For girls, boys and love

According to the Bulgarian tradition on 14 February (old style) is Trifon Zaresan. Today, on this day people are excited by Valentine. I do not oppose the two festivals, although in principle there is our opposition – foreign. On the occasion of the day of the lovers I searched for how Bulgarian girl and boys in old times perceived love and romance.

In a book from 1891, – "Living Starina" – "ethnographical (folklore) study..." By Dimitar Marinov, we find peculiar

Requirements-rules on ethics in flirting. 130 years ago.

The "Libene" section starts with a very significant motto – "Mominstvo – Vizirstvo, Ergenlk-Pashalak" and the statement "Liebenlo is an essential part of this golden and happy time of rural life, which is called youth..."

The damsel never in any way dared to offend any guy, because he had the right to harm her. For insulting the following acts were taken:

1. If he passes his way – when he walks the way and she sees it, but does not return.

2. If you do not give him to drink water from her jug when he asks.

3. If you let go of the choir so that he has caught playing next to her.

4. If the maid is dared to laugh at him for anything.

Other more innocent but still the insults were:

5. If the maid does not give from her head a flower of the mohair; Don't give him your rap or anything else.

6. If there is a seat or other place, when the man comes and the other girl become on his feet, showing respect for being a man, and this girl is sitting and not moving.

7. If the damsel encounters or reaches, or pass by the morthe, when he works and does not greet him with "good meeting!", "good enough!" or "Helps God!".

For these and other insults the man took revenge in different ways-to tar the door of her house, to pluck the basil and the other flowers in her garden, spring time to go to the vineyard and to round a thorn or with some rod all the old, while it is young and fragile and thus make the vineyard barren this year, to light the hay or straw of her father, to cut off her hair.

But before that, the author stated: "The flood is done in a perfectly free way and only by the will of the damsel..."

Rositsa Topalova
Curator of the Ethnographia Department

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