#babugeri

[auressea]

Please go look at his photo documentation..! they are each separate, regional cryptids for different festivals and at different times of year.

He continues to add to this work, and has recently gone to Japan.

Traditional European Christmas time monsters, photographer across the Europe by Charles Fréger.

[mizelaneus]

[slaviclore]

Yes, they are. While "kukeri" is the most popular one, different regions use different words - чауши (chaushi), старци (startsi), суровари (surovari), станчинари (stanchinari), джумали (dzhumali), мечкари (mechkari), арапи (arapi) and so one.

Hope the information is helpful!

Very interesting, thanks! Such a cool custom

(This is re my tags on a post i recently reblogged about babugeri in Bulgaria)

[beardedmrbean]

Is this you?

Those are Bulgarians I believe, I don't have any of that heritage.

Irish, German, Scotch, and soda as my dad always says.

That is for a festival in Bulgaria, horray I remembered right

Babugeri, not totally up to date on Pre-Christian Bulgarian Folklore so I'd have to put a bit of effort into this if I were to try and sound intelligent.

If not I could tag in the one person I know of that's Bulgarian in Bulgaria @adaptive--manipulator Mads is cool AF and you should check out her art and stuff.

But I also presume this was supposed to be funny and I'm too tired to register jokes at the moment, and if that's true then this is closer to me

It's either the Dalai Llama or the Salvador Dali Llama, I went the Buddhist route, I have no talent for art

[clementbenjamin313]

Unveiling Bulgaria's Babugeri: Guardians of Tradition

In the remote villages of Bulgaria’s Pernik region, a tradition as ancient as the land itself unfolds. Meet the Babugeri, guardians of the community, clad in costumes crafted from the furs of the revered Bulgarian Kalofer goat. It takes 6 to 7 goats to create a single suit, each strand of hair meticulously combed to silky perfection. Villagers graciously share glimpses of the intricate process,…

[simplepartial]

[orangezeppelin]

You're walking home from a hunt through the flat dusty plains, weary from travel and from the weight of your kill slung across your back. Already the sun is dipping lower and the day grows shorter, bringing a chilly wind across the plains. You shiver, thinking of the warm fire that will welcome you home. Something catches your eye in the distance, though with the dipping sun you can only make out a silhouette. Some kind of dark mass ahead of you like a swaying forest, in a place where there certainly wasn't a forest before. You continue on your journey home, wary of what stands in the distance. Whatever it is, it's coming towards you. Closer now, you can make out several distinct forms. They stand tall, taller than any man, and move at a slow lumbering pace. You press on, eager to get home with your meat but suspicious of what lies ahead. Suddenly you see that there are many of them, strange furred things that look like beasts but stand like a man. You fear they may be monsters but.... The creatures on the horizon lumber towards you in a silent procession. They must have seen you by now but they show no signs of noticing. Soon they are near enough that you can see them clearly, strange towering figures with shaggy coats and long necks nearly the length of the rest of their body. Strangest of all is that none of them seemed to have a face Perhaps they can't see you? You slowly walk to the side out of the path of the approaching beasts, trying to match their slow, lumbering gait. Your hand is firm on your sword, but somehow you feel it's unnecessary. They don't seem hostile, just unearthly. The first of the creatures' procession is less than ten swordlengths away now. Marveling at the beast, you think that it is very much like a bear. But where are it's paws and claws? It seems to be nothing but fur all over. The beast approaches you, it's towering neck swaying slightly with each step. With no acknowledgement of your presence it walks straight by towards the direction whence you came. Others approach and do the same, walking past you as if you where no more than a rock in the path. The beasts are silent as stone, the only sound being the soft crunch of dirt beneath their furred feet. Looking around you see many different colors and patterns of fur passing you by, focused only on whatever they headed towards. Taking a step back you accidentally brush against the tawny coat of one of the beasts. You gasp in fear and turn to face it. The beast doesn't even stop but you see that the swaying neck turns ever so slightly in your direction. Looking up at what you can only assume would be the head, you are struck with the distinct feeling that this faceless creature looked at you. Apparently no offense was taken. Like all the others it continued it's procession. You stand frozen in place, not knowing how many more of them are coming. Finally you force yourself to continue, dodging the huge hairy bodies as you duck your way in the opposite direction that they're traveling. After counting nearly forty of them you finally reach the end of their silent march. You can only stand in amazement watching them. Just as they appeared from the horizon they slowly disappear into the east, marching towards some unknown goal. You shiver again, though this time not from the cold. Tearing your eyes away you turn back towards your own destination, thinking of the warm fire that will welcome you home. (Inspired by Charles Fréger's series of photography featuring traditional pagan costumery in Europe www.charlesfreger.com/portfoli…)

[patricktenbrink10]

Babugeri from Bulgaria by Patrick ten Brink Via Flickr: Babugeri from Bulgaria, drawings building on photos by Chabaju on Flickr and hunting through the web, the photos are most probably from photographer Charles Fréger (thank you for absolutely wonderful photos of "Hommes sauvages". I hope my sketches do them justice.) A search will bring photos of great traditional dress from over a dozen countries. Have a look - worth more than the time it takes to browse!

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

I just saw this thread on Twitter on the photography of Charles Fréger, who travelled all across Europe in order to capture all the traditional pagan-rooted festivals with strange figures, vegetation spirits, wild men and monstrous creatures. As an Ancient Historian, I've always been fascinating with the pre-Roman cultures of the continent, and festivals like these ones give us a glimpse of how could've been religion, culture and thinking during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

He compiled all of these wild men in his book Wilder Mann, you can find the complete gallery here. Here are some of those creatures, below I'll add what each represent and a bit of geographic info.

1. Hombre de Musgo, from Béjar, a town in the province of Salamanca (Castile and León).

2. Babugeri / Kukeri, from Bulgaria.

3. Strohmann, from Empfingen, a town in the district of Freudenstadt (Baden-Württemberg).

4. Arapides, from Nikissiani, a town in the regional unit of Kavala (East Macedonia and Thrace).

5. Momotxorro, from Altsasu, a town in the autonomous community of Navarre (Spain).

6. Caretos de Ousilhão, from Ousilhão, a town in the municipality of Vinhais (Bragança).

7. Nuutti Pukki, from Finland.

8. Merdule, from Ottana, a town in the province of Nuoro (Sardinia).

9. Tschäggättä, from Lötschental, a valley in the canton of Valais (Switzerland).

10. Survakari, from the Pernik region (Bulgaria).

[nickpandev]

The tradition is alive...Images from last years anual celebrations on 1st of January in Razlog, Bulgaria . . . . . . . . . #picoftheday #razlog #wintervibe #surva2016 #travelfever #uniteforheritage #winter #adventure #babugeri #mycanon #pandevoniumplustravel #bulgaria #winteradventure #wintertravel #winterfun #mask #love #kukeri #eyeem #gothere #canonmk4 #hoyatough #tradition #balkans #worldheritage #shotzdelight #сурва #сурва2017 #RepGram #lexarportraitpagewinter (at Razlog)

[cre0sote]

Bulgarian men in babugeri costumes, used in pagan rituals

[anhkythu]

Người Bulgaria trong trang phục Babugeri, dùng trong các nghi lễ ngoại giáo (pagan)

[carolinecastro123]

Bulgarian men in Babugeri costumes, used in pagan rituals

[memedisco]

Bulgarian men in Babugeri costumes, used in pagan rituals

[danmanco]

Bulgarian men in Babugeri costumes, used in pagan rituals

[curiousmiscellanies-blog]

Babugeri, Bulgária photography Charles Fréger