Еthno-cultural features of the nutrition of the bulgarian karakachans

Abstract

The cultural features of different ethnic communities settled on the Bulgarian territories since decades are a factor for the formation of a sustainable ethno-cultural environment. The moral, material and spiritual features of the Bulgarian Karakachans ethnic group also determine the ethno-cultural peculiarities in their nutrition. The lifestyle, the religious affiliation and the deep roots of the beliefs and traditions are the basis of the understanding of nutrition as a cultural phenomenon. The nomadic way of life, migrations and long journeys in different climatic conditions of the environment, product diversity and living conditions form a knowledge of the use of wild plant species. They combine plant foods with dairy products derived from sheep's milk, but at the same time they also used products that find near the places to which they migrate. The way of life and the culturological norms of behavior of the Karakachans are a sign of social belonging to the conditions of the environment and the possibility to build an ethno-cultural model in their diet.