The roots of the Mummers’s day

KUKEROVDEN 25th February

Lesson

1. Topic: The roots of the Mummers’s day

2. Level: B1

3. Aims:

- to inform students about the roots of an ancient custom through an old legend

- to present the role and the meaning of the Mummers nowadays

- to conduct the students to the conclusion “Good is stronger than evil”.

PARTS OF THE LESSON

  1. Bulgarian students explain about mummers – 5 min.

ABOUT MUMMERS

Mummers are unmarried young men in scaring costumes. They perform traditional rituals with the idea to scare evil spirits. The costumes cover almost the whole body and include decorated wooden masks of animals and a string of large copper bells of about 20 kg, attached to the belt. Sometimes masks are double-faced.

On a special day in the beginning of the agricultural (not calendar) year the mummers gather together in a big group, walk and dance through the village to scare evil spirits with their costumes and the sound of their bells.

People believe that mummers provide good harvest, health and happiness to the village during the year.

ABOUT THE RITUAL

Mummers are always unmarried young men. They wear women’s clothes and perform a “play” where the main characters are Groom, Bride, King and Priest.

The ritual performs symbolically plowing and sowing of a field as a promise of future good harvest. The mummers plow the field and the King sows it.

Mummers gather at the village square and go around the village, visiting every house and wishing people to be healthy and wealthy. People give them presents.

After parading around the village, mummers gather again at the village square to dance wildly and amuse people.

ABOUT THE MASKS

Mummers’ masks are the most attractive part of their costumes. Their creating is a real art.

The masks are mostly made of wood. On their surface there are cloth pieces, woolen threads and little mirrors. The masks must be ugly and scaring in order to scare evil spirits. They usually are “faces” of a goat or sheep or an ox.

Sometimes masks are double-faced. On the one side, the face is good-looking and smiling. On the opposite side the face is ugly and scaring. This way the mask performs good and evil which live together in the world.

The colours of the masks are usually red, white and black.

Red colour is for sun, fire and good harvest. It is expected to “scare” the evil.

White colour is for water, light and purity.

Black colour is for evil spirits.

Mummers exist not only in Bulgaria. You can meet them in Romania, Serbia, Greece and Macedonia. In Spain there is a custom of “Kihanera” which is similar to the Bulgarian Mummers’ Day.

All over the world people believe that men, dressed in women’clothes and wearing ugly masks and heavy copper bells, bring happiness, health and good harvest.

  1. Video 5 min.
  2. Work on the legend

C There is a legend from old times:

Long time ago the Bulgarian land was like the Garden of Eden. It was generous and gave people the fruits of their labour. They all lived happily, ruled by a good and wise ruler. And his name was the same – he was called Dobrodor. He respected the neighbouring rulers and they respected him. That’s why people in Bulgarian kingdom lived happily.

B The beautiful daughter of the Northern neighbouring ruler called Zliana, was envious of Dobrodor’s happiness and sent him a proposal of marriage. But Dobrodor was in love with another girl. That’s why Zliana decided to take revenge. She made a vicious magic. If a man puts the animals in the harness and starts ploughing the land, his head will dry up and he will die before reaching home.

D Many animals and people died. The kingdom was devastated. Dobrodor wondered what to do. Spring was coming and the earth, all dried up, waited to be ploughed and sown. The king fell ill with sorrow. Weeks passed. Dobrodor’s old father wondered how to help him and finally found an answer. He advised Dobrodor to summone all men in the kingdom and ordered them to make ox masks out of the skin of dead animals and take the hides, to put on women’s clothes, string bells round their waists, and then go to the field, put themselves in the harness and plough the land.

E The men did what the king told them. They made masks to cover their faces so that the evil Zliana could not affect them. They succeeded in ploughing and sowing the field. The evil witch Zliana died from spite.

A This day became a holiday for the people of Dobrodor.

Since then people in Southern and Eastern Bulgaria dance the Mummer dances for a whole week.

Students, divided in groups of four, get the parts of the legend with a task:

Arrange the paragraphs in the correct order. Start with C. -10 min.

Teacher: Now, let’s read the whole legend. – 5 min.

Students get a sheet of paper with questions and a task:

Answer the questions: -5 min.

  1. Who are the main characters?
  2. Did the Bulgarian ruler respect his neighbouring rulers?
  3. Did people in BulgarianKingdom live happily?
  4. Was Dobrodor in love with Zliana?
  5. What was Zliana’s revenge?
  6. What happened after Zliana’s vicious magic?
  7. What was Dobrodor’s father’s advice?
  8. What did the men do?
  9. What happened to the evil witch?
  10. What happened to the people of Dobrodor?

Teacher: Say if the sentences are true or false. Correct the false sentences -5 min.

  1. Long time ago the Bulgarian land was like the Garden of Eden.
  2. People on BulgarianKingdom didn’t live happily.
  3. Zliana made a vicious magic.
  4. The kingdom was not devastated.
  5. The men made masks to cover their faces so that the evil Zliana could affect them.
  6. The men didn’t succeed in plowing and sowing the fields.

Teacher: Now, draw your own mummer’s mask.

Draw and think over the question:

What is the moral of the legend? Choose the best answer from the sheet of paper in front of you:

  1. People of all time tried to live happily.
  2. People were afraid of the evil witch.
  3. Good is always stronger than evil.

Teacher: Now, everyone knows: good is always stronger than evil.

Thank you, kids!