THE SARAKATSAN SONG
THE SARAKATSAN SONG
"The many sheep are leaving"
to go in the winter
"It's night and they're not moving."
The life of the Sarakatsani is intertwined with that of the nomad and the shepherd. Since ancient times, the Sarakatsani, having as their cradle the mountains of Pindus, Agrafa and Aitoloakarnania, have plowed the Greek territory with their numerous herds. Finding food for their animals was their priority, since their livelihood came exclusively from livestock farming. However, song and dance played and continue to play an important role in their lives, with more emphasis on the former. And the Sarakatsani tradition is full of songs.
"Whose are the horses?"
and these little things
Who were caught and dancing
thieves and swindlers"
Every April, on St. George's Day, they would head for the mountains where they would spend the summer months, enjoying the summer heat. And it was a very pleasant period for them as the coolness offered by the high altitude and the reconnection with other families that did not winter in the same semi-lowlands made them happy. In contrast to the winter and cold months when they locked their herds inside.
"My deformed Velouchi and painted Beech
Melt the snow quickly so the earth can sprout grass.
"Let the sheepfolds come out in the mountains of Sarakatsanai"
A song during the movement of the herds to and from the winter pastures, that is, the places where they stayed in the winter from St. Demetrius to St. George. Their songs refer to all the important moments of human life: birth, marriage, work, old age, even in difficult moments they said goodbye to their own people with obituaries. The song of the elderly is characteristic:
"Here are like two shots in youth
Oh my poor youth.
My youth and my innocence
"My heart did not rejoice over you."
The Sarakatsani family is characterized by conservatism, faith in Orthodoxy and is male-dominated. Marriages are arranged, the father of the bride decides who will marry his daughter and dowries are an integral part of the marriage contract, otherwise the marriage does not take place.
"What are you waiting for, you scoundrel, and you're not moving to leave?"
I will order the in-laws and the groom to change.
The sun is the groom and the moon is the bride
and the bright stars are the companions"
The first Sarakatsani group was Tasos Giarimis's company in 1963. It played at weddings, engagements and also weekly at the Komotini Radio Station. In 1974, it accompanied the Sarakatsani Association of Serres to Lefkada and Dora Stratou suggested that it give a series of performances at the Filopappou Theater. Giarimis characteristically sings "Liakaina", the cross dance that the Sarakatsani people danced when they became cross-brothers.
"The sun shines on the ivy leaves
burnt Liacaina
My son shines even in the valleys
"Oh, Liakaina, you are burning."
The first to record songs of his snafi was Kostas Nakas from the village of Plasia in Larissa. Of course, a descendant of a livestock farming family, he left the village in 1970 and went down to the capital after having sung in all the Greek villages and villages of Vermion. He also sang on the radio and in a broadcast on the then YENED, making the Sarakatsani song known throughout Greece. From then until 2014, when he “left”, he offered great services to the preservation of the Sarakatsani cultural heritage.
"Beyond you, my dear boy,
over there on that mountain
and beyond, my little Vlach
and beyond, my Sarakatsana"
The Sarakatsani have always offered their services to the calls of the homeland for the defense of territorial integrity and national independence. Famous fighters include Vasilis Diplas, Gogos Bakolas, Kostas Lepeniotis, Giorgos Hasiotis, Andreas Iskos, as well as the Macedonian fighter Konstantinos Garefis. At the top, of course, is Antonis Makrygiannis or Katsantonis, a leading figure of the Kleftouria and fear and terror of the Turks. Also, a large part of the historical sources mention as Sarakatsani the Commander-in-Chief of Roumeli, Georgios Karaiskakis, son of the thief Karaiskos and the nun Zoe Dimiski, cousin of Bakolas.
"Antonis went out to Agrafa to chew on young men
He gathered them together, he made three thousand.
and she sat down and "interpreted them like a mother and like a father"
Of course, there are songs that praise the fairer sex. The love for a fellow villager, the desire that often found no response due to the conservative society and the denial of the family, became a song. The meeting place, of course, was the festivals and religious holidays.
"Now it's night, which one to see and which one to boast about
To greet the blue one, the black-eyed one persists.
How can I make you blue-eyed and black-eyed?
"to bring the painter to paint you"
Unfortunately, difficulties and bad moments in life are a reality. Even these were turned into songs. The psychological fatigue, the suffering, the strangers, the bad year in terms of births and milk production, but even the loss of loved ones.
"What should I do with the heart that complains?"
Sometimes it makes me ache, sometimes it makes me sigh
and other times, children
"Mommy, should I call?"
Today, few Sarakatsanoi faithfully follow the nomadic life of livestock farming, living in the winter and mountains. The description of a semi-nomadic life is more appropriate. The construction of modern livestock units with electricity, water supply and milking systems, as well as the provision of animal feed, have brought changes to the traditional practice of the profession in favor of the human factor. In addition, a large number have followed urban life and now one meets Sarakatsanoi in almost all professions, even sailors, which in the past would have sounded more like a joke for a purely semi-mountainous and mountainous tribe. However, they observe the customs and traditions, participate in active Associations throughout the territory, love tradition, hold conferences, a pan-Hellenic reunion in Pertouli, Trikala, and local traditional festivities. With important voices such as Nikos Giannakos, Associate Professor Vasilis Serbezis, Dr. Stavros Bonias and Giota Griva, Katerina Bonias, Ioanna Tsaousi.
"I want to treat my golden company nicely"
Let me sing her a little song to cheer her up.
My tongue, my sweet tongue, open it, tell us something.
"what you know and more"
Miltiadis V. Parlantzas
Assistant Professor (EM), MSc
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Kapsalis G., What the Sarakatsani songs told me, Typothito, Athens 2009
- Kourelis O., Sarakatsani - the Greeks of Fereo, Kyriakidis, Thessaloniki 2014
- Tzakis D., Georgios Karaiskakis, NEA, Athens 2019
- Hatzimichali A., Sarakatsani, Angeliki Hatzimichali Foundation, Athens 2007
WEBSITES
- www.hxwsarakatsanwn.gr , Electronic newspaper of the Panhellenic Federation of Sarakatsana Associations
- www.sarakatsani-folk-museum.gr , Website of the Folklore Museum of Sarakatsanai
- www.sarakatsanoi.blogspot.com