Anastenaria
The Anastenaria (
Ritual cycle
The Bulgarian and Greek villages perform a unique annual ritual cycle, which begins on May 21 and ends on May 23 every year. The central figures of the tradition are
Each community of the Anastenaria has a special shrine known as the konaki, where their holy
Origins
According to some myths the custom originated in the
In Bulgaria, the right to perform the ritual was hereditary and the head nestinar was succeeded only by his or her son or daughter, and only when he or she was too old or ill to continue performing it. The head nestinar's house was sacred, because it housed the stolnina (столнина) – a small chapel where icons of several saints were arranged, as well as a sacred drum used specifically for the ritual and believed to cure the drummer if he was ill.[7][8]
Tourism
In the 20th century the ritual became commercialized and is performed for tourists in the seaside resorts of the
Heritage
In 2009, the ritual was entered in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists and the National Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage "Living Human Treasures - Bulgaria" on the application of the Regional historical museum Burgas.[11]
Nestinari Nunataks on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, are named after the Bulgarian folkloric ritual of Nestinari.[12]
References
- ^ S2CID 154450368.
- ISBN 9781845539764
- ^ Thèse de doctorat d'ethnologie "Essai d’anthropologie visuelle & sonore d’un "rite élémentaire" - Film de recherche "La joie du feu" - Ethnographie de la permanence d’une praxie ontologique pyrobate & de la croyance afférente en Europe orientale" Université Paris VII Denis Diderot, U.F. Anthropologie, Ethnologie et Science des Religions (AESR), n° 3604325, 12 décembre 2003, par Christine Djankoff
- ^ Danforth, Loring M., Firewalking and Religious Healing: The Anastenaria of Greece and the American Firewalking Movement, Princeton University Press, (Princeton, 1989)
- ^ Kakouri, Katerina, Dionysiaka, (Athens, 1965)
- ^ Megas, George A., Greek Calendar Customs, 3rd ed. (Athens, 1982)
- OCLC 20353251.
- ^ "Nestinari" (in Bulgarian). The Bulgarian Traditions. Retrieved 2006-08-10.
- ^ "Facets of the Complex - Popularity Regions". Archived from the original on 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2006-08-10.
- ^ "The fiery souls of the Anastenari". CNN. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ "Nestinarstvo". UNESCO. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "Nestinari Nunataks". Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Retrieved 29 September 2019.
External links
- Thinkquest
- Article about the nestinari on the Bulgarian National Radio website
- Nestinari
- Anastenaria
- Nestinari
- Turkish Anastenaria Archived 2021-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
- The Anastenaria: The Ancient Ecstatic Fire-Walking Ritual of Greece Archived 2006-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
- Nikov, Nikolay. Holidays of the Bulgarians in Myths and Legends, 21 may, (Yambol 2004)
- Tomkinson, John L., Festive Greece: A Calendar of Tradition, Anagnosis, (Athens, 2003) ISBN 960-87186-7-8