MARRIAGE AMONG THE BULGARIANS.
Fourteen years spent among Bulgarians afforded me the opportunity of witnessing many marriage ceremonies, which were very peculiar and interesting. Especially curious are those of Upper Macedonia, as presenting remarkable traces of Dionysian worship.
The matrimonial negotiations are carried on by the stroinichitsita and stroinitcote, persons commissioned by the parents to find a suitable parti for their marriageable daughters; the proposal, among the peasants, being addressed by the man to the parents of the girl, who accept it on the promise of a sum of money, ranging from £50 to £300, according to his means. The sum is offered as purchase-money for the labor of the hardy maiden, whose substantial assistance in field and other work to the paterfamilias ceases on the marriage day, when her services pass to her husband.
Wednesday or Thursday evenings are considered most propitious for the betrothal, which takes place in the presence of witnesses, and consists in the exchange of marriage contracts, certifying on one side the promised sum of money, and on the other stating the quantity and quality of the trousseau the bride will bring. The interchange of contracts is followed by that of rings between the affianced, offered to them by the priest who asks each person if the proposal of the other is accepted. A short blessing follows, and this simple betrothal is concluded by the bride kissing the hands of her affianced husband and of the rest of the company.
These engagements, never known to be broken, are often prolonged for years by selfish parents, who are unwilling to part with the services of a daughter who is valued as an efficient laborer. This unjust delay gives rise to clandestine associations, tolerated, but not acknowledged, by the parents, and finally ending in matrimony. Runaway marriages are also of frequent occurrence in cases when there is difficulty about the payment of the portion. The young couple elope on an appointed day, and ride to the nearest church, where they are at once united. On returning home the bride usually hides herself in the house of some relative, until friends intervening obtain her father’s forgiveness.
The principles of good faith and honor are sacredly kept among these simple people, who are never known to break their pledged word under any circumstances.
How curious would an English girl think the preliminary customs that a virgin in this fine, but now neglected, country must observe before entering upon the state of holy matrimony. And yet, rude and primitive as these customs are, they well deserve our attention as having once belonged, in part at least, to a wonderful civilization, now lost, but never to be forgotten.
Preparing the house for the coming festivity, washing with ceremony the bride’s head, exhibiting the trousseau for the inspection of the matrons, who do not spare their criticism on its merits or demerits, while the young and thoughtless are busy putting a last stitch here and there amid gay songs and cheerful talk; the ornamentation of cakes sent round to friends and relatives in lieu of invitation cards,—all these are old customs which ring in unison with the peaceful and industrious habits of a people whose life in happier times reminded one of the Arcadias of the poets.
Nor is the marriage ceremony itself void of interest. I was present at one of these while staying at a large Bulgarian settlement in Upper Macedonia. The village, buried in a picturesque glen, looked bright and cheery. Its pretty white church and neat school-house stood in the midst; around were the farm-houses and cottages, roofed with stone slabs, standing in large farmyards, where the golden hay and corn-stacks, the green trees, and small flower-beds disputed the ground with a roving company of children, pigs, and fowls.
The wedding took place in the house of a rich Chorbadji, who was giving his daughter in marriage to a young Bulgarian from a village on the opposite side of the glen. The festivities began on a Monday and lasted through the week, each day bringing its duties and pleasures, its songs, music, and dancing,—indispensable parts of a Bulgarian peasant’s existence.
On the eve of the wedding-day the virgin meal took place, each maiden arriving with her offering of sweets in her hands. It was a pretty sight to look at all those bright young faces, for the time free from care and lighted up with smiles of content and joy. It takes so little to amuse innocent peasant girls, for whom a day of rest is a boon in itself, well appreciated and generally turned to good account.
On Sunday, in the early forenoon, the company once more assembled. The children, washed and dressed, played about the yard, filling the air with their joyous voices. The matrons led their daughters in their bright costumes, covered with silver ornaments, their heads and waists garlanded with flowers. The young men also, decked out in their best, and equally decorated with flowers, stood to see them pass by, and to exchange significant smiles and looks.
