Karakachan village near Primorsko

Elka Zaharieva

"Karakachan" refers to the nomadic group of Greek pastoralists whose territory is primarily in the Pindus mountain range between Greece and Albania, but is also found in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Another spelling (in the Roman alphabet) is Sarakatsani. When this print was made, the population of Karakachani in Bulgaria was around 15,000; the population has significantly decreased since then, to around 2,500, as younger generations have become urbanized. Though they are of Greek origin, Karakachani in Bulgaria speak Bulgarian and consider themselves Slavic or Aromanian.

In this woodcut, Zaharieva depicts a woman in traditional Karakachan dress, sitting in from of a domed, thatched hut. These kinds of huts were built in familial clusters known as stani, and were constructed near both summer pastures and sheltering winter grounds.