AtD p845 "bottom dead center of the European Question"

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Naz Drave!!!

Bulgaria is the Land Of Orpheus.

My Bulgarian Connection:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_FocSrz6pU

About 1:42 in, "Malo Selo" starts up, it's My ex---Shira Cion---on lead.
I probably engineered the audio track for this video, I recorded 
quite a few concerts for Kitka, also two first-rate cds:


http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/kitka-nectar/

http://www.a-cappella.com/product/6146/balkan

Remember Lew Basnight"s "Naz Drave" towards the
start of the Novel?:


     "Not for the first time, he experienced a kind of waking swoon, 
which not so much propelled as allowed him entry into an urban 
setting, like the world he had left but differing in particulars which 
were not slow to reveal themselves." AtD, 38
 
". . . .In a small courtyard within a courtyard, he came upon a group 
of men and women, engaged in 

          a slow ritual movement, 

          a country dance, almost---though Lew, 

          pausing to watch,

          was not sure what country. 

Soon they were gazing back. as if in some way they knew him, and 
all about his troubles. When their business was done, they invited 
him over to a table under an awning, where all at once, over root 
beer and Saratoga chips, Lew found himself confessing "everything", 
which in fact wasn't much---"What I need is some way to atone for 
whatever it is I've done. I can't keep on with this life. . . ."

     "We can teach you," said one of them, who seemed to be in 
charge, introducing himself only as Drave. AtD 39

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Drave

Welcome to Bulgaria!
http://bulgaria.overseas-homes-direct.com/visitor-information.html

When Bulgarians nod their heads up and down, they mean NO. 
When they move their heads from side to side, they mean YES.

Making a toast when drinking liquor is de rigeur. When toasting, 
raise your glass and lightly clink it with all the others present, 
while looking the people with you in the eye (to not look them 
in the eye is rude) and saying naz drave (good health to you). 
If there are 10 people at the table, you do this with all 10.

http://www.investbulgaria.com/tips.htm

Up to the 1920s, rural people relied on traditional or herbal 
medicine and went to a doctor or hospital only as a last 
resort. Traditional healers believed that many illnesses 
were caused by evil spirits (baiane) and could be treated 
with magic, chants or medicinal herbs.

Did you know?
     	
Fire-dancing, nestinarstvo, an ancient religious and ritual 
dance on burning embers, was believed to expel illness 
and bring health and blessings.

Traditional medical treatments often required a patient to drink, 
wash or bathe in water from mineral springs. Springs and spas
can be found throughout Bulgaria and people continue to visit 
them for relief from problems such as asthma, arthritis and 
rheumatism. Some of the most famous spas are at Hissar, near 
Plovdiv, Bankya and Momin Pzohod, near Sofia, and Sandanski, 
near Melnik.

http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/bulgaria/health.html

http://bulgaria.usaid.gov/cdir/bulgaria.usaid.gov/files/Bulgaria_in_Facts.pdf


http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0702&msg=115369&keywords=naz%20drave