Bulgaria The Golden Traditions.Nestinarstvo is a unique phenomenon, which still remains unveiled; a mystery posing many unanswered questions.In Strandzha Mountain the celebration begins in the Sunday before St.St. Constantine and Helena’s Day.In the past the inhabitants of several villages used to gather at “The Big Ayasma” near the area of Vlahov Dol. The area was also called “Odarchetata” (an”odarche” means a small bed in Old Bulgarian), because of the availability of five plank-beds, one for each of the five villages (Gramatikovo, Slivarovo, Bulgari, Kosti and Kondolovo) that most often practiced the ritual.Nowadays the ritual also includes visiting the saint patrons’ holy springs (”ayasmas”), carrying of the icons of the two saints (St.St.Constantine and Helena), animal offering, and serving of ritual breads. The people who attend
the ceremony ascend the plank bed, turn to East, cross themselves, light up a candle and stick it into one of the small metal crosses spread over the bed. Many people leave woven kerchiefs and gifts, hung on the parapet of the plank-bed.Sometimes the nestinars “get” their “fits” there.On the Thursday before the 3rd and 4th of June, they celebrate the so-called “Little Constantine” (”Kourbaneto”). In the early morning of that day the churchwarden (”vikilin”, “e’pitrope”) goes to the saint patron’s chapel, and isted by two or three other men, slaughters a lamb. The meat is usually boiled in the fireplace of the “konak”. When it is cooked, the churchwarden tolls the bell, and all the people of the village gather at the chapel. Then they start their walk to the holy spring, with the purpose to clean it. Candles are lit and the place is swept with beech-tree foliage. After that the “vikilin” opens the lid of St.Constanine’s spring, throws a coin for happiness and starts filling the vessels, brought by the people. So that they can drink and wash themselves with the holy water, in order to be healthy in the days to come. Then each of them is served a helping of the boiled mutton. St.Constantine’s Day begins with a new succession of ritual acts. The morning starts with the “dressing” of the nestinar icons (the so-called “tail-end kunizmi/kumizmi”), after they have been taken to the “konak”. The “dressing” ritual includes the following steps: first, the “icons’ shirts” are censed by the chief priestess, then they are handed to the “vikilin” who puts them on the icons.
Once the icons “have been dressed”, they are “ready to head for the holy spring” in a solemn procession. There they are “bathed” – their handles are cleaned with the holy water of the “ayasma”. “Horo” dances are played, songs are sung and ritual breads are served.Nestinars often are “obsessed” on the way to the chapel and back to the village and at the spring as well.At noon the stacking of the nestinar fire begins. In line with some old records, nestinars did not start the dance until twelve carts of wood had not been burnt. Now the quantity of wood used is dramatically less.At dusk the culmination of the nestinar complex ensues. The nestinars (later the only female nestinar) go to St.St. Constantine and Helena’s
“konak”. There praying in front of the icons of the two saints, they breathe in the smoke of burning incense. When darkness descends upon the earth all the villagers gather, the musicians come and the procession heads for the fire. They walk in the following order: first is the churchwarden, followed by the boys who carry the icons, then, the nestinars, the musicians, and finally the rest.Embers spread in a circle, Bulgari Village
After they arrive at the fire, they form a cordon, encircling the already- spread embers. The “nestinar obsession” reaches its peak.With whoops the nestinars get onto the embers. First they always trace a cross. After that they walk at random. The skill to walk on embers (without being burnt) is the most impressing and important one. Some medical specialists have observed that the skin of the nestinars’ feet is very delicate, without callosities. Despite the different duration of the dances on embers (not less than 10 min.), the nestinars’ feet remain intact, without a slight trace of cauterization. It has been proved that a callosity is not a protection because very often some nestinars “bury” their feet ankle-deep in the embers. There exist some psychological theories of the observed phenomenon, but they do not provide satisfactory explanations. The famous Bulgarian specialist Doctor Garvalov has stated that callosities are cornea
layers that can burn much faster than normal skin.
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August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
pes malaka ti …
pes malaka ti kserieis esi gia ton orfea. eine ellinas kai aftos? be more careful with the truth of history if you take this only from the megalomanic greek history books!
there are still many things we don’t know but we sure soon will have to rewrite history
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
in this epoch …
in this epoch people were moving more than we can imagine, many of them who head animals were traveling to adriatic costs the so called “thracian see” in the summer and came back in the winter like my grandfather for example, so there was a mixture of language and we still call the pillow proskefalo and many other things still have a greek name. however it’s a definitely a thracian tradition.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
yes, the word is a …
yes, the word is a bulgarized greek and in strandzha dialect there are many greek wards, but the reasons are not easy to explane in a short text
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
not exactly, …
not exactly, skipseglipse, it’s more complex than this, and i am saying it cause my roots are from that region of bulgaria where this tradition is spread over. in greece you have this only in the northern part, but this was a thracian teritory for millennia. in the south where there were greeks it’s nothing like this.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Greek traditional …
hahahahahaha … do you believe in your own bullcrap 
u made my day at least hah.. !!
