The custom with Karkatzalia in Fiki, Trikala, is postponed again this year due to the Koronio pandemic.
As the youth of Fiki-Drosopigi emphasize in a relevant announcement, thanks to a pandemic, with thousands of cases, intubated and the dead that the COVID-19 virus has left behind, the years we are going through are in many ways difficult.
Given the situation experienced by the entire planet, the above could not leave unaffected the custom with Karkatzalia in Fiki.
The great Sanctification of the waters, on the day of the Epiphany, has always been the occasion for the revival of the custom that takes place in Fiki, for almost 1.5 centuries uninterruptedly. A day that the young people waited every year with impatience to pour into the neighborhoods of the village and with the sound of the bells, to “exorcise evil”.
But the period of this year’s festivities is extremely crucial for the course of the pandemic that plagues the entire planet. Especially after the arrival of the “Omicron” variant, which is characterized by experts, is super-contagious and gives thousands of new cases every day.
“So, with the conscience that we all have, but also with the respect for the inhabitants of our village, our families, that is, that so many generations support the custom, the young people of Fiki and Drosopigi, we decided not to hold the events. “Revival of the custom with disguises and bells, in order to limit the movements of all of us and finally put an end to the spread of the virus,” the statement said.
In custom, Christianity and Paganism coexist
The feast of the Epiphany also includes many events that constitute the perpetuation of ancient Greek customs. Sanctification in our country also has the meaning of purification, purification of people, as well as its liberation from the influence of demons. The latter concept is not strictly Christian, but has its roots in ancient worship.
Greece is rich in customs of the Lights. Rougatasaria, carcasses, camels, baboons, momogeri, fotarades are some of the customs that have their roots in antiquity and the Dionysian festivals but also in the period of Ottoman rule and are revived every year on the days of the Epiphany.
The roots of the custom in Fiki
Karkatzalia as the locals call them has a reference point Slimnitsa (today Trilofos is located on the slopes of Grammos) of Kastoria. During the Turkish occupation it was the largest village in the area in Kastoria, with 200 families, when 17 of them after the persecution by the Bulgarians in the late 19th century, relocated to Fiki and brought with them the custom.
In Fiki, on the day of the Epiphany, Karkatzalia is revived. The young people of the village disguise themselves and necessarily wear masks that have a symbolic character, since their appearance is scary and they aim to exorcise evil.
Karkatzalia consists of a group (20 – 25 people in disguise) who walk from house to house receiving the appropriate fee. Some of the necessary members of each group were the groom, the bride (young in disguise), the priest, the grandfather, the doctor and the “teddy bears” …
“Happy birthday, happy new year, with health all over the world and we wish to meet again together”, the announcement concludes.
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