| Holiday Name: | Kurentovanje |
| Nickname: | 5th season, Europe's greatest outdoor ethno carnival |
| Celebrations: | Parades, parties, open-air performances |
| Longtype: | cultural |
| Type: | christian |
| Significance: | Celebration prior to fasting season of Lent. |
| Relatedto: | Carnival, Ash Wednesday, Lent |
| Begins: | 11 days before Ash Wednesday (57 days before Easter) |
| Ends: | Shrove Tuesday (47 days before Easter) |
| Duration: | 11 days |
Kurentovanje is Slovenia's most popular and ethnologically significant carnival event first organised in 1960 by Drago Hasl and his associates from cultural and educational organizations. This 11-day rite of spring and fertility highlight event is celebrated on Shrove Sunday in Ptuj, the oldest documented city in the region, and draws around 100,000 participants in total each year. In 2016 proclaimed as the 7th largest carnival in the world by Lonely Planet.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Its main figure, known as Kurent or Korent, has been popularly (but incorrectly) reinterpreted as an extravagant god of unrestrained pleasure and hedonism in early Slavic customs.[5] [4] In today's festival, groups of kurents or kurenti wear traditional sheepskin garments while holding wooden clubs with hedgehog skins attached called ježevke, the noise of which is believed to "chase away winter".[4] In this way, the presence of kurenti announces the end of winter and beginning of spring.[1] Being a kurent was at first a privilege offered only to unmarried men,[1] but today, married men, children and women are also invited to wear the outfit.[6]
In 2010, the 50th anniversary of the first organized instance of this festival was celebrated.[6] As the host of the festival, the town of Ptuj was admitted into the Federation of European Carnival Cities in 1991.[7] [8]
In 2017 Door-to-door rounds of Kurents was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[9]
The idea of an organized carnival event in Ptuj came about in the 1950s, when the carnival costumes, accompanied by a band, spontaneously formed processions on Shrove Tuesday.
This event continued to grow, thanks in no small part to Ptuj cultural historian Drago Hasl (1900–1976).[10] [11] Hasl, an indefatigable organiser of Kurentovanje from its beginnings until the 1970s, was strongly convinced that this event could help prevent what he saw as the extremely rapid disappearance of carnival habits and traditional customs in surrounding villages. In 1959, Hasl, strongly backed by those who shared both his views and enthusiasm for the event, proposed that the Historical Society of Ptuj take over the organisation and the implementation of the carnival event. He suggested that the event should be named after the most well-known costumes Kurent – and Kurentovanje was born. Hasl prepared a draft regarding the content and outlining the major guidelines to be followed to transform Kurentovanje into an event of ethnographic significance. His vision of an event comprising the unique carnival figures and habits from the Ptuj region, which could be joined at a later stage by other traditional Slovene costumes, helped to make the event grow into a festival of costumes. He additionally planned to expand the content of the event by introducing contemporary carnival costumes.
On Shrove Sunday, 27 February 1960, the first modern version of the festival, called Kurentovanje, was organized in Ptuj, featuring traditional carnival costumes from Markovci. Carnival participants lined up in a procession. The procession leaders were spearmen followed by ploughmen, "rusa" (a bear), fairies, cockerels, and Kurents, all dancing to the sound of music played by a local band. The performance and customs of each traditional costume were explained to the gathered crowd via loudspeakers. The event met with tremendous success and aroused general interest which encouraged the organizers to continue.
One year later, the Markovci costumes were joined by ploughmen from Lancova Vas, log-haulers from Cirkovci, and mourners from Hajdina. For the first time, carnival (non-ethnographic) groups presented themselves in the afternoon. In 1962 the event reached beyond local boundaries by inviting other carnival figures such as lavfarji (< Bavarian German Laufer 'runner'[5]) from Cerkno and borovo gostuvanje (literally, "pine wedding participants") from Predanovci in the Prekmurje region.
The international aspect of the event was acquired in the following years when local and Slovene traditional costumes were joined by costumes from: Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Japan and many other countries. The number of participants and spectators grew over the years, with thousands visiting the Carnival events to marvel at the spectacular costumes and take part in the fun.
For many years, the main part of the event had been the presentation of individual traditional carnival groups. This took place either on the Saturday or Sunday morning prior to the afternoon procession.
