cyprus food stuffs > History, Traditions & Myths > Bread and the traditional life
Ever since antiquity, Cypriots have used wheat as one of the most basic elements of their daily diet. The high quality of Cypriot wheat means that many foods, especially bread, have been produced from it. Bread has an important role in many aspects of Cypriot tradition since it is valuable and essential for survival, while at the same time a great number of customs, symbolisms, prejudices and superstitions have been created around it.
In Greek Cypriot people’s minds bread holds a special place not only in Cypriot cuisine but also in Greek Cypriot culture. Cypriots appreciate the painful procedure of the wheat treatment, i.e. from seeding to harvesting and milling, and understand its nutritional value. Bread is an important element in the Christian Orthodox Church since through the Holy Communion bread is converted into ‘Christ’s Body’. At the same time believers offer it as an offer (prosforo) to the Church asking for God’s blessing (name days) and forgiveness (memorials for the dead/commemoration mass).
The importance of bread in the Cypriot
culture
Leaven
Beliefs around leaven
Preparing the Bread
Church bread
Religious Holidays
Christmas
Easter
Bread in important times of human life
Birth
Marriage
Death
Bread Today and its lost magic
A comparison of the traditional and the modern
procedure of preparing bread
Traditional Vs Modern Way of Consumption
Variety of Breads
Bread and Greek-Cypriot Identity
Bibliography
The importance of bread in the Cypriot culture
Bread is present in many aspects of life in a traditional Greek Cypriot household , especially during religious holidays, i.e. Easter and Christmas; at important milestones of human life such as marriage, birth, death; in various activities of our daily lives, like the beginning and end of a farmer’s activities; in people’s medicine; in preventing evil spirits; and, finally in identifying ‘worthy’ households . In each and every one of these activities, bread takes on different forms and symbolisms, while at the same time it remains an expression of people’s creativity and faith towards the Divine.
The misery which consequently meant the lack of this precious good, leads
to its exaltation therefore “all the stages for its production, preparing
the leaven, kneading and baking were characterised from actions expressing
people’s powerful faith in its sanctity” (Kypri & Protopapa, 1997, p. 17),
and also the absolute faith and respect towards God. People’s behaviour
towards bread was according to its sanctity because when they were
holding a piece of bread in their hands it was as if they were holding
something of great holiness. When the antidoro (piece of bread which
they take from church after the Holy Communion) or even bread crumbs fell to
the ground they would call “Jesus” and kneel to pick them up since it was
considered a great sin to let bread crumbs fall and be stepped on. In
addition, it was also considered a great mistake to place the bread upside
down, since it was like turning their whole world upside down which
symbolised bad luck for their home.
A believer’s faith in the symbolism of bread also made it a ‘means for magical and religious actions’ protection from evil spirits. “Bread was linked to various superstitions, thus becoming a means for appraising dead people’s souls, an object of offer for the appraising and extinction of evil forces, linking it to magical ways of religion and prophetic actions, while it was used symbolically from the people as a protective means in various cases for establish good health and happiness” (Kypri & Protopapa, 1997, p. 18). It is worth mentioning the harmonic combination of Christian and pagan customs and perceptions, since many of them concerning wheat and wheat-related products have claimed to be part of the heritage from ancient Greek customs.
Leaven
An essential element of kneading for any kind of bread is leaven. It is a small piece of dough, which has already been subjected to zymosis (fermentation), since it has been kneaded from up to seven days before. It is used as the core for the rest of the dough because it helps ke the bread rise and become much more tasty. Initially, the leaven dough is shaped into small pieces the size of a walnut, which are ‘anadjinizan’, meaning that water and flour is added every day for either three, five or seven consecutive days (the number of days has to be odd). The amount of leaven is never all used, as a small piece is saved for the next time. “Leaven was considered sacred and as a blessing from God to their house” (Kypri & Protopapa, 1997, p. 19), thus it was prepared and stored with true religious respect.
Beliefs around leaven
The main concern of every housewife who has prepared the leaven for kneading the household’s daily bread consumption and the bread for the Churchis to make sure the leaven is clean, both literally and metaphorically. In metaphorical terms, the woman is not supposed to have her period at the time of making the leaven as it is considered dirty and contaminating, both qualities that would be transferred to the leaven. The woman should also not sleep with her husband for the last three days before kneading the leaven, which means that in many villages youngs girls or old ladies knead the leaven. . In addition, certain days of the year are considered inappropriate for kneading leaven and are therefore avoided. Other prejudices concerning leaven include never giving leaven to other people at night or before forty days have passed after its preparation, since in that case it is believed to bring great troubles for the household.
