BAN IN THE BALKANS

thin the Context ofrost 33/2, Zagreb,

urif,, London/New

a zhivot, Sofia [E.risl.

uation partielle deIWALES. Econo-

s,The Invention ofrsityPress, l-14.'ransko,

Godechko;e Places in Tran,>Cultural Annalsl

nie v regionite nate Bulgarian-Ser-

granitsi IFrontiersajine na Balkanu,

rabori i kurbani vrfta [CommunitiesSouth Slavic Vil-

, na otets Paisi se:e of Fr. Paissij isvedenia ISelected

he obrochishta asrra [Ethnographic

rns les traditions

religiya i identi-'estren Bulgarial,

ms from Ustovo],

Margarita Karamihova, Sofia

KURBAN SACRIFICIAL OFFERING FOR GOOD HEALTHAT A 'STRANGE'PLACE

In 1994 I attended and recorded two kurban sacrificial offerings attwo sacred sites in the Rhodopes - one Muslim and one Christian. Thesekurban sacrificial offerings shongly impressed me, to an extent close tocultural shock. The confidence with which they were held and the tran-quility with which they were received by observers are the cause, prompt-ing me to present these cultural products, constructed as "diverging fromthe norm/wrong". These family kurban sacrificial offerings - pledges(adak)l, then, seemed like exceptions from the point of view of the classi-cal Balkan traditional kurbans (Popova 1995). The working hypothesiswith which I approach the presentation of the two cases, is that notwith-standing that both ritual sacrificial offerings were made at regulated sitesfor religious ritual activity - an important cultural specific for Bulgaria,and with some provisions for the Balkans - the actors in the ritual enjoya high degree of freedom. Their ritual freedom seems to be part of an un-signed agreement to keep the delicate balance of good neighbourly rela-tions between those belonging to different religious, ethnic and socialgroups, particularly important in the critical time of the transition. I havereferred to this ritual freedom as 'active'tolerance, setting it apart fromthe idea of the competitive nature, by all means, of the joint worship of theholy places, commented by M. Hayden as 'passive' tolerance (Hayden2002).

The testing of this hypothesis calls for the placing of the two kurbanswithin a broader context.

' Adok - kurban sacrificial offering, promised on a specific occasion - for thegranting of a great wish or for the curing of a disease.

232 KURBAN IN THE BALIC,\\S

Ideological framework

During the past 16 years, ethnologists and historians have been repeat-

edly raising questions related to the culture and historical fate ofthe differ-

ent ethno-Cultural groups in Bulgaria. Particular interest has been shown in

the study of the processes taking place in the groups of Gypsies and Bulgar-

ian Muslims, kept in anonymity by the totalitarian authorities (Todorova,

Marushiakova/Popov, Konstantinov, Karagianis, etc.). The two kurban sac-

rificial offerings which I intend to present were made by a family of Gyp-

sies and a family of Bulgarian Muslims.

By the exonym Gypsies,I denote here a specific ethnic community,

consisting of a number of sub-ethnic subdivisions, with the common

endonym Roma (Marushiakova/ Popov 2001). The different groups fit dif-

ferentiy into the macro environment surounding them (cf. Marushiako-

valPopov and the quoted references). For the needs ofthis text it should be

pointed out that as everywhere on the planet, in Bulgaria, too, the Gypsies

pos".s a high degree of specific selective adaptation of the main ideas or

individual elements of the religions of the surrounding population

(Marushiakova/Popov 1993: 160). Their religious flexibility, comparative

isolation and in some cases nomadic life, presuppose distance from the of-

ficial religious institutions and authorities'

The general group of the Bulgarian Muslims, who also make up

small subgioups, speak the Bulgarian language and profess Islam. Most ofthe Bulgarian Muslims inhabit the frontier parts of the Rhodope Moun-

tains, living in small isolated local communities. Until the end of the Sec-

ond World War, their settlements were far from the impact and control ofthe big city centers. There are fading traces, evincing a strong influence ofHeterodox Islam in the Central Rhodope Mountains (Gruev 2000; Cla-

yerlPopovic 1995) at least up to the end of the First World War. These

specifiiations are important so that the impressive diversity of local be-

liefs and practices can be understood, which are often contradictory to

Sunni Islam, perceived by their bearers as "most purely Muslim"'

