the ‘inside’ other 111
belief among Bulgarians that the man who “slaughters the dog/cut the
dog into pieces”, indeed is the one who is in power). Mostly because of
that the so-called institution of sacred killing of the ruler (“the killing
of the divine king”) was preserved till very late in those societies.^99
Not surprisingly the metal lamellae on the shaman costume were
linked with military armor and cuirass; the latter, however, were a
product of the smiths^100 who, better than any others, had control over
fire and metals. Both the shaman and the smith had knowledge of
secrets acquired during the rites of initiation (rites of passage). Both
were ‘rulers/masters of fire’ and therefore were considered as people
able to command this element, indeed one of the most important in
the Universe. Typologically, the metal-laden jackets of the heavy cav-
alry that protected them from the enemy’s arrows and saber hits were
also close to the garments of the shaman, which were also covered
with metal lamellae so as to repel the evil forces and spirits.^101
It is no surprise, therefore, that in Bulgaria such persons used to
accompany the army during the war campaigns being at the same time
“boilades”, i.e. representatives of the high aristocracy, and “koloburs”,
i.e. magicians or “army priests” begging Heaven for success in the bat-
tles or provoking obstacles for the enemy by manipulating the forces
of Nature.^102 However, it is important to stress here the difference
between the old Bulgar “koloburs” who were also astrologists/astron-
omers and the classic Turkic “qams” who were mainly healers and
ghost-invokers. The first used to deal with the practice of pre-battle
fortune-telling and incantation, extremely important for the pre-mod-
ern man and also used to choose the most proper days and hours for
(^99) For the sacred king’s power and the linked to it phenomenon known as “the kill-
ing of the divine king” the classical work is, Freizur [Frazer] 1984. Also see, Beshevliev
1981, 68–69 (with data referring to the nomadic world). 100
For the smiths and for the beliefs in the remote past that are linked to the metal-
lurgy details see in, Eliade 2000. Also see, Kardini [Cardini] 1987, 97, who named the
smiths as “magi-craftsmen”.
(^101) Kardini [Cardini] 1987, 90.
(^102) For the shamans/koloburs in Bulgaria in general see, Ovcharov 1981, 73–83;
Ovcharov 1996, 51–67. For the Khazars see, Zakhoder 1962 (Vol. 1), 148–149. Simi-
lar data can be found in the sources for the sixth-century Bulgars who managed to
overcome Byzantine armies thanks to magical practices—for this see, Beshevliev 1981,
- Especially for the koloburs see the multitude of stone inscriptions scattered in the
core territory of heathen Bulgaria and dated mainly to the first two-three decades of
the ninth century in, Beshevliev 1981, 52, 83–84; Beshevliev 1992, 71–72, and N N 14,
65, 69; also see, Kaloianov 2003, 139 f., 174 f.