The windows of the cafe vibrate to the rhythm of the bass played by the impressive sound system installed in the center of the village of Ribnovo, in southern Bulgaria.
The volume is hardly bearable, when the drums of the parade suddenly compete with them.
Reikhan and Nevse appear surrounded by a dozen people.
Ribbons pinned with levas (Bulgarian currency) and euros are crossed on their busts. For two days, these young pomaks (a muslim people located in the southern mountains of the country) are in the center of the attention of the villagers: the time of their wedding, which they wished traditional.
The stages of the ritual follow one another: from dances to banquets, then finally with the Gelina. During this final ceremony, the young woman’s face is painted before she walks through the village, her eyelids closed, to her husband’s house. For Nevse Sirak, it is an honor to get married like this: “I don’t have the words, I am so happy ».
However, Gelina could not always be practiced. During the Soviet occupation for instance, it was even forbidden, and only a few families were able to perform the ritual in secret.
Today there is a renewed interest in this century-old tradition, and many young people from the Pomak community are returning to Ribnovo to get married in the traditional way, which shows that the passing on of this cultural and religious heritage has a strong echo among the younger generation of the community.
For all the latest fasion News Click Here
