Aron Klein first discovered the mystical Kukeri tradition while deep in the Rhodopes Mountains in the south of Bulgaria. As one Meadows in the Mountains’ photographers, Aron had long been fascinated by the folklore and fairytales that are deep routed in this corner of the country, but it was during a visit to a local museum that the idea for his latest project started to form.
“It was inside this museum that I saw pictures of and actual furs from these costumes,” explains Aron. “They were incredible, and then I was told that these rituals are ongoing, still happening every year.”
The word Kukeri comes from the Latin word ‘Cuculla’, meaning a hood, and in Bulgaria denotes a folklore ritual. “As soon as I started to learn more about the tradition I knew I wanted to shoot the people keeping it alive and kicking,” continues Aron. “People in villages across the country dress up in elaborate suits of fur and ribbons, feathers and beads. They wear carved wooden masks with the faces of beasts and birds, as they dance and jump in arcane rituals intended to dispel the evil spirits.”
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