1. Introduction

In this chapter, we’re going to look at the music and dance from two cultural regions in the eastern Balkans, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Although they are distinct cultures with different languages, dress, music, and dance, there are many similarities between these neighbors, so we will treat them together.

2. Macedonia (Македонија/Μακεδονία)

2.1. The History of Macedonia

In the history of the Western world, Macedonia holds an outsized role for such a small country, especially in ancient times.^[1] The ancient Hellenic Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great stretched from North Africa all the way to India. The ancient Macedonians were a major cultural force in the region, and much of what we think of as “Ancient Greek” culture came from Macedonia.

After Alexander the Great, many empires and states have ruled the traditional region of Macedonia, each leaving its own stamp. At various times, it was part of the Greek Republic, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. In modern times, various parts of Macedonia have been part of Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and have been independent. There are also several different ethnicities and linguistic groups that have lived in the area. Look at the following map of historical Macedonia.

We can roughly divide this area into three modern regions. In the south, we have the region that is currently part of modern Greece; we can call this area Aegean Macedonia, because it borders the Aegean Sea. Today, this region is politically, linguistically, and culturally integrated into Greece. The majority/official language is Greek. There are, however, important minority groups that speak Slavic Macedonian, another language related to Romanian called Vlach, and Albanian. Historically, there were also large Turkish-speaking populations here; they were forcibly removed to Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. To the northeast lies a region we can call Pirin Macedonia, named after the Pirin Mountains. Pirin is now part of modern Bulgaria. The language spoken in this area is Slavic Macedonian, with significant influence from Bulgarian, Bulgaria’s official language. Finally, to the northwest, we find Vardar Macedonia, named after the Vardar River. The primary language in this region is Slavic Macedonian, although there are significant populations of Albanian, Vlach, and Serbian speakers. This region is the source of much controversy in recent times. After World War II, Vardar Macedonia was one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia (along with Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro) and thus developed a unique political identity. After the collapse of Yugoslavia, the region emerged as an independent republic, officially called the Republic of Macedonia. The choice of this name was the source of great strife (Bates 1994). Greece vociferously objected to this name because a large portion of its territory is also part of historical Macedonia. The country was variously known by outside bodies as “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (FYROM) and, somewhat pejoratively, “the Skopje Republic” (after its capital city). In 2019, the Greek and Macedonian governments reached a compromise that the country would be officially known as the “Republic of North Macedonia”. This deal is not universally loved and was the cause of riots in Greece^[2], but it has paved the way for North Macedonia to enter the European Union, which was previously blocked by Greece.

Despite the political and linguistic divisions in historical Macedonia, the three regions share much in common in musical style and dance traditions. From this point forward, in this reading, when I refer to Macedonia, I’m talking about all three regions (Vardar/North Macedonia, Pirin, and Aegean Macedonia).

2.2. Macedonian Folk Costumes

Although located fairly far south in Europe, Macedonia is largely mountainous, so it’s quite cold in places. Macedonian costumes reflect this environment. Costumes often consist of thick woolen and felted garments. They are often highly embroidered. As in other places with a strong Ottoman presence, the costumes show a great deal of Turkish influence. The men wear baggy trousers and short vests, and both men and women wear wide belts. Colorful, complex-patterned socks are also common. To complete the costume, they wear various styles of Turkish-influenced leather opanci on their feet, and women wear heavy silver jewelry and belts.

2.3. Macedonian Music

Macedonian music has a distinctive sound, partly due to its instrumentation. Typically, a Macedonian band will consist of a large drum called a tupan, a special kind of bagpipe called a gajda, a strummed lute-like instrument called the tambura (related to the strummed tamburitzas of Croatia and Serbia), the end-blown flute called a kaval, and a loud double-reeded oboe called a zurna.

In recent times, the zurna has been replaced by the clarinet, and the gajda by the accordion or even synthesizers. Macedonian singing has a very distinctive style in which the vocal quality is deliberately rough.

