The village of Golemo Buchino is in the region of Lyulin Mountain and not far from the capital Sofia.
The first step to create these masks is to gather the feathers. The construction of the masks is complex as each feather is glued by hand one by one. These masks are very fragile and can be easily damaged by the elements, so it is rare that a mask will be worn in two successive years. In their village, there is a large workshop where the villagers gather to make masks anew and restore their old creations. Their final pieces can weigh over 30kg (66 pounds).
The survakari costumes are created from blue and red rags. These colors are unique to their village, as most Bulgarian villages use rags of red, white, and green – the colors of their national flag.
