Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Babinden in Razlog - a city that is keeper of traditions

13
Photo: Facebook/Bulgarian roots

At the beginning of each year, The Bulgarian city of Razlog and the surrounding villages start feverish preparations for Babinden or Midwives’ Day. The holiday is dedicated to the “grannies” who helped women give birth. Every year it is celebrated on January 21. In Razlog it is among the most revered folk customs. There is no exact information when the tradition emerged in the city, but according to the descriptions of a local historian, the elders passed on their memories to the younger ones and thus preserved the tradition from generation to generation.

"Preparation, of course, starts much earlier," Hristina Manova from the Regional History Museum in Razlog says in an interview with Radio Bulgaria.

"Several months in advance, special clothes are sewn for the child or the baby. Also, the heavy festive costume for the midwife, which has been preserved for many years, is prepared. There is a specific costume that the midwife wears on this day. A metal ornament called tepelak is placed on the head and the headscarf is placed over it."


The feeling of wearing the festive folk costume is indescribable, says Hristina Manova, who wishes everyone to have the chance to experience this joy.

"The women who continue to wear folk costumes to this day radiate festiveness and solemnity. And we hope that this tradition will be preserved, because it is the thing that brings people back to the past, to their roots, and this helps build the future, as well."


The ritual begins with pouring water out for the granny who used to help with the birth of the children, so she can wash her hands. According to tradition, the young mother, together with her mother-in-law, go to the midwife to ritually wash her hands with clear water from the Pirin Mountain, poured into a clay vessel with a special decoration:


"All this is accompanied by special words with which the midwife sends wishes to the child,” Hristina Manova says and adds: “The young mother presents the granny with a cloth, a scarf, a bar of soap and other interesting gifts. In turn, the granny presents the little child with socks that she has knitted - red if it's a girl and blue if it's a boy. After that, the second part of the custom starts. This is the granny horo dance, as all grandmothers with grandchildren born after January 21 of the previous year, gather in the town square."


The dance is a special one as grandmothers dance carrying their grandchildren in a cloth on their backs and utter certain ritual words and wishes. This tradition, preserved to this day, pays special respect to grandmothers in Razlog, unites families and preserves traditional values. In recent years, grandfathers have also been included in the celebrations.


"Regardless of what the weather is like, whether it's cold or rainy, it doesn't matter,” Hristina Manova says. “All grandmothers with grandchildren participate in the horo dance, and so far not a single child has fallen ill because of Babinden. And this year the preparations are in full force and I want to invite all Radio Bulgaria listeners on January 21 to Babinden in Razlog."

English publication: Al. Markov

Photos: Facebook/ Bulgarian roots, Municipality of Razlog



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Midsummer herbs and water have magical powers

Early in the morning, young men and women gather in the meadows to play with the sun. "It is believed that the sun dances and shimmers on Enyovden at sunrise, because it is the longest solstice of the year". This is the most important thing to know about..

published on 6/24/24 7:00 AM

22 June is Bulgarian Folklore Day

Today is Bulgarian Folklore Day, designated as such by the Ministry of Culture in 2019. The idea for such a day belongs to Chinary folklore ensemble, with the support of the Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices , percussionist Stoyan..

published on 6/22/24 11:36 AM

Faces of Balkan folklore to be presented at photo exhibition in Kardzhali

On June 3 at 18.00 in Art Gallery "Circle" in Kardzhali the photo exhibition "Ethnopalitra - the faces of Balkan folklore"  will be opened. The exhibition is the work of  journalist and historian Georgi Kulov.  The exhibition is inspired..

published on 6/3/24 7:05 AM