Bulgaria’s Muslim Minority With One of the Most Unique Wedding Traditions in the World

[@handevveer4681]

I am a Christian Bulgarian and I have a lot of Pomak friends. We love you dear brothers and sisters and treasure these traditions. Pomak people are indeed one of the most hard working and decent people in the world!

[@NoName24-s6i]

Bulgarian CAN NOT be an Authentic Christian. Gentiles are NOT CHRISTIAN.

[@Sa7biUK]

Its good to see there are still non-Islamophobic Christians in Bulgaria. Respect to you from a Pakistani Muslim!

[@NoName24-s6i]

@Sa7biUK Salam, bro.. Listen. Gentiles cannot be Authentic Christians. Read Al Injeel Gospel to confirm.

[@nikmatummi6484]

​@@BulgarLION681then who are they in the video?

[@manna19590]

Why don't you embrace Islam, brother, and become one of us? Islam is for all. Peace.

[@ahmedmus7684]

As a Christian Bulgarian I am glad that my homeland is such a multicultural and multireligious country and that we all live in peace, mutual respect and harmony with each other. We are all proud to call ourselves Bulgarians in spite of our differences which is amazing. Bulgaria can be an example for the world!

[@khansahb-o4e]

Your name is Ahmed and you're a Christian?

[@Qaranwadani1993]

This is a different. Even to us Muslims from abroad.

[@doctorasmaakhatab9011]

Your name is Ahmed how?

[@motazksa4506]

I never knew we had brothers and sisters in Bulgaria, Allah bless❤

[@BalkanskaMechka]

May Allah guide you ❤

[@ОООАльфаТрансМ]

God bless Muslims around the world

[@Athirahindustani]

They are more bulgarian , rooted in their original culture, trafitions than being a moslem.

[@laanaa26]

Anyone with any culture or background can be muslim its just religion not a nationally ​@Athirahindustani

[@stonew1927]

God bless All People around the world . . .

[@laanaa26]

@@stonew1927 Ameen

[@عمر-ل9ع2ي]

@@Athirahindustaniwhy is a pagan like yourself speaking about things that do not concern it??

[@tarikmehmedika2754]

MasAllah, i would love to meet our muslim brothers Pomaks 😊 Assalamu alaykum from Bosnia

[@robertmcnamara5407]

What an amazing video with such a beautiful tradition. World Heritage should list these traditions amongst it's treasures.

[@ZZ-oc2eb]

Definitely! Very unique to their culture as well as embracing and keeping Islam. It’s like us African Muslims we are committed to Islam but still have our culture and traditions so our culture isn’t stripped away from us through arabization and islam.

[@amalsoudi5952]

What a beautiful people, and amazing tradition! I will love to visit that city one day! Salaam to you from USA.

[@sheilagadde5975]

Hope these lovely people can preserve their Wonderful Culture and Values.

[@muhammadroshanmughees1586]

This is so beautiful. I would love to see this one day when I visit bulgaria

[@drattiyasskinmattersclinic3457]

They have preserved their traditions so well, I would like to keep this village visit in my list of tourist spots, Insh Allah ❤

[@MuslimahTiktok]

Wow you learn something new everyday. Absolutely beautiful.

[@digitaldina]

i hope they preserve the beautiful and various cultures in the region, despite the conflicts between them they all inhabit a beautiful region and reflect their love for it in their traditions

[@ruhelkhan7986]

It’s not solely muslim wedding. It’s a mixture of a culture with muslim weddings.

[@anisfatima1559]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👏

[@Athirahindustani]

What is moslem wedding ? Seperating men nd women , no music, dance just mourning 🤣

[@Athirahindustani]

Wish you could learn something from them nd stop pretending to be arabs. Embrace ur roots, culture, language 🙏

[@Athirahindustani]

What is moslem name, moslem wedding, moslem culture ? All the so called moslem names, culture , wedfing rituals existed even before Mohammed .

[@almurabitun]

​@@Athirahindustani ignore him he is stupid. Islam never came to erase culture but preserve it providing things are not against the teachings

[@lissakaye610]

She looks like a living doll! Such beautiful makeup, so stunning. The tradition of the mirror and closing her eyes leaving her fathers home and entering her husbands is so incredibly touching. ❤

[@ytc257]

Jesus is a messenger of God

[@moonzdrop9811]

Thank you , that's beautiful ❤️ salute to Bulgaria 😊

[@matldn2697]

The inter mixing of culture and all faiths is stunning.