• Gajda (Pece Atanasovski playing Ovčepolsko)
• Tambura (Adam Good playing Topansko)
• Zurna and Tupan
• Kaval and Gajda
• Clarinet (Zoran Dzorlev)
• Typical Macedonian singing (Adam Good)
• Electronic Zurla Čoček
• Biser (Accordion band playing Pušteno Oro)
• Teškoto
• Pajduško
• Kupurlika (done by Macedonians living in Turkey)
• Zaiko (Greek Macedonia)

Macedonian dances are often in complex meters. While there are a few simple dances in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 rhythms, many Macedonian dances are in 7/8 time, which dancers count as one slow beat consisting of 3 minor beats and 2 quick beats, each of which consists of 2 minor beats. So, a typical Macedonian 7/8 is counted as slow-quick-quick (SQQ), or (123)(45)(67). This rhythm is typical of the dances Širto and Lesnoto. The opposite counting is also possible, giving QQS (12)(34)(567). This is typical of the dance called Cigančica. Here are some of the complex meters of Macedonia. There are other complex meters that I have not listed. Many of these complex meters are also common in Bulgaria. You can read all about the different meters found in these countries in Chapter 28.

2.4. Macedonian Dance

Macedonian dances are typically open circle or line dances called Oro (The term Oro is related to the Serbian word Kolo, the Bulgarian Horo, and the Greek Choros). It is very rare to find a Macedonian couple dance. As with most dances in regions that practice Eastern Orthodoxy, the lines progress counterclockwise. There is usually a leader on the right end of the line from whom the rest of the dancers take their cue as to when to start the dance. There are three common positions in which Macedonian dancers hold hands with their neighbors. For slow dances, the hands are most typically in a “W position”, where the arms are bent at the elbow, the right hand is positioned with the fingers pointing upward, and the left hand rests fingers pointed downward. Dances done primarily by men are in the second handhold, the shoulder hold, where the dancers rest their hands on their neighbor’s shoulders. This handhold is more common in Aegean Macedonia. Finally, in fast dances or dances with numerous directional changes, the most common hold is the “V position”, where the hands are held with neighbors down by the sides of the body.

Following common practice in countries formerly ruled by the Islamic Ottoman Empire, the dances are often, but not always, segregated by gender. The men dance in one line and the women in another. Often, the dance styling differs between the two genders. Men perform large knee lifts, exaggerated kicks, and leaps. Women, on the other hand, do much more petite, low-to-the-ground steps. It is thought that some of the women’s low, subtle styling is due to the heavy skirts they wear, which limit their movement.

Another important stylistic feature is the very interesting syncopation that Macedonian dancers do in relation to the music. Dancers from Western countries are used to taking each step directly on the beat. Macedonian dance often involves what’s known as Zadrška or “holding” (Spasovski p.c. January 23, 2020). They hesitate slightly before stepping. So, the step comes at the end of each beat, or even slightly after. To Western eyes, it almost looks like the dancers are dancing off time, but in fact, they are completely in sync with the music; they are just shifted slightly in the timing of the footwork relative to the beat.

• Lesnoto (7/8 counted as SQQ)
• Elerinka (18/8 time counted as QQSQQSQQ)
• Jove Male Mome (18/8 counted as SQQQQSQQ)
• Sandansko (22/8 time counted as QQQSQQQSQQ)
• Pušteno (12/8 time counted as SQQSQ)
• Dolgoto (12/8 time counted as QQSQS)
• Petrunino (7/8 counted as SQQQS)

3. Bulgaria

3.1. A Little History

Bulgaria lies in far eastern Europe to the west of the Black Sea. It is bordered by Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. The Bulgarians, for the most part, speak Bulgarian, a South Slavic language, although there are significant minorities that speak Vlach (a variety of Romanian), Macedonian, Romani, and Turkish.