The formation of the Bulgarian nation and the national liberation

struggle have, as an essential characteristic, the opposition of the Eastern

orthodox christianity to Islam. The Third Bulgarian Kingdom (1878-1944)

definitively included the country in the family of the Christian European

Nations. As far back as at the end of the 19th century, in the course of the

ultimate formation of a Bulgarian national ideology, the Bulgarian Mus-

lims were condemned as "Bulgarians who had given up their fChristian]faith". This stand determined the conducting of a long-term policy of as-

similation. The administrative and police measures were often spear-

Marganta

headedwhich 1

T]

totalitatcamPaiBulganearly 1

1960sassimilformulon the

the cor

nic ba

Durinlones.

authotMuslipublitbe co

teredleastgrimticy otumein thpoin

centscrilthemo(leftcat<

ligitheout

mo(tail

:\ THE BALKANS--_-.----

been repeat_frhe differ_:n shown inrnd Bulgar_t'Todorova,:urban sac_Il' of Gyp_

,mmunity,

commonps fit dif-rushiako_hould beGypsiesjdeas orrulationDarativer rhe of_

ake up{ost of\foun-e Sec-rrol of:ce of

CIa-I"hese

:tr be-

T'to

ition

,-t.t)

ean;h-us-

l,a -

The assimilatory policy of the Thirrt p,,r^^-:_ o--r*'

totalitarian regime Og44_jsse;, stoo#ird.Bulgarian Kingdom and of thecampaigns to brurally *rry""'rr',;""1^o-u'in its purest forin during.;;.*;

"',:li' ffi rl "T,*,frilt t,#,tl*,y]*ilffi ffi1960s and rhe la^ssimilarory policy inctuOeO itre ;;",

.ilT:1fjlr,i.'::vlo'I1i*v'b;:T1%;,[:Hff ';l1g?ff ?l]*:iffi ?i:t3,#Hi-1,?"fi

'#:ltlsettremen-t-il;t#"connnesor

o r,, n g, r i, tJ :"i ;':I, :r th .' * i;i i ;' ;;ff[':,:: :l'[:T[::.:'r: jm;tf

ones' By the last cpatgns the Muslim nar

authoriries .orria"1l'Iu,ig', ;il;;;ffiI* were substituted hv'B'rgr.irf;

Muslinrs (Mu*.t i.Td'thlt'they ha;;'ilt

up around 1974' th.e tohlitarian

pubric and private l[:l:lt:r::l ;;ri:'"telv assimilated the P'i*"r.,b..on,,,,i.;ffi J:hJXrI,i?fi, ji+[y.1ler1ii;%1il.::TT#f .:l.trtered the kurban .u.rin.iui'od;r[Xi;.jhe two holv places ,rh... I regis-least restricted regirne fbr visitors durin.b::,

ql::.d i, u prohibitory oi at

il: l;:i#l,:,*w'hadbeen";;.ili::*i3,ii.tfl:1.il"J1,il?iitumed ",;;;j;.";:i,:'l'1:r

and locar au"tr

:1,T: .l; ;il; ffi I 1'1t'

I r r, tr,,' ffi ili' ::,HlT.ff;ilHi "'

333] i LT;

:: :,-:l,'.T#i t*J::#ld; ;; :,, ,# ;ffi:cent of each reliliou

..,"tif: tt.,rr"tu.i lrt {lo|n in Bulgaria o.:,1:": il.,.*riu.]'i'u. una o"_

ff #trll1t't1;**X ]***?*:IHH.:,1',:,?,t;*T:lri

n3headed simultaneouslv ar tho- a^) _. ,,wrri.t_p.orrs;;",J,{."t them and atthose groups of Gypsies in Burgaria,

fl 1". .;;;;;;iTrr as "an opium'o"l:,.T1.';;;;# ;J'fr:.::?:Xl

,1, l"d ( qt:* *,oii'",11 ii.iiil', lfi H,l il, l,l{ .1 I o,s il ;il*,, u n edu _

fl::+i'ifi"il1lr"Tl,TJ'[#']f "nTF"i

j[Tilfi J:I*i':"'""r"out that the umbilica

,,"r*Fffi:H;ru:r*::",,;,: ; never been broken'3 and wher-

,aeac#m.iffi lilTil*fiilli':#r5i:'.Jil:ffi :fr JJ,,[]r;,j:i.,l;l" Cf. p. Hristov,s paper in this collection.

