I know I’ve shared a lot about Ikaria. But I really must tell you about these uniquely Ikarian village parties. They are like nothing I’ve ever witnessed. And the essence of what they’re about, I think, very much contributes to why the people here live so long and well.
Here’s a video of the dance floor at the Stavlos paniyiri…It’s midnight. The party started around lunchtime.
Every village in Ikaria has a paniyiri. From May to September there is one every few days on the island. Sometimes four in one day/night. They exist to bring people together. The houses on the island are spread out, due to the island’s problems with pirates and other attacks over the centuries (decentralised villages were harder to conquer), so paniyiri were for getting everyone close. They were also, I’m told, a way of distributing wealth within a village. The rich paid for the goats and wine.
When the paniyiri strikes, the entire village shuts down, trestle tables and chairs are set up in the village square, hundreds of goats are killed and roasted, the best of the local wine is collected from all the families in the village and siphoned into 1 litre water bottles, and at around 11pm all converge to… connect. You buy a slab of goat, salad, chips and cheese and you share this with family and friends. Around midnight the band starts. A violin,
guitar, bouzouki. They sing traditional Ikarian songs for – ooohhhh – around eight hours. Without stopping. The band reads the crowd…upping the tempo, taking things to more emotional depths, then whips things into a frenzy. It’s magical and spooky just how deeply intuitively they do it.
Everyone drinks wine. (One glass of wine, one glass of water, one swig of pork broth and a mouthful of goat meat. Repeat.) And dances. Everyone. Young and old.
But let me fill in the ephemeral gaps. I went to three paniyiri during my stay, but I really only committed to one (the others I “popped” in on, to see what they were about. I was too tired, confronted and shy to stay; also, I’m not a party/boozy/late night person). It was a “daytime” one that got into full swing around 9pm.
Driving up into the mountains on my motorbike, along the dusty track as the sun set, I could hear the wail of the music above the cicadas. In the forest it’s a little cooler and the air smells of pine and goats and mountain flowers and honey and of hot rocks sighing out the long day.
I wound up to the top of the hill and parked my bike among the hundreds (thousands?) scattered in the trees. I walked through the dark down the little streets. And came to the square.
A heaving mass of laughing, exhalting, mad humanity. Every trestle table is crammed with limbs and empty bottles and people are reaching for food and holding each other’s faces to kiss cheeks. Grandfathers are wrestling with two-year-olds. And within one minute of arriving, nervous and alone, I hear “Bravo Sarah”. Bravo, the guy from the travel agency I pass each day yells at me, you made it! His table of relatives grab me. They pour me wine. They give me a fork and tell me to eat. And, as always, they ask me what I think of the tomatoes, the goat, the wine. It’s all perfect. Simple and perfect.
Know this: an Ikarian will never let you pay for a drink or for food in their care. I caught a taxi to the port to leave Ikaria and the taxi driver insisted on buying me a coffee.
Know this: an Ikarian will never let you sit alone. Said taxi driver also insisted on keeping me company until my boat arrived.
And then you dance. I dance awkwardly, badly. But I’m pulled into the circle. You dance in a circle, arms around each other. It’s so sweaty, you give up on appearances.
There are several different dances, acrobatic and requiring fancy footwork, and you dip and weave and the song goes for ten minutes. Or as long as the band feels the crowd needs.
Know this, too: the Icarians are known for being freakishly intuitive. Spookily so.
The dancefloor is packed. I mean really packed. We pack in tighter, to fit more people in. We are sweating all together. And everyone looks up, not at their feet. We smile at each other. And it’s more a smile then a laugh.
And then this is what happens. Something happens. Something shifts. I shut my eyes and I’m suddenly taken with how soulful the music is. It rips at my guts and it carries my worries away. Greek folk music has a minor key-melancholy to it. And I’m dancing without trying. And I can feel everyone smiling and loving being there. Really loving it.
And this happiness I’m feeling doesn’t have a heart-sinky aftertaste, one that reminds me it won’t last, as many happy things do.
The feeling is just perfectly enough.
Yes, seen from above, the scene is wild. But it’s also serene. And the reason is this: these parties are not about going inwards. They are about expressing and giving outwards. It’s an idea I discussed one night at Thea’s with Nicola, a Greek academic who studies the role of collective experiences and has investigated the history of panyeiri.
For this night you forget your little ego and it’s a shared human experience.
It’s all heart and “flow” for a night. And do you know what a bloody relief that is for the head?!
I know this sounds cheesy…but it’s a spiritual experience.
You emerge at dawn sleepy but invigorated. Like after a night of sex with a new lover.
I’ve gone on a bit. But to the longevity lesson. These things aren’t particularly healthy – apart from the sweating and exercise. But they’re about letting go. REALLY letting go.
