Organization of the Sacred Space in Eastern Rupchos, Middle Rhodope Mountains (Locus and Regional Models)

Authors:

Pages: 400-412
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/AVFS9575

Abstract:

The sacralization of the space is a sine qua non for Bulgarian folk culture. This paper analyzes sacred places in the region of Eastern Rupchos in the Rhodope Mountains. The author views the vertical organization of the sacred space in this region as archaic and dating from the period before the Ottoman invasion in the Bulgarian lands at the end of the 14th century. It is hypothesized that this vertical organization of the sacred space has been preserved for a long period (up until the 20th century) in this region due to the well-developed cult of the Sun in the Rhodopes that could be traced back to the beginning of the first millennium BC.

Keywords:

ethnology; popular religiosity; Orthodox Christianity; Islam; sacredness.

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