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"[At the beginning of the century,] Galichnik had 12,000 inhabitants (at a time when Skopje had 30,000). Some of them owned thousands of sheep. My grandpa, for example, owned 12,000. There were about one Million sheep on whole Bistra mountain at that time," says Aleksandar Krzalovski [Кржаловски], the groom of Galichnik Wedding 1996.

Barely 10,000 sheep graze in the region today. Galichnik has several (elderly) permanent residents only. Today, the only professionals who frequently use Bistra's wide expanses consist of film crews, who make music- (Kaliopi B.) and election-campaigning videos (Boris T.).

Once a year, the serpentine streets and the ancient stone houses of this village overlooking the picturesque Reka region teem with life. On the St. Peter's holiday, for the traditional Galichnik Wedding.

Arrival of "Groom's blood-brothers," who run through the village, prancing their horses on the main square.

In the last hundred years, wars, changing Balkan borders, and constant violent harassment by Gheg (Albanian) gangs brought decline in trade and (ahem) the quality of life in Western Macedonia. Fighting poverty, many of the young men had to work as artisans (especially as masons) through the commercial centers of the Ottoman Empire, from Belgrade to Cairo, and beyond, in Western Europe and America. Men would spend their youth abroad, earning money to send home to the family, hoping to gather enough so they can start a business of their own.

Galichnik Wedding Galleries 13-14 July 2002

Day 1: Dances

Day 2: Galichnik scenery

Day 3: Teshkoto - the hard dance

Day 4: Wedding details

In order not to miss any friends or family when they visit their homes, migrant workers started visiting Galichnik on a set date. For many, it was the only time to be there, so those who needed marrying had their wedding on St. Peter's day. Eventually it became a tradition. Each wedding party had to bring their "own" musicians: a pair playing tapan (topan) drums, and a pair of zurla players.

"Forty young pairs had their wedding in 1937, when my grandparents got married," says Mr. Krzaloski. Sounds of music played anywhere in the village, travel far through the mountains, enhanced by the amphitheater-like terrain, even though only one team of tapan and zurla players attended the wedding. "You can imagine how it was in the past," he adds. The combination of drums' thunderous and zurla's shrieking sounds make one's hair shudder, while invoking the primeval warmth in the center of one's being.

After the World War II, the regime nationalized the land and the sheep industry. "They allowed owning five sheep per family," explains Krzalovski. "People left Galichnik for Skopje en masse." There, they adapted to the new system. "They had the managerial know-how from the sheep business. So, many of them become heads of [state-owned] factories and other institutions," gaining influence.

In the fifties, people of Galichnik persuaded the authorities to let them continue the wedding tradition as a "cultural manifestation." In 1995 the new law allowed Church involvement in the wedding. Since then, a priest have been marrying the newlyweds, who have to conduct official government-sanctioned ceremony also. Preferably, the pair has to have Galichnik ancestry. But not necessarily, as was the case this year. The organizers (the municipal council) hope to persuade UNESCO to protect the Wedding as a cultural treasure of world heritage.

A brief moment of rest for the dancers, displaying the costumes of married women and men.

Weddings could take many days in the past. In this version, the wedding rituals take 2 days: Saturday and Sunday. Dnevnik published a detailed article about its course ? I highly recommend it (Culture.in.mk translated it).

Arrival of the procession: first goes the banner, then the dowry, and the bride after them.

Traditional Macedonian society used to be quite patriarchal, and many of the displayed details bear witness to it: the mother in law is supposed to keep her mouth shut "for good luck," and the "new family" welcomes the bride by trying to put a horse bridle on her head, for three times. If they manage to do it to the jolting young woman, it's an omen that she will be obedient.

The elder Lepcheski dancing on the drum, delighting the audience. Photo by Filip Stojanovski

One of the cutest events at the wedding was presenting of two pairs who celebrated their wedding anniversary: Ratka and Branislav Lepcheski, who married 61 years ago, and Gape and Marija Adzhievski, who married 50 years ago. Even though he looked shaky while standing still, the vigorous & groovy Mr. Lepcheski (90) quite confidently led the dance and jumped on the drum, performing all the proper moves. Both pairs have been active in the organization of the Wedding, and thanked the audience for their continuous support, taking a gracious bow (check the fourth gallery).

The symbolic aspects of the rituals can prove refreshing for the tired Macedonians, who usually feel confused about their life and concerned about their future. One of the great lessons of the Galichnik Wedding is the lesson of endurance in face of great hardships. For, there are two kinds of power: the power to strike a blow, and the power to endure under pressure. Traditionally, and even during last year's aggression on their lands, the Macedonians have been denied the use of the former kind. Using the later has thus became their characteristic, lauded not only by themselves, but also by interested visitors, such as Rebecca West.

Dressing in Macedonian folk costumes, displaying the traditional colors of red, black and gold is alluring for the adults, and great fun for the children. The wedding provides great photo opportunities.  The time is ripe for traditional Macedonian theme-park.

In addition, the wedding brings back the sense of "the circle of life" which many urban Macedonians lack, displaying both the young and old family members in harmony, dancing apart or together, but all, even the feeblest grandmother and the weakest baby, performing a vital, and irreplaceable role in the whole. Westernized societies, where the elderly and the weak are treated as undesirable surplus, have much to learn from their "primitive" roots.

This lady sells plastic dolls in traditional folk costumes (made with original materials) for 1,000 denars ($17) a piece.

Even though the wedding provides a great business opportunity by way of tourism, it's potential is untapped. Galichnik has one tavern and one "disco." The owners of the tavern, knowing full well that the day of the wedding is the only one when a significant number of people visits the village, put high prices and even tried to double them for unsuspecting foreigners (IAESTE students), then showing low level of courtesy to other guests who prevented the virtual robbing. At least they had traditional music playing in the bar, live.

The disco (which in fact looked as a hamburger-making hall), on the other hand, blasted vulgar Serbian turbo-folk, totally out of sync with the general atmosphere and the spirit of the place. Unfortunately, lack of facilities, such as public toilets, forced the visitors to enter these establishments nevertheless.

The Wedding is a time when families can get togather

Galichnik also has one hotel, "Neda," built by HEK "Jugohrom" from Jegunovce decades ago. The whole company undergoes a suspicious process of shock-privatization (devaluation, liquidation, dirt-cheap take-over by preferably foreign investor), so it sinks with it. So, visitors without friends or relatives in the village have to resort to sleeping in cars or tents. Another solvable challenge is the transport: in the past, a special bus lines would operate during tourist season. It can be done again.

The Wedding organizers still manage to scrap some meager income from the manifestation, and managed to build an amphitheatre around the Upija fountain, where the visitors can sit and enjoy the show.

The student organization IAESTE brings their guests, who do summer internships in Macedonia, to the Wedding every year. On the photo: Vesna and Eli (Macedonia), Laura (Finland) and Renatta (Brasil).

Hopefully, as soon as the entrepreneurial Macedonians combine their characteristic workmanship, tradition and natural beauty with the principles of modern tourism and the Wedding and Galichnik will thrive.

Two young Galichnik Wedding participants: Dimitar Karkinski and Daniela Ordeva. Dimitar's family is from Galichnik, and he invited his girlfriend Daniela to take part in the celebration.