Five questions for our Mayor, our deputy mayors, the members of the Board of our municipality, our fellow citizens, the Secretary General of Culture of the Ministry of Culture (not his subordinates, mercy now) AND THE COMMON MIND.

1) What should we do today as a society for the following official decision of EFARC.

“In case a new study is not prepared or can not be prepared by the end of the year, our Service, within its responsibilities and due to the pending issuance of a conclusion on the static adequacy of the building, will include in the Action Plan for the new year for the relocation of the exhibits and other findings from the building of the Archaeological Museum of Astros to a safe place of supervision. ” (23.09.2019)

2) To inform us how much money the project cost the Greek state with the YPPOT / DAVMM / 91790 2329 BC-12-01-2011 decision for the “Study for the Removal of the Archaeological Museum of Astros with conditions (ΑΔΑ-4Α9Γ-99) that The project was completed and approved in 2015 by three public bodies, the former YPAITHPA, the Peloponnese Region and the Municipality of North Kynouria.

3) Why did the Ministry of Culture spend the money with the Ministry of Culture / DAVMM / 91790 2329 BC-12-01-2011 decision with conditions (ΑΔΑ-4Α9Γ-99)?

4) Answer us with reasons if the actions of the Ministry of Culture from 2011-2015 upon receipt of the project in accordance with the decision ΥΠΠΟΤ / ΔΑΒΜΜ / 91790 2329 πέ-12-01-2011 and the terms (ΑΔΑ-4Α9Γ-99) were they wrong or right?

5) What did the Ministry of Culture / DABMM / 91790 2329 provide for studies on 12-01-2011 in terms (ΑΔΑ-4Α9Γ-99). How many studies were done from 2014 until today for the approval of the project, when were they done and how much did each study cost? Also how many studies need to be done in the future to open the Museum or what else we need to do.

astrosgr.com/en / John Koutogiorgas

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From the “Mount Parnon and Moustos Wetland Management Agency, 2015. Guide for the protected area of ​​Mount Parnon and Moustos Wetland. Nature, Culture, Ecotourism. Astros of Arcadia “.

In Leonidio, the pioneer of weaving was Polyxeni Dounia, the genus Lyonta (1841-1911), wife of Theodoros Ioannis Dounias (1822-1901), who had learned the art in Aydin, Asia Minor, and developed it when she went to Leonidio. In her workshop, which had four looms, she employed more than 20 workers. In 1890 in the church of Agia Sophia in Piraeus, a rug of Dounia of 60 okades (Kakauzos) was laid.

In 1897, a second workshop was founded by Marigo Merikaki, which maintained it until 1924, promoting the art on the artist yacht by introducing new designs and colors. Merikaki was awarded gold and silver medals at the international exhibitions in Athens, Liege and Paris. At the Athens exhibition, a rug was erected and awarded, representing a scene from the naval battle of Trafalgar (1805) when Admiral Nelson falls wounded in the arms of his officers. Her son, later mayor of Leonidio, doctor, Stylianos Spyr, also wove in the textile factory of Merikakaina. Merikakis. The above were followed by many who tried to save and develop even more this Tsakonian handicraft.

The completely special feature of the Tsakonian textile is that one-piece carpets of any size are made, which have on both surfaces the same 1 2 3 4 5 6th THE TSAKONIKI TEXTILE 263 face. For the weaving, upright looms are used and no shuttle is used, but they are woven with the fingers and the threads are beaten with the comb so that the result is percussive and solid. The subtlety of this art, the symmetry of the designs, the unimaginable solidity and the harmony of the colors are especially admired. The loom was a wooden construction consisting of warps, shuttle, scallop.

The most sought after designs are: Tsouchlou, American, Arbor, Tiles, Hands, Byzantine, Perforated, Rays, Disk, Pansy (door).

Tsakonian rugs are laid in many churches on a daily basis, but the most beautiful are laid in the churches during the holidays, Christmas, New Year, Easter, August 15, the festivals and the feasts of the saints to whom the churches are dedicated. The decoration could be done with embroidery on the loom, it was tedious, time consuming and expensive. It concerns more the luxury fabrics and not everyday use. There were various variations, color, decorative, quality and they reflected the social stratification and the clothing trends.

