Eniovden by babukchieva on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

A watercolor painting made by me, intertwining in itself the symbolism of a very sad love legend from Bulgarian folklore named "Eniova Bullya". This story lies at the heart of a tradition which is a part of the old holiday named "Eniovden" (Еньовден) / "Midsummer Day", celebrated annually on June 24th.

The story tells that many years ago in a village, Enio and Stana met and fell in love. They constantly thought about each other, but Stana's father did not care about their love. He ignored Stana's feelings and decided to betroth his daughter to a "worthy groom" despite all her pleas and tears. Time passed and they arranged the wedding. The wedding party came to take the bride. The girl was forced to go with them. When she reached the great Tunja bridge, she pulled down her veil and threw herself into the river.

When he found out about what had happened, her beloved Enio fell ill from grief. For nine whole years, he remains in bed, grieving for his lover. He didn't get out of bed so much that the sheets rotted under him. And all this time not a drop of rain fell from the sky. The river dried up. Livestock and people began to die. The earth cracked and everything dried up. In the tenth year, Enio's sister, worried about her brother's health, decided to alleviate his illness. She took the cross from the loom, placed the rolling pin on a cross and wrapped them with a child's diaper. She dressed the doll in women's clothes and put a veil on it. She went to Enio with the doll and said to him:

"Get up, Enio, get up, brother! Get up to see your Stana has come to be a bride for you." Enio opened his eyes wide and a smile shone on his face, hе stretched out his arms for a hug, took his last breath and died.

Nature, which until that moment had also suffered along with Enio, in turn expressed her relief - suddenly strong winds blew. Heavy rains poured down from the sky. The grasses and fields turned green. The herds bleated in the fields.

Since then, the custom of making "Eniova Bullya" has remained.

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