Beekeeping and honey in Bulgarian tradition

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A favorite food since ancient times, honey was an important part of the diet in ancient Egypt, India and China. There is evidence that its great nutritional value was not a secret to the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Sumer and Assyria. In ancient Hellas honey was extolled as the food of gods, while philosophers and healers called it “the elixir of youth”. For present-day people honey, beeswax and propolis represent invaluable gifts from nature that are constantly rediscovered. More than 12,000 bee subspecies have been described in the world, and this number is telltale of the great ability of bees to adapt to the external conditions.

In Bulgaria beekeeping is a traditional occupation in all regions of the country. There are sources in which chroniclers and travelers attest to the existence of beekeeping in the Bulgarian lands even before the establishment of the Bulgarian state in the Balkans in 681. The Slavonic tribes that inhabited the lands before the Proto-Bulgarians arrived from the Middle East gathered honey from wild bees. They later learned how to rear them in beehives and used the homey to make the celebrated drink medovina. It was a drink of low alcoholic content and was used for various treatments.

Beehives made the old way

When the Proto-Bulgarians led by Khan Asparuh came overto the delta of the River Danube, they brought over with them their own beekeeping tradition. According to writer Ioan Exarch, beekeeping was well-developed here as early as 9 c. Foreign historians, like for instance Abu Hamid, wrote that Bulgaria was engaged in busy trade with Genoa, Venice, Dubrovnik and Byzantium. Important export articles included huge quantities of honey and beeswax. In fact, during the Middle Ages this country was reputed as a major producer of honey and other bee products.

The technology that Bulgarians used in beekeeping until the early 20 c. was not very different from present-day practices. Beehives were cone-shaped and had various

names based on the material used to knit them. Most often they were knitted using the plant Traveller's Joy (Clematis vitalba). Willow, vine and fir twigs were used in various regions of the country too. Once the beehive was knitted properly, a special mixture was used to coat it on both the inside and outside. In this way very good insulation was achieved to prevent the adverse effects of weather conditions. When it was either extremely cold or hot, special covers called hoods or capes were used to wrap beehives and thus protect the bees. Another type of bee homes has been described that was widely in use in North-Eastern Bulgaria. Those were called stoubli and represented hollow tree trunks, 50 to 60 cm high and covered with planks and tiles.

Sting by the sting making a nice throng: what is it, a riddle goes. The answer is: the bees in the beehive. The period of swarming, i.e. the time when new swarms separate from bee families, begins in the spring and goes on throughout the summer. Beekeepers would often appoint one or more people responsible for watching closely the process and identify the place where the new swarm would move to. It was usually a tree hollow. After that the chief beekeeper would accommodate the new bee army into a hive. In a bid to lure bees to enter it he would coat the beehive’s inside with common balm and honey. In the same way wild bees from the woods were lured to beehives.

Keeping bees in the traditional way is inseparable from the deep respect the humans had for the industrious insects that shows in many songs, legends and proverbs. This respect was nurtured by the flawless organization of bee activity, as well as by the stunning ability of bees to forecast the weather through some signs in their behavior. Since time immemorial Bulgarians saw in the increased collection of propolis and its hoarding at the beehive entrance, a signal for a cold winter to come. When bees leave the beehive early in the morning a sunny day should be expected. If, however, they are reluctant to go away from the hive, rainy weather is ahead. If a man sees bees collecting honey in his dreams, he will become wealthy. However, if they buzz a lot and alight on dry boughs, this is a bad omen.

Bee products are widely and diversely used in Bulgarian folklore medicine. A very healthy dessert can be made from honey and walnuts. It is quite good for a stronger immune system. There is a celebrated recipe used by the greatest Bulgarian herbalist, Petar Dimkov. He mixed pure honey with sour kernels from peach pits, twenty sprigs of geranium and lemons. This combination is good for recuperation after serious illness. To this day Bulgarians benefit from the so-called sweet ointment. It contains beeswax and is good for treatment of wounds, burns and traumas. Beeswax was widely used for a compress also called oilcloth. This is made by heating beeswax along with resin, incense and olive oil. Then a piece of cotton cloth is dipped in the mixture and left to soak well. Then part of the cloth is cut and applied to the sick part of the body. Many of our contemporaries continue using bee products as powerful cure. No wonder that the propolis has been nicknamed “an antibiotic from nature”.

Translated by Daniela Konstantinova

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Beekeeping and honey in Bulgarian tradition

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