BABA MARTA WAS HURRING......

Silvia Madina

March is a special month for the Bulgarian people. It is associated with many holydays and traditions, among which with great authenticity and magic atmosphere shows up the 1st of March. The day, in which all around is absorbed in red and white. People are happy and smiling and they hurry to suspend martenitsas on those, who they love. This is one of the most characteristic traditions for Bulgaria that ravishes the world and makes happy the people.

The magic of shades

The martenitsa is a symbol of the coming spring; it is given as a present and ornamented with wishes of health and blessing. In its classic mode the martenitsa represents tortuous white and red threads. The symbolism of the colors is very rich and it brings strictly definitive sense. The red is the color of the female beginning, of the health; it is a sign of the blood, of the conceiving and of the birth, of the warmth, friendship and mutual love. The white symbolizes the primary man beginning and the power. Later, under the influence of the Christian mythology, the white means the virginity and the purity – the white color symbolizes Christ and it incarnates the purity and the sincerity in the relations.

The legend of the martenitsa

The legends for the appearance of the martenitsa are many. One of them says that, when khan Asparuh conquers the Byzantine soldiers, he writes a letter for his victory and he binds it at the limb of one bird with white thread. But while the bird is flying it is observed form Byzantine soldiers, who shoot and hurt the bird. Despite the bird is hurt, it reaches successfully in the Bulgarian camp, but the white color is already stained with blood partly in red from the wound. The myth says that in this way originates the martenitsa that is bought today.

According to others legends the martenitsas are a heritage from the Thracians, the root Bulgaria of today in the antiquity. The ancient Bulgarians believed that in the nature exists some evil power, called "wickedness" that also wakes up in spring, and in the folk beliefs the 1th of March marks the beginning of the spring. Magic power was attributed to the martenitsas to keep out of the malice and of the illnesses.

In the past some people considered the martenitsa for amulet that protects people, the cattle, the house and the whole farm from the "evil power" of the passing winter. At some regions people call the martenitsa "urochnica", because people believed that it protect from "bad eyes" and from “uroki”. According to the folklore concept, the red-white thread in magic way stimulates the fertility. More figuratively and metaphorically sounds the belief that the martenitsas cheer up Baba Marta.

The folklore image of March

Baba Marta is the Bulgarian traditional image of the month. She is proverbial with her capricious character – if she cheers up and smiles, the sun come out and the weather is hot, if the old woman gets angry, she brings cold weather and snow. She is the only sister of the eleven brothers-months in the folklore concepts. In the past even a custom existed according to that people “marry” Marta to some old bachelor or widower from the village. If after that the weather gets warm, then Baba Marta liked the bridegroom. If she didn’t like him, the old woman became angry and started whizzing with a storm of snow.

Together forever like Pijo and Penda

Undoubtedly the most famous couple of March is this of Pijo and Penda. They are the folklore sense of family happiness and understanding. Often Pijo is in white and Penda in red, it can be found the opposite combination. Lately there are found more and more interesting and original color combinations from white and red. Penda is with plaits or with kerchief and with beautiful dress with folklore motifs, and Pijo – with fur cap, breeches and boots, with characteristic Bulgarian clothes.

The magic power of the amulet of March

Today is still kept the tradition the martenitsas to be brought till people see a bird or a stork. The belief says that if we see alighted stork, we will be sleepy and lazy in the summer, and if we see it in a flight, during the year all will go on in a good manner and successfully, like a flight. After we remove our martenitsa, by the tradition we have to suspend it on blossoming tree to be productive the year or to put the martenitsa under some stone. If after one month under the stone we found ants, the year will be fecund and beneficial.

Photos:
1. – 3. The martenitsas are an amulet from white and red threads.
4. The martenitsas are suspended even on the cattle and on the fruit-tree.
5. – 7. The famous March couple Pijo and Penda.
8. – 9. The martenitsa is removed after we see the heralds of spring – the stork or the blossoming tree.

Sources of the photos:
www.martenicibg.hit.bg, www.martenici-tania.com, www.travel.webshots.com, www.wikipedia.bg

Read: 7482 times                                                  © Fashion Lifestyle Magazine, issue 8, Mart 2008