Latvian masked processions

Rooted in ritual traditions, by the end of the 19th century, they started losing their religious meaning turning more into an entertainment and gradually they were disappearing, kept by small groups of enthusiasts in some rural regions of Latvia.

The participants, called Ķekatnieki (singular: Ķekatnieks) wearing various masks went from one homestead to another giving blessings and driving away evil spirits.

Other names used in other parts of Latvia include budēļi and čigānos iešana (gypsy walking).

[8] Folklorist Jānis Alberts Jansons collected testimonies from rural people about masked processions during the 1920s and 1930s, which served as the basis of his doctorate, Die lettischen Maskenumzüge und ihre kulturhistorische Bedeutung, some parts of which were published in German and known only by enthusiasts.

Only in 2010 his findings were published in full in Latvian under the title Latviešu masku gājieni: eksperimentāls pētījums ar pamatojumu salīdzinošajā etnogrāfijā un etnoloģijā (Latvian Masked Processions: an experimental study grounded in comparative ethnography and ethnology).