Anastenaria – a Thracians' Living Treasure
The Pagan Origins of the Bulgarian Fire-Walking Rituals
Oct 4, 2009
The Bulgarian Anastenaria (Nestinarstvo) is a fire-dancing rite that marks the climax of the annual rituals on the feast days of saints Constantine and Helena in the village of Bulgari in the Strandzha mountains, Southeastern Bulgaria. It gained international recognition, as it has been inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Although Christian elements are contained in the Anastenaria, the fire-walking ritual is rooted in older pagan traditions, called "Thracian Orphism" by Prof. Alexander Fol (1933 – 2006).
Thracian Orphism – the Ancient Thracians’ Doctrine of the Origin and Development of the Universe
The Orphism, which Bulgarian scholars call Thracian, was a set of religious beliefs and practices sprang up during the second half of the second millennium BC. According to that doctrine, the primary existing Great Goddess-Mother self conceived and gave birth to a son, who is Sun in the daytime and Fire at night (personified as Zagreus or Sabazius). The son matured and copulated with the Great Goddess-Mother in orphic incest, which took place in a cave, and Orpheus (the son of the son) was born.
As Veliana Hristova Ph.D. explained, Orpheus, who was not a real historical figure but a metaphor for the Thracian high priest-kings, became a king and organized the world. When he died, his body was torn into pieces in order to become a god. The entire universe was back at rest and then the cycle started again, from the very beginning.
“Death is not the end but a new beginning. So, the man’s spiritual energy, as it is an element of the universe, is immortal and eternal. That was the main idea and distinguishing characteristic of the Thracian Orphism, which rituals had been performed on two levels: by the nobility (who were initiated into the Orphic mysteries) and by the masses,” Veliana Hristova pointed out in an article on a movie about Orpheus.
Nestinarstvo – a Unique Mixture of Orthodox Christianity and Orphic Mysteries
The Thracians faded away in 6th and 7th century AD under the massive assimilation by the Slavs, Goths and other northern tribes. However, the invaders were unable to stop the continuity of the Thracian culture and traditions. Many of the ancient pagan rites survived despite the later attempts of the Orthodox Christian church to put them under a total ban. Various elements of the Orphic beliefs and practices can be found in the Bogomils’ teaching and Peter Deunov’s philosophy.
One of the most impressive Orphic rites, well-adapted to the Christian ceremonial, is the Anastenaria (Nestinarstvo, dancing over red-hot coals). The ritual is performed annually, on the feast days of saints Constantine and Helena, in a couple of villages in Strandzha mountains, Bulgaria. It starts on the eve of the feast (June 3 on the Julian calendar): all the Anastenaria participants (nestinaris) gather in a special building (konak), where the icons of the two saints are kept, and began to dance and sing to the music of a drum and a bagpipe.
Gradually, the dancing generates extreme emotional and ecstatic phenomena, manifested in the forms of violent trembling, rocking backwards and forwards, and writhing. The head of the nestinaris, who can be either a male or a female, takes the icons and gives them to some of the dancers. The Anastenaria participants believe that during the dance they are “seized” by the saint and enter a state of trance. “If the Saint calls you, if you have an open road, then you do not feel the fire as if it is your enemy,” says one of them.
When the Saint Opens the Road
On the morning of the saints’ day the nestinaris leave the konak in a procession, accompanied by musicians and candle bearers to a holly well, where they are blessed by the holy water. Next, they sacrifice one or several animals to the saints. After lunch the nestinaris resume their dancing at a place in the village where a cone-shaped pile of logs has been prepared. A man set it on fire and as the wood burns the coals are spread out to form a large oval bed.
When the nestinaris are informed that the coals are ready, they approach the site barefoot, carrying the icons. Initially, the nestinaris dance around the red-hot coals but when the saint “calls them,” as was mentioned earlier, they run across the burning coals and continue dancing until the embers cool down.
During the dancing, the head of the nestinaris delivers prophesies. The feast day ends with a common meal, music and singing. Two days later, the nestinaris conclude the ritual aimed to ensure the well-being and fertility of the village with another dance over the fire. Now, they perform it privately.
Sources:
- The Thracian Orphism, by Alexander Fol, Sofia, 1986.
- The Forgotten Saint, by Valeria Fol, Sofia, 1997.
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