234

ever there is shortage of tradition, it's being invented (Hobsbaum 198_1 -

The processes of the new religiosity are neither specific to the countnes _ :

the former Eastem Block, nor characteristic of the people, belonging : -some of the world religions. Suffice it to note for this article that both r::Eastem Orthodox Christianity (Valtchinova 2006: 230), and traditionan Is-lam in Bulgaria tolerate a wide range of non-canonic beliefs and practiceilabeled by those who practice them as 'truthful'and 'right'.

Kurban sacrificial offering in the tekke of Osman Bobaa

The tekke (heterodox monastery) of Osman Boba is located at the er-trance to the Teketo neighbourhood of the village of Trakiets, l5 km au'a..from the town of Haskovo (for more details about the tekke of OsmarBoba, cf. Karahimova 2002; Mikov 2005). This holy shrine of the Bektash:heterodox order has been in existence from the 15th century to date. The re-gime of visits and the performance of rituals in it were greatly restrictecduring what has been referred to as "the rebirth process" (1984-1989).

The place has experienced a boom in pilgrimages since 1991, whenthe celebration of the maeh (celebration fest) was restored. Every Saturdaland Sunday, throughout the whole year, Muslims from near and far cometo sacrifice a kurban animal, to pray to Osman Boba, and to meet closerelatives and friends.

At the time of our study the local population amounted to 460 people.predominating among whom were the Alevi, as the followers of heterodoxIslam have in recent years preferred to be called in Bulgaria. As part of theirpolicy of purification of Islam, during the second half of the 19th centurythe Ottoman authorities settled Sunni Turks in the Teketo neighbourhood(Karamihova 2002). Their successors (four households) invited Alevi fromthe Eastern Rhodopes at the end of the 1950s so that the settlement and theholy shrine might be preserved, as they were threatened by administrativeclosedown. The newly arrived Alevis restored the traditions of worship ofOsman Boba in a regime of active tolerance to the local Sunni. A mosquewas functioning for the Sunni, too, in the neighbourhood.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, a religious entrepreneur, a Gypsywoman from the Izgrev residential district ('stolipinovo'5) of the city of

a In an effort to ensure correctness and respect for the local culture, I have adoptedthe Rhodope pronunciation ofthe term boba (father, religious leader).

5 This region has all the features of a modern urban ghetto, established in totalitar-ian times. According to respondents, more than 40,000 people live in it. These data are ex-aggerated. According to official statistics, the entire Iztok region has a population ofabout25,000. Parts ofit, apart from Stolipinovo, are in fact other residential districts. Roma ac-

i3.1\ IN THE BALKANS

rbsbaum 1983:1).o the countries of:le. belonging toicle that both thernd traditional Is-:fs and practices,ght'.

located at the en-ies. 15 km awaytekke of Osmane of the Bektashi; to date. The re-seatly restrictedr 1984-1989).

lnce 1991, whenEvery Saturday

:ar and far comeid to meet close

d ro 460 people,ers of heterodox" -{s part of theirihe 19th century

neighbourhoodited Alevi fromnlement and ther administratives of worship of.mni. A mosque

'eneur, a Gypsyi of the city of

.:e. I have adopted

'lished in totalitar-These data are ex-u,oulation ofaboutiistricts. Roma ac-

Margarita Karamihova: KURBAN SACRIF1CIAL OFFERING FoR GooD HEALTH 235

Plovdiv, began to organize one-day pilgrimage trips to the Teketo everyweek. The residents of Stolipinovo were peacefully, or with some tension,visiting the strange sacred site. They prayed in a way they know, gavegenerous gifts, and donated their work for repairs and cleaning of theshrine. The local Muslims received "the Gypsy invasion", with mixedfeelings which opened up a new direction of contact at the holy site.