In 1994, the festival's program was extended to more than two days, featuring a multitude of events, performances in the square in front of the city hall, the burial of the Carnival, and an entertainment program in the carnival tent. From 1999 on, the Prince of the Carnival event was introduced with the enthronement of the Prince that takes place on 11 November (St. Martin's Day). This has become an important cultural and entertaining event in itself.
During the past few years, the carnival has begun precisely at midnight on 2 February—Candlemas. Budina, one of the mostly rural suburbs of Ptuj, stages the event. This event includes a huge bonfire around which, at the stroke of midnight, Kurents—for this event equipped relatively simply with a chain and five bells and a wooden club—start to dance, thus announcing the beginning of carnival. From this moment on Kurents are "allowed" to make their habitual rounds.
Nowadays the festival lasts for approximately eleven days, starting on Saturday, a week before Shrove Sunday, when only traditional carnival costumes form a procession on the streets of Ptuj and when the Prince of the Carnival is bestowed the honour of ruling the town during the carnival period. Each day features performances by individuals in costumes and many other types of entertainment which take place on the square in front of the town hall and in the carnival tent.
Activities culminate with Saturday's procession of traditional carnival costumes, the children's carnival parade, the burial of Carnival and the return of power to the mayor of the town. However, because there are sometimes fewer days between Candlemas and Shrove Tuesday, other activities are of shorter duration as well. Consequently, this strongly influences the entire program and development of the event each year.
Indigenous characters (masks) from Ptuj wider area including Ptuj field, Drava field and from Haloze:[12]
Kurent or Korant is the best-known traditional carnival figure of the entire region, as well as in all of Slovenia. The name is probably derived from the common noun kurant 'messenger, lackey, footman', borrowed from a Romance word from Latin currens 'running'—thus sharing a semantic base with the Cerkno term lavfar.[5] While Kurent groups might not all look exactly the same, it is the most popular and frequent traditional carnival figure in the Ptuj and Drava plains, and in the Haloze Hills.
Kurent or Korant, as it is known today, has its origin in popular tradition. Traditionally, the Kurents outfit was reserved for unmarried men, but nowadays Kurent-Korant can be unmarried or married men, as well as women, children, and animals.
The two types of Slovene Kurent-Korant are the so-called "feathery" (from the town of Markovci) and the "horned" ones (from Haloze), with the difference being mainly in the look of the head covering. The Kurent-Korant wears a massive sheepskin garment. Around its waist hangs a chain with huge bells attached—the resulting noise does a great job of "chasing away winter", which is, ostensibly, the Kurents function. The Korent also wears heavy boots and special red or green leg warmers, while the head is covered by a towering furry hat festooned with ribbons, and a mask typically sporting a long, red tongue.[13] A wooden club is normally carried in the left hand.
In 1960 and 1961, the event was held on Shrove Saturday. Since 1962, the event has been held on Shrove Sunday. Between 1962 and 1991, the program was scheduled in two parts: abefore noon there was parade of traditional costumes only in the city stadium, and the carnival was held in the town streets in the afternoon. With gathering of over 50,000 people each year on Sunday Shrove, this is the biggest Slovenian daily public event next to Planica Ski Flying event.[14]
| Edition | Year | Day | Date | Visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center colspan=5 bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:5px" | ↓ Historic Society Ptuj ↓ | ||||