[@ShaheenKhan-xw3we]

Marvellous ! I am a practicing Muslim , and love the Turkish culture , and people , and this is amazing . I wish they keep their traditions

[@ajam-n3s]

They're not Turkish 🤦‍♀️

[@ShaheenKhan-xw3we]

@@ajam-n3s l know they are not Turkish 🇹🇷, but the program was a TRT one ( they are Turkish)

[@Perihanydz]

​@@ajam-n3smost muslim Bulgarians live in Turkey and they define themselves as Turks

[@Perihanydz]

Most muslim Bulgarians live in Turkey and they defin themselves as Turks

[@ajam-n3s]

@@Perihanydz national identity doesn't erase cultural ethnic identity. Traditions were there before the founding of a "nation"

[@blususpect]

I'm definitely have to see this for myself one day, I never knew of the Polmaks until today, what a interesting culture

[@muhammedriaz4478]

Beautiful tradition….video,is educational…..peace and love to all communities in difficult times

[@LOVE5JAB]

Very beautiful Bride, and love the culture of this Bulgarian tribe..

[@tugbaa4401]

So similar to our weddings in Türkiye, especially in small villages. In cities they have started to change but in small places, the weddings are more or less the same with them, except the face painting and mirror. I have never seen that in Türkiye.

[@biancashingles8225]

I love the POMAK MUSLIM people ❤❤❤❤

[@coldogno7]

everybody deserve to practice their own culture

[@maymellor7592]

What a beautiful ceremony ❤❤❤❤❤

[@perizat1888]

Oh my God. The henna tradition. I am a Pamirian and in my childhood we used to colour our hands with henna, wrap it and sleep with it overnight. Their features are also so Pamirian. Pomak i guess is very much related to Pomerak or whatever ... They are definitely from Pamir. I have seen Bulgarians in the Pamir. Come and visit the hometown of your ancestors some day, dear Bulgarians.

[@marianseren9137]

What a beautiful culture Congratulations

[@lovely-mk4rt]

I love learning about traditions worldwide. Thank you 🌺

[@Modest_Life_Style]

Nice:) However, it’s important to point out that their cultural traditions that we saw, are not Islamic, they are just their culture. Typically, Muslim weddings are simple and definitely do not mandate for such elaborate practices, as sweet as they are. Muslims typically will incorporate their culture into their weddings, which is absolutely fine. So each Muslim wedding can be completely different from another. As long as the basic guidelines to deem them married are met…these are simple and few (maybe 1 or 2 things), they are free to incorporate the beauty of their culture as they like.

[@syedabukhari2643]

It’s beautiful ceremony ❤❤❤❤❤

[@simplica1]

Interesting. Never seen this before. Thanks for the info!

[@NK-ht3fo]

Thank you for highlighting

[@shaikhrashid287]

Alhamdullilah aswrbhu beautiful traditions you are following mr mayor with regards from India 🇮🇳 maharashtra osmanabad shaikh Rashid

[@brightbright400]

Very similar to Irani, Pakistani, Tajikistani, Turkish, etc. weddings…

[@mohabatkhanmalak1161]

What a wonderfull tradition, nice to see our muslim bretheren and asalam alaikum.🌹

[@nonozebra4196]

Assalamualaikum to all my pomak brothers and sisters ❤❤❤

[@furqon.design]

Their language sounds really beautiful

[@ivayola]

well done, thank you for showing this beautiful tradition from my country to the world❤

[@sansnom508]

Well, that was completely fascinating! Many thanks and warm good wishes from Canada.

[@MullBatoora-kf6cj]

Love you all my bro and Sis of Ribnova Bulgaria 🇵🇰.

[@82medical]

Congratulations to the newlywed couple! Ma sha Allah what beautiful people and traditions. Sending lots of love to my Pomak brothers and sisters ❤

[@mks6148]

Wow beautiful culture 🫶🏾

[@asifamalik1387]

Love from Pakistan 🇵🇰 my beautiful brothers n sisters of Bulgaria May Allah swt ease ur hardships n May u prosper in ur land 🤲

[@rekakhanom6931]

Wow too much traditional and culture can take you from the spiritual journey of life as a Muslim.