Types and designs of Tsakonian carpets:

1. Thick tile, thin tile: It is very common in the area, but more thin tile, when it comes to more formal use, such as in living rooms, churches or elsewhere. –

2. Persian: Old design, obviously with oriental roots. –

3. The sun: Old design, considered a formal rug, suitable for halls and living rooms. –

4. The disc: Very old Tsakonian carpet design. –

5. Rays: Newer design, after 1950. –

6. American: Old design, before 1950. –

7. Hand: One of the oldest and most widespread and characteristic Tsakonian design. It is found in several variants (the rhombus is older). –

8. First shadow: Newer design, after 1950. –

9. Star: Old design, before 1950. –

10. Saw: Very old design, from Geraki, Laconia. –

11. Arbor: Or “Bouquets”. Very old design, for large carpets, suitable for churches. –

12. Bow: Very old design, suitable for living room rugs.

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The jumpsuit is the traditional women’s costume of the wider area of ​​Tsakonia. In the past, the nobility of Prastos, the first Tsakonian capital, used to wear the jumbe as a sign of economic surface and superior origin. This costume, which was used as a wedding dress, was characterized by Doric simplicity. Free from gold embroidered ornaments and coins, it combined the colors of red, yellow and green. Specifically, the Prastiotisses tzoumbeloudes were also called “rings”, since on each finger they wore a piece of jewelry consisting of sapphires, sandpaper, diamonds and pearls.

Today, the jumpsuit is worn only on national anniversaries by schoolgirls.

It consists of heavy fabrics of gold, silk, velvet and fine fabrics, which the rich Tsakones, who traded very prosperously in the cities of the East and the West, made. And the nobles of Prastos were called as wearing the long rich outer garment, the jumbe, jumbledes *. (Angeliki Chatzimichali).

The traditional, Tsakonian, women’s clothing consists of:

• The shirt or ogyuma – garment, reaches to the ankle and is made of thin silk fabric embroidered with white silk embroidery or with gold thread around the neck and sleeves.

• The bracelet or dress, made of erio fabric and camel hair, was usually green or oil green in color and rarely yellow, quite wide, fastened in the middle and carried around the legs a wide strip of red felt, the podogiure.

• The zip, a small cardigan with long wide sleeves, the “turbans”.

• The jumpsuit, an outer lining made of red felt or satin in soft shades; it was worn by brides and young people of the upper class.

The magliki, a silk scarf that decorates the neck, covers the chest and is fastened with a gold or diamond buckle.

• The silver belt, a gold embroidered tape about three fingers wide that tightens the waist, is fitted with a silver belt.

• The headband, very old tradition, the modern fez with rich long blue silk tassel.

Sources

TSAKONIANARCHIVES.GR

«Φορέας Διαχείρισης Όρους Πάρνωνα και Υγροτόπου Μουστού, 2015. Οδηγός για την προστατευόμενη περιοχή όρους Πάρνωνα και υγροτόπου Μουστού. Φύση, Πολιτισμός, Οικοτουρισμός. Άστρος Αρκαδίας».

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From the Tsakonia Archive

Tsakonian dance is a music and dance event, characterized by spiral and snake formations and is an element-symbol of the cultural identity of Tsakoni.

It is a heavy and majestic dance, characterized by the locals as “humble”, “serious”, “strict”, “austere” and “restrained”. It is the dance with which the festivities close, that is, it is the last dance, which is danced by everyone with due magnificence and “sanctity”, creating emotion and awe in everyone. The ostentatious figures and, in general, the dance exaggeration are reprehensible, because they violate the dance codes and its strict, mystical and ritual character.

It is danced by men and women, who are holding hands, very close to each other. The number of dancers can vary, but in each case must be more than fifteen, to show the shapes of the dance. The first dancer leads the group by turning the circular formation into spiral and serpentine formations.

The geographical criterion will give the name “Tsakonikos” to dance, a trend that has a long tradition in terms of dance in Greece. This happened when he stood out from the dance repertoire of the area, detached from the local context and joined the repertoire of “national” dances taught in the country’s Gymnasiums (Cheilari, 2009; 2012). In the past, in Tsakonia as well, the song gave the name to the dance, with the more common being “Kinisan ta…” (from the song “Kinisan ta tsanopoula kai ola tsa tsakonopoula”).

