Feeling compelled to do things all the time or doomscrolling? Burnout, a treatment used by the ancient Greeks, is still used every by their remote descendants. The” Koudounaraioi”- practically, the” Bell People”- change themselves into half-human, half-beast dancers in a tradition that dates back to pre-Christian occasions in the hill town of Distomo.
The Bell People danced through the streets of this red-roofed community on Monday, two hours north of Athens, wearing animal and goatskins and carrying heavy hand-forged metal rings to their waists.
The dancing troupe’s loud clang and profanity-filled chants as they circle a fireplace in the main square are a wine-fueled sound assault. And that’s the purpose.
The glad processions in ancient Greece honoring Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and revelry were once and still are a social bulwark. They date back to the era of the materialistic carnival and are a social pressure valve today.
Giorgos Papaioannou, a 29-year-old aluminum plant employer known as the leader of Distomo’s Bell People, said,” We give world a bump… and try to get their troubles, their problems, so they can raise their souls so they can feel something.”
We even go to cemeteries, where we make noise to wake up the souls of those who have passed, letting them and the survivors know that we are here, celebrating life,” he said.
The traditional custom of farming communities to usher in spring was eventually incorporated into the Christian calendar. The carnival ends on Monday, and Lent begins, a time of increased religious observance and dietary restrictions before Easter, which this year falls on April 20.
Greeks consider Distomo to represent hardship during the war. In retaliation for attacks by resistance fighters, occupying Nazi forces massacred 230 civilian villagers in June 1944, including more than 50 children.
A completely restored World War II mausoleum dominates the village.
We were able to maintain the tradition after the massacre. The spring is being awakened, according to Distomo Mayor Ioannis Stathas. This is a pre-Christian tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation, and it is many centuries old.
As they entered the village this year’s Bell People, many of whom were schoolchildren, were followed by giggling children and their parents dressed as dinosaurs, police officers, and other carnival characters. They held up flares and olive-wood staffs.
As children danced to a mix of Greek folk music, Western chart hits, and K-pop, Revelers were given plastic cups filled with wine and portions of bean soup.
The once-dominant celebrations have remained relevant thanks to the inclusion of pieces of modernity but remain rooted in rural traditions, according to Amalia Papaioannou, a historian and curator of the Distomo Museum.
Agrarian societies, she said, were historically dependent on favorable natural conditions for their survival. They had the idea to create these rituals to ward off evil and misfortune. For centuries, carnival revelry has been a time of sanctioned chaos before returning to structure and restraint.
It allows for a brief period of social inversion, stating that “people wear disguises and occasionally get free from crude jokes.” Even the Church has historically supported these events, recognizing their deep-rooted cultural and communal significance, she said.
” You could refer to it as a reset.”
