A Bulgarian Wedding Ceremony at Otleu-keui, 1876
The wedding ceremony at which some of our party were present, took place in a small apartment at a private house.
From: Unknown To: 1876 C.E.
“A Bulgarian Wedding Ceremony at Otleu-keui” from Under the Balkans by Robert J. More, 1877.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
The wedding ceremony at which some of our party were present, took place in a small apartment at a private house. The furniture of the room consisted of a deal table and chair, with the usual continuous cushioned ottoman extended around the sides. The customary wooden family tablet suspended against the wall, and containing florid-looking saints and religious pictures, was illuminated for the occasion by an oil lamp.
When we entered the room, the bride and bridegroom were standing near the back of the apartment, the bride on the left; next them, on the other side, was the bridegroom’s best man. The bride and the best man were connected together by two red cotton handkerchiefs, held by a loop at the corners, through which the little fingers of those supporting the handkerchief were passed.
The bride was dressed in a black cloth frock, richly braided in front with gold lace, both cloth and braid, as well as the dress, being home made. A handsome sash, clasped with large gold buckles, encircled the waist; a handkerchief formed a partial covering for the head, the hair being tastefully adorned with gold trinkets and flowers. Snowy white stockings, and shoes with ribbons, completed the costume, showing off to advantage a shapely ankle and foot.
The bridegroom was clad in the usual Bulgarian costume, namely, a short braided jacket and vest, baggy breeches, and braided close-fitting gaiters, a red garter being tied round the leg. Each held in the hand a sprig of evergreen, resembling a geranium leaf, which grows wild on the rocks. They stood on a small bit of woollen carpet laid on the red rough-plastered floor.
Immediately behind the group was stationed the godmother, holding in each hand a lighted candle above the heads of the happy pair. In the centre of the floor was placed a low stool covered by a handkerchief, on which were placed the religious books used by the priest, a clay sacristy, a plate of sweets, a cup of wine, and two wreaths of evergreen. In front of this stool, and opposite the couple, stood the officiating priest, who had only recently been liberated from prison, where he had been confined several months on suspicion of insurrectionary proclivities.
The bride and bridegroom having exchanged rings, the priest commenced reading in ancient Slavic, and in a monotonous drawl, portions of the gospel applicable to the ceremony. He then took up the sacristy and waved it in front of each three times, made the sign of the cross three times before them, let them kiss the back of his hand three times, and placed a wreath on the heads of each, again making the sign of the cross after doing so, reading meanwhile portions of the marriage service. The priest then let them sip from the cup of wine, handed each a sweet, and giving them a short admonitory address, finally blessed them.
The parents and godfather and godmother then came forward and kissed the wreaths on the heads of the couple, after which bride, bridegroom, and groomsmen, still holding the corners of the coloured handkerchiefs, marched three times round the little stool, the priest leading, but pausing, on the completion of each revolution, to kiss the book of the gospels held to their lips by the priest. At the end of the third round they all marched out of the house, but in a few moments the bride and bridegroom reappeared on the scene, securely bound together with a cord. They were speedily released, however, and the ceremony was complete. Gifts were then made to the couple, and the parents of the bride gave a present of homespun linen to the godfather and godmother, whilst outside the house stood horses laden with the clothing and linen of the bride.
Sweets, jelly, and water were then handed round by the bridesmaids to the assembled guests, and the married couple came to receive the congratulations of those present; but beyond a blushing smile, no other response, not even a whisper, was made by the bride; for, in accordance with the custom of the country, for the space of three days she is prohibited to speak to any other person than her husband. At the house where this wedding took place, a bright little boy, about five or six years of age, was pointed out to us.
At the time Panagurislite was attacked, this child was in a house in which he saw seven people killed by the Baslii-Bazouks. Running away unnoticed in a state of terror, he wandered into' the woods crying for food. He was subsequently found and protected by some people who were hiding there, and with whom he remained five or six days. They gave him some bread, and he slept under the trees on a little couch of leaves which they made for him, and his life was saved. He very intelligently recounted his experience.
More, Robert Jasper. Under the Balkans: Notes of a Visit to the District of Philippopolis in 1876, Henry S. King & Co., 1877.
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