The Koukers are disguised characters who participate on the “Koukers’ day”- the first day after the first Sunday before Lent, known as well “Clean” or “Dogs’ Monday. This name originates from the word dog and the name is connected with ritual handing of dogs against rabies. The Koukers walk round on this day. In the West part of Bulgaria these masked male games (dances) belong to the calendar of the New Year holidays. They are called “Dirty days” and start on Christmas up to Ivan’s day. They are popular as: “survaki”, “kolezari”, “babugeri”, “vasilichari”, “chaushi”, “ashkari”, etc.

The Koukers’ ritual is a lovely and remembering custom- a performance with ancient symbolism and significance. 

Nowadays the purpose of the performances isn’t “health and fertility”, but “shenlik”- merry time, merriment. 

Only bachelors and married men take part in the ritual. Handsome young men with soft faces play the female parts. They are disguised like “a bride”, “an old woman”, “a married Turkish woman” and “a gypsy woman”. The male parts are: “the groom”, “the old man” and “the gypsy”. A lot of man are disguised as “Negro”, “seimen”, “babugers”, “dervish”. The group includes man masked as a bear and “ a bear-ward”, “a horse”, “a king”, “a kadia”, a doctor , a priest etc.

It’s difficult to give a total description of the ritual, because It was some variations in the different regions. Only the scenes and the characters are identical.

In west Bulgaria, in Sofia district there are “kolezars”- an old man with bells on the elbows and a mace in his hand; an old woman in bride’s garment, decorated like a bride. The old man “hits” her with the mace. The games in Mid and West Bulgaria are almost the same. They are called “kolezane”, “sirovaskare”, “dzamalare”. The Koukers perform “a wedding” and simulate sexual intercourse with a wooden phallus. There are some real and fantastic animals going together with the “bride”. In Radomir district a man dressed like bear is led with chain. He dance round the houses. In Razlog, Gotse Delchev, Drama and Ser the ritual is called “babugeri”. The bear is accompanied by “an old woman” and “a child”. The ritual “tekuliash” is popular in Tetovo and Ohrid. The “terkuliash” is a dress, filled with straw and bell round the neck. The character in “eshkars” custom is an animal. This custom can be seen in Kostur and Solun. The “eshka” is an animal. It looks like a camel or a horse. The same character exists in Bulgaria, Skopie and Krastovsko. A man rides the “camel” and goes round the horses, performing “horse- nailing”. In Pazardzik the character is a ”doe”, in Haskovo a ”hare”. The main character is an animal in all these scene.

“Brezai” in North- east Bulgaria is a similar custom. The Brezai” is a mystical animal with a big beak, horns and wooden scaffoldings covered with a rug. It is carried from two men called “dervish” or “upleshin”. The “Brezai” performs funny and amusing scenes. Sometimes the participants make a small wooden horse, called “karakondzo”. The custom “Brezai” is popular in Svishtov. There the group includes five men- two of them fur coats turned inside out, decorated with bells and cow bells. Their faces are masked with ktatuns (a sort of pumpkin) with glued moustaches and beards from wool. There is a “player” and “a leader” in female clothes. “Klanza” is a custom which is held in Dobrudza and Romania. It’s similar to te “Koukers’ games”. The group includes three men- bear, leader, a player walking with the “carol- singer”

during the “Dirty days”.

There is a ritual called “the blind mare” in the district of Pleven. A scull of a dead horse and a horsetail are fixed on a wooden scaffolding covered with burlap. This ritual is included in the pre-spring holidays- summer “dzamal”. The “Koukers’ games” is South- west Bulgaria, Bourgas, Jambol, Sliven and East Tracia are the most emotional ones. The typical characters are: koukers, kouker’s king and an old woman. There are similar performances in the Rhodopes. The Koukers are called “old men” and “brides”. In upper Arda district there are called “dracuse”- the old man and the old woman are the main characters. “Pesiatsi” are characters in smolian, “kalugere” in West Thracia, “old man” in Plovdiv and Sredna gora. These rituals are similar to the “Koukers’ games” in North- west Bulgaria. There they are called “Kouks”. The main part belongs to the “Kouk’s mother” ( the old woman). 

All these ritual performances are quite dramatic. Common feature and some specific one characterize them. 

The main device to create a character and the reincarnation of the participants is the costume and the mask. The clothes used by the Koukers are quite various in the different regions. They aren’t strictly defined of some variations are allowed. The common features are: animal furs – ship, goat, coast turned inside out; handing bells. An attribute that often appears in the ritual is the wooden sword called “pomet” or “clunk”. The dominant element is the mask. It’s a part of the whole costume and gives generalization of the character. The zoomorph masks are widely spread. They represent wild, domestic and fantastic animals and birds. The mask is made from the sculls and boards covered with nailed furs feathers, wool, horns, sometimes kratuns are used. The bride’s costume (typical for the district) with bride’s attributes is put on over male clothes. The other characters- the old woman, the gypsy woman, the old man, the king, the priest, the bear and the doctor are various and traditional. This group includes the “camel”, the horse, the doe and etc. They all have some local variations.