On entering the house, I was politely offered a seat in the room where the bride, in her wedding dress, a tight mantelet closely studded with silver coins, and hung about with strings of coins intertwined with flowers, sat awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom’s company, who were to lead her to her new home. The sound of distant music soon announced their approach, and was the signal for the touching scene of adieux. All the bride’s smiles died away, and tears stood in every eye. Kissing hands all round, and being kissed in return, she was led by her father to the gate, and mounted upon a horse that awaited her; the rest of the company followed her, all mounted also. The scene changed, and as we rode along the mountain paths I felt myself transported into the mythological age in the midst of a company of Thyiades, garlanded with flowers and vine-leaves, proceeding to the celebration of their festival. The procession, headed by a standard-bearer carrying a banner surmounted by an apple, and followed by a band of music, wended its way along the mountain paths. The wild strains of the minstrels were echoed by the shouts and songs of the company, excitedly careering among the flowery intricacies of the mountain passes, like a wild chorus of Bacchantes. On entering the village, the procession was completed by the addition of the Nunco (best man) with the Stardever, who, like the Kanephoroi in the Dionysia, carried baskets of fruit, cakes, the bridal crowns, and the flasks of wine, and led the sacrificial goat with its gilded horns, all gifts of the Nunco.
On arriving at the gate of the bridegroom’s house, the standard-bearer marched in and planted his banner in the middle of the court. The bride, following, stayed her horse before it, and, after a verse had been sung by the company,[27] she bowed three times, and was assisted to dismount by her father-in-law. On parting with her horse she kissed his head three times, and then, holding one end of a handkerchief extended to her by her father-in-law, was led into a kind of huge cellar, dimly lighted by the few rays that found their way through narrow slits high up in the walls. In the midst stood a wine-barrel crowned with the bridal cake, on which was placed a glass of wine. The scene here deepened in interest; the priests, in their gorgeous sacerdotal robes and high black hats, holding crosses in their hands, stood over this Bacchanalian altar awaiting the bride and bridegroom, who, garlanded with vine-leaves and also holding tapers, advanced solemnly, when the sacred Christian marriage rite, thus imbued with the mysteries of the Dionysian festivals, was performed. After having tasted the wine contained in the glass, and while walking hand-in-hand three times round the barrel, a shower of fruits, cakes, and sugar-plums was thrown over the couple. The ceremony ended by the customary kissing, as observed among the Greeks. The company then sat down to a hearty meal. The feasting on such occasions lasts till morning; dancing, drinking, and singing continue till dawn, without, however, any excess.
The next day, the banner crowned with the apple, still keeping its place, proclaims to the guests who come to lead the bride to the village well to throw in her obol, that she has virtuously acquired the rights of a wife. Should the reverse be the case, the bride receives severe corporal punishment, and mounted on a donkey, with her face turned towards its tail, which she holds in her hands, is led back to her father’s house—a barbarous custom which must be set aside after the disorders lately committed in this country.
The custom of marrying in the most retired part of the house, instead of the church, among the peasants, is, according to my information, the result of the dread they had in times of oppression of giving unnecessary publicity to their gatherings, and thus inviting the cupidity of some savage band of their oppressors, who scrupled not when they had a chance to fall upon and rob and injure them. This state of things was brought back during late events.
Some months ago, a marriage was taking place in the village of B⸺, in Macedonia. The bridal procession had just returned from church, when a band of ferocious Turks fell upon the house where the festivities were being held, robbing and beating right and left, until they arrived at the unfortunate bride, whom, after divesting of all her belongings, they dishonored and left to bewail her misfortunes in never-ending misery. The distracted husband, barely escaping with his life, rushed into the street, loudly calling upon his Christian brethren to shoot him down, and thus relieve him of the life whose burden he could not bear.
