Inevitability of life - some travel memories from a year ago
It's been a year since I attended this extraordinary event, which I mentioned to you before - a wedding in the village of Ribnovo.
I think of it again now, because you know the subconscious mind does that - it thinks of things for certain known and unknown reasons. Now here the reason is clear - it's the same time of the year. It happened around this time last year.
And the other reason I think of this event is that a few days ago they gave a report about this village on television.
As I have told you before, this village is very special, and somehow it does not feel like part of the country. It is not part of Bulgaria. It is located high in the mountains, its inhabitants are not quite Bulgarians, or they are not quite clear who they are. Everything they do is not quite Bulgarian.
And precisely because of this, my visit there will be remembered for a lifetime.
The last thing they showed on TV was how every week a certain family cooks and feeds the whole village.
Well, I'm a skeptical person, especially when it comes to things that happen in Bulgaria, no matter what. And this report seemed a little false to me. Mostly because the population of this village keeps all their secrets. It welcomes journalists, photographers and tourists because they are a source of livelihood, but when one asks them specific questions about themselves and their lives and customs, they remain silent.
And a conversation with them raises more questions than answers.
Therefore, I am sure that there are no unambiguous reports about these people, everything around them is a mystery.
3000 people. There are only about three thousand people. And every girl can choose her husband only from among them. They do not receive strangers, although they are extremely hospitable people otherwise.
In general, my contact with these people made me think deeply. Humility seems to be their credo in life, infinite respect for parents, elders and the whole community. The headscarves that even little girls have to wear, the obligation to choose a husband from the village, the observance of all the traditions that are repeated again and again, year after year, even month after month, all the same...
It felt like the endless dance in the square, which was danced by everyone for two whole days - a long, peculiar melody of a familiar and yet unknown Bulgarian song, both cheerful and sad, which makes your skin crawl and your eyes fill with tears .
Because you feel the inevitability of life right at that moment, watching the people dancing to the heavy music. Accepting their fate, living, living on...
| Thank you for your time! Copyright: | @soulsdetour |
|---|---|
 | Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you. |
Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|
Thank you for this extremely interesting post. Ribnovo... what there is in the world resp. in Europe... ;-)
The traditional life is one thing, the "isolation" is another. Is the life of the villagers a bit comparable to the "Amish People"? Or are they open to technical developments and use them, just want to stay among themselves within the village? 3000 blood relatives are a pretty big family... Of course, the whole village celebrates every wedding for five days (Wiki-Info).
Well, as I wrote, these people are quite special and nothing that can be said about them is unequivocal. From what they told me, I understood that they are not at all closed off to the world, as many of them live abroad. Many of them also live, study or work in the capital or other big cities of the country (although the village has a kindergarten and a school and could function somewhat as a closed system), but return home for the annual traditions (weddings, etc.)
I don't know how they manage to keep their traditions when they live in another place - to wear headscarves or these traditional costumes of theirs, I guess they don't. I guess they follow the traditions only in their village or only in front of tourists, lol. I'm quite skeptical because they don't answer any specific question unequivocally, so I'm sure nothing is known about them for sure.
Also at the wedding I attended as a tourist I saw that not all the villagers for example can dance the horo together with the newlyweds, they have some internal rules there - only 'close' relatives if there can be any, lol. Which also struck me as rather odd. 🤔
Heres a free vote on behalf of @se-witness.