On January 6, I went by car from Kokkinochoma to a small village called Nikisiani, located in the
county of Kavala. It is possible to come to Nikisiani in bus, because there is a bus line from Kavala to
Nikisiani. That day was celebrated the popular celebration called Arapides, which was absolutely
unknown to me. The weather was cold and the streets were snowed, which influenced that there were
not so many visitors attending the celebration. The participants of the festival were a group of men
dressed in traditional costumes and who would be in charge of performing the ceremony.
These people were dressed in a strange black outfit, with black coats and impressive masks, costumes
from sheeps. They are dressed in a wool jacket (Kapa), white woollen socks (patties) tied with thin
leather straps (lapares) tsarouhia of pigskin (tsirvoulia) and a tall black mask (barmpota) that has holes
in the place of the eyes, and is tied with a special tape to keep it in place. In ancient times they had a
filling of dried herbs, but in recent years it is a small pillow, this one is under the layer to make a hump.
From the dress hang large bells to make as much noise as possible. In their hands they hold a medium
wooden sword.
According to the history, there is a legend about this dress and it is when the king of the Porthos Indians
wants to fight against Alexander the Great and the Macedonians (327BC), they had a problem because
the enemy had elephants and they not knowing how to deal with them. Then the Macedonian commander
Saiyi (a tribe that lived in the Nikissiani area) offered to scare the elephants. Then masked, they made
noises with the bells they were carrying; this made help to win Alexander in the battle.
However, this popular celebration also has to do with the death of the god Dionysus in the battle with
the Titans, and later his father Jupiter resuscitates. It is a triumph of life over death, the resurrection of
nature in spring over winter. This pagan celebration shows the adoration towards the local deities,
Dionisio and Vendeas, and as it shows that battle for the death and the resurrection, it fights between the
evil and the good. The Arappides are scaring off all evil.
The celebration begins with excursions in the night of the ladies and children in the streets at the beginning
of December, and especially from Christmas Eve. They walk through the town with the sound of bells,
announcing the celebration. These culminate on January 6 when the journey begins through the streets
of the village before ending in the courtyard of the primary school, where they perform the ritual dance and
the final act. The "Arappides" are placed in a circle, and they ring the bells very loudly, then in silence
the two best of the group of "Arappeon" stand out and come out to fight. In the symbolic struggle, an
"Arappis" falls "dead", and the opponent along with the rest of "Arappeys" on the dead are placed
silently. After a few minutes of silence, the dead man resuscitates and they begin to dance frantically
revealing their faces.
These celebration were forbidden and persecuted by the Christian religion, however they have a deep
root in the customs of the people and survived the prohibition. Today it is a pride to dress up as "arappe"
. It is wonderful how local cultural associations keep the tradition alive and we were glad to meet them
in action.
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