Нестинарството в България – традиция и съвременност
Nestinarstvo in Bulgaria: Tradition and Modernity

Summary/Abstract: The present article is aiming at viewing nestinarstvo as archaic ritual-faith practice that is still preserved today after going through complex transformations and inevitable contemporizing. The main changes in contemporary nestinarstvo are outlined through comparative analysis and refer to the ritual’s space-temporal specifics, the mythological foundation and the rite elements. The focus falls on the changes in the nestinari community, the lack of mechanisms for neophyte initiation into the nestinari community, as well as the fact that today exist different types of nestinari – nestinari-firewalkers, nestinari- pagans and nestinari-christians. The hypothesis the article discusses is that contemporary nestinarstvo in Bulgaria has preserved its rite practice, but the nestinari who perform the ritual today have to great extent lost its original meaning. The traditional nestinari ceremony may soon be facing the danger of substituting its ritual-faith practice with the spectacle and professional walking technique of firewalking.

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