Ethnographer Veselka Toncheva studies the Bulgarian communities abroad

Associate Professor Dr Veselka Toncheva, ethnomusicologist and ethnographer, is part of the research team of the Institute for Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Her interest in the ancient forms of Bulgarian tradition is often leading her to extraordinary and hard-to-reach places. Fortunately, she has a really adventurous spirit. She was born in the town of Pleven, in the very heart of North Central Bulgaria. Part of her childhood memories are the folk chain dances of Diko Iliev – a composer of Bulgarian folkore music.
“There is a village between the towns of Lovech and Pleven where my father was born – tells Veselka – I remember how at a very early age, I listened to woodwind orchestra and danced Diko Iliev's chain dances – horos. I graduated the Musical School in the town of Pleven with accordion, which is not a typical classic instrument. After my first years at the Theological department at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, I had to choose a subject. I opted for Ethnomusicology because of academician Nikolai Kaufmann. To me, he was a person of unique experience and knowledge. Through my last years I began to imagine myself as an ethnologist as well because I gathered experience with a lot of field work and reading. When a person studies syncretic forms they cannot just remain with their musical knowledge. The traditional culture is an extremely interesting, different and rich world. Nothing can compare to the excitement of finding some isolated place and going one or two centuries back in time, revealing unique music, dance, ritual and even behavioral models. My first contact with the ancient cultural forms was at the region of the Teteven Balkan when I studied the traditional culture of the Bulgarian Muslims, or “pomaci” as we call them. This was the theme of my PhD dissertation with advisor Prof. Dimitrina Kaufmann. A few villages in the region of Tetevensko have been quite isolated and have kept alive models from a deep historical layer. The people there sing songs which nobody knows. The songs are with a strongly emphasized archaic structure. I put down to paper, deciphered and wrote in notes 400 songs which I published in the appendix to the scientific text. “
Veselka Toncheva is also an author of dozens of TV films and documentaries on different ritual practices and rites. She studies the customs by taking part in the everyday life of the community – that means living, working, celebrating with them. Her scientific interests are directed mainly towards the closed ethnical and religious groups. Where does this lead her to – here is the answer:
“It leads me to the prototype and the ancient historical layer kept mostly in the closed communities. When you are from a different nationality or religion usually you withdraw into yourself for safety. I have seen many examples for that reaction. The Bulgarians from Albania I have worked with for the last few years have literally “conservated” their customs, songs, rituals. They have lived there since 1912-1913. One of the villages is called Golo Byrdo. It is situated in a high mountain and the dirt road leading to it was built in 1937. The people there call their language “Bugarski iozik”. According to experts it belongs to the West Bulgarian dialects. My research on the Bulgarians in Albania she summarized in a book of two volumes and she is currently working on the third. The wedding ritual there is very well kept. In every ritual moment, people sing – something we have only read about in scientific papers and textbooks. Even more strongly expressed is the situation in the village of Gòra – a region between Albania and Kosovo. There I attended a wedding which continued one week. Until recently, almost nothing was known for the Gòra people in Bulgaria. For the time being nobody can say with certainty what the origin of the group is. I write down everything I can – rites, rituals, customs, stories, memories. I make parallels and draw conclusions. The main problem is that I find everything interesting but the time is never enough. The journeys are not easily accomplished.”
Veselka Toncheva has worked among Bulgarian emigrants, too. Most thoroughly she studied the behavior and common modern practices of Bulgarians in Vienna.
“Bulgarians in Vienna are a community I have been studying for some time. The problems there are significantly more modern. Bulgarians have simply “transferred” Bulgaria into the Austrian capital. They listen to Bulgarian music, they cook Bulgarian cuisine, play Bulgarian chain dance or the so called hora, listen to Bulgarian ethno jazz. The research was connected with the ability of music to preserve national identity in a foreign country. The life of Bulgarians in Vienna is not at all easy – they have to prove themselves everyday, to strengthen their position. They are integrated in a very dynamic culture and social situation. At the same time they have a Bulgarian dance club and gather often. The brothers – Aleksandyr and Konstantin Vladigerov, who live in Vienna for a long time, are a phenomenon in the Austrian culture. They use in their music many folklore elements. Everybody associates them with Bulgaria. Another worldwide known Bulgarian name is accordionist Martin Liubenov. There is a Bulgarian restaurant in Vienna which is named after my home town – Pleven. The owners are the ex performers of the Northern folk music group in Bulgaria. Among the visitors there are many Bulgarians. Young people there say that before going abroad they showed no interest in traditional music. They have searched support of their identity in folklore when arriving in a foreign country. This is what the Bulgarians in the village of Golo Byrdo have done in spite of differences in the historical circumstances – they have closed themselves in their customs and language as a defense reaction.”
Currently, Veselka is on a trip a century back in time in Golo Byrdo on an expedition seeking for records of original Bulgarian folk songs.

Text: bnr.bg
English version: Mira Vladimirova