Survaki, Surva, Surba or
Vasiliovden, New Year (January 1, January 14th old style) is one of the winter holidays,
which is celebrated during the, so called "Durty
Days" (see the article about the Dirty days) This determines a significant
part of the rituals. The holiday is associated with the scoring and the
beginning of the new calendar year. The origin of the “sourvakane” custom is
pre-Christian, but it is not clear if it was practices by the
Thracians, Slavs and proto-Bulgarians. However, it is certain that it does not have a Slavic
characteristics because it is not known among any of the major Slavic nations. One of
the most common associations about the origin of the "Survaki"
is the
relation of this custom with the Proto-Bulgarians, and
hence with
the ancient Iranian sun god Suryya. The etymology of the word "survakane"
is associated
with the Iranian word "sura" which means
"power". On the other hand the root "sur" means
"fire", which is associated with the birth of the new sun. At the
same time there is no evidence other nations of the Indo-Iranian
community to have such custom. A
comparison between survachka and caduceus (the ancient
scepter of Hermes)
also exists, but having in mind only the similarities on the
outside can’t be an evidence for an existing connection and possible
origin of the custom.
The feast
On the eve of Survaki incense of the festive table is made, similar to the Christmas Eve, therefore the evening of December 31st is called "second incensed dinner." The oldest woman in the
family makes the incensing
done in some villages in the Western
Rhodopes the
table is censed three
times, then the oldest woman in the family goes to the fireplace calling out through the chimney, inviting "Vasil ' at dinner.
As it is
typical for the winter holidays and for this on the night before Survaki festive
table is prepared around which the whole family gathers. The Meals that are
present at the table are the same as those on Christmas Eve, but what is
required is “banitsa” or round loaf and pork.
As the
tradition requires in the banitsa // (also known by the
names: plakya (cheese, met
pastry), zelnik (leek
pasty), bulgurnik
(croup pasty etc.)// a
cornel twigs with buds are put
and each one of them is
enchanted for health,
luck, love, fertility, etc.; and divination is made what the year for a person would be depending
on what one has
received. In Lovech before the breaking of
the banitsa the house keeper lifts it above his head to get higher crops and the cornel twigs are
thrown to the
livestock for fertility.
In Strandja people even
put silver coin attached
with cornel twig tied with red thread in the middle of the banitsa. The
coin symbolizes the lucky of the house. And nowadays, there are more modern versions of this custom. People
write on small sheets wishes for good luck for the coming
year, again attached to cornel twig with red thread, the banitsa is divided among the family members or friends
and everyone wishes their luck for the coming year.
The bread
for Survaki is ritual bread or unleavened cake made especially for this
evening. In certain regions the woman who kneads the dough before washing her
hands of the dough goes and touches every fruit tree in the garden and the
beehives - this is done for abundance in the coming year. In Strandja the bread
is kneaded with sweetened hands. According to the custom silver coin is placed
in the bread. After incensing the table the bread is broke up in certain number
of pieces and each piece is enchanted to a family member, a peace is left for
the house, for the livestock and Virgin Mary. This determines who will get the
luck this year - in whose piece is the coin.
What distinguishes the traditional meal on Christmas Eve form the Survaki is the obligatory presence of pork.
Traditionally the meal
includes pig’s head brawn and jellied pig’s trotters from pork
slaughtered around Christmas. The presence of pork determines the names Dirty (containing fat, meat) Christmas Eve. It
is also interesting to note that this is the only use of pork in the Bulgarian
spiritual culture. In Ivailovgrad this dish is considered as the "pagan dish" (related to the dirty days) it is called
"karakanzel" (i.e. karakondjul (see the previous issues of
the magazine for more information about this creature).
Divinations
On the day of Survaki divination
for health, prosperity, love and fertility is made. In the fireplace are thrown
cornel buds and they are named to e certain family member, seeing which one will
jump and burst - it is believed that this person will be healthy throughout the
year. In Plovdiv in 12 peels of onion salt is dusted, each husk is named after
a particular month of the year. In the morning, one sees in which husk the salt
is melted, so this will be the month when it will be rainy. In Sakar for example three coals which symbolize
three crops are put, the one that burns until the end will give a lot of
production.
Of course highly prevalent are
divinations for marriage, which most often are done by girls. But both the lads
and lasses keep the first piece of the banitsa (or the bread), put it under their
pillows at night and they should dream of the woman or man they will marry.
Another way to make divination is to is to guess the name of the man, which
will marry the girl, early in the morning the girl gets up, sweeps and goes to
throw out the trash in the dump - the first name that she hear hears is the
name of the future husband. In some regions on the evening before the holiday
the girls make "bridges" - transferring of sticks through the stream,
it is believed that at night the girl will dream her future husband with whom
they pass along "the bridge".
Survakane
The main
and most typical custom that is done on Survaki (New Year) is the so called
"survakane." The performance consists of subjecting wishes and ritual
providing of health by through the touching with raw stick (most often cornel
stick). The neighborhood or a defined territory is ritually walked, usually the
whole village. The people who perform the ritual are called "survakari." The Survakars are children, sometimes only
boys between the ages of 5 and 12 years. They go around their homes and the
homes of friends, relatives and neighbors starting from their own home. In
clean clothes and with a bag each child has decorated wand called
"survachka, survaknitsa, Vasilicharka and etc.” The decoration of the survachka varies depending on the region
- in some places strands of popcorn on thread are made, yarn, threads or ring-shaped buns.
The Children (Survakari children) tap someone’s back with a decorated cornel
twig (they perform the survakane) and
pronounce blessings, they always start from the oldest person in the family (or
in the house). Here I will share with you, the so-called blessings (sorvakiya),
which I know from my childhood and that I used when I was performing the
Survakane:
Surva,
Surva Year, Happy Year,
Green
crop in the field,
Great
cluster of grape,
Yellow
maize in the forest,
Red
apple in the garden,
House
full of silk,
Alive
and Healthy till the next year,
Till
the next year, till the end.
This blessing is performed for
fertility and health. It is important to note that this blessing should not be
sung but spoken. Sometimes the children make the survakane (the tapping) to pets,
too. The grateful owners in turn give to the children different gifts - walnuts,
fruit, bacon, money, ring-shaped buns. In Central and Eastern Bulgaria the survachka is decorated with fruits,
grains and bread products, while in Western Bulgaria coins are often hung. One
of the most important elements of the survachka is the attachment of the cornel
twigs in order to take shape of the Bulgarian Cyrillic letter "F" - Ф.
The Survachka has magical powers only in this day of the year,
otherwise it is a simple stick. It is believed that the cornel tree has magical
power to increase the power of the blessings.
