Good understanding and support between neighbours have earned the
status of a perennial Bulgarian value. These are my neighbours in
village where I live.
‘A good
neighbour is more important than a brother’, a Bulgarian proverb goes.
In Bulgaria’s traditional village life neighbourly relations were of
utmost importance. Houses stood close to one another, divided by a
wattle fence. But this fence was not there to divide; it was there to
outline plots. Usually, a small gate was made in the wattle fence,
known as komshuluk, or the neighbour's gate, for easier access to the
neighbour's place.
There was common proverbial
advice saying that on buying a home one had to judge the nature of his
future neighbours: ‘Don’t buy a house, buy a neighbour’, a proverb
prescribed.
Good neighbourly relations were appreciated very much and were warmed
up and strengthened during holidays. In the autumn neighbours gathered
in each house to assist housewives in gathering the crops. On the eve
of a wedding women-neighbours went to the home of the bride to help
prepare her dowry. On holidays every housewife made special ritual
loaves for the neighbours. This would hopefully bring good times to
those who gave away, as well as to the ones who accepted the ritual
gifts.
A village dominated by the spirit of understanding and mutual
support was called “village of accord”. In traditional beliefs such a
village was destined to prosper and enlarge. If quarrels and
disagreement prevailed, the village was doomed to fatal decline. A
song tells the story of the village of Gerovo. It was a happy place of
peace and calm. But cattle-drover Stoiko had two twin sons. They grew
up and engaged in a bitter quarrel over their father’s property. This
row brought sorrow and damnation to the once happy village. Very often
quarrels over property spoiled good neighbourly relations. The
temperament of the neighbour was also seen as a factor judging from
the proverb, ‘Evil neighbour – great evil’. However traditional views
accepted the neighbour as brought over by God, and everybody had to
try and establish friendly relations with neighbours.
Neighbourly relations are often analyzed in the format of
anecdotes. Here is one story with the proverbial character Nasreddin
Hodja – a knowing blade from the time when Bulgaria was part of the
Ottoman Empire. One day Nasreddin Hodja’s poor neighbour came over to
him. He asked Nasreddin to lend him his donkey to carry ground wheat
from the watermill. But Nasreddin was reluctant to help, and lied that
the animal was absent. Unfortunately, in the wake of the lie, the
donkey brayed from the stable. The neighbour heard it and said:
“Obviously, the donkey has returned.” The host replied slyly, “Whom
will you trust: me or the donkey?” In another anecdote a man went to
his neighbour at night. He knocked on the door asking, “Are you
sleeping?” The host said no. Then the visitor asked for some money.
The host answered hurriedly, “I’m sleeping, I’m sleeping.” Proverbs
and anecdotes also warned that one should not rely too much on the
help of neighbours. By rule however the good neighbour readily helped,
saving the face of a man in need.
This is the message
of the following folk tale. A wild duck flew over to a poor man’s
yard. He caught it, but then thought that he would not be able to feed
his large family with a single duck. So he decided to exchange it for
bread. The man went to his well-off neighbour offering the duck. The
rich guy agreed on one condition. The poor neighbour was to divide the
duck into six pieces for the members of the host’s family. He agreed
immediately and handed the duck’s head to the host, who was the head
of family. To his wife he handed over the tail, because she was
expected to stay at home and take care of the house. The two sons got
the duck’s legs – as the young men were obliged to move around a lot
and keep the house. The daughters got the wings – they would marry
sooner or later and fly away from home. This left the poor guy with
the chest of the duck and he administered it to himself, saying “I
fool like me, ends up with a chest”. The rich man liked the wits of
his poor neighbour and left most of the duck to him together with a
lot of bread for his large family.
Finally, let's quote another proverb – ‘People learn from each
other, but the most they learn from neighbours.’
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PEACE HAVENS of BULGARIA
