Dusk is actually falling as Tsirigoti along with her spouse Nikos – in addition to a beneficial physics teacher – reach my personal resorts, so we chat on backyard courtyard, not as much as a good bougainvillea that’s only a shade brighter than just Tsirigoti’s magenta-coloured locks. Throughout the faces out of each other Tsirigoti and Koulianos I can discern lines of one’s strong attributes of its maternal granny, given that grabbed inside the a photograph removed of the Australian artist Cedric Flower, exactly who joined Clift and you can Johnston into Kalymnos for many weeks during the summer off 1955.
Exactly how genuine is the fact?
Georgia Tsirigoti, a great physics professor towards the Kalymnos, says you to definitely today into island, like with the lady granny Sevasti Taktikou’s day, “the ladies are definitely the manager of the home”. Credit: Nadia Wheatley
“You will find way too many images away from their – wry, sardonic, romantic, smooth, raffish, unfortunate,” Clift blogged out-of Taktikou. “But alive, every one of them, enjoying and you will respiration and you will alive.”
Rightly, into the Cedric Flower’s image, Taktikou is ready so you’re able to Clift a plate of fruits, since if she were the new archetypical Environment Mom; it is obvious that into Australian woman, freshly arrived in a bewildering, alien society beautiful scandinavian women, this new older Greek lady try the new surrogate mom whom trained the woman to shop and create and continue maintaining household regarding the local styles.
Georgia Tsirigoti invested just annually away from their teens towards the Kalymnos; this lady father’s profession just like the a police officer caused your to move his family relations on the, amongst the area from Rhodes, the Peloponnese, plus the city of Thessaloniki. Provided Tsirigoti’s familiarity with the rest out of Greece, I am especially interested discover the lady undertake the brand new island’s social organization. We start: “In the publication, Charmian claims you to definitely, according to the electricity one to Kalymnian males seem to have . ”
“Sure! Because most of men was in fact travel, from the sponges. Right now, a lot of men are working as the mariners – captains or auto mechanics. It travelling a lot. ”
I recount my earlier in the day day’s conversation having Hatzismalis and his mate, and that i quotation Hatzismalis’ denial one to “I Kalymnian guys are delighted.”
Again, Tsirigoti spontaneously agrees. “Sure. As they have nothing to be concerned about. Most of the tough decisions try drawn by female – the brand new spouses – maybe not from the males. The new men are absolve to go-away to focus, and also to go back to Kalymnos and you will live a bit that have their friends, and leave again. And this is how it are, even now.” We look for Tsirigoti’s husband, that is Athenian, silently agreeing.
“Every difficult conclusion is actually drawn of the females – the spouses – not by the boys … This is one way it is, even now.”
Which bargain between people try expressed maybe not into the a good created pre-nup in something which can often be practically concrete: a property. Immediately after detailing new ongoing power of Multiple Goddess, Clift produces from inside the Mermaid Singing: “The newest visible truth away from male supremacy have to be put against the old and a lot more high fact that assets here descends from girls range, out-of mother so you’re able to eldest girl.”
“Sure.” Immediately following particular talk within the Greek that have Nikos, she clarifies: “Even today – not so purely today, however, even now – it’s heritage provide all the child a home.”
Therefore, the ladies are the brand new employer of the home
It house is the latest bride’s prika, the girl dowry. Following the marriage, the new bridegroom actions into the. Assuming the wedding can not work, Clift said, “this is simply not her who’s turned out of your house”.
Absolutely nothing question, I think, one to to your Kalymnos, individuals chat constantly off home, but not even as we create around australia, since the a question of value. Right here our house ‘s the source of a female’s power, from inside the genuine conditions.