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and are related to various
Christian saints. The two major events in this cycle are two big festivals, one in January and particularly one in May, dedicated to these two saints. Each of the festivals lasts for three days and involves various processions, music and dancing, and an animal sacrifice.
394:
Thèse de doctorat d'ethnologie "Essai d’anthropologie visuelle & sonore d’un "rite élémentaire" - Film de recherche "La joie du feu" - Ethnographie de la permanence d’une praxie ontologique pyrobate & de la croyance afférente en Europe orientale" Université Paris VII Denis
Diderot, U.F.
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calling for help could be heard from inside. The villagers who braved the flames to rescue them were unharmed, being protected by the saints. Other ethnographers, however, have argued that the
Anastenaria are vestiges of ancient practices of cults of
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156:, the anastenarides go to it carrying their icons. After dancing around it in a circle, individual anastenarides dance over the hot coals as the saint moves them. The ritual is also performed in January, during the festival of
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Djankoff, Christine Gamita, Visual anthropology essay — "Fire joy" : ethnography of the pyrobatic praxis's ontological permanence & related belief in
Eastern Europe , Ph. D., Université de Paris VII, December, 2003
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animals. The rules about the nature of the beasts to be slain are precise, but differ from village to village. In the evening a fire is lit in an open space, and after dancing for some time in the
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and the
National Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage "Living Human Treasures - Bulgaria" on the application of the Regional historical museum Burgas.
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The
Bulgarian and Greek villages perform a unique annual ritual cycle, which begins on May 21 and ends on May 23 every year. The central figures of the tradition are
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by people who have little to do with the original tradition. The rituals survive in more authentic form in five villages of northern Greece:
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was succeeded only by his or her son or daughter, and only when he or she was too old or ill to continue performing it. The head
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The festival culminates with a firewalking ritual, where the participants, carrying the icons of saints
Constantine and Helen,
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In the 20th century the ritual became commercialized and is performed for tourists in the seaside resorts of the
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Anthropologie, Ethnologie et
Science des Religions (AESR), n° 3604325, 12 décembre 2003, par Christine Djankoff
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for hours before entering the fire and walking barefoot over the glowing-red coals, unharmed by the fire.
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Firewalking and
Religious Healing: The Anastenaria of Greece and the American Firewalking Movement,
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and drum. After some time, they believe that they may be "seized" by Saint
Constantine and enter a
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326:"Ethnography, Historiography, and the Making of History in the Tradition of the Anastenaria"
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204:(столнина) – a small chapel where icons of several saints were arranged, as well as a
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The Burning Saints. Cognition and Culture in the Fire-walking Rituals of the Anastenaria
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used specifically for the ritual and believed to cure the drummer if he was ill.
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In Bulgaria, the right to perform the ritual was hereditary and the head
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Each community of the Anastenaria has a special shrine known as the
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The Anastenaria: The Ancient Ecstatic Fire-Walking Ritual of Greece
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attempted the ritual in a YouTube livestream on July 11th 2024.
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140:. On the morning of the saints' day, May 21, they gather at the
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when the church of Saint Constantine in their original home in
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Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
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444:Георгиева, Иваничка (1987). "Нестинарството в Странджа".
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Holidays of the Bulgarians in Myths and Legends, 21 may
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According to some myths the custom originated in the
562:. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
128:are placed, as well as the "signs" of the saints (
446:Културно-историческо наследство на Странджа–Сакар
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319:
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408:Princeton University Press, (Princeton, 1989)
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82:Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
489:"Facets of the Complex - Popularity Regions"
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200:s house was sacred, because it housed the
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285:UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists
271:While visiting Bulgaria, famous streamer
144:and proceed to a well to be blessed with
701:Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
656:Festive Greece: A Calendar of Tradition,
470:(in Bulgarian). The Bulgarian Traditions
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448:(in Bulgarian). София: Народна младеж.
283:In 2009, the ritual was entered in the
240:; and in six Bulgarian villages in the
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16:Greek fire-walking & dance ritual
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514:"The fiery souls of the Anastenari"
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64:performed in some villages in
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324:Xygalatas, Dimitris (2011).
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365:Xygalatas, Dimitris, 2012.
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659:Anagnosis, (Athens, 2003)
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836:Traditions involving fire
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218:Bulgarian Black Sea Coast
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596:Bulgarian National Radio
333:History and Anthropology
432:Greek Calendar Customs,
110:Greek Orthodox calendar
91:The fire-walking ritual
434:3rd ed. (Athens, 1982)
299:South Shetland Islands
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404:Danforth, Loring M.,
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821:Bulgarian traditions
653:Tomkinson, John L.,
560:"Nestinari Nunataks"
756:Hlinecko Shrovetide
617:Turkish Anastenaria
417:Kakouri, Katerina,
124:, where their holy
80:of 1911–12 and the
634:2006-08-16 at the
622:2021-02-11 at the
589:Article about the
430:Megas, George A.,
374:2012-09-02 at the
291:Nestinari Nunataks
115:dance ecstatically
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811:Culture of Greece
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295:Livingston Island
102:Saint Constantine
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564:. Retrieved
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55:fire-walking
49:Nestinarstvo
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37:Нестинарство
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721:Anastenaria
607:Anastenaria
468:"Nestinari"
250:Gramatikovo
244:Mountains:
206:sacred drum
170:Middle Ages
106:Saint Helen
78:Balkan Wars
29:Αναστενάρια
21:Anastenaria
805:Categories
584:Thinkquest
523:2010-05-20
499:2006-08-10
474:2006-08-10
419:Dionysiaka
309:References
303:Antarctica
273:iShowSpeed
234:Mavrolefki
222:Ayia Eleni
146:holy water
826:Strandzha
781:Verbunkos
771:Semeiskie
731:Busójárás
612:Nestinari
602:Nestinari
591:nestinari
353:154450368
339:: 57–74.
266:Brodilovo
258:Kondolovo
254:Slivarovo
242:Strandzha
198:nestinar'
176:, now in
150:sacrifice
84:in 1923.
42:romanized
33:Bulgarian
746:Falconry
736:Căluşari
632:Archived
620:Archived
540:. UNESCO
454:20353251
372:Archived
279:Heritage
226:Langadas
202:stolnina
194:nestinar
187:Dionysus
178:Bulgaria
70:Bulgaria
776:Táncház
598:website
594:on the
297:in the
246:Balgari
238:Kerkini
212:Tourism
164:Origins
148:and to
130:semadia
44::
751:Fujara
663:
452:
382:
351:
264:, and
236:, and
230:Meliki
182:saints
154:konaki
142:konaki
138:trance
122:konaki
74:Thrace
58:ritual
741:Doina
349:S2CID
329:(PDF)
262:Kosti
174:Kosti
126:icons
60:with
25:Greek
709:list
661:ISBN
568:2019
546:2019
450:OCLC
380:ISBN
134:lyre
104:and
19:The
518:CNN
341:doi
293:on
807::
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337:22
335:.
331:.
316:^
301:,
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
