At midnight,
Like a huge abalone shell
right above the lilac trees,
The moon stopped up there
On the top of the blossoming hill.
Beneath the silent sapphire sky
She was watching me pouring softly
Her milky shimmering light,
Then she covered my naked body
With a cape of velvety stars.
She washed all my feminine sins
And my secretly shared desires
With a morning innocent mist...
She was there, my sister in crime
Guiding my Nestinarian trance,
Landing softly on my weakened palms.
Yes, we did. We, both at once,
Stopped…the time... chanting your name
On the blossoming hill above,
Crossing steps in an oracle dance -
Only us, the moon and I,
DANCING ON THE ORACLE FIRE OF LOVE
____________________________________________________________________The Moon and I (Nestinarka)
by Petrouchka Alexieva
Petrouchka Alexieva is an anthropologist with an emphasis on Ethnomusicology and Balkan culture, music, and its Diaspora. She was born Bulgarian but has resided in the USA for over 25 yrs. Nestinarian dance:
Note: In my traditional culture, nestinarka is a fire-walker, a woman who dances barefoot on fire (on live coals) at night, chanting, saying love spells, and singing prayers and blessings under the full moon. She was supposed to wear a white dress and dance barefoot. In more ancient times, she was covered only with thin white voile, symbolizing purity. A woman, who made spells and predictions, was called zritza or oracle. In ancient times, she handled a bowl with flaming fire in both hands. Nestinarian dance is a pagan Bulgarian tradition. It is a solo performance. It takes preparation for the flaming coals and meditation of the dancer. Some anthropologists propose that it evolved from the Thracian time (which is also my belief). Others suggest that it is rooted in Tangrenism, which came along with Proto-Bulgarians (Turco-Nomad tribes from South Central Asia). They worshipped Uvigi God Tangra, the God of Sky, thunder and lighting, i.e., fire creator. The tradition survived throughout the centuries. Nastinarian horo (a circle group dance symbolizing unity) is broadly performed today. In modern times, men joined the fire-dancing women. Nowadays, dancers wear icons due to the Orthodox church's influence. Today it is a big part of tourist attractions.
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