00:00
Ώρα καλή σου Πασχαλιά
God speed you now, o Easter Day, may you be back again;
as you leave us may you find us, or else in better shape.
All is well this present time, who knows how things will be,
shall we be living or be dead, and in that other place?
God speed you now, o Easter Day, may you be back again.
Translated by John Leatham
ν-Ώρα καλή, ν-ώρα καλή, ν-ώρα καλή σου, Πασχαλιά,
ν-ώρα καλή σου, Πασχαλιά, κι πίσου να γυρίσεις,
κι πίσου να γυρίσεις·
όπως μας άφ’σις να μας βρεις κι ακόμα κι καλύτιρα.
Τούτουν τουν χρόνου τουν καλόν,
τουν άλλουν ποιος του ξέρει,
για ζούμι, για πιθαίνουμι, για σ’ άλλον τόπου πάμι;
ν-Ώρα καλή σου, Πασχαλιά, κι πίσου να γυρίσεις.
On the Friday of Easter Week, dedicated to the Virgin Fount of Life, a general community feast is held in the village square. At its conclusion, the andromana (literally “mother of men”, a tableau vivant) is constructed.
Six men form a closed circle, holding each other by the shoulders. Upon their shoulders, another six men climb and arrange themselves in a similar formation. Three more men then climb atop the second tier, creating a human pyramid of three levels. As the andromana is being formed, onlookers begin to sing and dance to the song An Easter Send-off. According to local belief, the custom is observed “to strengthen the ears of corn”. In this light, we might interpret the three-tiered tableau as the villagers’ attempt to heighten the impact of the traditional two-tiered dances – so that its effects on fertility may be all the more powerful.
Zoe Margari (1998)
The custom of the Easter send-off with the Andromana in Deskati is not a revival but a continuous tradition. Its roots lie in ancient rituals connected with the cyclical renewal of nature and reproduction (Winter-Spring, Persephone-Demeter).
On the Friday of the Life-Giving Spring, all Deskati residents, both permanent and seasonal, gather in the central square of Deskati and form the Easter dance, which is accompanied by songs of a ritual character. These songs include heroic ballads, paraloges (folk narrative songs), historical songs from the Ottoman period, as well as satirical ones.
It is well known that spring rituals focus on women (Lazarines, May Day, Easter, Klidonas), while winter rituals are dominated by men (Rougatsaria, Momogeroi, Carnival). Consequently, the Easter songs of Deskati are dedicated to the female gender (Despo, Angelina, Beina, Maro, Mula, the lazy man’s wife, the young girl who sang on the bridge, etc.).
The Easter dance concludes with the song of the Easter send-off, while simultaneously the Andromana is constructed. Six men join hands in a circle by their shoulders. Upon their shoulders stand another five men, and on this group of five stand another three men.
With this ritual, the Easter cycle in Deskati comes to a close. The people of Deskati consider this tradition extremely important, participate actively, and have preserved it continuously for centuries.
Kostas Chrisakis (2023)
Recorded in April 1996 in Deskati, Grevena.
Choir
