My first ,,Kurban”

Immediately in the beginning of my stay at Vegetarium I got the chance to visit a Kurban. I was really curious because I haven’t heard of it before and didn’t really know what to expect. So it turned out that it is a community gathering with religious and cultural significance at which an animal, in this case a sheep, is sacrificed.

In order to get from Vegetarium to the Kurban, we first took the car and then walked a little bit until we reached a meadow where some people already started with the preparations. They were setting up tables and chairs, some others also brought a picnic blanket and all in all everyone was chatting with their friends, neighbours and acquaintances.

Later, we received some thin, white candles which we could throw into a small fire.

Afterwards we came together in a semicircle and many people placed some buckets in front of them. These buckets were later filled with the soup they freshly made with the sacrificed sheep.

Meanwhile the local priest sang a few songs and anyone who wanted could line up in a queue in front of him. The kids were first in line and then person after person got blessed with holy water and who wanted could also kiss a small cross.

The people I met there were all really nice and one woman even offered us some ,,Pikta” which is traditional bread. Because of the fact that it was still warm and so fluffy it tasted amazing.

In general, the atmosphere was really communal as everyone seemed to know everyone, and I am grateful for getting this insight in the Bulgarian culture.

AR