Mummers

2025 · 42x60 cm, linocut A/p

My three party personalities: an imposing devil, a creepy old woman, and a mysterious goat. These are the most popular costumes for mummers. Mummery are a carnival practice with pagan roots, common among Germanic, Slavic, and Caucasian ethnic groups. Mummers disguised themselves beyond recognition with makeup and funny costumes so they could make noise, fool around, and prank their neighbors with impunity. In return, they received many treats and gifts, as they symbolized evil spirits or the souls of ancestors, and were treated with caution and honor. Among the Slavs, mummers always accompanied all weddings, and winter and spring celebrations, but they also sometimes performed during summer and autumn harvest festivals and even funerals. When I was little, my friends and I went caroling every year on New Year’s and Maslenitsa. It was always a bitterly frosty day, but we had fun and walked half the city. People didn’t always open doors for us, and sometimes they were rude, but many listened to our songs and gave us money, candy, and fruit.