Miller Learning Center, Room 214 Lecture During the 1980s, Pomak (Bulgarian Muslim) indigenous wedding traditions were forbidden by the Communist Bulgarian government, and brides were forced to wear Western attire. Today, most brides choose elaborate Western gowns and hairstyles. But in some villages, brides have chosen to revive traditional dress, in which the bride’s face is covered in white makeup and decorated with sequins. Interviews with elder women and brides show this costume, unique to Muslims in the Balkans, has protective significance for the bride, and symbolizes the bride’s honor. Throughout the Pomak community, local activists are staging reenactments of this wedding tradition and sharing videos and pictures of it on social media. Laura Olson Osterman will show and discuss video clips of weddings and reenactments, and will examine why and how members of this minority are framing these performances as emblems of their ethnic identity.