| 1 | 1960 | Shrove Saturday | 27 February | 6,000 | |
| 2 | 1961 | align=center rowspan=2 | Shrove Sunday | 11 February | 14,000 |
| 3 | 1962 | 4 March | 20,000 | ||
| align=center colspan=5 bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:5px" | ↓ Folklore Events Ptuj ↓ | ||||
| 4 | 1963 | Shrove Sunday | 24 February | N/A | |
| align=center colspan=6 bgcolor=#F4C2C2 style="border-top-width:5px" | ↓ DPD "Svoboda" Ptuj (Local carnival replaced Kurentovanje) ↓ | ||||
| — | 1964 | Shrove Sunday Shrove Tuesday | 9 February 11 February | N/A | |
| align=center colspan=5 bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:5px" | ↓ Folklore Events Ptuj ↓ | ||||
| 5 | 1965 | Shrove Sunday | 28 February | 30,000 | |
| 6 | 1966 | Shrove Saturday Shrove Sunday | 19 February 20 February | 30,000 | |
| 7 | 1967 | Shrove Sunday | 5 February | align=center colspan=2 | cancelled |
| 8 | 1968 | Shrove Sunday | 25 February | 20,000 | |
| align=center colspan=5 bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:5px" | ↓ Folklore Society Ptuj ↓ | ||||
| 9 | 1969 | align=center rowspan=4 | Shrove Sunday | 16 February | 20,000 |
| 10 | 1970 | 8 February | N/A | ||
| 11 | 1971 | 21 February | 35,000 | ||
| 12 | 1972 | 13 February | N/A | ||
| align=center colspan=5 bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:5px" | ↓ Folklore Society Ptuj, Tourism Society Ptuj ↓ | ||||
| 13 | 1973 | align=center rowspan=49 | Shrove Sunday | 4 March | 40-50,000 |
| 14 | 1974 | 24 February | 40-50,000 | ||
| 15 | 1975 | 9 February | 40,000 | ||
| 16 | 1976 | 29 February | 45,000 | ||
| 17 | 1977 | 20 February | 40,000 | ||
| 18 | 1978 | 5 February | N/A | ||
| 19 | 1979 | 26 February | 40,000 | ||
| 20 | 1980 | 17 February | N/A | ||
| 21 | 1981 | 1 March | 40,000 | ||
| 22 | 1982 | 21 February | 40,000 | ||
| 23 | 1983 | 13 February | N/A | ||
| 24 | 1984 | 4 March | N/A | ||
| 25 | 1985 | 17 February | N/A | ||
| 26 | 1986 | 9 February | N/A | ||
| 27 | 1987 | 1 March | N/A | ||
| 28 | 1988 | 14 February | 45,000 | ||
| 29 | 1989 | 5 February | 40,000 | ||
| 30 | 1990 | 25 February | 50,000 | ||
| 31 | 1991 | 10 February | N/A | ||
| 32 | 1992 | 1 March | N/A | ||
| 33 | 1993 | 21 February | 30,000 | ||
| 34 | 1994 | 13 February | N/A | ||
| 35 | 1995 | 26 February | N/A | ||
| 36 | 1996 | 25 February | 25,000 | ||
| 37 | 1997 | 9 February | 40,000 | ||
| 38 | 1998 | 22 February | 50,000 | ||
| 39 | 1999 | 14 February | 10,000 | ||
| 40 | 2000 | 5 March | 50-60,000 | ||
| 41 | 2001 | 25 February | 45,000 | ||
| 42 | 2002 | 10 February | 50,000 | ||
| 43 | 2003 | 2 March | 60,000 | ||
| 44 | 2004 | 22 February | N/A | ||
| 45 | 2005 | 6 February | 50,000 | ||
| 46 | 2006 | 26 February | N/A | ||
| 47 | 2007 | 18 February | 40,000 | ||
| 48 | 2008 | 3 February | 50,000 | ||
| 49 | 2009 | 22 February | 55,000 | ||
| 50 | 2010 | 14 February | 60,000 | ||
| 51 | 2011 | 6 March | 65,000 | ||
| 52 | 2012 | 19 February | 60,000 | ||
| 53 | 2013 | 10 February | 30,000 | ||
| 54 | 2014 | 2 March | 50,000 | ||
| 55 | 2015 | 17 February | 55,000 | ||
| 56 | 2016 | 7 February | 40,000 | ||
| 57 | 2017 | 26 February | 60,000 | ||
| 58 | 2018 | 11 February | 60,000 | ||
| 59 | 2019 | 3 March | 45,000 | ||
| 60 | 2020 | 23 February | 50,000 | ||
| 61 | 2021 | 14 February | virtual |
| Since | Events | Always on the same day | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center colspan=4 style="border-top-width:5px" | ↓ Ethnic and carnival parades ↓ | ||||
| align=center style="border-top-width:2px" | 1998 | align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:2px" | Opening Ethnic Procession | align=right style="border-top-width:2px" | pre-Shrove Saturday |
| align=center style="border-top-width:2px" | 2020 | align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:2px" | Day of Kurent (Korant) Groups | align=right style="border-top-width:2px" | pre-Shrove Wednesday |
