File:Kukeri Surva Bulgaria 19.tif

English: Bulgarian Kukers are traditional masquerade performers who participate in rituals meant to chase away evil spirits and bring good luck. Adorned in elaborate costumes with masks and bells, they dance and make loud noises to ward off negativity and ensure a prosperous year ahead.

KUKERI - Aron Klein "Chasing Evil Spirits With Bulgaria’s Kukeri “Kukeri” is an ancient pagan ritual practised annually across the Balkan mountain regions where local men wear carved wooden masks of beasts’ faces and hang heavy bells around their waists as they perform arcane dances. The word ‘kuker’ comes from Latin (‘cuculla,’ meaning a ‘hood’) and it denotes a folkloric monster, a man dressed in an elaborate suit of fur. These figures are intended to dispel evil spirits and protect their community from ill fortune. The decorated costumes worn by some of the locals blur the distinction between animals and humans, which highlights the deep connection that this culture maintains with its natural habitat.

“Our society no longer contains ceremony and ritual as part of our cultural practices, so I was drawn to document a community that continues to value folklore and tradition,” Aron explains. “Each of these images depicts the subtleties of the character’s local folk tales.”