The water in the Folk tradition

Μαρία Λιάκου

Μέλος Παιδαγωγικής Ομάδας

Κέντρου Περιβαλλοντικής Εκπαίδευσης Κιλκίς

To water is not a commercial product like

any other but, rather,

a heritage which must be protected,

defended and treated

such it is!

The water in the Folk tradition

The years pass, but the stories of ancient Greek mythology follow

the historical trend. Changing shape perhaps, certainly adapt to

new conditions of life of the Greeks, but modern Greek tradition is

full of all these Wives, like they call, the sources of water. Fairies

and Dragons, Ghosts, elves and gnomes flooded the Greek folk

culture and accompanied the lives of people in their events. Myths,

legends, traditions demonstrate the ubiquity of chthonic life-giving

gift.

The Nereids

The Nereids

The Nereids worshiped as godesess of calm seas, friendly people,

according to Greek mythology, was a nymph who personified the

conditions and characteristics of the sea. They were daughters of

Nereus and Oceanid

They were around fifty.

They lived on the seabed, in the palace of their father and spent

the day swimming and playing with dolphins, or sitting on golden

thrones or rocks singing and weaving or drying the rich and long

hair

The Naiads

The Naiads

The Naiads mythological persons were nymphs of lakes and rivers,

and gave their name to the sources with which they are associated.

Krinides, Potamides, lake or Limnakides,.,Eleionomoi etc. Their

father, according to Homer, was Zeus.

From Naiads originate the fairies of modern times.

Fairies

Fairies

Their name comes from the Nereids, sea nymphs who identified

with the Nymphs of sources. Occur in caves, sources close to wells,

rivers and fields and threshing. Also distinguished local and

foreign. Local is good and protect their fellow countrymen, while

any other is dangerous.

The beautiful fairy with long hair and white dresses are good and

positive, although they can be dangerous. The ungly and dressed in

black is always bad. They tend to shout passersby and if someone

tricked and replied, losing his voice.

Those found in spas only treat those who come silent with fear and

respect.

Dragons

Dragons

Dragons are mythical monsters holding water sources (Drakoneri).

Myths about the dragon that prevents the use of water and the hero

who kills him there are many peoples and religions. In the

Christian religion such hero is Agios Georgios.

Other times Dragons of rivers appear very sensitive and romantic.

In many regions of Greece (Crete, Peloponnese, the islands of the

Aegean) believed that water one hour sleeps at night. Anyone who

wants to drink should woken gently by hand, otherwise the water

resents and gets his mind.

The magic of the water

The magic of the water

As a perpetual source of life, water was associated with the concept

of immortality. Mantic properties have been attributed to the use

of the various stages of human life aimed at cleansing and looked

to atoning power.

so:

• The hours of labor in throwing water rates to roll the baby "like

water."

• After the wedding, the bride makes the "treat tap" on tap that

offers bread or fruit, to placate the forces of water.

• In death, poured all the water in the house to launder the miasma

of death and those involved in the funeral should wash their hands.

• The drinking water of forgetfulness dead to forget the world upon

it.

Customs

The silent water

The silent water and this is a remnant of the "Prevention and

superstition" of our people. The morning of the New Year, the

housewife was getting up, and in some places continued custom,

and took out a stone courtyard, which put the fireplace. Then go to

the tap to get the "silent water". It is called so because it did not

speak to anyone going or coming. There she threw wheat or cheese

saying:

"As the water runs, run the goodies in your home."

Then flipped her house with water, without removing silence and

just went into the house saying "xronia polla" to her own. The

silent water poured on four corners of the house, "to run all year

goodies like water."

The Klidona

The Klidona

The Klidonas is a custom with roots in ancient times, the prevailing

'Klidona'. Klidona means acts or words random and disjointed,

which sounded during divinatory rituals and assigned prophetic

significance.The Klidonas animates the day of St. - John on June

24.

The Celebration begins on the eve of the big fires that are lit and

jump even children. Then the unmarried girls bring from the well

the silent water and emptied at clay pot, throwing in a personal

and usually precious object.

Then obscures the clay pot and leave it all night under the starry

sky. The next day opened with songs the clay pot and each one gets

behind the object that is owned. As the sun reigns each girl fills her

mouth with a sip of water speechless, standing in front of the

window and wait until she heard the man's first name. This is

thought to be the name of the man who will marry her.

The Perperouna

The Perperouna

The Perperouna or perperitsa is a custom that existed in certain

areas of Greece mainly in villages in Thessaly, Macedonia and

Epirus and kept even nowadays, where Vlachs live.

The purpose of this custom is to prevent drought. Young girls

gathered in groups and having between them the "Perperouna" a

girl adorned with branches and flowers holding a pan on her head,

turning the houses singing:

Pirpirouna walks

God pleases

to throw a rain

a gentle rain

a birth to our grains

and corns

The villagers come to their doors, throwing water into the pan and

filefoun girls with money and sweets, believing that this will cause

the rain.

Riddles, adages

Riddles, adages

The imagination, the poetic and satirical mood of our people,

captured the power of diversity and the value of water in proverbs,

riddles and related expressions so enriching and embellishing our

popular reason.

Some proverbs related to the water and have an allegorical

meaning is

"often go the pitcher of water, but once it breaks," says

that while often trying something risky and achieve should not take

it for granted, because one day it will fail.

The adage "the water with fire can’t be relatives" used for

things completely opposite.

To show that with patience and perseverance we can achieve great

things, but also to denote the value of saving, say the adage "drip -

drip fills the wide pitcher."