On September l, 1994, a white Volkswagen van stopped in thecourtyard of the tekke. Three young families climbed out of it, an elderlywoman and a dozen or so small children. One of the women was carryinga baby in her arms. They told us that they were Turks from Stolipinovo.The ladies were adomed with impressive gold jewellery. The leader of thegroup, a young man, was also wearing a solid gold chain. Two extremelybig rams were lying on the floor of the van. The man looked for thebekchiya (guardian) of the tekke, so that they could agree as to how thekurban sacrificial offering was to proceed. He insisted that the preparedsacrificial animals be'preached to'by a hodja. The guardian of the tekkeactually occupies an important position in the religious hierarchy of the io-cal Alevis. The insistence that someone else perform the sacrifici al prayerobviously displeased him, but loyal to the principle of takija (concealmentof the faith in front of strangers) he sent for the hodja.

I got permission to attend the kurban sacrificial offering and starteda conversation with the women. While waiting for the hodja to come, thehostess of the kurban - Mineshe, mixed up natural henna in a small bowlof German silver. She used it to mark the rams, taken to the sacrificial siteon their heads, backs and tails. The bekchiya, with whom I had already es-tablished a relationship of trust, and who felt he was helping me to learn'the truth'about the tekke, murmured that it was sinful for the animals tobe sacrificed while "still wet with henna". He was also displeased by thefact that the rams were shorn. It is a categoricai rule for the tekke that theskins of the kurban animals be left as a gift and after their sale, the moneybe used to cover the costs of electricity or water. The shorn and smearedskins obviously lose some of their market value. Probably because of thatprecedent, weeks later I saw an announcement from the Mayor of the vil-lage at the kurban site: "All visitors to the Osman Boba tyurbe who be-lieve in its power are requested, having sacrificed their kurban animals, toleave the skins or hides for the tyurbe".

The hodja came and asked the names of the members of the familygiving the kurban. The hostess tied two banknotes of 100 leva each in two

tivists and the NGO-s working with the Roma always greatly exaggerate the figures, butthis phenomenon is common not only to Bulgaria.

236 KURBAN IN THE B r-i-* ,.

new men's handkerchiefs (their approximate value now is about 5 eu::'i ,

and placed them on the necks of the rams. The residents of Stoiipiri,,:took up their prayer stations and the hodja started the prayer. The bekci: " :was calmly sharpening the knives to one side.

After the prayer, the men began to tie the legs of the rams. At f:.;they made a mistake as to which of the back legs had to be left untied. b;:the hodja quietly corrected them. The bekchiya sacrificed the rams one .:-ter the other over the yasak (the place for the drainage of the blood). O::of the men placed underneath a small bowl to collect the blood from t:=two animals. Before the start of the skinning, a banknote of 50 leva u a.cast in front of the hodja with the words "Bizden hair olsun!" and he ar-swered them "Sen de hair olsun, gocum!"6 Then the hodja and ri:ebekchiya collected the handkerchiefs with the money.

The husband of the hostess, Orhan, with the bowl of blood in hishands took the hodja to the van. He requested him again to read a duva(prayer). During the prayer he seemed deeply concentrated and serious"

On completion of that Orhan asked the hodja to smear the van with blood.The hodja began to smear the fenders from left to right. Orhan curtly madehim smear the front bonnet and the doors. The hodja obliged. The bus ac-quired a shocking appearance with the traces of blood...

