“Yalova Wedding” custom will be reenacted in village of Chiflik near Troyan

A reenactment of the custom known as the “yalova wedding” is being prepared by the community cultural center in the Troyan village of Chiflik. This was told to BTA by Mariyana Tsoneva, secretary of the “Prosveta 1927” community center and organizer of the event. The custom can be seen on February 28 (Todorovden) at 12:00 p.m., with the preserved inn of Ivan Luchev serving as the setting. Rebels from the April Uprising once stayed at the inn. Today, the building houses a museum collection.

Mariyana Tsoneva explained that between Sirni Zagovezni (Cheesefare Sunday) and Easter there is a church ban on performing marriages, and the custom arose from the people’s need for celebration during this period. The villagers hold a symbolic “wedding” without legal consequences, which also serves as a way for the community to gather and celebrate together. It is a traditional carnival-style, humorous performance that recreates a full wedding ritual, but “without offspring,” which is where the word “yalova” comes from, meaning “without fruit or result”.

All rituals typical of a traditional Bulgarian wedding are observed - asking for the bride’s hand, escorting the groom by the best man and best woman, gift-giving, and others. All roles, even that of the bride, are performed by men, which has ritual significance but is also a source of amusement. A mandatory element of the local reenactment is treating the guests to “wedding wheat.”

Edited by Miglena Ivanova
English: R. Petkova