KURENTOVANJE - Slovenia
The Kurentovanje of Ptuj is one of the most significant carnival events in Slovenia and Central Europe. The festival combines Catholic traditions with ancestral rites of spring and marks the Shrovetide (Tuesday before Ash Wednesday - initiating the forty day period before Easter) in the northeastern Slovenian city of Ptuj. Similar rites take place in Hungary and in Serbia.
Kurent, also known as Korant, is the central figure in Kurentovanje, a rite of spring and fertility which may date to the time of the ancient Slavs. Kurent is regarded as a god of revelry and high-spirits. The Kurents, formed in groups, are dressed in sheepskins with cowbells dangling from their belts or chains. On their heads they wear huge furry caps decorated with feathers, sticks or horns and colored streamers. The leather face masks have eye-holes outlined in red, long trunk-like noses and enormous red tongues that hang down to the chest. They wear hair made from horse-tails.
The Kurents move from house to house in procession, scaring off evil spirits with their cow bells and wooden clubs topped with hedgehog spines. They continually whirl and jump from side to side to sound the bells and chains they wear. These sounds are heard throughout the villages all day and into the night.
Different and ancient customs prevail throughout the villages; such as before the Kurent arrives at the house, the housewife throws a pot from the attic. According to an old belief that this will help the hens to lay eggs. The Kurents also carry a basket to collect gifts from the households. A devil (hudicc, zlodej, vrag) accompanies the Kurent, dressed in all black or red, and is covered by a net to catch souls, leads each group. Young girls present Kurents with handkerchiefs which they then fasten to their belts, and housewives smash clay pots at their feet for luck and good health.
RESOURCES
Official website of the Kurentovanje
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