Paper short abstract:

The paper presents the eminence of a Romani masquerade group in Bulgaria that reclaims its own identity through heritage. It is argued that Roma try to renegotiate national heritage, by contesting on a performative level the exclusive concept of the nation and its supposedly homogeneous culture.

Paper long abstract:

Recently Bulgaria has been witnessing a real upsurge in the revitalization of rural masking traditions. Known as kukeri or survakari, many groups of masked people perform annually in numerous villages and small towns all over the country. This rite is extremely prestigious for the national imagery, and one of its regional versions has been nominated by the Bulgarian state and consequently inscribed on the UNESCO ICH Representative List. Alongside with local customs, in several towns municipal authorities organize major festival parades with thousands of participants where groups from different places gather to perform their respective traditions and compete.

In this context, the paper traces the consolidation of a whole Romani mummer group - a case which challenges the normative canon of masquerade, by transforming some of its elements into sign-vehicles of an ethnic self-representation. In the light of Critical heritage studies and Critical Romani studies, I examine both Roma participation and agency, as well their framing and othering. Since masquerade is taken by Bulgarians (in ethnic terms) as their possession, the "access" of Roma to the same heritage is not always granted.

Based on fieldwork among a Romani community in a small Bulgarian town, I analyze the strategies that Roma use to challenge the dominant discourse of the national majority and its heritage. I hypothesize that they recognize the potential of masking, appropriate the requirements set from above and adapt themselves to the situation, in order to dialogize and negotiate the exclusive concept of culture and redefine it afterwards.