National Geographic to Make a Documentary on Bulgaria's Rituals and Beliefs

SofiaEcho, 11 July 2007

A National Geographic team will shoot a film in Bulgarian town of Trigrad during the celebrations of Orphic mysteries.

The film will show Bulgarian rituals and beliefs that have been passed on from generation to generation, Focus news agency reported.

Trigrad municipality and the Culture Ministry are the organisers of the Orphic mysteries. The organisers expect that more than 2000 people from Belgium, Russia, Greece and Macedonia will visit the event to experience the unique celebrations.

The main aim of the initiative is to revive the fairy-tales of old times when ancestors performed various rituals. Evidence of such rituals was found recently in the region of Devin.

Participants in the event will be introduced to the nestinarstvo traditional dance. This is a ritual that involves a barefoot dance on smouldering embers. Dancers are called nestinari.

Several Bulgarian rock groups will perform at the celebrations. On the morning of July 29, those attending will take part in a ritual to welcome the sunrise.