“Storing the yeast” - the mysterious ancient ritual and chain dance

“Storing the yeast”

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Hello and welcome to this edition of Folk Studio on Radio Bulgaria – our specialized program in which we take a deeper look at the traditions, customs and folk beliefs of Bulgarians!
In today’s edition, we focus on an old ritual performed in the last ten days of the year - between Saint Ignatius’s Day or Ignazhden (December 20) and Saint Basil’s Day (January 1). This is the ritual called “storing the yeast” – a mysterious little-known custom practiced here. It was described for the first time at the end of the 19th century. The ritual is spread only in some regions of Northern Bulgaria, with some similar customs existing all around the country.
Stay with us in the next twenty minutes to learn more about it!

Bulgarians in the past used to prepare several types of bread. In their everyday lives, people usually kneaded bread without using yeast. It was baked upon burning embers, ashes or in a special earthen baking dish called “podnitza”. This bread was not usually cut with a knife, but was broken into pieces by hand and was spread over with honey or butter. Non-yeast bread was used in ritual for health, to mark the birth of a child, to chase away different diseases, and to beg the mythical creatures for mercy.

On holidays, Bulgarians used to prepare yeast bread. This bread was said to possess magical properties. Yeast bread was decorated depending on the case for which it was prepared. It is not known since when yeast has entered the Bulgarian cuisine. Some historical data shows this happened in the 15 or 16th century, but it was probably known much earlier. Traditionally, yeast was made by kneading flour and water to a thick that was left for several days in an earthenware pot. In preparing the bread, they dried the remaining yeast, wrapped it with a clean towel and used it after some time. People used to say that yeast was the “father” of bread. In folk beliefs, it is likened to a living creature because of its ability to grow, i.e. to increase its volume. Yet, it is also said to grow old and lose its strength. Then, it has to become younger – to renew itself. A new portion of yeast is made on special days – several days before Easter, before weddings and before Christmas. The fermented mixture of water and flour was thought to possess curative properties. People believed that yeast could protect from magic. It was widely used in folk medicine. At the end of the 19th century, renowned Bulgarian ethnographer Dimitar Marinov described the ritual called “storing the yeast” for the first time. He found it only in certain villages near the town of Rousse (in Northeastern Bulgaria). “It must be existing in other parts of the country, too, but people there are obviously hiding it”, the scholar wrote. According to him, the ritual had a magical quality and for this reason it was condemned and persecuted by priests.

The ritual called “storing the yeast” started on the eve of December 19 – just before Saint Ignatius’s Day. The ritual ended on January 1 when Bulgarians mark Saint Basil’s Day. These are the so-called “dirty days of the year”, or the transition from the old to the new year, from the chaos to the order of the Universe. Only women gathered at the ritual, some of them being sorceresses and healers. The first thing they did was to perform the ritual chain dance. Two young girls prepared the yeast. but with their backs turned on the kneading troughs. These two girls were carefully selected – one had to be the youngest child of the family, and the other – the eldest child in the family. The old women put in the yeast curative and magical herbs as well as burnt embers from hazelbush, sycamore, and oak trees. The prepared yeast was wrapped and put in one corner of the room. During the night, one of the women stayed next to it and the others continued dancing. Until January 1, the yeast was stored in the same way, with moving it each night to a different house. The ritual secret chain dance was performed only three times during the year - on the eve of Ignazhden, on Christmas eve, and on the eve of Saint Basil’s day. In the early hours of January 1, everyone went to the house where the dough was kneaded. The old women separated it into several pieces as was the number of women present. These pieces of yeast were said to possess magical properties – people believed they could heal, protect the house from magic, and attract the loved ones of young girls to them.

In some villages of North Bulgaria, the same ritual was performed. There, the flour was sieved several times, and the dough had to be kneaded by a girl with living parents. The prepared yeast was put on a carding machine. Interestingly enough, according to folk beliefs, the carding machine had the power to chase demons and evil spirits away. The participation of young men in storing the yeast started only later. The ritual assumed rather the quality of a ritual spectacle similar to a festive sedyanka gathering. While acquiring some new qualities, it also preserved several important elements. The woman kneading the new yeast had to wear a festive costume as in antiquity. The water had to be brought in utter silence after subset, in a clean vessel and untouched by anyone. The flour had to be sieved through three silken sieves. Along with the merriment and festive mood, older people handed down their skills for preparing and keeping this so important ingredient of the festive bread to the younger generations.

Translated by: Rossitsa Petcova

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“Storing the yeast” - the mysterious ancient ritual and chain dance

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