The oldest historically known population of Bulgaria was that of the Thracians, over whom the dominion and culture of Rome spread. Even in the Middle Ages there were many remains of the old Romanized indigenous peoples, which were called Wallachians, and the toponymy of central-western Bulgaria still retains numerous traces of them. But in the first half of the century. VII the Slavs, having crossed the Danube with their tribes of rather peaceful farmers firmly attached to the land they colonized, almost totally absorbed the pre-existing populations and fixed the essential ethnic characteristics of today’s residents. When, in 678, the nomadic and warlike Turkish-Tatar tribes of the Bulgarians passed in turn south of the Danube, they imposed on the Slavic or Slavic peoples their strong military and political organization and therefore also the name, but not the language nor the culture. Merged with scant residues (Gagausi) in the Slavic mass, the successive Tatar invasions of the Avars, Cumans, Pecenegians, Tatars also ended. Modern Turkish domination, on the other hand, had much greater importance, both with the establishment of strong settlers, who also greatly changed the toponymy, and with the spread of Islam and many cultural traits among the Bulgarians, and the penetration of other Balkan nationalities.: Romanians and Greeks especially.
The researches of Vatev and Drončilov on the physical characteristics of the population show that this has on average brown type, somewhat above average stature (1.67 m in men), prevalent dolichocephaly (cephalic ind. In the various districts 78-82), faces midnight long (index 86-87), thin nose (index 65). True blondes are rare (50%), while the pure brown type (eyes and dark hair) reaches 47%. The Greeks, the Gagausis, the Armenians in Bulgaria are somewhat darker than the Bulgarians; the Turks, on the other hand, have a somewhat higher percentage of light color (13%). If we pass from the average characters to analyze the composition of the population we see that very different elements enter this, already present in a funerary mound of the century. IV d. C. of the Plovdiv region (Hamy, in Bull. Museum of Nat History., VIII, Paris 1902). The mixture therefore precedes the arrival of the Slavs, whose original physical type we ignore in every way. The “dinaric” type, dominant among the western Yugoslavs, brachycephalic, brown, tall, with a broad face and a strong and prominent nose, is numerous especially in the districts of north-western Bulgaria: always in the minority, however, compared to the dolichocephalic and mesocephalic type, which also presents itself with medium-tall stature and well-modeled facial features. This is clearly prevalent in eastern and southern Bulgaria, where it also tends to be shorter and therefore more similar to the common Mediterranean type. There are also some elements with rougher features, short skull, very large face and small stature,
The Bulgarians formed 81.4% of the population in the 1920 census, with 3,948,000 souls: among them there is a strong minority (400,000) of Mohammedan Bulgarians, called Pomaki, especially numerous in the southern districts and in the Rodope, and small communities of Catholics called Paulicians (32,000) along the Danube and the Marizza, and Protestants (6000). Strong nuclei of Bulgarian population live outside the borders of the state, especially in the neighboring territories: in Romania (250,000), where they are located especially in Dobruja, Macedonia (900,000), in old Serbia (200,000). In Bessarabia, the Bulgarian colonies total about 170,000 individuals. Overall, about 5,500,000 individuals belong to the Bulgarian people.
In Bulgaria there are more than 1 / 2 million Turks, popular preference in eastern Bulgaria and in all the cities, 80,000 Romanians with 10,000 Aromuni. 90,000 Greeks on the coasts of the Black Sea, where various towns are entirely Greek, and in the central-eastern districts and 13,500 Armenians. Very numerous, as in all of South-Eastern Europe, the Gypsies (130,000). The Jews, all in urban centers, are 43,000. A special mention deserves the Gagausi (4400), Turkish-speaking but Orthodox by religion, who are believed to descend from the Cumans, Tatar invaders of the century. XIII.
Foreign citizens resident in the state are about 30,000 and among them (in 1927) 1047 Italians.
Two thirds of the population is rural and lives in centralized hamlets and villages. Isolated residences are rare, apart from in the Balkan range and in Srednja Gora. On the other hand, in the open countryside there are numerous thatched huts in which the cattle spend the winter, and the houses scattered in the woods and pastures far from the village, in which, however, the owners of those usually live. Dwellings are still usually built with the closest available materials. On the löss of the Danube plain, as in Romania, the semi-underground dwelling is frequent, dug into the clayey soil, of which only the low sloping roof emerges, also often covered with earth: they are very primitive dwellings, but warm d ‘ winter and cool in summer. In the other constructions there are two types: one that we can say Mediterranean, in masonry and roof of curved tiles or stone slabs, with houses that in the Balkans, on the Rodope and on the edges of the Marizza valley often have two or three floors and are large and spacious; the other is the type of Turkish or Oriental origin, all or mostly of wood, with the upper level protruding on the ground level and resting on wooden poles. However, the mixed forms are the most common. The more modest houses are, in some regions, built with sun-dried clay bricks, and have only the ground floor, with a front porch formed by the roof protruding on the facade and resting on poles. all or mostly of wood, with the upper level protruding on the ground level and resting on wooden poles. However, the mixed forms are the most common. The more modest houses are, in some regions, built with sun-dried clay bricks, and have only the ground floor, with a front porch formed by the roof protruding on the facade and resting on poles. all or mostly of wood, with the upper level protruding on the ground level and resting on wooden poles. However, the mixed forms are the most common. The more modest houses are, in some regions, built with sun-dried clay bricks, and have only the ground floor, with a front porch formed by the roof protruding on the facade and resting on poles. For Bulgaria culture and traditions, please check aparentingblog.com.
The various ethnic influences and the general and local state of isolation in which Bulgaria remained for centuries, under Turkish rule, have favored the development and conservation of regional particularities. This occurs above all in village clothing, which however quickly gives way in the face of the spread of Western styles. Depending on the prevailing color of the male costume, Bulgarians are designated in the country as belodreskovci (white pants) and è ernodreskovci (in black pants). White trousers, long and tight in the old Balkan fashion, were once very popular, but are now especially localized in the Danubian and Western districts. The dark trousers, very wide and closed below the knee (Bosnian form), are preferably found among the mountaineers and the Pomaki, completed by cloth leggings and a wide wool band at the belt. On the shirt, of coarse fabric, a sleeveless jacket or a loose dress is worn: in winter, sheep fur. The low and flat fur cap is, as in Romania, the most used headdress. Leather sandals (ciocie) and foot patches are still worn, especially in the mountains, in place of shoes and socks.
In the female costume the local differences are very notable. The most characteristic common elements are: the long embroidered shirts, with wide sleeves, of very fine fabric (sometimes silk) in all visible parts; the sukman of dark wool, sometimes blue, with short sleeves, often decorated with gold braids and multicolored embroidery, open on the chest, which reaches mostly up to the shoulders and in some places goes down to the ankle, elsewhere just below the knee, uncovering the end of the shirt, and a double apron, which is almost always woven or embroidered in bright colors. The head is covered by a white or black handkerchief, fixed in some region over a cap. Earrings, necklaces, gold, silver and filigree bracelets are never lacking in the complete costume (for more details see, at the end of the article: Folk art).
Social life has various characteristic features, but the large family community (the zadruga of the Serbs), which welcomes each new generation into its bosom, has now disappeared almost everywhere, with the exception of some of the mountainous districts. In general, the bride is chosen outside the village (exogamy) and has a higher position in the family than among the other Balkan populations. The national dance is the chorò (cf. rom. Hora, gr. Χορός), in which the dancers hold hands in a row or in a circle and dance with a composed rhythm, often with no other musical accompaniment than choral singing.