During that time the bekchiya and the other two men found it hard tohang the very large animals on the hooks. Groaning and cursing they man-aged eventually and the skinning began. The women smoked and watched,commenting on the good and bad sides of making a kurban sacrificial of-fering in the tekke. They had visited it before "for good health". "They,the Turks, they sleep here," Mineshe commented with disapproval. I re-acted: "Why 'they'? Aren't you Turks?" Later on, in the course of the con-versation, they specified that they were "Turkish Gypsies". Mineshe im-parted that they had dreamt of buying a van so that it could be of serviceto their business (she did not specify what their business was). They hadprayed and promised a kurban to the Boba. He heard their prayers and

here they were now, with their new van, fulfilling what they had promised.While we were chattering, the old woman fried doughnuts and servedthem to us still hot, on a toothpick. In line with the provincial etiquette, fa-miliar to me, at first I was confused and refused (it is right for the guest toshow that he "is humble" and to refuse at least once, while the hosts areinsistently offering to him). Orhan snapped at me that if I was refusing,this meant that I was not a person of faith. While the carving of the rams

6 "F.o^ us, to be counted, for good", "To you too, children" (approximate transla-tion M.K.).

,rljfl&rEI

trE

;""&L r

,a{ -E:

ft{r{;. .;nillE-

-!a

:Ll

;.4

q'

1i

It1

t

I

IHE BALKANS

rt 5 euros),Stoiipinovoe bekchiya

rs. At firstuntied, butms one af-ood). OneI from thet leva wasnd he an-r and the

od in hisd a duvaI serious.th blood.tly made: bus ac-

t hard toey man_ratched,icial of-"They,

al. I re-he con-she im-serv'icerey had:rs and,mised.

servedme, fa-uest tosts areusing,: rams

:aosla-

was going on, the old woman fried the innards. she offered us a dish ofliver pieces, a soft drink and some bread. Then she went to coilect thecarved meat in plastic bags. They said that u..oraing ,Jln"*, the meatwas to be handed out raw to croie friends r.o.n tt e

-i.ighbourhood. rhebekchiva and the hodja each.received a piece, tni o"i"iiizriirmuring thatsuch a "raw kurban" would not beili ibe counted). Mineshe entered thetiirbe (shrine), she prayed for some time and trun! up ; ;;;. cloth as apresent over one of the framed pictures on the *urI 1ii i, r"rir practice toplace the gift on the tomb). Everything done, the *;;;r;i;ured up andthe group piled into the van.

This pilgrimage o.f the Gypsy Muslims (rather Sunni Muslims) is notisolated; neither is it unique. rlyuiaMarsor, rlr.*u*pi", .o.*.ro on thegrowing number of Roma pilgrims arso in tt. *orur-t"ii", ir"ti."l of Mace_donia (Masulovic-Marsor, 1996: 126). Amore detaileo invffiation shows

'h^t i' Macedonia, as in Kosovo and Bosnia, there ur; e;;;'rubdivisionsof Dervish orders (petrovski 2003). For the ti-" u.infno;.*, of Gypsiesbelonging to any of Dervish orders has teen registered in Bulgaria.

. The gates of the tekke are open equally to iunni Muslims and chris-tians. The imposition of ones own rule of-behavior ut trr.-ru.r.d shrine,strange to them, is not unique either. The emphasis of their ..rrug" .unbe presented in this way: o'we are people of the faith, we do what is neces_sary, because our prayerc have been granted.,,

Kurban at Krastova Gora I

During that same year I attended a double kurban sacrificial offeringat the Krastova Gora site. That place, widely poprtu.-in ilG;;;; during thelast few years, is a fairly low peak (r4n ;uuou" ,.u r*"rj m'rrr" centrarRhodope Mountains, not far from the town of Laki. Th";il.;; around thepeak are.Borovo (Eastern prrhodox Bulg_arians), B;iil."'6;i;arian Mus_lims) and Mostovo (Bulgarian Muslims)i As part of the establishment ofthe national idea and a.discrete. attempt ai assimiration irirr" p.rr"a betweenth1tuo world wars, this new site of pilgrimage, 'discovered,and reaffirmedin Bulgaria, was dedicated to an gu.i.; ofth-odo, ,y*uoi orit J r,igt