Bulgaria,^[3] like many of its neighbors, was once part of the Ottoman Empire, and so its music, dance, and clothing bear significant influences of the Turks. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria was briefly a monarchy and was allied with Germany in both world wars. After World War II, Bulgaria joined the Warsaw Pact and became a communist dictatorship. As in many Eastern European communist countries, the communist dictatorship collapsed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Amazingly, the heir to the throne of Bulgaria was among the first democratically elected prime ministers of the country. Today, Bulgaria is among the most stable of the former Eastern European communist satellite countries, and the only one that has never descended into civil or ethnic war. Although there are clear regional cultural differences, the country appears to be relatively united by a sense of “Bulgarianness”.

3.2. Bulgarian Music

Bulgarians use many of the same instruments as their neighbors. The accordion and the clarinet have become increasingly important in Bulgarian folk music, but many traditional instruments are still used. The kaval (flute), gadulka (a fiddle-like instrument), tambura (like the tamburitzas, lutes, and bouzoukis of their neighbors), and the large kaba gajda are all used.

Bulgarian singing is also very important. Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares choir was an international sensation back in the mid-1980s. You will never forget traditional Bulgarian a cappella close-harmony singing once you hear it. The Washington Post (April 29, 1990) described it as:

The sound is hauntingly beautiful. Mysteriously soothing… Their music is hundreds of years old, with dense, medieval-sounding harmonies sung in a resonant, almost nasal tone.

• Bulgarian accordion
• Tambura
• Gadulka and kaval
• Bulgarian vocals (beatbox) and gadulka
• Le Mystère de Voix Bulgares (a full concert, listen to at least the first song)
• Kaba gajda

3.3. Bulgarian Traditional Dress

Bulgarian women’s costumes, in general (with many regional variations), consist of a white chemise and a black overskirt. The women cover their hair. One normally associates plaids with Scotland, but the women of Bulgaria often wear long plaid skirts or aprons. Men often wear long white or black jackets and wide, colorfully woven belts. One particularly distinctive part of the men’s costume is a tall black woolen hat.

3.4. Bulgarian Ethnographic Dance Regions

In music and folk dance, Bulgaria can be divided into several ethnographic regions, each with distinct stylistic differences. In the section on Macedonia, we already mentioned the Macedonian styles of Pirin. They commonly do many of the dances we already looked at for Macedonia, such as the Lesnoto (7/8). But they also include complex rhythmic dances like Jove Male Mome and Elerinka, both in 18/8, and in other krivo, or irregular, meters.

The people of the Šop region (pronounced “Shope” with a long “o”) perform many dances similar to those of their Serbian neighbors. Characteristic dances of this region are the Račenicas and Šopsko Horos (7/8 time), Gankinos (11/8 time), Dajčovos and Devetorkas (9/8 time). One interesting characteristic of many dances from this region (and other parts of Southern Bulgaria) is the “belt hold”, where dancers hold onto the belts of their neighbors.

Trakija, or Thrace, stretches from central Bulgaria to the border with Turkey and south to Greece. Dances from the region include several Krivo dances and the iconic Trakijska Râčenica, a fun, fast-paced dance.

The Rhodope mountains are an isolated place, so they have developed their own style of music which relies heavily on the Kaba Gajda. The primary dance of this region (also done in Thrace) is the Pravo Horo. Pravo means “straight” or “even”, and it refers to the fact that the dance is done in an even 2/4 or 6/8 meter rather than one of the Krivo meters of their neighbors.

In the northwest (Severnjaško), the dances are light, springy, and fast. The dances are similar to those of the Oltenia and Muntenia regions of Romania, which lie just to the north. This region also has many Vlach-speaking people. Characteristic dances include Vlaško Horo and Sitno Severnjaško.

In the Dobrudža region, dances like the Tropanka, Râka, and Buenek all involve very Romanian-like stamps and arm swings. These dances are almost always in simple, non-Krivo meters, but the heavy movements, stamping, and arm swinging mark them as very different from other Bulgarian dances.

