Masquerade and Postsocialism: Ritual and Cultural Dispossession in Bulgaria

4. Autonomy and Community

c h a p t e r f o u r Autonomy and Communit y Approximately thirty kilometers due north of Varvara, across the valley defined by the Maritsa and Tolpolnitsa rivers, sit the adjacent villages of Lesichevo and Kalugerovo. Mumming here, as in Varvara, is one of the most anticipated events of the year, although it occurs later in the winter. Varvara residents associated this difference with geography, saying that villages north of the Maritsa River celebrate at Lent (specifically cheese Lent) rather than New Year’s. While this distinction pertains along the western origins of the river, it does not hold as the river flows eastward. Mummers in Lesichevo are called dervishes, as are those in Varvara, but in Kalugerovo they are known as dzhamali. The costumes in both villages are similar to those in Varvara— long-­ hair goat skins (although, as noted in chapter 2, this is a recent innovation in Kalugerovo where mummers previously wore sheepskins). The masks in Lesichevo and Kalugerovo, however, bear no resemblance to the diverse and elaborate Varvara constructions. Instead, they are fairly uniform and create a more seamless connection to the costume. They are made of the same long-­ hair goat skin, sewn into a cap that flows down the back and sides of the head. The face is an embellished fabric flap with holes for the eyes (see figure 15). This design is especially convenient for the extended eating, drinking, and socializing that characterize Lesichevo practice, as the flap can be lifted up easily over the head and out of the way for the duration of the mummers’ lengthy visit. 132 Masquerade and Postsocialism In Kalugerovo there are numerous brides, dressed not in traditional folk costume but white wedding gowns with veils. In Lesichevo there is no bride at all and no musicians. Although this is uncommon in mumming practice, it is by no means unique. As in a few other villages the bride’s central role is replaced by a black-­ faced Arap. I discuss this recurrent element further in the next chapter; here I focus on other dimensions of mumming elaborated in Lesichevo—­ the practice of mumming in small groups and the ritual elaboration of conflict. The former element was evident in Varvara, where groups worked independently in secret to design and build their masks, but the village canvass was still a single group of mummers representing the collective village. In Kalugerovo and Lesichevo there is no unified village canvass; instead , different groups of mummers, each with approximately three to seven members, wander around the village independently of one another. There is no concern to cover the entire village and no assigned territories. Household visits in Kalugerovo are primarily confined to the evenings; during the day the young men prefer to spend time at public places or intersections where they can hold up passing pedestrians or motorists for “donations.” This insures that they get cash instead of food and drink, although at one intersection staked out by a large group of mummers, I overheard one tell another: “I told you this work had died,” referring both to the limited traffic and the meager sums they were collecting. I must say, however, that compared to mummers in other villages they were not nearly as aggressive in forcing the cars to stop, and those that did were often let go without a donation if they declined. Compared to similar efforts in villages like Yardzhilovtsi, these younger men were simply “not serious,” as a couple of my friends expressed it. In Lesichevo, by contrast, the house visits were central. They consumed most of the day and were generally more extended than in any other village I observed, made possible by the fact that not every household was visited. These two villages are also unusual for the free reign given to force and violence. Although many mumming traditions include symbolic enactments of violence, such as minor slapping and pinching, in Lesichevo and Kalu­ gerovo, as in some other villages, the physical force goes beyond the symbolic to the downright painful, with victims sometimes suffering severe harm. I was warned about these villages by informants in Varvara. The son of my host there once went with some friends to Kalugerovo for the mumming event, but they left quickly because they were getting hurt: “After getting some lumps and some bruises we decided that this is not for us.” When I observed activities there in mid-­ March 2002 I didn’t get bruised, but...