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Folktales and legends in Bulgaria

Last activity 06 December 2019 by kojidae

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Diksha

Hello everyone,

Time to spark your imagination! Below is a list of questions to pique your interest in folktales and legends associated with Bulgaria.

1. Name 3 popular legends that have been passed down from generation to generation in Bulgaria.
2. Name 2 famous legendary, heroic characters part of Bulgarian folklore.
3. Which are the villains which feature in local folktales?
4. Have any legends/folktales led to common superstitious beliefs or practices observed today in Bulgaria?
5. Have you come across any folktale with a message which has struck you as interesting?

Thanks for participating,
Diksha

mr. nice7321

The one I know is about the ottomans that captured a boy from a village they invaded . They brought him back to Turkey and trained him as a warrior, then in his twenties they brought him back to his village to slaughter all his old family and friends,

kojidae

That is not really a folktale or legend. It is the ottoman blood tax, which was exacted all over southeastern Europe. Boys between 8-10 were taken to Istanbul for training and usually turned into soldiers. Up until the 1700s.

mr. nice7321

they made a movie about it. There's lots of Vampire folklore isn't there?

kojidae

They made a movie about a piece of history. That would be similar to saying that the holocaust is folklore because movies were made about it.

For all the vampire graves found in Bulgaria, I haven't heard a lot of Bulgarians talk about vampires or use them in folklore. (I think the tourism industry will change that quickly enough).

- Casting lead is an interesting folk tradition, in which lead is melted and cast into cold water to get rid of fear.

- There are several stories around the Pobiti Kameni. My favorite is that after the Ottoman killed the husband and son of a woman, she created a storm of grief that turned the soldiers into pillars of stone.

- There are legends around the martinitsi that a bird carried the necessary plants to bless the new land of Bulgaria from the founder's sister.

- folktales often have animal characters, the clever fox and the wolf being most common.

- baba marta is an interesting character, who comes down from the mountains in march, bringing the fickle end-of-winter weather with her.

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