Mechkari stand proud with towering masks; the largest in Bulgaria.
In the other villages of the Pernik region, people refer to their masked groups as survakari. In Yardzhilovtsi, they call themselves “Mechkari” (bear-leaders). They call the house where they make their masks the “Mechkarnitsa” (bear-cave). The month before “Surova” the group spends all of their time in the “Mechkarnitsa” to make their masks.
Yardzhilovtsi prides itself on having the largest masks in the country. The masks stand over twice the height of the wearer. In Yardzhilovtsi , they name every mask. The mask shown here is titled “The Shepard.”
