Inside Bulgaria’s secretive ‘bride markets’ where parents ‘sell-off’ virgin daughters to wealthy men for thousands

IT'S a crisp spring day in the town of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, and there's a buzz as large crowds gather at the local market.

But sellers congregated in the car park aren't flogging food or homeware from their car boot – they're auctioning off their daughters as brides in a tradition that dates back centuries.

Welcome to Bulgaria‘s “Bridal Market” – an annual tradition among the segregated Romani community known as Kalaidzhi, who have for generations arranged marriages for their children for money.

The deeply religious group, made up of 18,000 people, is a small subgroup of the wider nomadic Roma community.

The community's main source of income and traditional trade is coppersmiths, making and repairing tin pots.

It's an industry that has declined in recent years, meaning money is tight and poverty is commonplace.

The majority of girls marry before they're 20, and many parents rely on a generous “dowry” to provide for their family.

To the outside eye, the market is quite the spectacle – although it has changed a lot in recent years.

Groups of girls glammed up to the nines wearing sparkly eyeshadow and modern, bejewelled bodycon dresses are watched by their traditionally and conservatively dressed mothers as they are eyed up by possible suitors looking for their perfect bride to bid on.

The group says the tradition, which takes place four times a year on religious holidays, is essential for their identity – but the controversial market has sparked backlash.

The legal minimum age for marriage in Bulgaria is 18, while the minimum age for consent is just 14.

With many young women being pulled out of education to wed, campaigners fear they are at risk of forced marriages and domestic and sexual abuse.

‘A lot of money is given for virginity'

Given that girls aren't even allowed to socialise with boys before marriage, it's the only opportunity for many young people to meet members of the opposite sex.

Access is restricted to outsiders, and the community are known to remove girls from school at around 15 to keep them safe from “temptation”.

Why? Because girls must be virgins before their wedding night to be sold for a higher price, with brides on average selling for between 500 and 10,000 Bulgarian Lev (£215 to £4,300).

The price of a bride depends on several factors and takes into account virginity, beauty and intelligence.

I am very happy when boys are bidding a lot of money. This means the girls are beautiful.

VeraMum

Speaking from their rural two-bed family home where their family-of-eight live, Kalaidzhi sisters Pepa, 25, and Rosi, 19, provide a rare insight into the tradition, revealing exactly what they do to prepare for the market.

While they aren't allowed to meet potential suitors alone, they are allowed to dress to impress, showing off their collection of diamante studded sky-high heels and embellished mini dresses.

Speaking about the role of the bride market in a Broadly documentary, Young Virgins For Sale, Pepa says: “It's important because we are a closed community.

“We are Christians and our husbands must be Kalaidzhi.”

Their mother Vera, who was herself sold to their father Christo 25 years ago, explains why it's so important the girls remain virgins until their wedding nights.

She says that a lot of money is given for virginity and girls who are not virgins are shamed as “disgraceful” women.

Vera says: “I am very happy when boys are bidding a lot of money. This means the girls are beautiful.”

Dressed to impress

Hitting the clothes market before the big event, both girls pick out a new outfit.

Rosi's white lace garment costs £33 – an average Kalaidzhi weekly salary.

Speaking about how she feels about being sold at the bride market, Pepa, who at 25 is “old” by Kalaidzhi standards, admits: “It's scary.

“There's a possibility parents could decide to give their daughter's hand to a man who has more money rather than one who is poor, even if she loves the poor man.”

They took me out of school so I could get married but I started crying, saying, ‘No I won't get married'. I ran away, hid.

Vesey

Long hair curled and wearing all-white outfits, the girls look excited as they arrive at the market, with Rosi saying: “We'll have a great party, it's awesome.”

While negotiations may begin here, no money is actually exchanged at the market and it's more like a speed-dating event and a chance for young couples to meet.

Mum Vera explains: “The suitors can't buy the girls here. Boys can only ask for girls' hands here.

“A suitor has to come to our home and that's when I sell her.”

‘Selling girls is bulls***'

Not all girls are happy at the prospect of being sold off, however, and times have changed.

Speaking in the Broadly documentary, one woman named Vesey says: “I was 14 years old. My parents tried to sell me for 8,000 Levs (£3,430).

“They took me out of school so I could get married.

“But I started crying saying: ‘No I won't get married'. I ran away, hid.

“I think selling girls is bulls*** and really old-fashioned.”

In sickness & in wealth

Despite being an age-old tradition, the community has changed with the times to a certain extent, and the bride market has become increasingly symbolic.

In the case of Pepa and Rosi for example, they both leave without finding a match – which is accepted without any obvious disappointment from their parents.

And while the girls aren't allowed to meet boys outside of the family home, smartphones have enabled them to chat on social media, and have more of a say over who they'd like to marry – if their parents approve.

Kalaidzhi history

The Kalaidzhi are a Roma subgroup residing primarily in central Bulgaria, specifically the Thrace region.

Their origins trace back to migrations from India between the 12th and 14th centuries, and their traditional occupation centres around coppersmithing – crafting and mending pots, pans, and cauldrons.

This semi-nomadic lifestyle historically involved dispersing throughout Bulgarian villages to ply their trade, with infrequent gatherings for events like the annual bride market.

The bride market, a tradition deeply ingrained in Kalaidzhi culture, takes place on the first Saturday of Orthodox Christian Lent in Stara Zagora.

This event provides a rare opportunity for young Kalaidzhi men and women to meet potential spouses, as their conservative Orthodox Christian beliefs and traditional values restrict interaction between the sexes.

While the bride market remains a prominent aspect of Kalaidzhi identity, subtle shifts are occurring.

Young people are increasingly choosing their own partners, sometimes even eloping, and the bride price is gradually becoming more symbolic.

However, the older generation worries that the fading of these traditions could lead to the eventual disappearance of the Kalaidzhi culture itself.

Speaking to The World, Velcho Krustev, a Bulgarian anthropologist, says: “They have already started picking their own marriage partners.

“Sometimes they even elope. The older generation doesn’t choose the spouses as often as they used to.

“The children can choose their spouse if their parents agree.

“That’s the big change. The bride price is becoming more symbolic.”