Yes is no: That’s how nodding works in Bulgaria
Imagine this: Your friend has invited you for his birthday party and you are excited to go. So, when he comes up and asks you whether you are coming, you nod yes. But wait a minute, how did you nod? You moved your head up and down, isn’t it? Well, so would most people in the world. In fact, in most cultures around the world, moving one’s head up and down means an affirmative response, while moving it sideways conveys disagreement. But like most things, this too has its exception. Where? In the Balkan nation Bulgaria, where yes means no, and no means yes. Curious to know why? Read on!
Protest of Bulgarians against the Ottoman rule
What people outside Bulgari don’t know is that, this Balkan Republic has existed since the 7th century BC, and was under the Neolithic Karanovo tribe. However, from 6th to 3rd century BC, it was primarily a battleground for ancient European tribes such as Thracians, Celts, and ND Macedonians. Later, in between the 1st and 3rd century, it was under the Roman Empire, following which it set up its own empire. However, that too was chaotic, and after a series of exhausting wars and feudal strifes, Bulgaria came under the 500-year rule of the Ottoman Empire. And this is where our story is based.
Turns out, the Bulgarians were majorly Christians, while the Turkish invaders (Ottoman) were Islam followers. As a result, under the Ottoman rule, Bulgaria had quite a tumultuous history, with regular religious upheavals. And this tension between native Bulgarians and the Ottoman Turks was the source of the reverse head-nodding customs.
As the legend goes, when Ottoman army would often capture orthodox Bulgarians following their religious protests and tried to force them to renounce their religious beliefs by holding swords near their throats, Bulgarians sacrificed their own lives at the cost of their religion. How? By simply nodding their heads up and down against the sword blades, that proved to be fatal. So, it was almost as if the up and down gesture that was meant to say “yes” and leave the invaders satisfied, instead symbolised a defiant gesture meaning “no.”
Historical records also suggest that Bulgarians continued with this tradition even when the Ottoman Turks had calmed down, in order to keep them confused, every step of the way.
Bulgarians and their nomadic lifestyle
That’s right. Bulgarians often preferred to live a life of a nomad, considering there were mostly under foreign rule over the course of history. Now, their only companion during this unpopular way of life were horses. Now, not many people know, but horses are known to shake their heads sideways when they are in a good mood, especially when food was served in front of them. Now, Bulgarians may have stuck around with this tradition inspired by their horses and adopted the yes-no nodding reversal. Maybe, it was their unique effort in preserving their cultural differences.
Bonus fact: For verbal communication, Bulgarians directly use “da” to mean yes and “ne” to mean no.