Greece Culture: Music and Dance in Thrace
This is another region which was divided, less than one hundred years ago, between three countries: Bulgaria, Greece
and Turkey, which are referred to today as Northern, Western, and Eastern Thrace, respectively, the area that belonging to
present day Greece being Western Thrace. Many instruments are used in the Thracian folk dance tradition, including the
outi (oud), clarinet, violin, lyra, floyera/kavali, kanonaki, gaida, tarabouka/toumbeleki, and the frame drum known as
daires/dahares. The metal clappers called masies, are also used for percussion. The cumbus (or dzimbisi) can also be
used instead of oud, being a louder, more metallic form of the same instrument which was developed for outdoor playing
by the Turks. Zournas and daouli are also played in some areas. The dances tend to be energetic and lively, with many
arm movements, including swinging back and forth or raising and lowering of them, which, when observed in a line of
dancers linked in hand clasps, is very beautiful to watch. Women have more freedom of movement in Thracian dancing than
in that of other regions.
The most popular dance is called Zonaradhikos, the name coming for the Greek word for belt-zoni/zonari/znari, and comes from the tradition of dancers holding on to the belt or sash of the adjacent dancer (though rarely used today). Today, hands are clasped at shoulder height or sometimes in the stravroto (described above), but most often placed on shoulders. The count of this dance is in a fairly rapid 6/8, and resembles the dance called pravo which is performed in Bulgaria (in Northern Thrace). Changes in direction of the line depend on various factors and sometimes a leader may draw the line in a spiraling movement inward and then out again, this kind of maneuver described as Koulouristos, from the word kouloura (coil or spiral). A dance related to the Zonaradhikos is the Kouseftos or Koucheftos, with particular songs intended for this dance to differentiate between the two. Many dances and songs in Thrace are in a 9/8 rhythm, accented in different ways. Three dances have this count: Karsilamas, Syngathistos and Syrtos Syngathistos, the first two being couple dances, with the couples either of the same sex or not. Though there is a basic step for both of these dances, they are largely improvised, with much movement of the arms, which are held out in front of the dancers. For the Karsilamas the music may be either a song or instrumental piece, though the Syngathistos is always instrumental. This dance is often done during wedding celebrations on the way to or from the bride or groom's house. The Syrtos Sygathistos has the same step as the Syngathistos but is done in a line in a 12 step syrtos pattern, with dancers' hands linked around shoulder height, and performed to music played and sung both. At a certain point int the count, hands are lowered and then raised again.
A similar lowering and raising of arms is found during the Kalamatianos or Syrtos as danced in Thrace, and the syrtos is
accented differently than elsewhere in Greece, in a reverse of the usual count, with the steps paralleling the difference.
The Thracians also dance the hasapikos differently than elsewhere. The dance called Tapinos (which means gentle), is in
a ¾ rhythm, and done with a sta tria type step, with half circle arm movements added that have been humorously described as
'windshield wipers'. The Baidouska is also danced in Thrace, thought he steps vary from place to place. Though the usual
5/8 rhythm is used, a 3/8 count is used as well, and the dance is referred to sometimes as Tripati,, which means three
steps, which cross to the left. A dance often confused with the Baidouska is the Daktirdi. The dance generally known as
Baidouska in Greek Macedonia and Thrace is known in Bulgaria (Northern Thrace) as Paidoushko. Another dance in an
asymmetric rhythm popular in Greek Thrace (with several equivalents in Bulgaria), is the Mandilatos (the Bulgarian
equivalent of the rhythm called Ruchenitsa, though the dance steps are different). The rhythm is a 7/8, counted 2.2.3,
or quick, quick, slow, and done in couples, of either the same or opposite sex. As with the Karsilamas and Syngathistos,
there is a lot of freedom to improvise movements, both with feet and hand/arms. The Greek word, mandili, means
handerchief, and explains the name of the dance, in which each dancer usually holds a handkerchief, which she/he waves in
the air, in time with the music and as a punctuation to her/his variations. Men ornament their steps with various kinds of
slaps to their chests or legs and sometimes kneel with their backs parallel to the floor as they do so, slapping the floor
as well. Local dances known in Thrace include the Laisios, the Zervos, a local form of the Tripati; the zeibekikos is
also done in the region (but in a very different manner from the urban dance of rembetika.
Anastenaria (Fire walking dance)
The name of this famous ritual which involves the walking of the participants on hot coals comes from the verb, anastenazo (I sigh), to describe the sounds made by those participants. Though practiced in various villages of eastern Macedonia, it is practiced only in Thracian communities of Greek refugees from Anatoliki Thraki (Eastern Thrace, which is within Turkish borders). The custom survives also in Northern Thrace, in Bulgaria. The custom belongs to agricultural communities and believed to insure fertility of the earth for the coming year. Instruments used for the ritual are the lyra and the daouli, and the music an essential part of the ceremony, needed to bring the dancers into a kind of trance state.