Wedding Bread as Folk Art?

This is a re-posting from July of 2011, when we were in Greece.  It inspired quite a few comments.  Be patient, readers!  Soon I'll post an up-to-date photo essay about the joys of summer 2014 in Manhattan.

We’re presently at Costa Navarino in Messina, Greece, a super-luxurious resort complex which is devoted to ecological reform as well as supporting and promoting the culture and agriculture of the region.

As part of introducing the resort guests to native traditions, they gathered four local women yesterday to demonstrate making the traditional  “embroidered breads” which are usually prepared to celebrate a wedding.  The breads are set before the bride and groom at the wedding table, and the bride distributes pieces to the guests (like wedding cake in western weddings.)

These four ladies do their bread-making at Costa Navarino every Friday. I was there yesterday, sitting at one of the caned wooden chairs outside the perfect replica of a traditional cafenion, while around us couples sipped coffee frappés and played tavli (backgammon).

You know I love folk art in any form, and photograph it wherever I travel. I quickly realized that the decorated breads made by these local ladies were indeed folk art.

First they sifted.

Then they kneaded.

Taking an occasional break to sip thick Greek coffee from demitasse cups.

The leading artist was Kyria Maria, who had prepared a pencil sketch of her design before she came. (She told me they make different designs every Friday.)

She had a true folk artist’s compulsive need for detail.  Her assistant stood by rolling tiny balls and thin snakes of dough at her behest.  When the first bread, made by two other women, was complete, Kyria Maria was still creating flowers, butterflies, a sun and birds out of dough to cover every inch of her round loaf.  (The first and primary part of her design represented  bunches of grapes on a vine surrounding the Acropolis.)

I was surprised at how many Greek guests came up and asked the women what they were making.  They had never heard of “embroidered breads” for a wedding.

Here are the almost-finished creations, which would be baked to a golden brown and served at the resort’s restaurants for breakfast the next day.

I knew about the “embroidered” wedding breads because last year, when daughter Eleni was married to Emilio in Corfu, Greece, her cousins and her aunt Nikki had prepared  the “embroidered wedding bread” traditional to their part of Greece, but according to their custom, the bride would throw the bread over her shoulders to the single ladies in the group,  like the bride’s bouquet in western culture, before it could be distributed to the crowd.

Eleni’s friend Catherine caught it and, just as for the single ladies who wrote their names on the soles of Eleni’s shoes, hoping that she would dance them away, the magic of the wedding bread will undoubtedly spread all the way from Corfu to Worcester, MA and conjure up a happily-ever-after future.   (Update from 2014--we attended Catherine's beautiful wedding in Connecticut last summer, so the bread did its work!)

Greece is Going to the Cats

(This is a re-post from last summer's visit to Hydra.)

Five years ago I published a book called "The Secret Life of Greek Cats" based on feline photographs I'd taken over the years, which told about Greek history, myths, traditions and superstitions from the point of view of the cats who are so much a part of the Greek landscape.  As I wrote in the book: "Everywhere you go in Greece you will find a cat...Cats are the punctuation in Greek life...During their catnaps they dream of the days when they were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians and didn't have to rely on the kindness of strangers for food." (The book is still available--for $10-- on Amazon or  by clicking on the book cover to the right.)

Many of the cats in the book were photographed on the island of Hydra, including Vasili, the cat on the cover, who dreamed of jumping on one of the boats in the harbor of Hydra and sailing away to see the world.

On a recent trip back to the island of Hydra, I was curious to see if the economic crisis in Greece had affected the island's feline population.  The harbor cats were there, as numerous as always.  They were gathered to greet the tourists, patiently waiting under the taverna tables for handouts, and agilely avoiding being trampled by the donkeys in the harbor, who are the only form of transportation on the island.

Every time I'd comment that the Hydra cats seemed thinner than before, daughter Eleni would point out a fat cat who clearly enjoyed a regular meal schedule.  (Some of the Greek islands, including Crete, have  organizations which collect contributions to help with the spaying and care of the island's feral cat population.  As far as I know, Hydra does not.)

On many Greek islands the cats have become so numerous and so popular that they are now featured on touristic items like carrier bags.

The  best fed and happiest cats on the island are, of course,  house pets and store cats.

The harbor cats have a harder life, but they regularly greet the fishing boats as they come in in the morning, hoping for scraps when fish are cleaned.  They also keep an eye on the private boats anchored in the harbor-- to the point of mastering tightrope walking, if it will win a tasty bite.

