Култура

In a conversation about the folk heritage of the Chepin region, I was surprised by a finding that I have encountered before - there is no such research. This raised question - about the not great popularity, not to say obscurity of what is written about our end, and also my work on materials for the encyclopedic reference book "Chepino", prompted me to gather in a short tracking material ethnographic studies and research devoted to Chepinski.

As you will see, their number is impressive and diverse as the subject matter affected. Numerous studies of the Rhodopes will not be included here, in which Chepinsko is mentioned on one occasion or another, because it would take too much time and place. And so: I start with the period during which the interest in ethnographic studies was born in Bulgaria and the first folk records were made - the 19th century. The first record of the legend of the formation of the Chepinska trough and information about the livelihood of the population are contained in the "Description of T. The Pazardjik kaaza" by Stefan Zahariev, printed in 1870. in Vienna. It marked the beginning of a lasting interest in the ethnographic studies of Chepinsko. In 1884. in the Periodical Journal pp. VIII released "Pomak songs from Chepinsko" by K. Irechek. His impressions of his visit to this region were published first independently in the Periodical Magazine - "Road Notes for Sredna Gora and the Rhodope Mountains", and then as part of "Travels in Bulgaria". They contain descriptions of Kurban Bayryam in Banya, Chepino, mentions the legend of the formation of the valley, reports on the lifestyle, toponymy and history of the population of this region. A few years later, Fr. Popkonstantinov began publishing in the volumes of the SbNU of his collected song and prose folklore, family holidays and rituals, descriptions of Chepino and Babyak. Thus, this explorer of the Rhodopes forms a relatively complete picture of the folk culture of the population in the North-West part of the mountain. In this time - 1892, Ivan Vazov published his brilliant travelogue "In the bowels of the Rhodopes", dedicated to Chepinsko. It contains both a description of the lifestyle of the population and recordings of some songs, among which is the still unrecorded re-recorded but repeatedly quoted "Vaho Mori". Here our illustrious writer meets St. Verkovich, went after the singers from Korovo (Draginovo). The Bosnian researcher, who permanently connected his fate with Bulgaria, publishes the two-volume Veda Slovena. This corpus has provoked discussions among researchers of Bulgarian folklore about its authenticity for more than a century. The songs included in the collection are linked through the performers in both ends - Chepino and Dospat. During these years records from the area made by N. Popov, published Kuzman Shapkarev. Although as single attempts, the first collectors of folklore from Chepinsko - Mehmed Tumbev and Yusuf Sinapov, recorded songs and fairy tales published in the first volumes of SbNU should be mentioned. Georgi Kumanov continuation in the next issue