[@daizz5500]

This is CULTURE not ISLAM

[@mohammadnoor9697]

for islam asian, culture and islam is one dear

[@daizz5500]

@@mohammadnoor9697 that's what those people THINK, not what is allowed in Islam.

[@galaxys4227]

Definitely not Islam

[@lightscameras4166]

Just because people accept islam, doesn’t mean that they forget their culture. Saying “this is culture not Islam” is pretty stupid because Islam and culture co-exist together. Arab culture, Indo-Pakistani Culture, Turkish culture and Bulgarian culture are all part of Islamic culture

[@daizz5500]

@@lightscameras4166 lol, tell me that you don't know what is haram without telling me you don't know what is haram.

[@shahzrayn5464]

Wow..that's beautiful tradition..🎉🎉🎉 May Allah bless you n your wife untill jannah bro..❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@zahidaperveen3631]

This match to pakistani chitral culture as well as pakistani culture beautiful❤from pakistan.

[@hassanaftab1270]

Chitrals is destroying culture by radical mullahs.

[@AhmedAli-oe8si]

Beautiful people strong devoted muslims saw a documentary about them . Really proud of you people . Much love from Egypt.❤❤❤❤❤

[@MdAminulIslam-e8b]

Seems like Pretty Fascinating Tradition.

[@april147]

How fascinating!! 😍 May Allah always keep them in the right path

[@FairoozSachit]

Nice tradition and culture

[@syedsuhailkhalid6405]

As salaam alaikum dear Pomac muslim brothers!

[@pearlsof5534]

Did not know that Bulgarians were also Muslims. Alhamdullilah

[@crimsonfarts6856]

most of us aren't

[@Dinosaur315]

I have ancestry from Thrace and I consider pomaks as my brothers and sisters. We are all thracians just with different identities.

[@comradeleppi2000]

Thrace means?

[@Dinosaur315]

@@comradeleppi2000 What are you trying to say?

[@anisahussein2056]

Impressive 😍❤

[@MdSakil-qk5kv]

Assalam,alaikum,,trt,world,i,am,indian,your,news,are,perfect,🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@laanaa26]

Mashallah ❤

[@perizat1888]

Ancestors of the modern Bulgarians are Pamirians, a Persian speaking population living in Central Asia. Therefore, it is not a wonder that they are Muslims. According to recent studies by anthropologists, clues about the ancestors of the modern Bulgarians could be found in the valleys of the Pamir Mountains in Asia. “What recent studies show is that most probably we are of Pamirian origin. We have similarities with the Ishkashim ethnic group, the Kalash, and others. We are talking here about true anthropologic similarities. There are many similarities in customs and traditions too, but of course there are differences, as Bulgarians left Central Asia some 2,000 years ago.”

[@perizat1888]

@@syedibtisamhaider9257 They were thought to be Slavic but it has been proved that they are of Pamirian/Persian origin. Pamirians also look like Europeans. Just google this: памирцы внешность.

[@aminmavric7501]

​@@syedibtisamhaider9257 Most of the Slavic languages use either "Dan" or "Den" for day. Though it's interesting that in Urdu it's something similar.

[@perizat1888]

​​@@aminmavric7501Persian is an Indo-European language. Therefore there are many words with the similar roots in Persian and European languages. For instance: modar (Persian) - mutter (German) - mother (English) - mama (Russian); 2. padar (Persian), father (English) vater (German); papa (Russian); 3. Barodar (Persian), bruder (German), brother (English), brat (Russian) and etc People tend to lose their languages when they move to other places. There are so many Turks across Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and etc) that don't speak Turkish anymore. At least I know some. They know that they are Turkish but they don't speak Turkish and speak Russian instead. People lose their languages, religion and etc but there are certain customs and traditions that are passed from generation to generation and are always there.

[@NisCho754]

@@syedibtisamhaider9257thanks for sharing I had no idea! As a Bengali from Bangladesh I was very surprised when I got to know that a “random” word like devar (brother-in-law) is the same in Bulgarian as in our languages

[@erumrahms7142]

​@@NisCho754wow. Even in Urdu/ Hindi we use devar for BIL of a woman.