Greek traditional songs , which are bulgarized
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Actually Thracians …
Actually Thracians lived there. Its a Thracian tradition. By the way the Thracians used the Greek alphabet for lack of their own, still this doesnt make them Greek.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
a 100 years ago in …
a 100 years ago in the same place where you celebrate this in bulgaria there used to live greeks and they used to sing in greek , even if you read the text to the right its full of bulgarized greek words
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
It is truth! …
It is truth!Bulgarians have never got god Tangra! And is truth that they are connected with zoroasrianism!
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
please. what is the …
please. what is the name of musicians.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
И кой ви каза че …
И кой ви каза че нестинарствато е тракийски обичай????
Има и друга версия, която гласи, че българите са били зурванисти огнепоклонници! А ходенето по огън не е тракийски обичай, защото е останало и при наследниците на зороастрийците – шиитите и в индия при индоариите!!!
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
The Ancient Greeks …
The Ancient Greeks borrowed some of their gods from the Thracians :] …
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Траките са на …
Траките са на Балканите много преди гръцките и българските племена да си го помислят. Вместо да спорим с гърците кой на кого е трябва да обединим сили и да промотираме заедно земите на древна Тракия!
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Траките са българи! …
Траките са българи! Ancient Thracians were Bulgarians! Greeks are just very arrogant thieves of foreign history and culture.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
crete- cyprous – …
crete- cyprous – ionia- thraki – ipiros – makedonia – thessalia- peloponessos-agean sea- ionian islands-were are and will be place of greece .. in ancient times there were city-states, area states (spartakos , orfeas , were thracians) are they bulgarians ??? you are big malakas
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
We speak …
We speak bulgaro-slavian or.. bulgaro-slavic i dont know how you called theese days.. maybe in the language of proto-bulgarians was the letter “THITA” “malaka”.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
proto = greek word, …
proto = greek word, thracian = greek word .. read Homerus … ilias and odyssey .. ..thracian is another greek region …so siple.. like thessalians . cyprians, creticians, athenians, spartans,makedonias, samothracians beleive in great gods axiarhos and axiokersa. THEY HAD KAVEIRIA MYSTERIES LIKE ELEYSINIANS … orfeas was from thraki … homerus called all them in ilias pan-ellines ..in bulgarian there is not the letter Θ=THITA … ΘΡΑΚΗ (ΤΗRΑΚΙ)
..BUE- BUE ..
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
- Dude, Thracians …
– Dude, Thracians were not Greeks – only partially enized and later Romanized. Bulgarians were Thracians. Thracians called themselves TIRASIAND that Greeks corupted to “THRACIANS”. Thracian is Federative name for 100 tribes. If they were Greeks they would be called Greeks. Furthermore Thracians had own language, culture and customs. Get over it.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
In Greece are many …
In Greece are many Bulgarians who practise nestinari dances! Thracians is not Greeks too!
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
thraca in greek …
thraca in greek mean fire..is pure greek word… anastenaria (nestinari) is a pure greek word .. ANCIENT GREEK WORD …
FROM THE 3000 BC GREEKS HAVE THIS MANNERS AND THE CUSTOMS !!! READ AND LEARN … LOOK AT MY VIDEOS ..
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
True! Read more-the …
True! Read more-the first bulgarian religion is Zoroastrism even the prophet Zoroaster is born in the persian province of “Baktria/Bulchara” that the bulgarians are considered to derive from. The late cult of “Mitra”, ascended from the Zoroastrism and is one of the cults witch lied in the core of Christianity and is the reason for Christmas and Easter-the days of winter and spring solstice.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
The ancient greek …
The ancient greek word is secondary and comes from the thracian word “nestinaria” and as the ancient bulgarians are the successors of the thracians this tradition is bulgarian and it has been danced for over a fifteen centuries in medieval Bulgaria.You may now dance the “firedance” at Athens but this is happening nowadays cos greeks are trying to usurp the most facinating tradicions and folklore of the other bolkan people. As the true romans said-”Graeca sunt, non leguntur!”
August 14th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
The ancient greek …
The ancient greek word is secondary and comes from the thracian word “nestinaria” and as the ancient bulgarians are the successors of the thracians this tradition is bulgarian and it has been danced for over a fifteen centuries in medieval Bulgaria.You may now dance the “firedance” at Athens but this is happening nowadays cos greeks are trying to usurp the most facinating tradicions and folklore of the other bolkan people. As the true romans said-”Graeca sunt, non leguntur!”