From the rich bibliographic material concerning the Tsakonian dance it appears that most scholars have focused their interest on the ancient Greek origin of dance and its preservation to this day. Tsakonian dance combines several elements that could support the “aura of origin” and the connection with the ancient Greek past. The relevant selection was based on morphological features, which could be compared with corresponding excerpts from literary or other ancient Greek sources.

The “labyrinthine formations” of dance, ie the shapes that dance makes in space, and its ancient Greek peony rhythm of 5/4 and 5/8, in combination with the local language idiom (Tsakonian dialect), were judged by scholars. as sufficient evidence for its characterization as “ancient Greek dance”. The local intellectuals were initially the ones who distinguished the Tsakonian dance, based on its rhythm and formations, detaching it from its place and giving it the glamor of origin from antiquity.

Versions of origin of Tsakonian dance

From time to time various versions of the origin of Tsakonian dance were given. Such as:

a) that the Tskonian dance is the “crane”, the dance that Theseus danced in Delos and represents his entrance and exit from the labyrinth (Sakellariou 1940; Papachristou 1979 (1960); Bikos 1969; Dimas 1980; Roubis 1990; Lyceum 1993; Stratou 1979, Symeonidou- Cheilari 2002)

b) that it is a “locked” wedding dance (Kousiadis 1950-1951)

c) that the dance is “pyrrhic”, a war dance (Sarris 1956; Merikakis 1969)

d) that it is an ancient cult dance in Apollonian rhythm 5/4 and 5/8, ie paean (Moutsopoulos 1957; Tyrovola, 2003), which orchestrates the struggle of Apollo with Python (Karas 1996) or “Sacred cult dance” , according to F. Bekyros & E. Tsagouris (1996: 13), which choreographically represents the movement of the snake (ibid. pp. 17-18). Ch. Petakos additionally considers that the dance initially started as a “charm”, as a mimetic and magical act, which represents and imitates the movements of the snake (Petakos, 2003, p. 14, pp. 54-55)

e) that it is a twin sister dance with the dance of the Caryatids of the ancient Laconic Bay (Houpis 1990).

Shapes of Tsakonian dance

Songs of Tsakonian dance

Today she dances with the songs: “Supa mana pandrepse me…”, “Kinisan ta tsanopoula…”, “Mantas”, “Birbilomata”, “Simeris vgika na haro…”, “Apatza to Marasia…” (i.e. opposite the Fennel). In the past we used to meet other songs, such as: “Your tiles are dripping…”, “Down in the holy orchard…”, “My vine is a broad leaf…”, “Fegki will live to get married…”. According to local informants, the songs that accompanied the much-loved “Tsakonian” dance were sung in the Tsakonian dialect, but over time and the introduction of new songs, they were forgotten.

It should also be noted that the “Tsakonikos” dance was associated with the song “Su ‘pa mana, marry me housewife, take care of me, and in foreign countries do not give it to me, mother, you will regret it…”. Of course, such a thing can not be accidental since the content of this song refers to the exile and the separation of the daughter from the mother and her place (Cheilari 2015). It is a given that the exile had a seal Tsakonia not only in the 19th century, with the transition to a better fortune in America, but historical sources report relocations of Tsakonians to Istanbul even from medieval times.

Symbolic hesitations of Tsakonian dance

Based on the fact that the symbols refer to interpretations, different interpretive versions were given. Focusing on the local context in the unconscious and conscious manifestations of Leonidio’s tradition, it is found that the snake held an important position (Hilari – Zografou 2017). This image is enhanced by the formation of the spiral.

Thus it is speculated that the Tsakonian dance began as a magical-religious ritual, where the faithful praise the god Apollo and make a challenge-invitation of his presence. Over time, it sheds many of its magical elements and transforms into an identity symbol, signifying the continuity of community, common “belonging”, common origin and common destiny.

in conclusion

In conclusion, Tsakonian dance is a living reality in the celebrations and events of the area. It is “our own namo dance” (ie our own dance), a cultural expression that enhances the deep-rooted sense of local identity, making all of us Tsakones proud. It reminds the members of the community of the common heritage, the sense of “belonging to the community”, the common memory and identity. In fact, it is the first dance that was included in 2015 in the National Index of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture – –

astrosgr.com/en / John Koutogiorgas

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