It’s about connecting with the heart, uncynically. All the cool teens and handsome men and gorgeous women (know this, too: the Ikarians are very good looking) embrace the relative dagginess of it and are proud of the tradition.
It’s also about connecting with all generations. The old people are included fully.
Dan Buettner has found in The Blue Zones that one of the nine principles of longevity is to ritualize. At least one period of the week where you de-stress, spend time with friends and family, and do community building. You all have lunch together on a Saturday – stop everything; cut the stress out; go to luncheons with family…including the older people.
A paniyiri, then, is a ritual all about getting down and close and connected with what matters.
Finally, just a quick word about wine.
Ask the people here the key to longevity and they will tell you it’s the wine. As an aside, Dionysos, the God of wine, is said to come from Ikaria. They drink a lot of it. But, a closer look reveals:
· it’s mostly drunk diluted with water (I got a real taste for doing this)
· it’s organic and grown locally
· it’s only ever drunk with food and never alone. You always – but also only – drink wine with loved ones. A loved one arrives, no matter the time of day, and out comes the wine a block of cheese and some tomatoes. We witnessed this at 11am one morning.
· it’s drunk slowly. They stress this over and over. It takes time.
· And, finally, and intriguingly, the wine is seen as sacred. I couldn’t establish whether it was blessed for the panyeiri. But they spoke of it reverentially. And I feel that this is key, too.
They drink, just as they party, to connect spiritually with this very human flow and outward expression. Which I truly think, after almost a month of pondering it, is the key to wellness.
I hope you enjoyed this very long rant…
IS IMPORTANT IN THSE DAYS) YOU SAID EXACTLY WHAT I MEANT BUT TOOK...
Hey Sarah
Just to let you know, the paniyiri happen all over Greece – every village has one, including my grandparents tiny mountain village in the south as Greece.
Ikaria sounds wonderful – but let’s not forget that there’s a whole country that feels the way they feel, that shares the love and food and joy of family. It’s not a purely Ikarian mindset – it’s a Greek mindset!
Can’t wait to visit Ikaria the next time I’m in the islands though – I’m very intrigued!
Stay safe x
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I have enjoyed this very long rant. But it’s no rant at all! I hope you don’t mind us all living vicariously through you.
I experienced a similar philosophy in Italy. Our wine tour guide Francesca said Italians believe food doesn’t make sense without wine, and wine doesn’t make sense without food. And both are expressions of the place, the season, the people, and emotions. Things that matter most in life.
Bravo you, indeed.
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August 22nd, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Opah Sarah,
Well done for letting go, and thank you for transporting us in a space which we all long to be in!
Safe and joyful travels.
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This sounds amazing!
I truly believe that food/drink consumed from a place of ‘love’ will be incorporated into the body seamlessly and healthfully, whereas that same food consumed, say, for the purposes of filling the emptiness of loneliness or dulling the onslaught of stress, will not be subsumed into your body peacefully and easily and will instead be destructive.
So: I firmly believe that if my boyfriend and I are sharing a bottle of wine and a packet of corn chips whilst looking out over the ocean together – which is SO good for my soul – then it will be good for my body too. If, however, the exact same food was consumed after a long, shitty day at work purely to give myself something to do to forget about work… then that shiz is going straight to my hips!!
So I can see how glorious amounts of wine and goat at a panayiri are going to do nothing but nourish the soul, the body, and the being.
Really love this post Sarah!
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August 23rd, 2012 at 8:04 pm
This is perhaps one of the most outrageous thinks I have ever heard but whatever works for you and eases the guilt!
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August 25th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
I wouldn’t necessarily say its so far fetched. We’ve long known stress hormones change the way we store food as fat. And apparently (according to a psych student I was chatting to) drugs and alcohol have different effects on the brain when consumed as part of a religious or spiritual ceremony. The example she used was peyote in native American tribes doesn’t have the same affect on the addiction centres of the brain when consumed as part of a ritual. Would it be such a stretch to think food might also be affected by how our brain sees/ respects them?
Who knows? I’ve certainly heard of stranger ideas!
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September 21st, 2012 at 9:29 am
Agree Jess! I feel the same…
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Oh thank you Sarah. I loved reading this post
I especially loved the letting go and the living from the heart bit. something i’ve been working on for a while but find quite hard to do. if you have anymore living fro your heart space tips ease feel free to share. just one easy do-able tip. Maybe i should just try dancing?? seriously, awesome post!
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Im loving hearing about your adventures Sarah. This story made tears well in my eyes, i think its that human experience that we all crave for. Keep writing & enjoy
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I think this Ikarian experience is an experience that can be found right ’round the Mediterranean. For example, many villages along the coast in Croatia, where my parents are from do all this. Even the diet is remarkably similar. But I guess this is beside the point, it’s the message that we can take away from your observations and experiences that is important. It almost feels like common sense.