[@shamamcwann5196]

Very interesting video. Thanks ❤

[@Abuamina001]

Charming video.

[@comradeleppi2000]

Even if they have love marriage or start living in city they should come back to village for their marriage. What a beautiful tradition. That mirror tradition is so beautiful meaningful yet sad for a woman, but anyways this culture is beautiful. I have never seen bride's face painted on her wedding.

[@hoomanAdnan]

❤ from Bangladesh 🇧🇩

[@nishasook1138]

Very informative and interesting.

[@darkerm76]

its unfortunate so see such free mixing.. its not permissible but its now everywhere.. May Allah Guide us All.

[@Kulf118]

I was searching for this comment, alhamdulilah. Weird how no muslim pointed this out.

[@zahrareaume]

I was thinking the same thing about many of the traditions...more cultural, not so much Islamic.

[@aminaisha3475]

​@zahrareaume Islam gives room for peoples' culture as long as it isn't contradictory with dictates of the deen. Yes, free mixing isn't permissible as pointed out by @darkerm76. We pray Allah forgive us our transgressions.

[@iddi2278]

Lovely

[@sahinurbegum642]

Omgggg very very beautiful looking bride 👰‍♀ 😍 ❤️ 💖 💕 😘

[@salamkitchen707]

Manshallah ❤❤❤❤❤

[@Ramdelfalcao2024]

Turkey need to keep eye on there former colonies minorities because they being tortured some places

[@ZZ-oc2eb]

This is awesome to know about

[@rahma4043]

Beautiful culture

[@shaziahafeez801]

This is not islam representation..its a community rituals they are following and in today world people had adopted ans mixed the rituals from around the community.its not Islam...Islam has simple wedding with no burden on any party with witness for marriage to stay long...islam is a beautuful simple religion..which we human or any country cannot define...as media mixing cimmunity stuff and human nature and acceotance has madr things acc to them..real Islam is perfect and by the God..

[@MaitreeSG]

They incorporate a lot of their culture in the wedding. Same as other Islamic wedding around the world from different cultures.. Pure Islamic wedding are more simple actually. The mirror thing, how does that work if husband dont stay same area or from another country? Or the bride was not born there? 🤔 Just wondering

[@HalalBint]

The clothing everything about it is Yafai (South Yemeni) traditional clothing just search up Yafai south yemeni clothing and you would see everything is literally Yafai just the makeup is the unique part. Sub Hun Allah.

[@rimamardini5821]

اليمن يمن بينما هدول قرباط او غجر

[@yasminyoungjermjun1752]

Masha Allah

[@dyanica_8267]

If you actually make good research on Islam, you can tell by the first minute that it's no muslim culture. This is culture is from the ethnicity not from the religion. The prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, whom the muslims follow, has never had such a wedding or has promoted such weddings. And there are many things here that contradict Islam. Clearly they think that this is part of islam cause they learned it like that, but I hope they can learn what it truly is. People should practice their culture with an understanding of where it comes from and we shouldn't spread false information!

[@rakamu2940]

In malaysia, we also muslim wear henna like this one day before wedding, but this few years its bevome trend where most people decorate the henna like indian style.

[@MohdZakir-xp8im]

Gradually with the passage of time all such rituals and traditions will take a back seat and life will be steadfast to

[@TinRaTin]

Nothing against our Pomak brothers and sisters. But gelina (even though this is not the name we use for it)is not at all unique to them and it would be a bit strange to have it verified by unesco as sort of their thing. Speaking as Goranien from Kosovo, we have the same tradition of painting the face, although not as popular now. It is still a part of tradition by usually muslims from Prizren to Gorani in Albania even Torbesi in North Macedonia and even albaniens in Northern Macedonia... Strange though that arranged marriages is even still a thing...

[@bluewren65]

I agree, arranged marriages give neither the bride nor groom much agency. These traditions can survive while giving the couple more say in the "with whom and when".

[@muhammadnadeem4909]

Love to see Baulgaria. A beautiful country.

[@62Cristoforo]

Such a strange and mysterious tradition to watch, for Westerners like myself. The background music was a good choice.