"rt or_der - The Holy cross of christ. The glory of Krastova Gora was rapidlyovergrown with legitimizing legend, urd b".u.e a famous pilgrimage cen_ter. under totalitarism, the icceis to it was greatly restricted. Aiihe very be-ginning of the 1990s, under the skilful management of priest vasilii

lr11T religious entrepreneur, the Krastova Gora was experiencing a7 K'u'touu Gora and the region around has been a constant object ofstudy for Bul-garian ethnologists. Cf. the references

KaTamihova: KURBAN SACRIFICIAL oFFERING FoR GooD HEALTH

238 KuneeN Ix r:= i.._

veritable boom of pilgrimages, promoting the sacred site in the natirr::. .l"r.,r;

international network of pilgrimages.8To go back to the topic of the kurban, I shall only note two mc:: .: -

portant factors: l. A pilgrimage of Muslims to a newly elevated E..::'-orthodox site is not an exception. on the contrary, as pilgrims rhei .:rparticularly openhearted and assist those arriving from all over the cc-:::(the pilgrimage has rapidly developed local business). The land on,.r:-,:rthe cross has been erected was donated by a Muslim from the villas; :-Mostovo; 2. The Eastern orthodox cult of the Holy cross of chrisi ::-quires stringent fasting and by definition renounces the blood sacrifice : -a double standard clearly began to take shape in the pilgrimage ::Krastova Gora as far back as the early 1990s. priest vasilii'J behar-il_:demonstrates a flexible model of active tolerance to the different pracri:;:of the worshipers.

Former inhabitants of the village of Mostovo, Bulgarian Muslir:_,now living in Plovdiv, arrived by two cars at Krastova Gora in the late a:-ternoon of the feast of the Transfiguration (August 6). They carried g i::.them two weaned lambs. They made their camp in a small sheltere:meadow above the church, at a place from where no buildings, the cross c:the pilgrims could be seen. The women started collecting wood, while th:men unloaded what they had brought and set up a bivouac. when even.-thing was ready, the oldest woman bound the eyes of the weaned lambswith white linen clothes. She mentioned that a prayer (duvichka) had to besaid, but the men, frustrated by the late hour, scolded her that there was notime and-took the knives. The kurbans were dedicated to a woman, agedabout 40, and a man in his fifties. They placed little bowrs under for coi-lecting the blood. The man said that he did not feel like going to the crossand requested the sick woman to do whatever was needed instead of him.So that they would not mix up the blood from the respective kurbans, agreen twig was dropped in one of the little bowls. The women, headed bythe sick woman, set out for the church with the two bowls. They boughtcandles and gave money to the priest to hold a service 'for health' on iheorder of close friends and relatives of theirs (probabry Muslims, too).

They reached the cross. Each of the women smeared blood on thefour corners of the cement pedestal. The candles were lit. The sick womanwas helped to climb up the stairs. In front of the cross she prayed for a

8 As I write, the media has announced that the Krastova Gora locality has beenlisted among the 40 most representative places for Bulgarian history in the European ad-vertising strategy of the tourist entrepreneurs. why this invention of the 20th'centuryshould rank side by side with the real medieval Bulgarian capitals is the object of anotherinvestigation.

Margarita f aramihova: funsAN SACRIF239

while and smeared it with blood from her bowl' The women showed her

how to make the .ig'';i;;-cross' rrre sick woman made a clumsy but

corect sign of tfre cross' Not one of the dozen or so !1s,t11n

Orthodox

Christians present p"i;;y attentlon to the strange procession' neither on

the way to the "ro..,'ioliurinj,n" ritual. This doni, the women siiently

made their way back io-tf," -.ri The latter had already lit the fire and pre-

pared the two cheverit itpiittO f"Tbt) for roasting' Bottles of beer were

opened. They explain.J air. merrily that they *ould drink alcohol at this

kurban despite trr. Ni"rri. *t. - never drink alcohol especially with sa-

cred food: "Well, who would mind, anywav" "'

They warmly invited us to

ioin them. but unfortunately our time was iunning out' We took our leave'

*i.t ing them help frorn the kurban'