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August 23rd, 2012 at 8:22 pm
And throughout the Middle East – most especially at Ramadan and the holidays after it, but often. And yes, the diet (minus the pork) is remarkably similar and the emphasis on family and friends is so important.
I loved working there. People would take 2 week holidays to go to weddings. Nothing ever really got done. And it begs the question “Did we need to do it in the first place.”
Omani students gave me my favourite excuse ever ever ever. Asked why she hadn’t handed her essay in, one student replied to a colleague of mine (I was standing next to him), “I’m sorry but I had to henna my grandmother.” BTW a real henna session can take 7 hours and is yet another way of habging out with your relatives and friends, eating nice stuff and enjoying each other’s company. Having to henna your grandmother is an enitriely legitimate excuse there. i think it should be here as well, or its equivalent.
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I love this rant, this post infused with love & wine & dancing & letting go. It’s how life is meant to be lived. Thanks so much Sarah xx
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Hi I just purchased your I quit sugar ebook- paid by PayPal and then was unable to download- screen wouldn’t progress on phone- sorry to comment on blog but not sure how else to contact- could you please email download/link to my email – this waste same email ID used to pay- look forward to hearing from someone and reading!!
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It will be interesting to see how you use and incorporate the knowledge you have gained in your travels to life in Australia. It seems to me that our way of life and our expectations are very different to those you have experienced.
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Sarah it sounds like you had a ball over there! So happy for you
And now for your next trick… I’d LOVE you to tell us how to incorporate these tips in the everyday world of modern life. Drinking at the local Perth clubbing venue would have the opposite effect on my stress levels for sure.
Could it really be a simple as finding somewhere you belong, and nurturing those connections in an authentic and not egotistic way? I’d like to think so.
I LOVE this Live to 100 series. Have I mentioned that? I think I have. It’s awesome.
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August 22nd, 2012 at 8:08 pm
I agree with Mia. Im also loving these longevity, mediterranean and lifestyle tips too! keep em comin!
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Thankyou Sarah. Your writing and experiences are a balm to my soul xx
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Well done Sarah in letting go & allowing yourself to enjoy the moment… A lot of people may not understand how difficult this can be for a lot of us. You made yourself vulnerable in a crowd doing something that perhaps doesn’t come naturally to you.
In doing so you opened your heart to experience something special..
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Um, what if you are an introvert and that level of social interaction drains you rather than replenishes you. Is there room for that as well or would you end up feeling on the outer. And what if you want a life of the mind and you don’t want simple and perfect. You want challenging, worldly, interesting and imperfect. Would you stay on the island then? or not.
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August 23rd, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Interesting questions indeed.
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August 23rd, 2012 at 7:42 pm
I am with you Helen. I am wondering what it is like for introverts over there or aren’t there any introverts in Ikaria?
By the way, an introvert does not mean you are shy or don’t like people, but that you are drained by too much interaction with people.
Sarah, you mention, people do not let you sit alone. This would be a nightmare for many introverts who find sticking a head in a book whilst in a cafe, highly pleasureable.
Introverts tend to prefer, or get much more out of one-on-one contact, than the group thing.
I am so intrigued by what you have to say about Ikaria, that I want to go but as an introvert, I don’t know how I would cope.
A comment to that, may be that it would get me out of my comfort zone, but in an extraverted world that we live in, an introvert lives out of their comfort zone every day.
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August 23rd, 2012 at 11:16 pm
Thanks for this post. For me, I am one of those extroverts on the outside but people refuse to believe I really prefer my own company when I can get it. Yes peeps, I do like quietude! Though I am a comms/engagement/stakeholder-y person from a work perspective. parties? ew. Helen, cup of tea? Lisa
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My heart swells just reading this – I can’t imagine the joy, the fullness of actually being there! Thank you for taking the time to share this (so poetically!); for all of us reading are surely reminded that to dance and mingle and connect is the ultimate outlet. Not just that, but also something that is so crucial for our health, mind – like a meditation. It’s easy to forget this in the city! I am physically longgging to unleash in such a carefree, Ikarian fashion! Amazing.
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I am amazed that so many people, Sarah included are so health orientated, yet still drink wine. I appreciate a glass of occasional red may be *good* for you, but to be so strict about what you put into your body, sugar and god forbid carbs, and then drink wine seems a bit odd?? I’d be interested to hear what you think about this…?
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PMG it sounds amazing!!! I want to go to one now!! Thatnk you for writing so beautifully, I seriously felt like I was there xx
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Dear Sarah,
I have really, really loved reading your series on Ikaria. I stayed there with my mum and dad when I was nine and my memories of our time there are some of my strongest childhood recollections.
One night we were invited to a naming day celebration paniyiri (yep, lots of goat!) and dancing til very late (for a young one!).