The trousseau of a Bulgarian peasant girl consists of the following articles: A long shirt, embroidered with fine tapestry work in worsted or colored silks round the collar, sleeves, and skirt; a sleeveless coat (sutna), tightly fitting the figure, made of home-spun woollen tissue, also richly embroidered; a sash (poyous), made of plaited wool, half an inch wide and about eighty yards long, with which they gird themselves; an overcoat, also embroidered; an apron, completely covered with embroidery; embroidered woollen socks, garters, and red shoes. The head-dress varies according to the district. In Bulgaria proper a sort of high coif is worn, not unlike the pointed cap of English ladies in the Middle Ages. In Macedonia, to the hair, cut short upon the forehead and plaited behind in a number of braids, is added a long fringe of black wool, braided, fastened round the head and falling below the knees; the crown of the head being covered with a richly embroidered white cloth, fastened on with innumerable silver ornaments and strings of coins. The whole wardrobe, made of strong, durable materials, is home-spun and home-made, and being elaborately embroidered forms an ensemble extremely picturesque, very durable, and well adapted to the mode of life of the wearers. One of these dresses often requires three months’ constant work to accomplish its embroidery; but I may as well add that it will take a lifetime to wear it out.
In addition to these articles of dress, whose number varies according to the condition of the person for whom they are intended, carpets, rugs, towels, and a few sheets are added, together with a number of silver ornaments, such as belts, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, some of which are extremely pretty.
The Bulgarian trousseaux, needing so much time and work, are in course of preparation while the children for whom they are intended are still in their infancy, and as each article is woven, it is packed away in a long, bolster-shaped bag, in unison with their careful custom of exposing their belongings to observation as little as possible.
I shall not dwell long upon the marriage of the wealthy in large towns like Philippopolis. The religious service used is that of the orthodox Greek Church, since there is no doctrinal difference between the creeds of the Greeks and the Bulgarians.
The festivities, both among rich and poor, are continued for a week; the former still adhering to some of the old usages for form’s sake. In the town of Philippopolis the native customs have been in part set aside and replaced by the European. At the last marriage I witnessed there the bride was a shy little beauty, well versed in her own language, with a pretty good knowledge of modern Greek and a smattering of French. Her trousseau, like those of many of her rank, had been received from Vienna, as well as the bridal dress, veil, and wreaths, presents from the bridegroom. Some years ago dowries were not demanded, but a good amount of fine jewelry, much appreciated by Bulgarian ladies, formed an indispensable appendage to the trousseau.
Besides the European apparel given to brides, a large amount of native home-made articles of dress and house linen are added. Some of these are of exquisite taste and workmanship, such as crêpe chemises, made of mixed raw and floss silk; embroidered towels and sheets, worked with an art and taste that can well vie with the finest French and English embroideries; besides tissues in home-woven silk and cotton for bedding, and other articles of native manufacture that would be well appreciated if they could find their way into the wardrobes of fashionable Europeans.
The Bulgarian élite follow the custom of being asked in marriage on the lady’s side.
A number of Bulgarians are now educated in foreign countries, and attain distinction and great success in the professions they exercise. When a sufficient competence for life has been acquired, they return to their homes in order to marry on their native soil, to which they are devotedly attached.
Great is the commotion that the return of one of these absentees occasions. Each member of the tribe of Stroinicotes, busily working in the interest he or she represents, tries to outdo the others, until the coveted prize is obtained. In the mean time the newcomer is feasted in every direction, the mothers doing their utmost to be amiable and the daughters to look their best; while the fathers are calculating whether the new custom of giving dowries to their daughters is likely to be one of the conditions of the hopeful match. Great is the glee of a parent on hearing the welcome words of Né kem pari; sa kumchupa (I ask no money; I want the maiden), upon which the match is soon concluded by the usual routine of betrothal, exchange of contracts, and presents. The lover is free to visit his fiancée, and instill into her mind the ideas and feelings that must elevate her to his own standard; a praiseworthy duty, often crowned with success when the husband undertakes it in earnest. Some of my most esteemed friends in Bulgaria were the wives of highly educated men. The knowledge they possessed was limited; but they were gentle, virtuous, ladylike, and admirable housewives, devoting all their efforts to the education and improvement of their children, in whom they try to develop those talents and qualities that in their own youth had been left untrained. The Bulgarians after marriage are attached to their home, husband and wife uniting their efforts to make it comfortable and happy.