The survakari from Gabrov Dol, Bulgaria are known for their towering masks made of feathers. Their shapes and symmetrical patterns are particularly beautiful and meticulously crafted.
One villager remembers “The men manufactured the likove (masks) in the town hall building, and we, the children, hovered around them all day long. The masks of Gabrov dol are the best and the lightest, because we make the construction from branches, then we stretch on them a canvas and we put feathers and wings from all kinds of birds on it. But the whole village collects those feathers, in each house months before the event. There was a moment when the whole village started breeding turkeys for the sake of the survashkari’s masks.
On the feast itself, we visited the houses in our village for good health, but we also went to the neighboring villages – Berende, Elov dol, Kosharevo, Svetlya, Chepino.
It is the same on Surova until today – all day and all night, all roads and paths in between are filled with bells, masks and games. Unearthly beauty… And we are the prettiest.”
Additional Textual sources: survakari.com
