The custom of the dance of disguised bell-ringers in the alleys of the village is married, with the eutheric custom of fire and the legend of Malliaros.
“Malliaros” carnival
Malliaros Carnival takes place in the village of Magganiako, in the municipality of Messini, on the last Sunday of Carnival. It is an attempt by the young people of the village to bring it to life by making use of its tradition and legends. In the carnival of Malliaros, the custom of the dance of disguised bell-ringers in the alleys of the village is married, with the eutheric custom of fire and the legend of Malliaros.
Legend of Malliaros
Malliaros, an illegitimate child of a priest’s mistress, when he was born, scared his mother and midwife so much because of his hairy appearance that they decided to abandon him in the forest. But when they returned home, they were surprised to find it there. Terrified, they put it in a cradle and hung it on a tree in the forest, and since then the creature has disappeared into it.
This legend is revived by the inhabitants today
The difference is that nowadays they call Malliaros up from his cradle and invite him to join in the feast and the dance. Thus, the harshness of his abandonment in the original myth gives way to his eventual integration into the community, teaching the acceptance of difference and inclusion; something that is fully experienced through the participation of the people in the action and the feast, by the youngest to oldest. The case of Magganiako is very interesting, because the inhabitants do not simply imitate a custom, but evaluate it, enrich it and adapt it to the perceptions and values of the modern era, while preserving the primordial Dionysian spirit.
What the local experts say
Interview's main points
“Magganiaco is a very small village with about 65 elderly residents, and we saw that the village was slowly dying. So, the village's cultural association, through various actions, tried to revive the village, for example, with the festival, which is held with traditional music and traditional musical instruments. Also, a few friends and I created the social cooperative enterprise "Nostos" with the aim of highlighting the village so that it can come back to life and attract people to it. So, we started the process and looked for programs and found one that was related to the revival of small places, but it required participatory planning. We met in the village every month, invited the residents, and discussed what the residents wanted for the future of the village. Thus, some needs of the village arose, what the residents of the village want, what we who come from the village and live in the surrounding cities want, and what the visitors of the village want. So, in order for the world to get to know the village, we held a festival in which we showed the past of the village with the residents showing how they made traditional products, “hilopites”, “macaronia”, an old man showed how he used to make canes, how harvesting and threshing was done. We had invited people to show us similar examples that had been implemented in their area. We had activities for children with traditional games and many that we made with natural materials, and beyond the effort for the festival to become an institution, we are trying to provide incentives so that people start returning back."
“We traditionally celebrated Carnival in our village. In older times, residents dressed in whatever old clothes they had and put smudges on their faces. They went around singing and teasing from house to house and received treats from the housewives and householders, while at the end they gathered in the village square. There, all the residents celebrated together around a large fire. In the village, there was also a legend; in general, there are many stories of the village, which have been recorded by some teachers who were once in the village. Among these legends was one, well-known to us younger ones as well, the legend of the 'Malliaro'. At some point, we decided to highlight all this, to bring back the traditional Carnival, as it was done in the old days, when we dressed in old clothes and went around the village, and at the same time to present the legend of the Malliaro, including it in our Carnival. Thus, we revived elements of the rural Carnival, as we experienced them in the past, and added to them the dramatized legend of the Malliaro.When we were little, our parents scared us by telling us not to go into the forest, because Malliaros was there, while the shepherds said they heard him at night. In the forest, there is still the tree where they used to say it was the Malliaros’ tree. We wanted to show this. So, nowadays, during the carnival, we go around the village with traditional instruments and treats from house to house, with bell-ringers and goat-shaped figures, and the central figure is Malliaros. We end up in the square where we see the abandonment of Malliaros at the tree, only that now the village finally accepts Malliaros back. Thus, there is a reversal in the myth and the community shows that it accepts the difference, and the residents celebrate with him. "
"We can lean on tradition, we can take many elements from tradition, whether they are legends, or songs, or customs, and give them to today's society, manage them properly and give a new stimulus and a new result. In the Malliaros carnival, from the non-acceptance that the myth showed, we have reached the acceptance that is a value and a demand of our time.We were also very interested in having everyone participate, every age group from young children to the elderly. We aim for everyone to dress up, wear wreaths, get smudged, so that they can experience the celebration. We invite people in Kalamata before the carnival to come and make wreaths from ivy and costumes that are inspired by nature, from the birds of the village, such as a type of owl, etc." "