[@zarkanazbibishah8500]

In Islam its the man who provides for everything thd wedding and after. The women dose not bring anything at all

[@adityabhatnagar9053]

great

[@dandellionsy6537]

I never travelled to Bulgaria especially this place. May I ask if anyone knows whether it is safe for a single traveller to go around in Sofia or this place, especially for women? Thank you

[@javaidsdar]

who are pomak, so by blood they are not turk? are they slavic ancestery.

[@sahizasahil7129]

Yes they’re Slavic just like Bosnian

[@Boom_112]

Beautiful ❤

[@Sa7biUK]

Pretty much every girl here is a knockout. Must be something in the water because they are easily more attractive than 90% of Turkish or Greek girls. Masha'Allah!

[@asrofmohamed8456]

Wish to visit my brothers muslim ...the Pomak muslim in Bulgaria...nice tradition

[@yazzbazzs3602]

Why they can't practice their religion and mosques are closed?? Sad to hear that ngl

[@luciatheron1621]

She goes from pure to pure proving her innocence and the groom? ....no thanks.

[@hajirakaka7343]

This wedding is against sunnah of our beloved Muhammad صل الله عليه وسلم

[@mirsadagerzic7160]

Muslimani sa balkana nisu arapi nisu turci oni Su slaveni Koji Su uzeli Islam

[@momsum]

this kinda make up is not allowed for Islamic/Muslim wedding .. it's their own tradition

[@cocoaorange1]

Interesting . I never saw a Bulgarian wedding.

[@NoName24-s6i]

Do not add your cultures into Islam. Islam is Islam. Your culture is your culture. Two separately different things.

[@aryanhassan4659]

If that is the case most of us would leavee Islam..😂😂.. culture is very important and intermixing is common

[@NoName24-s6i]

@aryanhassan4659 If you leave Islam and Disobey ALLAH, then you were never Al Mumin Believers in the 1st place. So go ahead and just leave. Lest you Stop. WASH. REPENT. and Reform.

[@hassanaftab1270]

Islam is a religion and culture is culture. Arab culture and Islam is 2 different thing. Dont confuse. People can follow their culture and islam

[@aryanhassan4659]

@@NoName24-s6i we are not Arabs....you want all non Arabs to leave their culture and adopt the practice of culturelesss Arabs?

[@dyanica_8267]

​@@aryanhassan4659 Yes, culture is important but you cannot follow it if it contradicts with islam. For example, if youre from xy country and muslim, but in your culture you have a tradition where you dance for different gods or such, you cannot participate in that. Because obeying your creator is more important than that. But if youre for example muslim and in your xy country you eat banana bread, that isnt a problem because it doesnt interfere with your religious practice. Heritage shouldnt be forgotten but dont forget that we belong with God after death, not our (in some cases) forbidden culture. And i think that if you feel a strong belief, it wont be much of a problem to let something go that goes against your values and beliefs. ✌️

[@TRBs20_]

POMAKS ARE NOT BULGARIANS, TURKS OR OTHERS, POMAKS ARE POMAKS THATS ALL

[@sarwatmir1607]

Love ❤❤❤ Muslims traditional wedding we have also traditional wedding in Northern Pakistan but we don't make do these glitter make up on face

[@TheVanyaP]

The traditions...Have you ever studied Bulgarian history? - The 'pomaks' are Christian Bulgarians, who became/were turned into Muslim Bulgarians in the difficult dark times when Bulgaria was under the Ottoman yoke. To survive, most of the Bulgarians were forced to give up their faith and Christianity and were turned into Muslims. Thousands of Bulgarians, who refused to give up their faith, have been tortured and killed, including women and children. Many Bulgarians suicide, but did not accept to become Muslims, because they were baptised Christians...We have so many heartbreaking stories and legends in our history about those times...Those are so dark times of Bulgarian history...So, tell me, what are the traditions of pomaks in Bulgaria?!...The same as every Bulgarian citizen today and of course they may vary - so, what?...When I was a University student in Blagoevgrad city (1982-89) - the area with many pomaks villages - I had friends, who were pomaks, but I found this later on. They had a Bulgarian wedding and they were not forced by anyone at that time to do a different one...The pomaks I know, had Bulgarian names as well (maybe some not)...WHY does this video separate our Bulgarian nation again!?!...Sorry, but the way my country is shown in this video is offensive to me. It means...We all know - every country has dark times. Every country today has all those kinds of villages, which taken out of context, sounds strange, especially when you want to get the bad effect... But we had/have no ghettos in Bulgaria. During socialism (there was no communism ever), there were no beggars. Nowadays - we have. Let's talk about this. Let's show traditional Bulgarian weddings as we have those today.

