MUTUAL
ASSISTANCE
Villagers helped
and depended upon each other, for aid in digging up their
fields, for sowing their seed, for harvesting their crops,
in every aspect of agriculture. Women were often seen carrying
loads of firewood strapped to their backs, walking to the
homes of less fortunate families in the village who could
not provide for themselves. Today, villagers don't shy away
from community projects either, since they are always ready
to respond to a call of help from local leaders or committees.
FEAST
DAY CELEBRATIONS
The
family sponsoring the celebration was up very early in
the day. The father and children went to church to light a
candle to their patron saint in thankfulness. When services
were over, people gather in the coffee shops, where those
who were celebrating their feast (name) day were expected
to buy everyone else coffee and drinks. A group of young people
might gather their own instruments or encourage a band to
start playing as they walked to the homes of those celebrating,
where the mother had prepared a table laden with fruit, wine,
spinach and cheese pies, and more. It was not considered proper,
however, to serve sweet dishes when someone had their name
day. The band played till the wee hours of the morning, as
everyone ate, drank, and made merry.
FAMILY
STRUCTURE
In the Perista of old - as in many areas of Greece and
the rest of the world - family structure was extremely patriarchal
in nature. The "father knows best" notion was only occasionally
eclipsed by the opinions of the elders, such as a grandmother
or grandfather living under the same roof. Women married young,
often even before the age of twenty. They sometimes referred
to their husbands - with a touch of sarcasm - as their "crowns,"
a reference to the crowns that highlight an Orthodox wedding
service. A wife, in turn, became known in the village by her
husband's name, as in "Yianna" (Yianni's wife) or "Nikkaina"
(Niko's wife). It rarely worked the other way around, where
a husband would become known by his wife's first name, but
when it did, you can bet that the woman in question had a
pretty strong personality!
