{"id":999,"date":"2016-03-14T14:50:23","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T13:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kreps.org\/blog\/?p=999"},"modified":"2016-09-18T16:45:59","modified_gmt":"2016-09-18T15:45:59","slug":"tyrnavos-phallophoria-bourani-march-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kreps.org\/blog\/tyrnavos-phallophoria-bourani-march-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyrnavos Phallophoria: “Bourani” March 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Satyr at Tyrnavos 2016<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I arrive at just before 10am and the town square is still quiet – a few traders setting up for the day. But activity gathers very quickly. Beside the main marquee, on a truck, is what will become one of the main attractions – everyone wants to climb up onto it and have their photo taken. It is not Dionysus, but not merely a satyr. The bunches of grapes draped over the sides of the cart certainly point to Dionysus, but the floppy ears suggest something far more satyrnine – and the hooves are cloven! In this respect he is perhaps closer to Pan! The phalloi on offer at the stalls have a local, home-made quality, mostly made of clay, (though there are also some (Chinese?) plastic\/rubber dildoes,) and there are plenty of phallic lollies and chocolate willies – things made easily in a mould.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Phalloi<\/a>
Phalloi for sale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Bourani Cauldron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The centrepiece of the event, at the middle of the main marquee, is the real fire under a great old iron cauldron full of green Bourani soup<\/a>. Bourani is a thick, oil-less, spinach-based soup served on Clean Monday in Tyrnavos, and has given its name to the Festival, too.<\/p>\n

Clean Monday<\/a>\u00a0(Greek: \u039a\u03b1\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u03ac \u0394\u03b5\u03c5\u03c4\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1), also known as Pure\u00a0Monday,\u00a0Ash Monday,\u00a0Monday\u00a0of Lent or Green\u00a0Monday, is the first day of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Christian, Saint Thomas Christians of India and Eastern Catholic churches.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A poster on a noticeboard outside a shop selling Phalloi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is usually in late February or early March, 7 weeks before (Orthodox) Easter. \u00a0Any relationship with Ancient Greek Phallophoria<\/a>, in honour of Dionysus,\u00a0in early or late Spring, is as conjectural as a relationship between Guy Fawkes night and the Celtic Samhain. \u00a0Syncretic religious festivals are by nature moveable feasts. \u00a0The first written records about Tyrnavos’ Bourani festival\u00a0date from 1898 – seventeen years after the creation of the modern Greek state after its mountain rebels liberated the country from the Ottoman Empire, of which it had been a province since the mid-15th century BCE. \u00a0[After the sacking of Constantinople and the fall of the Byzantine Roman Empire in the first years of the 13th century, the whole region fell to the Ottomans over the following two hundred years or so.]<\/em><\/p>\n

The cauldron is stirred constantly with a big old ladle, and around it people began dancing from shortly after 10am as the PA system cranked up and began blasting out traditional Greek choral dance music. The ottoman edges to the sounds are hypnotic, the gradually increasing rhythms mesmerising. After initial excitement walking round and round the square, I settled down in a seat outside one of the cafes for an espresso fredo, and to drink in the atmosphere as the square filled up with people. Soon the square was heaving!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Photos<\/a>
Photos with the Satyr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Stirring<\/a>
Stirring the Cauldron<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everyone wants their photo taken with Satyr – the old men, the kids, and the women. People take it in turns to stir the Bourani cauldron too. When the women stir the cauldron, the old men gather round, waving Phalloi in their faces, and lift the women up – often with an arm between their legs – so that they can stir the cauldron from above. The crowd roars approval every time.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled\"<\/a>
Dancing with the Phalloi round the Bourani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n