Checking of the working hypothesis

Both places - the tekke of Osman Boba and Krastova Gora - are

svmbols of local ."rigious lJ"ntity with a clear-cut trend of extension, spa-

;iiiil, ;:Hi;'ti."";;iliy, ot tt.i' model influence since 1ee0. rhis

might suggest that they"offe' thti' own set of practices' which are to reaf-

firm the respective il^i;;; g.n.r1t (religious).model. But the religious

entrepreneu^ of tn. i*o sites"stimulate ec]ectic beliefs and practices in a

situafion of a Pilgrimage boom'

Inbothcases,thepilgrimsarestrangerstothesaclld.site'Theyarepresent there for a sho.i tiire and are not"of any essential importance for

the local communitf' Tht'"fo" they are perceived neither as a threat nor

as a porential oUjeci"i;;;*;; it. pifgii*s. or rather those offering the

kurban, have their airtin.t tasfs and i.u-r.rrur.. in the right ritual model

they perform' r, n.lif"t case did they seek new knowledge' nor did they

objecttobeingsubjectedtominorcorrection.Itturnsoutthatthiskindofi*rr.v o, piigri,n'age goes beyond the pattern of

.the pilgrimage per se'

The sacrificiur orr.ling"ir-irr. central aci the dominant.ritual. The blood

sacrifice, deeply .r"u"za.a in our Abrahamic religions eliminates the con-

tradictions. Th" .rrd;;; J,n. particular cult site are removed from the

parentheses "f ,"h;i;;; tptlffitl'v and assumed closeness' and placed in-

stead on faith in #1i;; u'no pro.p.rity. In this way, Morinis's idea is once

more borne orr, ,ru"*"iy itrui tfr. insirumental function of religion is the

most viable (lvtorinis, r'laz: t1. Some-of the causes, underlying the digres-

sions of the t*o f.rJun' from'the 'right'matrix may possibly be contained

in the time *p,ur., il"irr. control oithe process of lforgetting'the tradi-

tion (official ,.d ;;;;;t), in tt e absence of knowledge of abstruse local

rules. As a result;i;ilil;rs secularization, assisted by the aggressively

atheistic policies "irrirriirrism,

the frontiers of 'true' official religious

242 KunsaN n rseBRlraNs

regulated religious centers acquired new, even more valuable dimensions.Being an ethnologist, I would say that within the pattern of the culturalmodel, the sacrifice of the lamb saved man again and again. As a represen-tative of Balkan culture, I would say that the kurban of Mineshe andorhan brought them success in business. I hope it has also brought healingto the nameless sick people who come to Krastova Gora.

P.S. On the day I was completing this short article, for the ump-teenth time I found this advertising leaflet in my mailbox:

"Don't miss this opportunity!Krastova GoraYour programme:

- Departure from Sofia

- ENTERTAINING ADVERTISING SHOW

- Delicious lunch in a cosy atmosphere

- Possibility to visit historical sights

- Free time to walk about in the fresh air

- Return to Sofia at nightFor the incredible price of 10.99 leva * free lunch and gifts. For la-

dies - free soap dish. For gentlemen - free thermometer.THESE GIFTS TO YOU ARE FREE OF CHARGE"

The organizing company, which had chosen this form of advertisingcampaign, markets German magnetic bed covers and blankets. Its employ-ees contribute to the new mythology of the centre for pilgrimages.

P.P.S. tFather Vasilii Arininski passed away in the autumn of 2004.Nothing is the same at Krastova Gora anymore.

References

Cooney 1994 - G. Cooney: Sacred and Secular Neolithic Landscapes in Ireland, Sa-cred Sites, Sacred Places, London, 32-43.

Clayer & Popovic 1995 - A. Popovic, N. Clayer: Les Balkans, I e culte des saints dansle monde musulman (Sous la dir. de H. Chambert-Loir, Cl. Guillot), Ecolefrangaise d'Extr6me Orient, Paris, 335-352.

Hayden 2002 - M. Hyden: Antagonistic Tolerance. Cornpetitive Sharing of ReligiousSites in South Asia and the Balkans, Current Anthropology, Vol. 43, No. 2,205-2t9.

Hobsbawm 1983 - E. Hobsbawm: The Invention of Tradition, Cambridge UniversityPress.

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