The “Painted Bride” as an Emblem of Identity: Pomaks of Southern Bulgaria

Abstract

The revival programs of minorities provide a distinct contrast to the folk revival that has become part of postsocialist nation-building. When formerly or currently repressed minorities revive and perform publicly their folk culture, their acts do not fit the standard revivalist narrative of preservation of national heritage. The subject of this paper, the Pomaks of Bulgaria, are an unofficial, unrecognized, formerly and currently repressed minority within Bulgaria. In the postsocialist period they are beginning the process of ethnicity-building through multiple channels, including through folk music, dance, ritual and religious revival. Their conscious revival work is in its infancy, but is worth analyzing as it provides an interesting glimpse into the workings of indigenous revival led by local, in many cases self-educated, intellectuals. The performance of a wedding song on stage is the result of the work of local intellectuals, who are actively opposing assimilation. Refs 29. Figs 2.