• Dajčovo Horo (9/8 counted as QQQS)
• Devetorka (9/8 counted as SSSQS)
• Gankino Horo (11/8 counted as QQSQQ)
• Râčenica (7/8 counted as QQS)
• Šopsko Horo (2/4 counted as QQS; shows belt hold)
• Krivo Sadovsko Horo (13/8 time QQQSQQ)
• Četvorno Horo (7/8 counted as SQQ)
• Trite Pâti (2/4 counted as QQQQ)
• Trakijska Râčenica (7/8 counted as QQS)
• Pravo Horo (2/4 or 6/8 counted as QQSS)
• Pravo Rhodopsko done to Bulgarian choral singing
• Râka (2/4 counted as QQQQ)
• Tropanka (2/4 counted as QQQQ)
• Another Tropanka (2/4 counted as QQQQ)

3.5. Some Unique Traditions in Bulgarian Folk Dancing

3.5.1. Kukeri

During Lent and New Year’s, many men dress in elaborate and scary costumes, covering themselves in animal skins and wearing huge hats. They also often carry and wear bells. They walk through town, stopping to perform ritual dances meant to scare away evil spirits. These dancers are known as Kukeri. It’s thought that the Kukeri tradition descends from the cult of Dionysus in ancient Greece, and that maybe the costumes are meant to make the men resemble goats, sheep, or bears, which were symbolic of fertility and fecundity,^[4] the tall hats perhaps being phallic in nature, although that’s only speculation.

• Kukeri dancers
• A visually stunning video on the Kukeri

3.5.2. Lazaruvane (Lazarki)

While the Kukeri are mainly men, there is a parallel tradition for women at Lent, called Lazaruvane. The Lazarki dancers are all girls, usually under 16. Participating in the Lazaruvane ceremony is required for a girl to marry later in life. The girls wear flower wreaths on their heads and walk around the village from house to house singing and dancing. If your house is visited by the Lazarki, it is considered a blessing for the year and a sign of good luck. Householders give the Lazarki gifts. At the end of the ceremony, the girls go to the river and drop their wreaths in as a ritualistic offering.

• Lazarki dance
• The Lazarki ritual

3.5.3. Modern Bulgarian Club Dancing (Horoteka)

In the past 15 years, a new tradition called Horoteka has emerged in Bulgaria, with the emergence of modern Bulgarian folk dance clubs. These clubs meet and practice traditional dances, but they are often performed to modern recordings of traditional music. These modern recordings can even include electronic elements and rap! The club dancers have their own unique costumes. They wear black pants or yoga pants; everyone wears long T-shirts with printed designs derived from traditional embroidery (ševitsa); and they tie loose cloth belts around their T-shirts. Each club has its own T-shirt design. The women often wear a large red or white flower behind their ears. The dancers compete at folk dance festivals, where each club is evaluated on how well they perform the dances and how synchronized they are.

• Modern club dancing (Cigansko Horo, Циганско Хоро)
• Modern club dancing (Maleševsko Horo, Малешевско Хоро)
• Modern club dancing (Čičovo Horo, Чичово Хоро)

Further Reading

• Atanasovski (2002), Bates (1994), Bilides, MacFarlane, and Stately (1997), Caron and Spinks (1983), De Jong (1995), Forsyth (1996), Friedberg (2004), Friedberg (2005), Geisler (1989c), Hunt (1996), Ivanova (2005), Katsarova (1948), Katzarova-Kukudova and Djenev (1958), King (2018), Leibman (1992), Moreau (n.d.), Rice (1994), Spasovski (2007). See the References at the end of this book for full citations.

Some Suggested Dances for Teaching

The following links take you to descriptions and instructions from my website, Folk Dance Musings, for dances appropriate for teaching to new dancers.

Bulgaria:

• Vrapčeto
• Andrew’s Little Račenica
• Cigansko Horo
• Čukanoto
• Dobra Nevesto
• Goce Berberot
• Jambolska Râčenica
• Nevesto Crven Trendafil
• Tropanka Iz Dobrudža

Macedonia:

• Arap
• Bufčansko
• Dimna Juda
• Ivanice
• Pirinska Četvorka
• Krivo Žensko
• Lesnoto