are not Kukeri) in the Village of Kliment. Everyone is allowed to masks. Even some of the Kukeri take part as “funny masked” through quickly change of the Kuker costume with the one of the funny masked, and vice versa.
Some of the scenes which have been presented on the Kuker Day till now, through the local Chitalishte (community cultural centre) or individually are as follows:
In the end, there will be an orchestra playing live music for a common merriment. They most often invite the Orchestra of Rumen Rodopski whose member Dimitar Lalov is a coach in Kliment Village, and which will always offer them a small discount. They have also invited Peyo Marinov of Kalofer Orchestra.
The feast will go on on the square until the evening when people will come back home to take the livestock from grazing.
The festivity starts after the lunch on the square.
The village mayor will open the feast. First, the masked children of the kindergarten will parade. They are fifteen and will be lead by some elder children. Their masks will be for instance ones of Pinocchio, flowers, bears, Musketeers, princesses, fairies depending on what their mothers will have prepared. The village mayoralty will always buy something for the kindergarten for the feast.
After the masks, the amateur groups will show, and the Kukeri of Kliment Village will always be first in order to be able to change their clothes and take part in the arrangements concerning the guest Kuker groups participation. There will be a local Chitalisthe's (community cultural centre) staff member attached to each guest Kuker group, who will well know the presentation order.
Each Kuker band performance duration will depends on the regulation, however in Kliment Village it will not last more than 15-20 minutes; otherwise it would be tiring for the performance and monotonous and boring for the audience.
Besides the Kukeri, there are also “funny masked” (other masked that are not Kukeri) in the Village of Kliment. Everyone is allowed to masks. Even some of the Kukeri take part as “funny masked” through quickly change of the Kuker costume with the one of the funny masked, and vice versa.
Some of the scenes which have been presented on the Kuker Day till now, through the local Chitalishte (community cultural centre) or individually are as follows:
- The coming of the Radetski Streamship and Hristo Botev riding a white horse. It related to the anniversary of the Bulgarian Liberation from the Turkish ruling.
- There have been white horses, volunteer militiamen, Russian soldiers and also a really touching meeting by lasses with flowers.
- “Three chains of slaves” (a phrase present in many Bulgarian folk songs): men, women, children and Turks with whips
- The rebels of Raina Princess (Raina Knyaginya), Borimechkata and the cherry gun (the latter two are personages of the classic novel “Under Yoke”), as well as the other heroes of the Bulgarian fight for liberation. This scene was presented in 1977 or 1978.
- Youths with a rakia still (rakia is the Bulgarian brandy) labelled “No excise duty on rakia!”
- This scene took place more recently when the excise on rakia was announced.
In the end, there will be an orchestra playing live music for a common merriment. They most often invite the Orchestra of Rumen Rodopski whose member Dimitar Lalov is a coach in Kliment Village, and which will always offer them a small discount. They have also invited Peyo Marinov of Kalofer Orchestra.
The feast will go on on the square until the evening when people will come back home to take the livestock from grazing.
They will also do "lamkane" with a piece of white khalva or an egg hanged on a thread, where the children will try to catch it by mouth
Kuker Visits on Kuker Day2002 was the fist year they have invited Kuker guest. Then, all Kuker bands of Karlovo area came, and the feast was really of a large scale. In this year, the traditional Kuker Day festival in the Town of Karlovo was broken.
Many Kuker bands of Karlovo area have been their guests. Amongst the guests from more distant settlements are those of the Village of Gabrov Dol, Pernik Region (“a huge attraction in Kliment Village”), of Yambol Town, of the Village of Vresovo, Burgas Region, of Makak District of Shumen Town, etc. |
All guest groups will be given a certificate for participation and some cash prize, which each group tends to use for covering the travel and accommodation expenses. Several years ago, the guests coming from more distant settlements would have got sandwiches as well. The money for the awards will be provided by both Municipality of Karlovo and sponsorship. Of course, the sponsors will be listed at the start, at the middle and at the end of the feast.
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