site.btaCraftswoman of Kuker Masks Prepares for 26th International Masquerade Festival Kukerlandia

For 25 years, Vesela Mihova from Sveti Vlas [on the Black Sea coast] has been making dozens of Kuker masks. Before the 26th International Masquerade Festival Kukerlandia opens in Yambol [Southeastern Bulgaria] in March, she presented her masks in a workshop in the seaside town to BTA, shining with thousands of beads, stones and sequins.

Mihova pointed out that making Kuker masks gives her great joy, but she still defines herself as an amateur craftswoman. She started making masks at the age of 16 to help her younger brother, who wanted to participate in his first masquerade festival. "We are from the Yambol Region. My brother was very young, he did not have a mask, and (the festival) was approaching. He asked me to sew one for him, and it turned out very well, so I got interested," Mihova told BTA.

Afterwards she started making new masks on a regular basis. Years later, they would win awards at festivals, which made the craftswoman even more ambitious to continue and preserve the tradition. "I like making them, it is my hobby and not so much a business," she said.

Mihova emphasized that she works entirely by hand, with beads, wool, ribbons, needles, threads and scissors, adding that she takes great pleasure in seeing how her masks come to life at carnival processions and create a festive mood. It takes her about five days to a week to sew and shape all the small elements of a mask.

"The mask does not have to be scary, it can also be cheerful, whatever people like. And with these colourful and motley materials, they become beautiful. I've shaped doves, deers, horses on them, here on this one there are clovers, butterflies or just chaotic shapes," Mihova pointed out. Most of the masks are the fruit of her imagination, others are made according to specific orders by clients.

She shapes the eyes, eyebrows, nose, cheeks and the beard of the masks. Some masks have a sharp face, others have a round or square face, depending on the region where they will be worn. Mihova also noted that she places mirrors on some of the masks to chase and repel evil spirits. For the mask to be truly Kuker masks, she also adds obligatory elements, which are yellow for the sun, blue for the sky and green for the grass.

Mihova stressed that her love for Kukeri was passed down in her family and that she joined Kuker groups as a child thanks to her father. "Everything related to Kukeri attracts me, the feeling of the whole holiday is a thrill," Mihova pointed out.

In 2024, over 100,000 visitors and over 3,000 kukeri (mummers) and other masked participants took part in the International Masquerade Festival Kukerlandia in Yambol.