I remember dancing with my parents, new friends, children, being swept up in the energy and feeling hugely connected, despite having only been on the island for 5 days.
it’s why i’ve been drawn back to Ikaria…and inspired to recreate little pieces of it back home in Australia…
thanks sarah, it’s been so inspiring to see Ikaria again through your eyes
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Dear Sarah,
I just got to the office (Visit Greece, you know…) and checked my e-mails. There was your weekly newsletter. I opened it to read this article. Oh, it is so touching! With watery eyes I m’ telling you you shaked my emotions. You know, I have to face the hustle and bustle and the traffic caos of a huge city to get to work every day. This article took me back not just to the days on Ikaria (they are not distant yet anyway) but to days of innocence, with beaming smiles on people’s faces, and the feeling we are just kinds and we have the power to make everything happen in this world for us to be happy. I don’t remember ever telling you, but this summer was my first visit ever to Ikaria (I hope not the last one though). I had the very same feeling at the paniyiria too. But you expressed it so beautifully, so sensationally! It is very touching to see how a person totally unfamiliar with the traditions and culture of this corner of the planet DOES go deep into ritual expressions of deep and basic human feelings! I think you are to take a credit too for having let go and given in to the allure of nature. Because, after all, kindness and solidarity IS the true nature of humans.
Thank you very very much
Dimmy
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I love your description of the party, and I love watching the dancing….because it reminds me of all the weddings and bar mitzvahs we go to in the Jewish community. Where you look drunk, but it’s drunk on life, comraderie and community. And we’re big on rituals too, long Friday night dinners with the extended family (I’ve just finished doing the dishes from one at my place), lots of feast days each year. Most of us do it because of tradition and ritual – it’s really got nothing to do with religious practice. And generally we don’t drink to get drunk either. It’s wine with food, and maybe whiskey with the rabbi!As we say: L’Chaim – to life!
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Hi Sarah,
Beautiful energy coming from the video. It reminds me of some incredible parties I went to over in the Pacific Island. The dancing, the smiles, the laughter, the carefree-ness, the zest for life and the ‘booze’ ;o)
Hope I can get to that part of the world one day soon!
Kris
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Sydney Wedding Photographer, Alistair MacDougall flew to a tiny Greek Island near Turkey called Kastelorizo (it reminds me Ikaria ) to shoot a traditional 3 day Wedding celebration for a Sydney couple. The images capture the beauty of the island and the pure joy & happiness that Greek/ Australian experience every time they visit Greece. The Greeks have a word which I love and never want to forget KEFI – I find it hard to translate but best described through your video and my experiences of a panayeri – joy, passion, enthusiasm, high spirits or frenzy ( so much frenzy – you could smash a plate) – OPA!!!
check out http://www.alphoto.com.au under client slideshow Hector & Angie
It makes me want to renew my vows in Greece
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August 27th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Those are some beautiful photos, thank you for sharing
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September 21st, 2012 at 9:25 am
There is Definitely no English translation for Kefi!
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I love European cultures, its no surprise my partner is Italian! When I see things like this it makes me sad. Sad for the elderly people in our country who live alone. Sad for children who grow up in Mc Mansions isolated from extended families. Sad that in a culture that is supposed to be so plentiful we seem to miss out on so much of this. Simple living, simple values, priorities in order. No wonder they live longer! My partner shoots weddings and alot of Greek, Lebanese and Italian weddings and he always tells me about the dancing, the 90 year old grandfather dancing with the 8 year old granddaughter till all hours of the night. Its just lovely
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Great to see more writing about Ikaria – it’s a wonderful island full of wonderful people. (I worked there for Laskarina Holidays in 2005 and 2006) On a point of interest, the ancient Greek philosophers diluted wine with water so that their students could attain a certain level of thought without going too far and becoming drunk. The ancient Greek word for this diluted wine was “krassi”. This word is now used in modern Greek for undiluted wine and has caused confusion at times.
I’m on Ikaria next week. I hope to sample as much of their fine wine as l can. The Ikarians were the first people to make wine in Greece. Homer writes of this. When they took the wine to Athens, they were accused of trying to poison their hosts and were nearly put to death until someone tried the liquid and realised its benefits. Thank goodness!
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Every Greek village has a paniyiri! They are fantastic! In my father in law’s village on the island is Lesvos it lasts for three days culminating in the eating of a dish called keskechi – meat boiled with onions and wheat grain! In my father’s village the paniyiri is based around corn. A friend’s village has a paniyiri based around eggplants! The paniyiria in Greece trace back to ancient pagan times. The advent of Christianity meant these old rituals were then imbued with a Christian feel but are still ultimately the celebration and worship of nature and the bounties she affords.
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Sarah- I would LOVE To travel to Icaria, but I’m on a student budget- you mentioned you traveled around Greece when you were 18 (similar to me). Do you have any ideas on how to make it work for a young student?
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