The legendary Orpheus sanctuary neat Tatul village and the prehistoric rock-cut complex Harman Kaya in the Rhodopes will be transformed into a stage for sacred ancient Thracian rituals, to be re-enacted on Enyovden, Midsummer’s Day. On June 24, a red-letter day in the Bulgarian folklore calendar, Academia Orphica will be taking fans of ancient mysteries on the trail of the initiated.

In folklore tradition, Enyovden also goes by the name of Ivanden, St. Ivan Bilyober (herb picker), St. Ivan Letni (summer), because on the same date the church marks the birth of St. John the Baptist. It is said that on the night before Enyovden the skies open up and miracles can happen, miracles that have come down to us from ancient times. It is a time when the stars come down to Earth, imbuing plants with the power to cure. That is why herbs picked on this magical night are said to be at their most potent. And that if people were to roll in the morning dew before sunup, they shall be healthy for one more year.

On this day the elements of the Earth and the sky converge in ancient sagas and mysteries, reflected in mystical Bulgarian rituals – where reality and magic intertwine,”says Tsvetan Guide, Director of Academia Orphica.

We hold re-enactments which are invaluable to the Bulgarian identity, and also serve as a link between past, present and future. Because in the world of today, in the modern age, it is important to know one’s roots, and they go back to antiquity. We often say: That is the custom, but we seem to forget that it has a spiritual significance. That is why in popular tradition, there are people who are “initiated” – for example in the ritual of “lazaruvane” they perform a certain social function. Sacrality is part of the rituals, without it, it would all be sham.

Enyovden is connected to the cult of the sun and summer solstice, and there is a reason for that. It is on the longest day of the year that the long journey towards winter begins. According to popular belief, on this day the sun bathes in the rivers one last time before the mythical Enyo “throws the winter coat over his shoulders and starts marching towards snow”. To this day there is a belief that man suffers from 77 and a half diseases, and that it is only the one half for which no cure can be found. For that for that “one half” disease there is a “one half” herb, which can only be found by master herbalists on the night before Enyovden. But before the sun comes up, the women have to “buy” the medicinal herbs from the wood-nymphs and that takes a special ritual – they arrange the baskets full of herbs in a circle and dance a horo in a closed circle in complete silence. Then they weave Enyovden wreaths of flowers and posies, which they tie up with a red thread and hang up in their homes for health, and squeeze through a big Enyovden wreath.

When we talk about herbs, it is not so much the astronomical date – 24 June – that really matters, it is the bond between the human mind and the harmony with the laws of the Universe, says Tsvetan guide. So, it is most of all the way we see what is behind herbs, nature, the elements, and not so much the fact of picking the herbs on that particular day. It is the way humans view everything they use and practice on this day that makes it so special.

English version: Milena Daynova
Photos: academiaorphica.org