[@Sa7biUK]

If they were forced to become Muslims, why didn't they just turn into good communistic-atheist-'oRtHoDox' during the communist era?!

[@E36333]

If you wonder why they had Bulgarian names, Bulgarian surnames and Bulgarian weddings you might as well check what "revival process/възродителен процес" means, maybe you'll remember then. I'm born in Blagoevgrad and my whole family is Pomak/Turkish. I know what I'm talking about

[@TheVanyaP]

@E36333 I never agreed that what happened in 1989 was right. It was a big mistake and it hurt many people...But now all these are back to normal. Now - you check what the Ottomans did with the Bulgarian people during the Ottoman yoke. Check the history, the literature. "Даваш ли , даваш Балканджи Йово, хубава Яна на чужда вяра"...the story about Batak and many more...All those change the our country Bulgaria. It was genocide against Bulgarians.That is why we have pomaks today, which is all right with all of us. BUT, I don't separate them from the Bulgarian nation. This wedding, shown in this video I just old times Bulgarian wedding. All Bulgarians living in villages had this kind or this model of wedding - with bracelets made from money, all village selebration, with 'cheiz' from the bright side...Not face painting, bit something else...I participated this kind of wedding in North Bulgaria myself as a child...This was old Bulgarian weddings, as well as pomaks, maybe Gipsys...we are one nation.

[@E36333]

@@TheVanyaP I'm not mentioning the revival process to accuse Bulgaria of anything but to explain why the pomaks you met had Bulgarian names and surnames. They didn't have the choice back then but nowadays they do and the vast majority of them took their original names back. The wrongdoings of the ottoman empire have nothing to do with the topic of identity and origin here, it's a country that has been gone for a hundred years already. From what I've noticed the pomaks in the Pirin region largely have either Turkish or Pomak identity, and Pomak means a separate thing from Bulgarian and Turkish to a lot of them. Keep in mind that while Bulgaria has roughly 150k pomaks modern Turkey has up to 600k. This should tell you enough about their identity. The pomaks in Smolyan are pure Bulgarians on the other hand and it reflects on their surnames and identity as well. The problem is that even the pomaks themselves don't agree on what being Pomak means, it's a way too broad term. The pomaks from the Rhodope, Pirin and Ludogorie region don't have much in common other than their religion. I don't really know what's the origin of this wedding here, all I know is that in mixed Pomak and Bulgarian towns and villages the Pomaks always married like this and the Bulgarians never did. There's differences even in the cuisine, dialect, mentality and traditions. If you've attended a wedding like this in the North that's pretty cool, it's a unique tradition and it would be a shame if it disappeared

[@TheVanyaP]

@E36333 OK. But as I pointed out in my comment, I met them as a university student before 1989...I don't know how old/young you are, but I remember the times when those kinds of weddings happened in the villages in Bulgaria. I don't mind them being part of Bulgarian traditions...I am against the separation of the Bulgarian nation which usually starts with this 'innocent' way, but later on, may turn into something bigger. What is for example happened nowadays with Bulgarian and Macedonian people. That is why I'm saying - Do not separate Bulgarians!

[@denizliberal]

TURKISH MINORITY !!

[@whatever2206]

They arent Turks !!!!!! Those are native balkan and european muslims.

[@polha4966]

islamized slavs not turks....just you the turks you call everyone muslim a turk lol

[@valentindimitrov7890]

Помаците са българи ,мюсулманската вяра са я прихванали насила от вас турците по време на османското иго!

[@valentindimitrov7890]

​@@whatever2206ТЕ СА БЪЛГАРИ

[@TikiGardenParty]

They are ethnically bulgarian not Slavic. We are not slavic!

[@lewdGirl-e9g]

Щом не сме славяни,какви сме?? Тъпак

[@kauserbegum1972]

Ye koun se country ka ye koun se Muslim hai i am Indian Muslim girl

[@bbbking159bbb8]

❤

[@valentindimitrov7890]

Помаците са българи!

[@Kdr83691]

❤❤❤