| align=center style="border-top-width:2px" | 2015 | align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:2px" | A Night Spectacle | align=right style="border-top-width:2px" | Shrove Friday |
| align=center style="border-top-width:2px" | align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 rowspan=2 style="border-top-width:2px" | City Carnival Promenade | align=right rowspan=2 style="border-top-width:2px" | Shrove Saturday | |
| 2013 | |||||
| align=center rowspan=3 style="border-top-width:2px" | 1960 | align=center bgcolor=#F4C2C2 style="border-top-width:2px" | International Carnival Parade | align=right style="border-top-width:2px" | Shrove Sunday |
| align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:2px" | Slovenian Kindergartens Parade | align=right style="border-top-width:2px" | Shrove Monday | ||
| align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 style="border-top-width:2px" | Burial Shrove | align=right style="border-top-width:2px" | Shrove Tuesday |
| Since | Art events | Always on the same day | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center rowspan=2 | 2009 | align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 rowspan=2 | Ex-Tempore | align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 bgcolor=#F0EAD6 width=110 | Art colony | pre-Shrove Saturday |
| align=center bgcolor=#F0EAD6 width=110 | Exhibition Opening | Shrove Saturday |
First prince of the Kurentovanje carnival was inaugurated on 11 November 1999, as now became tradition. At the initiative of Branko Brumen, one of the main organisers of Kurentovanje and vice president of FECC, as he saw this folklore on other carnivals in Europe long before Ptuj. In 2000 first prince "took" mayor's office for the period of eleven days of Kurentovanje carnival. Since 2013 princes have two-year mandate.[15]
| Prince | Town mandate | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jože Gašperšič as Gašper I | 26 February – 7 March | 2000 | |
| 2 | Zvonko Križaj as Matevž Zoki II | 17 – 27 February | 2001 | |
| 3 | Zlatko Gajšek as Don Zlatko III | 3 – 12 February | 2002 | |
| 4 | Ivo Rajh as Noble Mošcon Rajh | 22 Februar – 4 March | 2003 | |
| 5 | Branko Cajnko as Cajnko Friderik V | 14 – 24 February | 2004 | |
| 6 | Marjan Cajnko as Noble Holoneški VI (Noble von Holleneck VI) | 3 – 8 February | 2005 | |
| 7 | Marko Klinc as Klinc Hauptmann of Spuhlja | 18 – 28 February | 2006 | |
| 8 | Slavko Kolar as Slavko Noble Kacherl | 10 – 20 February | 2007 | |
| 9 | Miran Urih as Majer Cirkovški (Majer of Cirkovce) | 3 – 5 February | 2008 | |
| 10 | Stanko Vegan as Vegan Turniški (Vegan of Thurn) | 14 – 24 February | 2009 | |
| 11 | Milan Senčar as Knight Senčar, Noble Bernhard of Ptuj | 6 – 16 February | 2010 | |
| 12 | Janez Golc as Noble Baron Jakob Breuner of Markovci | 26 February – 8 March | 2011 | |
| 13 | Vlado Hvalec as Noble Jurij Oprossnitzer | 11 – 21 February | 2012 | |
| Two-year mandate | ||||
| 14 | Miroslav Slodnjak as Knight of Dornava | 3 – 12 February 22 February -– 4 March | 2013 2014 | |
| 15 | Rajko Jurgec as Bertold of Treun | 9 – 19 February 3 – 9 February | 2015 2016 | |
| 16 | Aleš Goričan as Noble Janez Maksimilijan Gregorič | 18 – 28 February 3 – 13 February | 2017 2018 | |
| 17 | Darko Cafuta as Jakob Baron Zekel of Videm | 23 February – 5 March 15 – 25 February | 2019 2020 | |
| Three-year mandate | ||||
| 18 | Hinko Šoštarič as Knight Hinko Sodinski, noble Gall[16] | 6 – 16 February 19 February – 1 March 11 – 21 February | 2021 2022 2023 |
See main article: Cleveland Kurentovanje.
Cleveland, Ohio, United States has one of the largest Slovenian American communities outside of Europe. Centered around St. Vitus Church, the St. Clair–Superior neighborhood began hosting a local version of Kurentovanje in the 2013. The celebration is conducted on the Saturday prior to Ash Wednesday.[17] [18]