Hello, photography lovers from all around the Hive. Last time I edited black-and-white photos of Kurent and today I will show you more photos from this event. Kurentovanje is one of the 10 best carnivals in the world and yearly around 100.000 visitors gather to see this spectacle. This year I stopped there to see what is the fuzz about and to be honest I was surprised. 40 kg heavy suit and jumping around while there was 16 C outside is just crazy. All the kudos to Kurents. This tradition is recognized by UNESCO and Slovenians are proud of it. However, there aren't only Kurents at this carnival but also other characters. Some are funny, others stunning, and some scary. It is an international event though, and I hope it will get only bigger over the years. Please enjoy this gallery.
There is no carnival without royalty
These whip crackers were loud and quite dangerous. Once the crowd jumped away from the whip, so I guess it was close call...
Here it is Kurent in all his glory. Sheep wool, wooden mask, leather tongue and iron bells.
It must be hot under that mask and I can only imagine how hard it is to wear 40 kilos of the suit.
There is never too early to be one. This is actually the devil, companion with kurent.
Do you see those napkins? Back in the day, girls were giving them to Kurents who were only young single guys. I imagine he later came home and sniff those :)
Scary? It should be, to purge winter away.
The first mentions of Kurent date back to the 18th century, when the Slovenian writer and historian Valentin Vodnik wrote about the tradition in his book "Slava vojvodine Kranjske" (The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola) in 1790. However, it is believed that the Kurent tradition is much older than that and may have existed in some form for centuries before Vodnik's writings.
Tradition is alive still today and 11 days long rite is held every year to celebrate this tradition and purge winter away.
Can't help myself but I black and white these are truly spectacular.
Ahhh yes, gypsies.
And we got to the end of this carnival gallery. If you will be ever in Slovenia in the late winter time, check if this carnival is on and see it by yourself.
Stay blessed