August 2002

Two weeks ago I visited the ?World exhibition of books for children? in Wakayama?s Kintetsu Department Store. I was told that there was a big canvas on which a Bulgarian fairy tale was presented.

Well, there was a canvas. And a sign on it- ?Bulgaria?. And an explanation, that Bulgaria is not a yoghurt, but a country in Eastern Europe. But neither the fairy tale, nor the illustration was Bulgarian. The tale was some scary gothic story about a vampire, awakened from his deadly sleep by his greedy girlfriend who cuts and boils his finger to take back the ring she has given him. The illustration was not less scary then the story itself ? a torn apart young girl?s body, lying in a pool of blood, in some strange clothes, which were anything but Bulgarian traditional clothes.

I tried to explain to the man in charge that this had nothing to do with Bulgaria, but he just very politely, and apparently annoyed, turned his back. The Japanese okaa-san looked rather unfriendly, so I hurried home. Later I called my Japanese friend who works in the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs and told him the story. He said I?d done the best I could do in that case. But I think I can do something else- I can tell you now what Bulgarian fairy tales are really like, and as the fairy tales reflect people?s minds you may understand what Bulgarians are really like.

Unlike other European countries, violence in Bulgarian fairy tales is avoided. The reason for this is the violent environment in which Bulgarians had been living for centuries. As a part of the Ottoman Empire, Bulgarians for five centuries had been forced to forget their national identity mainly by terror and violence. The only way to survive and to preserve their identity had been by opposing the violence with culture, spirit, belief in a better future, and memories of a glorious past.

That?s why optimism and a positive mind are the main topics in our fairy tales.

Most popular fairy tales in Bulgaria are about love, friendship or with motives from the Bible- a way for children to be taught Christianity in a time when it was forbidden. One of the most popular stories is a unique story about three brothers, protecting their home and its only treasure, a golden apple tree, from the dragon (the enemies who stole everything from the people). Two of the brothers betray the third, but the pure soul, bravery, kindness and self-sacrifice of this youngest brother, together with the love of his princess, help him to survive and live happily ever after. Unlike western European fairy tales, at the end he forgives his brothers and they apologize to him. The idea of forgiveness and keeping an open heart in order to avoid violence are strong messages in Bulgarian tales.

Also, just like Japanese, Bulgarians have many tales about animals- many more than in other countries in Europe. This is connected with the old religion of adoring animals - Tokenism. Bulgarians thought animals had souls just like humans and deserved equal respect. Also by the allegory of animal stories children are taught about things that can?t be told straight. For example, in the story ?Grandpa Pavel (name of a saint) and his precious stone,? the closest friends of the poor but kind old man are a cat and a duck, and they swim through the sea to find his stolen (by humans) precious stone.

The typical positive character in Bulgarian fairy tales is a poor, but kind and brave man; a poor, but hard working and kind girl; or a gifted and brave master or lady ready to overcome anything for his/her love of a young person. But the most famous character in our tales is Hitar Petar (Witty Peter). He is the ideal character for Bulgarians- winning not by force, wealth or political power but by wit. He opposes not only the Ottomans, but also to the rich Bulgarians and the wicked church and its fat abbot.

Yes, there are scary stories in our folklore, and scary characters too. But they are as scary as kappa or tengu for example, and those, who created such stories, were witty mothers and grannies, who tried to prevent harm to their small, nice and very curious children. For example, the karakonjul is a scary character looking like a devil, and he is attracted by blood, so on the Dirty Nights (the nights before Christmas when Bulgarians usually butcher their pigs) kids are not allowed to go out. But the truth is that first, those nights are really very cold, and second, many thieves trying to steal the meat are out too. Also on those nights the men have parties and drink a lot and many accidents happen, which are not easy to explain to the children. So the elders say ?The karakonjul did it.? and a new story about the karakonjul is made up.

My people, just like many people in the world, have a folklore based on their view of life and ideas of right and wrong. Everything is influenced by the world we live in, the things that happen to each of us, and to the whole nation. That makes every folklore unique and precious and worth being preserved and shown to the other nations. This is the true heart of a nation- its wit, its history, its pain and its happiness. Coming from ancient times, this heart beats through times of dark violence and denial of Christianity or science, times of proud victories or humiliating yoke, and times of spiritual renaissance and enlightment.

Bulgarians had never liked violence. They couldn?t create stories about something they hate. They create stories about things they adore: love, bravery, kindness, frankness, friendship and optimism. I?ve tried to show this without scandals, rudeness, annoyance, coldness or hatred, but with a smile and open heartedness.

Marinova Elitsa

Posted on August 2002 in the following categories: Opinions, Stories and Information | TrackBack(651)