Sochos Folklore Museum and More Carnival Capers
Friday 28th February was a day of national strikes and a time to remember the 57 souls that were tragically lost during the Tempi rail disaster. Speak to any Greek and they will call it murder – most certainly not an accident.
To show respect on the 2nd anniversary of this horrific event, all carnival festivities were suspended for the day. Many locals such as my host, headed into Thessaloniki to hold vigil. It was a cold and overcast day so I decided to sink into the sofa covered in a pile of blankets and watch the news reports from Athens. People were upset and angry. A whole gamut of emotions shown through the lens of many cameras. I took the opportunity to finish writing the post about my visit to the Thessaloniki Railway Museum. What I’d learned from my visit there and what was taking place across Greece today were inextricably linked. It’s certainly a day for contemplation.
Later that evening, I could hear signs of life from the square albeit quite low-key. I needed to go out for supplies so ventured out to see what I could find. Just off the square was a shop with a brightly coloured display of fruit and vegetables displayed in wicker baskets on the pavement. I bought a bag of nectarines, oranges, bananas and apples and I also picked up some souvlaki from a nearby fast food shop. And that was the Friday night.
On Saturday, morning Vicky messaged me to say that she was on her way to the apartment to change the sheets and towels and asked if I needed anything. I asked her if there were any pharmacies open as I needed to top up my cough medicine and also get something for a cold – I’d spent the night sneezing and shivering – looks like there’s another incoming! She told me not to worry – she would pick up some cough medicine for me. She could tell by the sound of my cough that I needed an expectorant and she would also bring me some pills that all Greeks use when they are coming down with a cold. Hmm interesting but I was prepared to go with the flow.
At 11:00 Vicky arrived with a bag of medication. Whilst changing the sheets she told me about her visit to Thessaloniki and the vigil. She seemed very moved by what had taken place and said the day had been a beautiful tribute.
In the bag from the pharmacy was a bottle of cough syrup and a box of green pills called Comtrex. Before leaving, she told me to take the green pills twice a day for 3 days. It would have me on my feet in no time. It may, however, knock me out for a while but after this I should feel great. I’ll Google it later.
I’d also asked Vicky about the opening times of the Folklore Museum and she told me that it would be opening at 12:00 for an hour or so. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity so headed there right away.
During the festival weekend, entry into the Folk Museum of Sochos was free of charge. I was greeted by a lady by the door and when she realised that I was an English speaker she left me to my own devices. Or so I thought. As I made my way around the ground-floor exhibits, she asked a visiting Greek family who spoke English to ask me some questions. She wanted to know how I’d heard about Sochos. I told her that it was through following the work of photographer George Tatakis. “Ahhh” she said nodding. Everyone in the village knows who George Tatakis is – except the Greek family that I was speaking to – but they do now!
The museum itself is housed in a magnificent traditional building with a beautiful dark wood interior. Although the information boards were written in Greek I could make out that the building used to be a cinema. Wow, another cinema! The Archontiko Taverna and the Folklore Museum were buildings from a similar era and within a short distance of each other. To have two cinemas in the same town must be quite unusual. I suspect I will be leaving Sochos with far more questions than I have answers!
Some of the exhibits on the ground floor were quite typical of most folklore museums with examples of everyday items used in and around the home and also farming implements. The other section was dedicated to the story of the Koudounoforoi who play such an important part in the traditional customs of Sochos. This was an opportunity to get up close to inspect the costumes without being intrusive. The detail in the headwear was incredible. I wanted to know who made the costumes, how the costumes were made and what materials they were made from. Hopefully I’ll find out later.
A set of wooden stairs led me to the first floor which had a couple of very interesting exhibits. A small room was set out like the typical living quarters of this era with an old fireplace the main focus of the room. Low seating surrounded the fireplace and the walls were decorated with heirlooms. Around the edge of the staircase were examples of traditional costumes but even more interesting was an exhibition of another Sochos tradition – Oil Wrestling. I’d been following the Sochos Facebook groups for some time and I’d read about this annual event. I’d also seen posters around the town promoting it.
The competition takes place during the last 3 days of June, to coincide with the feast of the Holy Apostles. After seeking the blessing from the icon of the Apostles, the wrestlers are escorted onto the sports field by the band of musicians playing the wind instrument called a zurna and the drums known as the daouli (nταούλι). These musicians will be a prominent feature of the upcoming carnival festivities. But I’m jumping ahead – back to the wrestling.
This sport sees hulking great men wearing leather trousers known as a Kisbet slathered in oil attempt to wrestle their opponents to the ground. One of the winning moves is when one competitor is able to slide his arm all the way through their opponent’s Kisbet in an attempt to pin them to the floor. The sport is said to date back to 2650 BC when it was practised in Babylon and Egypt. It was also adopted by the Ottomans, Ancient Greeks and Romans. Although still prevalent as a sport in Turkey, several countries in the Balkans still also practice this sport.
It sounds fascinating and probably another good reason to come back to Sochos!
