In this edition of weekly Folk Studio, Ass. Prof. Vihra Baeva from the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences casts light on legends about hidden treasures and about the people who despite bans and curses, continue searching for them.

The Bulgarian lands abound in hidden treasures. Some of them have survived since the times of the Thracian tribes, the ancient Romans and Byzantium. Others were buried in the land by Turkish rascals – at the point when they could no longer carry their booty they used to hide it away in some remote place with the hope to come back and take it away some day. The Bulgarian haiduks (anti-Turk rebels) did exactly the same. Once they found themselves in a quandary, they abandoned the money collected for purchase of guns to make sure the Turks would not take them away. From among such treasures one of the most famous is the treasure of the legendary rebel leader Valtchan Voivod and his associate, priest Martin. They led a detachment that attacked Turkish caravans that travelled in the land, looted both Turkish and Bulgarian wealthy merchants and engaged in treasure hunting too. They managed to accumulate a vast wealth. Legends mention tons of gold, valuable objects and relics.

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A legend recounts a story of how Valtchan Voivod decided to use his gold to pay off the freedom of his motherland. He sent envoys to the Russian tsar with a proposal to pay all expenses in a possible war against the Ottoman Empire: starting from ammunitions and soldiers’ wages all the way to the pensions of widows and orphans. Unfortunately, the Russian tsar turned down the offer – he just could not imagine that a Bulgarian rebel could have such an enormous wealth. To this day, legends about the treasure of Valtchan Voivod and priest Martin are alive in many parts of Bulgaria – the Balkan Range, Strandja and Sakar mountains and in the region of Rousse.

It is assumed that hidden treasures can be unearthed near old castles, monasteries, cemeteries as well as in caves. The traditional way was to bury the valuables in the earth, inside a chest or an earthen pot. A special place was selected – close to a tree or a stone; near a river’s ford, a bridge, well or fountain. Special signs were left around the place suggesting its precise location. Also, special maps were made on paper, stone or metal.

Legends argue that any treasure that has rested in the earth for at least nine years, has got its talasam ghost, a demonic creature to police it. This talasam goes roaming in the night and attacks late travelers. The cowards among them get startled, they become ill and soon die. The courageous ones however dare engage in a fight with the demonic creature. Once they manage to grab it and keep their hold on it until the first cockcrow, then their hands take a hold of the handles of the pot with the treasure.

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 In other tales the treasure is guarded by a serpent or even by a dragon. Those who buried it, threw a rope, a chain or a waistband over it and with a few words of magic turned the object into a reptile. If anybody guessed what the object turned into a serpent had been, would in fact break the magic spell and take the treasure with him. If he failed he had to brace for disease and death. In traditional beliefs such money was poisonous. Whoever touched it or breathed its evaporation would be choked to death.

In cases when a treasure belonged to someone by God’s Will, he necessarily would have a dream with its precise location. Of course, there were and still are many treasure hunters who carry out their own search missions. Most of them are men, but there are female treasure hunters too. Some old men recall that Tsar Boris III who ruled Bulgaria from 1918 till 1943 was also tempted by treasure hunting.

Treasure hunters believe that at night, and especially on the eve of Midsummer Day, 24 June, a flame or light appears above buried gold. Provided one is in the right place and at the right time, he is bound to reveal its secret. On some occasions, treasure hunters would take with them a vrazhalets, a clairvoyant who would point to the precise spot to dig. As they dug into the earth, treasure hunters worked in complete silence. Otherwise the treasure would sink deep into the earth and no one would be able to find it. A sacrifice had to be made so as to pay off the treasure. To guess what kind of sacrifice was needed the place was sprinkled over with ashes or flour. On the next morning the traces left over it suggested the nature of the sacrifice. If they were from a bird or cattle, the respective animal had to be slaughtered. However, if they found the footprints of a human, this meant the treasure required a human sacrifice and whoever took it from the earth would die shortly.

Some lucky guys managed to avoid the curse by making a hayr – they gave out part of the hunted treasure to the needy, built public fountains, churches or even monasteries. Most hunters however fell prey to treasures. There are numerous stories told in Bulgaria about treasure hunters stricken by the curse of the found treasure. Many of them went insane and died, and ill fortune stayed on and on, to trouble their heirs. So, the common assumption is that gold found in the earth could only bring happiness and luck to orphans.

Translated by Daniela Konstantinova