My Sarakatsana grandmother would talk about the "old days," referring to the difficult conditions but with a sense of nostalgia.
When, at the age of 80, she had to move to Thessaloniki, the city seemed suffocating to her, and the apartment felt like a prison. How else could a woman who had spent a long period of her life wandering in the mountains – in harsh conditions but with a primitive sense of freedom and the safety of the community– feel?
"In the caravan, we loaded the horses, however many each person had, tied the saddles, made a small bundle behind the saddle, and placed all our belongings – household items, clothes, kettles, small bowls, and wool blankets – and tied them with a rope. We also carried some food here in our hands, weaving as we traveled. The elderly went ahead. We left the winter pastures to head for the mountains, taking late crops and small animals, with children, girls, and old people starting ahead. As we loaded and did the work, they walked ahead. We never left anything behind. On the road, we even had births. Two old women would deliver babies on the road and wrap them up. If someone died on the way, we would bury them in the village cemetery nearby.
We, the Sarakatsani, would go up the mountains and build our shelters. We would go to a mountain, like on Mount Peristeri. We found shelters there, no one bothered us, and we made them. We also kept things in caves, like a loom and other items, and found them there."
An unbroken migration from the mountains to the plains to provide food for their flocks: this was the life of the Sarakatsani.
They preserved their pastoral and nomadic character until the mid-20th century, as their settlement in permanent villages happened gradually after the end of World War II.
The free life in the mountains, outside any social control, led to the development of a unique way of life and expression characterized by a love for nature and animals, adherence to ancestral traditions and strong elements of social cohesion and solidarity.
Isolated for centuries from the local cultural elements, they maintained their own cultural unity, showing remarkable homogeneity in language, customs, and way of life. They were self-sufficient communities, relying on livestock products (wool, milk, cheese). They only ate meat on significant social occasions or religious festivals, like Saint George's Day. The pinnacle of social events was the wedding. Singing was the main form of entertainment in gatherings and weddings.
As my grandmother would recount:
"Once, when Uncle Apostolis Galatas got married, they took me along, and we went to the bride’s house, singing the song:
‘Wake up, my rose, I’ve come to your neighborhood, If you're sleeping, wake up, if you're sitting, come outside. I brought you a comb and a mirror, and a golden chain The comb to comb your hair, the mirror to see yourself, And the golden braid to weave your hair.’"
The unbroken unity in their dwelling types (the circular, branch-woven hut, the traditional home of the Sarakatsani, can be traced from the dawn of human history to today and remains an archetypal form of human habitation) and in the patterns of their decorative arts – weaving, embroidery, knitting, wood carving, bread decoration – is, according to Angeliki Chatzimichali, unique in the history of Greek folk art. Ancient geometric shapes (zigzags, waves, meanders) are consistently repeated in Sarakatsani handicrafts.
The basis of their social organization, the tseligata, small societies of 20-50 families, remained unshaken. At the head of the faction was the tseligas, and all members had to obey him.
In this strict social framework, where the father’s figure dominated all aspects of life, the role of women was crucial but often overlooked and underestimated. It is striking that all Sarakatsani crafts, except for wood carving, were in the hands of women.
The Sarakatsani women bore all the responsibilities of the tribe: the construction and maintenance of the hut, carrying water and firewood, and cleaning the pens. All the tasks, from selecting the appropriate wool to weaving on the loom, were the exclusive responsibility of the women.
“When I was little, I would go with the sheep.. in the winter, the sheep would give birth.. we had work to do. From a young age, I would spin, weave, knead the dough; I was the housekeeper from a young age. All the work was for the women. When spring came.. we would shear the sheep.. we kept the wool, washed it, took it to the drying area, made bundles, and spun it. We girls made little dolls with the dresses we had. The children would make a ball with patches, tie it with strings, make a hole in it, and play with it.”
The following Thematic Exhibition includes samples of weaving and embroidery art, portraits, snapshots of daily life, and footage of Sarakatsani “gatherings” in the countryside where the younger generations revive old customs, sing and dance, following the same steps as their ancestors in an attempt to preserve historical memory.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