Keen to learn more about Sochos and its traditions, I set about photographing each board diligently ready to translate them later. The hope was that the information would give me some context and background information on Sochos and its traditions, particularly those relating to the Koudounoforoi.
Whilst I wizzed round the exhibits taking photos on my phone, the lady who manages the museum approached me with her phone. There was somebody she wanted me to speak to. The lady on the phone was called Chryssa and she told me that her family were from Sochos. If I had any questions about what I had seen at the museum I could ask her and she would do her best to answer. What a kind gesture. The lady at the museum who was also called Chryssa indicated for me to put my phone number into her phone and she would pass it on to the other Chyrssa. This is what I think was happening anyway – I just went along with it.
Back at the apartment and still sneezing like there was no tomorrow, I popped a couple of the little green pills. I ignored the contraindications that said improper use of the drug may result in serious harm such as brain damage, seizure or death! They surely knocked me out for an hour or so but I awoke feeling much better.
Later on, I could hear the sound of activity in the square interspersed with the clanging of Koudounoforoi bells. I decided to venture out as I was getting a severe case of FOMO.
The square was alive with activity. People were packed into the bars surrounding the square and even spilling out onto the street. Braziers had been lit and were sending spirals of smoke into the evening air. Just on the edge of the square a bonfire had been built. I tried to fathom what was happening but unless you have a local strapped to your side it’s all guesswork. I decided to walk the streets and see what’s what.
Three streets lead from the square towards the lower part of the town. They are lined with mobile carts selling popcorn, sweetcorn, loukoumades – all the sweet treats expected at a carnival. At the bottom of one street, a market was taking place selling a whole array of items from rugs, traditional hand-carved shepherd’s crooks, beautifully painted hagiography to phone cases and children’s toys. There was also a stall selling daouli drums of all sizes and prices, some of them well over 100€ each.
I was cornered at a stall where the seller tried to coax me to try sesame seed sweets from Halkidiki. He weighed out a bag that was way too much for me but none of it would go to waste.
Periodically Koudounoforoi of all sizes, ages and genders would make their presence known as the bells around their torso clanged in time with their steps. There was no pattern to their appearances. They seemed to roam the streets randomly, sometimes solo and at other times with a partner or two.
Walking back towards the square, I stumbled across a procession of people that seemed quite integral to the festivities. Many were dressed in traditional costume clutching an important accessory – a bottle of tsiporou. Others just joined the procession – tsiporou not mandatory. They were accompanied by not one but several bands of musicians playing the traditional zurna and daouli drums.
This music intrigued me. It felt distinctly Eastern though when I was back in Thessaloniki I asked a guide who told me it was Balkan. I suspect this style of music transcends the borders of many countries especially those that were once part of the Ottoman Empire. There is a similarity with music that I’ve heard in Egypt so I asked my husband if it sounded familiar to him. He concurred that it is a style that is heard in the villages of Upper Egypt. There they call the wind instruments Zoumara (also Mizmar)- not a million miles away from the Greek Zurna and the drums are called Tabl Baladi meaning country drum (Daouli/Tavl – maybe). The drums are exactly the same. They are played with a short thick stick on one side of the drum and a longer thinner one on the other. These similarities fascinate me.
At the front of the procession was a man carrying a tray with a lace cloth above his head. On top of the tray I could make out a pair of mens shoes and various bits of clothing. This was the tradition of carrying the groom’s clothes to the bride’s house known as the ‘Roumba’. So – tomorrow there will be a wedding!
It seems this festival isn’t just about the bell bearers. At the moment they just seem to be on the periphery of the activity but I will wait to see what unfolds tomorrow. What I really love about what I’ve seen from this carnival so far is its inclusivity. All members of the community had taken part from the little kids diligently carrying out their Koudounoforoi duties, Gen Alpha, Z, Y X and beyond were all represented and celebrating side by side. That’s very special.
Back at the square, the crowds were still in high spirits – their stamina was admirable. The Koudounoforoi seemed to have done their bit and with headwear cast aside they enjoyed a well deserved drink in one of the many bars. Just as I was about to leave the square the bonfire was lit. Also known as the purgatory fire it is said to symbolise purification and rebirth.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any photographs of my visit to the Folklore Museum (and all the information that those photographs held). Towards the end of my trip back in Athens, I had my phone stolen. I had what I thought was a pretty effective system for backing up my photos from my phone to my laptop but in this instance, the system failed. I hadn’t backed up to the cloud because all my various cloud storage facilities were full of work-related stuff etc – it’s one of those tedious jobs of sorting them out that I’d been procrastinating over for months – actually longer.
Put it down to me not feeling great or put it down to those little green pills that I popped, but I hadn’t copied over any of the photos from my visit to the museum and also many photos of the village itself. You know when the planets seem to be aligned in a way to get you? Well – that. Anyway, I’m not going to dwell on it. I do have my photographs for ‘most’ of the rest of my stay in Sochos including Clean Monday which is the important thing. Besides, another good reason to come back to Sochos one day!