The process of preparing the leaven is a sacred rite since it is thought that in order to make leaven divine power has to provide synergy. The intense use of various prayers or wishes and other Christian elements and symbols is evident and aims to call the godly spirits for help and send away the evil ones. Furthermore, a series of other actions is believed to help the kneading of the leaven. Such actions could include “running after the woman at the time of kneading the leaven, slapping a third person to make him/her angry, various dialogues in front of the hot oven, use of magical numbers, use of the silent water… It is evident that these actions were done to affect homeopathically the process of the fermentation of the leaven, to happen as quickly as possible” (Kypri & Protopapa, 1997, p. 28). The water that is used to make the leaven every year always has to have a specific quality, which is also connected to a divine element. In some parts of the island holy water from the day of the Holy Cross on the 14th September is used, and in other parts the dew taken from the flowers used to decorate the epitaph on the Great Friday is used. In other villages water from the first rain in the autumn is used and a gold coin is put in the water, which portrays Constantine the Great (Costantinato) or a piece of the Holy Wood.
Preparing the Bread (GREEK CYPRIOT TRADITION)
Preparing traditional bread in the last 30 years has been a regular occurance, taking place at least once a week by every housewife. In periods of great poverty and lack of wheat, other ingredients were used for preparing bread such as semolina, barley, bran and various plant roots, which were used to make flour and then bread. According to Magda Ohnefalsch-Richter, who visited Cyprus during 1894-1912, “Professional bakers exist only in towns. But various city women, especially Greek housewives prefer to bake their own bread. This is a habit in villages despite the fact that in coffee shops and small villages vendors have started to sell to foreigners and their customers’ home-made bread”.
In order to make good dough a lot of kneading is needed by using fists. Once the kneading is over, the dough has the sign of the cross made over it and the kneader calls for Jesus. The dough is then left to stand so that it can start rising. A myth has made Wednesdays and Fridays bad days for kneading, so they were avoided. The loaves of bread are baked in large stone ovens, which are in the back garden of the house and are heated up by setting wood on fire. So that all efforts and materials are not wasted during the baking of the bread, divine power is once more asked for in a number of ways. In some villages before the oven is closed the sign of the cross is made and people say couplets to exorcise evil.
Church bread
Arti, prosfora and pannihides have an important
part in the religious practice of Greek Cypriots. The believers offer
them to the Church in order to honor a Saint or for the memorial service
of a relative. Many Greek Cypriot housewives knead these kinds of bread
with an even greater devotion and care than the bread kneaded for everyday
consumption and they use the best ingredients in the household.
Prosfora (“offers”) used by the priest during the Holy Communion are
kneaded using only three ingredients: flour, salt and water along with the
leaven. The two special characteristics that define these breads are the
stamp imprinted in the centre of the bread, which is one of the most
important symbols of the Christian Orthodox faith, with the 4 syllables
“ÉÓ ×Ñ ÍÉ-ÊÁ”, which means “Jesus Christ Wins”,imprinted in its corners,
and the surface of this type of bread, which is soft and shiny.
The second type of religious breads are pannihides, on which the
decorations are a true work of art. A variety of traditional patterns
such as crosses, geometrical shapes and various designs taken from nature
form another expression of traditional creativity. Housewives would use
a combination of their skills to make this kind of bread. There is even
competition as to who can will take the best ones to church.
These two kinds of religious bread are embedded in the tradition of the Orthodox Church and thus are made and offered by the believers. Only a small minority of housewives still kneads bread, while the rest order it from bakeries. The decoration of the pannihida now differs from the traditional design, because due to massive production there is no time for a detailed and diligent decoration.
Religious Holidays
Preparing bread for the important religious occasions, namely Christmas and Easter, is one of the main concerns for the Greek Cypriot household. The various types of bread made have a leading role on the festive table. Cypriot housewives used to use all their skills and imagination to make different types of bread. At the same time each one had a symbolic meaning, since they would incorporate various perceptions, myths, prejudices and superstitions rooted in pre-Christian faith habits, aiming at calling good spirits and sending away the evil ones. Preparations for the kneading would start several days before Christmas, helping in creating a festive atmosphere.
