1. TRANSCRIPT FROM THE INTERVIEW ABOUT S. GEORGE’S PANIGYRAKIINARACHOVA
Q: Hello,thankyouforbeinghere inour school to helpuswithourresearchfor our Erasmus
programme andgive us informationaboutthe panigyraki inArahova.First,we wouldlike to
knowyournames.(01-
A My name is Kali LouskouandI am a GreekLanguage teacher.(02-6)
A My name isNikolidakis Evaggelos,IamaGreekLanguage teachertoo,andwithmywife we
have been researching the folk culture in our area. We have also written books about the
topic.(07-20)
Q Our first question is whether your area has a golden age whose traditions are still alive
today.(026-1.6)
A Certainly,thisis the three-day“Panigiraki”(festival) thatthe localsorganise inhonor of St.
George duringspringtime everyyear. It’sanoldcelebrationwithmanytraditionsandcustoms
that come from the past and are preserved till our days without many changes. (1.08-1.28)
Q Are there any traditional costumes or music instruments that are used during thisfestival
and are they authentic? (1.32-1.40)
A Of course,everythingthatisusedforthe festival isauthenticbecausethe wholecelebration
is authentic. The musicians that take part in the festival have a deep knowledge of the folk
music culture of Arachovaand the widerarea. Theircostumes are authentic,come from the
Arachovaregion, andhaveremainedunchanged since atleasttheGreekWarof Independence
in 1821. The musical instruments are made by themselves. (1.45- 2.08)
A Their names are pipiza and daouli and their calibration to the local musical rhythms have
beenmade bythe local musicians themselves whoare amateurmusicians of folkmusic. (2.9-
2.28)
Q Who are the local people whotake partinthis festival? (2.29-2.34)

2. A People fromall agestake part inthisfestival,frombabiestooldpeople who are active and
can walk and dance. (2.37-2.48)
A Also, there are the people whowearthe traditional folkcostumesandare more than 2000
everyyear,almosthalf of the local population,andotherlocal peopleorvisitorswhotake
part inthis communal celebration. (2.50-3.20)
Q Whendidthisfestival/panegyrisstart? (3.20-3.26)
A I have to say here thatthe word panegyris inGreek meansthatall andeveryone (pan)
come to thiscelebration.The characterof the celebrationisreligiousbecause of the time it
happens,onS.George’sname day.This religiousexperienceandthe reverence anddevotion
towardsthe saintunite all people. (3.27-3.52)
A There is a special song that we can hear on this day, a song of Akrites. Akrites were the
guardiansof the borders inthe Byzantine empire.Thisbyitself meansthatthe festival,asitis
today,datesbacktothe 10th
c.Itsexactstartingpointcannotbe specified.Manylocal customs
were embedded in the festival with time. (3.53-4.30)
Q Has the origin of thiscelebration beenkept?(4.33-4.36)
A Yes, and this can be proved by the fact that the songs and the customs are completely
identical. (4.38-4.47)
Q What is the relationship of the folk akritic song and the folk traditions of this area? (4.50-
4.56)
A The song describesthe festival andthe festival describesthe song. (4.57- 5.08)
A The song lyrics include the descriptionof a panegyris and there are parts of the song that
are connected to popular folk traditions in the wider area of Arachova like the killing of the
dragon by saint George. (5.09-5.40)
……………………………………………………….
Q Which are the folk customs connected to the three-day “Panigiraki” (small festival) of S.
George in Arachova?(6.36-6.40)
A The celebration is two-fold and it contains a religious and a folk element. The religious
element refers to the three-day church mass and the litany of the icon on the eve of the
anniversaryof S.George.Afterthe mass,the folkeventstake place forthree days.(6.41-7.02)
A First of all, we have the tap custom, a short opening performance, during which running
water is releasedfromthe rock. Then,dances follow andmore specificallythe firstdance or
special dance called “Panigiraki”(small festival)connectedtothe feastof s. George.Thenwe
have athletic competitions which date back to ancient Greece. It is a well-known fact that
duringantiquityandat the time of the Byzantine empire,gameswere dedicatedtogodstoo.
During the Ottoman occupation, these gamestook place in church yards. There are running
eventssuchaslong,highandtriple jump, throwingeventslike shotputanddiscus,tug of war,
etc. (7.03-8.27)
A Anothercustom isthe common lunchwhichall the people takingpart in the festival share
on the third day. After eating, a singing and dancing spree starts. All of these happen in S
George’schurch yard. Thatiswhythisfestival isachurch-centeredone. Finally,people singing

3. the song“Panigiraki”goroundthe villageinaprocessionwhichiscalled‘halasma’andsignifies
the end of the celebrations.People wish each other good health and make an appointment
for next year’s festival. (8.28 - 9.12)
INTERVIEWERS: Studentsfrom the 1ST
General Lyceumof Levadia
INTERVIEWEES: Kali Louskou and Nikolidakis Evaggelos,GreekLanguage teachers
PLACE: 1ST
General Lyceumof Levadia/Library
TIME: 2019