Маскирането в българските новогодишни обичаи
The Wearing of Masks in Bulgarian New Year Customs

Summary/Abstract: The author establishes the fact that the wearing of masks and dressing up are elements in the New Year customs all over the ethnic territory of the Bulgarians. The use of zoomorphic masks predominates in the New Year customs. On the basis of results obtained in the research work carried out so far and an analysis of the customs in which masked performers take part, the author has set himself the task of discovering the historical roots of the wearing of masks. He shows that they are to be found in the clan society (of the hunter-collector and farming-cultural type) and more particularly in the clan institution of initiations, indicating the sex and age distribution of labour. At the end of the 19th century, the wearing of masks and dressing up were included in the system of customs which had undergone considerable changes; it had been given a new sense, but still retained certain reminiscences of its initial essence.

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