Christmas
Christopsoma, gennopittes and koulouria are made across the island in various shapes and names according to local village tradition. Christmas paximadia , also called koumoula are not necessarily made especially for Christmas and are offered to everyone who visits a new mother. In addition, soft koulouria are made, namely dhaktilies. Ghlistarkies are paximadhia in the shape of thin stripes placed in a circlular manner and are crossed in the middle, with sesame seeds on top. Finally, koulouria can be made in various forms depending on the imagination of each housewife, like vortakouthkia, meaning “frogs” (which expresses the wish for rain to help the farmers), athropouthkia which means “small people” (the Greek Cypriot tradition links them with dead peoples’ souls), zembilouthkia, meaning baskets, (an expression of the wish for the blessing of their crops), (Panorama Laografias, Volume B. “Oi Giortes tou Dodekaimerou” p. 171). In various villages it is a custom to give various koulouria as gifts to relatives and godchildren.
The various types of breads have the sign of the cross as a basic element and other the various shapes which are taken from nature and people’s daily lives. In some villages, the stavrokouloura (koulouria in the shape of the cross), are hung on the walls during religious occasions and are parts of the festive decoration as well as a protecting force: since antiquity Greek belief was such that wheat and wheat-related products would protect people from evil (Kypri & Protopapa, 1997, p. 86). During religious festivities they were especially afraid of kalikandjari, who were believed to be evildoer demons, contaminating food and water and causing a great number of bad outcomes in an attempt to hurt people.
With the same dough that is made on Christmas Eve, a cake called vasilopitta is made, dedicated to Saint Vasilios (Basil) and aims at securing all year round blessing for health and happiness. In this cake, which has a rich decoration, a coin is placed and whoever finds it is considered to have luck for the whole new year.
Easter
Koulouria of these days have no difference from those of Christmas; glistarkies, stavrokouloura and the various koulouria are made in the same forms as in Christmas. In addition, various other kinds of koulouria are made with relevance to the sufferings of Jesus, like the crown of thorns and Jesus’ chained hands. At the same time, koulouria are made with red eggs placed in their centre to symbolise life. Koulouria are given to relatives and godchildren, as in Christmas.
Bread in important times of human life
Bread and other varieties of wheat products have wide uses in the customs of birth, marriage and death, as they are believed to prevent evil spirits, protect people from evil and attract good fortune. These milestones of human life, according to public perception, are targets for evil spirits, therefore a number of prejudices and superstitions have been created about them and various actions are taken to act as an antidote and allow these situations to proceed as wished.
Birth
According to tradition, the new mother and baby are in danger from evil spirits for the first 40 days. The guardian angel of the new life is bread, which is placed on the pillow of both the new mother and the baby and has the power to protect them and prevent evil.
Marriage
Among the various customs of marriage, bread holds a special place once more. In this ritual, bread has various symbolic roles depending on the particular part in which it is used. Bread, including paximadhia, is made to accompany the rest of the meal, glistarkes are made for treating guests, and various shapes of koulouria are used as decoration. At the same time, prosfora are kneaded, baked and taken to the church to be used in the wedding ceremony. Through this process and the various kinds of bread made wishes for the happiness of the newly-weds are expressed. The whole process is tiresome and the help of relatives and friends is necessary, which once more shows how through these rituals relationships are empowered and confirm the status quo.
Death
Bread is placed next to the dying person and remains there even after
his/her death. In some villages, bread is also placed on top of the grave.
After the burial, pariorka (consolation) is given, in order to
“bless the dead”, which consists of bread and wine, halloumi/hellim
and olives. The perception that prevails is that the bread must not be
cut
with a knife (Kypri & Protopapa, 1997, p. 227).
Bread Today and its lost magic
The eating habits of Greek Cypriots today have undergone many changes, which have resulted from various social, political and economical factors. Foreign role models, new dietary habits and behaviors and new recipes have come into our lives and have affected the way of preparing and consuming traditional bread in a significant way. In addition, they have changed the way bread is seen by Greek Cypriots.
Bread holds an important role in the dietary habits of many but it is not the most basic element of diet. The variety of foodstuff and the consumerism that prevails has taken away the respect and sanctity that was given to bread by older generations. Contemporary Cypriots prefer to buy bread from a bakery than to knead it, while at the same time they have a choice of hundreds of alternative food. Bread has lost its “magic”. It is no longer the guardian angel for the newborn and the mother, it is not offered to godchildren as a gift and it is not used as a decoration at Christmas.
Traditionally bread was prepared with extra diligence and care by housewives since it was one of the most basic elements of their diet. Today health and safety rules are kept in bakeries but the mass production of bread has taken away the traditional meaning of bread. While superstitions and prejudices are being ignored, kneading and baking do not follow the same magical rituals as before. The abundance and wealth acquired during the last fifteen years in the Greek Cypriot community turns “goods” to “products”, thus diminishing their importance. Today whole loaves of bread are tossed in the garbage, while thirty years ago that was unheard of.