Even the wildest of the feral cats, when the sun begins to set, have to stop a moment and wonder at the beauty of their island, and take a moment to wish for good hunting and a full stomach tomorrow.

Amalia in Mykonos

On Saturday, May 17, Amalia landed in Mykonos at the beginning of her summer odyssey to Greece. On the plane from New York she learned to use ear phones.

Amalia and Mommy and Papi and Yiayia stayed in a friend’s house overlooking the sea, where Mommy and Papi slept in a bed under a turquoise tent. 

2.

Amalia and Grandma slept in another room where Amalia wore her Hello Kitty water wings to watch videos at night, just in case.

3.

Here she is sticking her toe in the ocean upon arrival.

4.

Her favorite thing to do on the beach is to stomp on the castles that Papi makes for her.  Sometimes he makes a big hole for her to sit in.

5.

During the week she wore all three of her bathing suits.

6.

She searched for Mykonos’ famous pelican on the harbor but couldn’t find him.

7.

And admired the seafood displayed outside Niko’s Tavern.  In fact she liked the black spiky sea urchins so much, she said she wanted one for a pet,

8.

but when Yiayia waded into the ocean and brought her a live one, Amalia changed her mind.

9.

She never did encounter Petros, the famous pink pelican who is the mascot of the island, but she saw cats, in a red door with lace curtains,…

10.

…and hiding in a niche of a church,

11.

One morning Papi and Mommy sailed on a boat to the nearby island of Delos, leaving Amalia and Yiayia on the harbor near the fish market.

13.

…Delos is uninhabited except for security, staff and a lots of antiquities.   Greek mythology says it is a very sacred island because Aphrodite and Apollo were born here.

14.

Several times in the late afternoon Amalia went to Veranda to watch the sunset and to take photos of Mykonos’s famous windmills.

15.

 

15.5  The windmills.

Here’s a photo her Mommy took of the crowds in Little Venice gathered to watch the sunset.

16.

And here’s a photo that her Grandma, Yiayia Joanie, took of the sunset.

17.

One day they went to her mommy’s favorite place ever—Aghios Sostis, which is the name of the church (once a monastery) overlooking a beautiful, uncrowded beach.

18.

 

Kiki’s Taverna nearby had just opened for the season.  They had their May wreath hanging by the window.

19.

Everything is always delicious at Kiki’s tavern, but by the time Papi was cleaning the grilled fish, Amalia had fallen asleep.  She was dreaming of sea urchins and cats and the pelican called Petros, and hoping that she’d meet him the next time she came to Mykonos.

20.

(Photos number 13, 14 & 16 taken by Eleni N. Gage)

Greece is Going to the Cats

Five years ago I published a book called "The Secret Life of Greek Cats" based on feline photographs I'd taken over the years, which told about Greek history, myths, traditions and superstitions from the point of view of the cats who are so much a part of the Greek landscape.  As I wrote in the book: "Everywhere you go in Greece you will find a cat...Cats are the punctuation in Greek life...During their catnaps they dream of the days when they were worshipped by the ancient Egyptians and didn't have to rely on the kindness of strangers for food." (The book is still available--for $10-- on Amazon or  by clicking on the book cover to the right.)

Many of the cats in the book were photographed on the island of Hydra, including Vasili, the cat on the cover, who dreamed of jumping on one of the boats in the harbor of Hydra and sailing away to see the world.

On a recent trip back to the island of Hydra, I was curious to see if the economic crisis in Greece had affected the island's feline population.  The harbor cats were there, as numerous as always.  They were gathered to greet the tourists, patiently waiting under the taverna tables for handouts, and agilely avoiding being trampled by the donkeys in the harbor, who are the only form of transportation on the island.

Every time I'd comment that the Hydra cats seemed thinner than before, daughter Eleni would point out a fat cat who clearly enjoyed a regular meal schedule.  (Some of the Greek islands, including Crete, have  organizations which collect contributions to help with the spaying and care of the island's feral cat population.  As far as I know, Hydra does not.)

On many Greek islands the cats have become so numerous and so popular that they are now featured on touristic items like carrier bags.

The  best fed and happiest cats on the island are, of course,  house pets and store cats.

The harbor cats have a harder life, but they regularly greet the fishing boats as they come in in the morning, hoping for scraps when fish are cleaned.  They also keep an eye on the private boats anchored in the harbor-- to the point of mastering tightrope walking, if it will win a tasty bite.

Even the wildest of the feral cats, when the sun begins to set, have to stop a moment and wonder at the beauty of their island, and take a moment to wish for good hunting and a full stomach tomorrow.