site.btaShumen Region Nominates Wedding Cloth Washing Custom for Living Human Treasures

The custom of washing the wedding cloth will represent the northern Shumen Region in the national Living Human Treasures programme for 2024, said the Shumen Regional Administration. The custom will be presented by the Dyado Dragoy Folklore Ensemble of the Vasil Drumev - 1881 People's Community Centre in the village of Dragoevo in Veliki Preslav Municipality.

People's community centre chair Krasimir Savov told BTA that according to his data, the custom dates back to the middle of the 18th century and is connected to the Dragoevo. Local historian and former teacher Mariika Hristova has collected about 600 songs and many customs, noted Savov. "She is the source of material for the ensemble, whose task is to search for such customs, recreate them and popularize them," he added.

Washing the wedding cloth is a pre-wedding custom, in which the cloth is the main gift for the nearest and dearest of the newly weds' families. "Long ahead of the wedding day, the mothers of the bride and the groom would weave the cloth. They used it to make clothes and blankets, and it was this cloth that was the essence of this custom," Savov said.

In the old days, young women would take the wedding cloth to a nearby river that was shallow and had rapids, to wash it. "Once the cloth was spread to dry, the young women and men would sing and dance and generally spend time together. When the cloth was dry, they would roll it up, wrap it in basil branches to keep away evil and purge the cloth, which Savov said is the essence of the custom. 

He added that he had heard that the custom also exists in other parts of Bulgaria with some variations.

"The custom is no longer practiced in the village, but we preserve it and present it on stage. We have made many customs not only from Dragoevo, but from the Shumen Region, from Marash, and we show them so that young people can see them", said Savov.

He added that they would be happy even if the custom did not rank high in this year's procedure, because the important thing is that it will nonetheless be part of the Living Human Treasures programme and people will be able to know about it in the future.

The Living Human Treasures - Bulgaria, which is part of the Living Human Treasures UNESCO programme, is organized by the Culture Ministry and encourages the bearers of intangible cultural heritage to practice the activities and pass on knowledge and skills to the next generations. The programme is carried out in two stages - regional and national. The activities or skills offered for registration must be from the spheres of manifestation of the intangible cultural heritage, according to the National Register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.