A comparison of the traditional and the modern procedure of preparing bread
The preparation of traditional bread in modern bakeries is, in general terms, the same as the traditional one. The difference is in the means and the time of preparation, since all stages, from kneading to baking, are executed with the aid of machines. The traditional way of preparing bread, using leaven, has been significantly diminished. According to Mr. Costas Savva, Head of Production at one of the largest Bakeries in Cyprus, modern bakeries use yeast, which has the quality of raising bread in a shorter period of time, which is about an hour, while leaven takes about five hours to rise. Yeast gives bakeries the ability of mass production in very short periods of time. When bread is kneaded with yeast, it has two major disadvantages: taste and preservation, as traditional bread has a sweeter taste and it is more filling than modern bread, and the former can be preserved for a longer period of time.
Traditional Vs Modern Way of Consumption
Traditionally bread was a main part of the daily meal. A lady once said, “it was our food and if we didn’t knead we wouldn’t eat”, which means that the loaves of bread were made quite big, because families were much larger. In addition, they used to take bread with them to the fields so that they could share it with the rest of the workers or in many cases bread would be the payment for the workers. The flour used had all the necessary nutritional requirements for the body’s basic needs.
Today the use of bread is different. It is used to accompany various main dishes, due to the existence of a variety of foodstuffs. Therefore, the “modern-traditional” Cypriot bread is prepared in various sizes, but even the larger size found in bakeries is smaller than the size of the loaf in older times, since the demand for fresh and soft bread is greater.
Nowadays, consumers can find a wide variety of bread depending on their taste, demands and health condition. A wide range of traditional breads is still prepared for Christmas, such as dhaktilies, glistarkes, paximadhia and christopsoma. In addition, a great number of foreign types of bread is now produced, namely French sticks, Viennese bread, bread for toast, Italian bread, whole wheat and corn bread, which all use imported ingredients.
According to Mr. Costas Savva, these types of bread “are no longer foreign” as they demonstrate the increased demand from customers who have integrated them into their diets over the past few years. This is probably due to the fact that Greek Cypriots have begun to change mentality towards foreign influences from either traveling more, living abroad as students or seeking acquaintance with other cultures in general. This results in trying new flavors. .
Variety of Breads
Over the past few years Greek Cypriot bakeries have adjusted to all these different types of breads, which are often referred to as “specialty breads”. The ingredients are also adequate for those who have specific health problems such as diabetis. In addition to “specialty breads”, there are also “luxury breads”, such the French sticks, Viennese and Italian bread, whole wheat and bread for toast. The main quality of these kinds of breads is that the ingredients used for their preparation make them lighter than traditional bread, which reinforces the assumption that bread is not used as a main meal, but rather to accompany meals and so are not made to be as filling.
Bread and Greek-Cypriot Identity
According to Mr. Costas Savva, traditional bread is preferred by Greek Cypriots living abroad. “Cypriots in those places ask for bread and they even travel for kilometres to find a bakery making traditional Cypriot bread”. This fact proves that bread is a basic element of the Greek Cypriot culture. In eating traditional bread, all the values, memories, and personal and social history are enclosed. Eating something you grew up with helps awaken memories, which help feel a feeling of belonging.
Bibliography
Kypri, Theophano, Protopapa, Kalliopi, 1997. ÐáñáäïóéáêÜ Æõìþìáôá ôçò Êýðñïõ. Ç ÷ñÞóç êáé ç óçìáóßá ôïõò óôçí åèéìéêÞ æùÞ (Traditional pastries of Cyprus. Their Use and importance in customary life). Äçìïóéåýìáôá ôïõ ÊÝíôñïõ Åðéóôçìïíéêþí Åñåõíþí Êýðñïõ XVII. Ëåõêùóßá.
Ohnefalsch-Richter, Magda, 1994. ÅëëçíéêÜ ¹èç êáé ¸èéìá óôçí Êýðñï (Greek customs in Cyprus). Ðïëéôéóôéêü ÊÝíôñï ÔñÜðåæáò Êýðñïõ. Ëåõêùóßá.
Ïé ÃéïñôÝò ôïõ ÄùäåêÜìåñïõ. Äýï ïìéëßåò ðïõ äüèçêáí áðü ôï Ñáäéïöùíéêü ºäñõìá Êýðñïõ (Christmas Holidays). ÄåêÝìâñéïò 1978 – ÉáíïõÜñéïò 1979 . Ðáíüñáìá Ëáïãñáößáò. Ôüìïò ´. Ëåõêùóßá.
