Mokrin and Gusanijada: goose fights
At last it's time to tell you about Mokrin. We went there with Irina @lar_f (Radio "Water Thrush") to see the wintering owls. And it was from her that I learned this village has lots of interesting bird traditions. 🦉
So, in Northern Banat there is the village of Mokrin.
The largest in the Kikinda municipality — about 5,000 residents.
Its name comes from the word mokro — "wet".
Something interesting: archaeologists found an ancient necropolis here — more than three hundred Copper Age burials, gold jewelry, traces of crafts. People lived here thousands of years ago. Then came the Middle Ages, Hungarian names, the railway and a heyday — almost nine thousand residents at the beginning of the 20th century.
But! If you ask any Serb what Mokrin is famous for, the answer is simple:
geese.
And not just geese, but fighting geese.
🪿 vs 🪿
Every winter the Gusanijada takes place here — a "goose bullfight".
Big white ganders come out to settle scores.
These are natural duels during the mating season — no cruelty, but plenty of character. The boys ganders figure out who's tougher, who'll hold out, who won't back down. The audience is the owners and the whole neighborhood. They smoke, fret, cheer for their own — pure Banat color.
And this isn't a tourist attraction but a living tradition that draws people from all over Serbia.
This year it's on February 22.
However, Mokrin is famous not only for goose fights.
At Easter people knock eggs together here — the traditional "tucanje". The strongest egg wins.
It's also the birthplace of Miroslav Antić — poet, artist, director. A man who sang the praises of Vojvodina. Since 1987 a festival in his memory has been held here.
That's how extraordinary an ordinary Serbian village can turn out to be) and if you happen to have nothing to do on 22 February, the village of Mokrin and its fighting geese are waiting for you:
the geese step out.
character decides.
Banat watches. 🪿🔥
#thisisthebalkansbaby #serbia #traditions #geese #mokrin
Published February 12, 2026 · Open post in Telegram ↗
