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Threads of Life: The Greek Woman's Labors of Love

Textiles as Art

Although women's handiwork was originally created as "a labor of love," these textiles, created out of necessity, are today beginning to be looked at as much more than objects of everyday use. The intricacies that were put into each piece that these women created went beyond mere function and are now being examined as objects of high aesthetic merit. As a result of this, textiles that have been stored for many years are now being brought out of storage and appreciated as fine art. The framed textiles that adorn this portion of our exhibition denote a shift in the appreciation of the art form of textiles. As fabric arts move from storage to museum walls their status as objects of fine art become equal to their status as objects of necessity.

"…handwork no longer comprises an important part of woman's work or defines woman's value. Instead, textiles and fabric arts from previous eras are finding new value as objects of art, embodiments of traditions, or, in this country, testimonies of a Greek immigrant experience."

-Artemis Leontis
"Women's Fabric Arts in Greek America"
Laografia, May/June 1995

The Importance of the "Prika"

"Prika" refers to the body of various textiles, decorative and functional objects, and personal adornments that a young woman either made or acquired to "furnish" her future home after marriage. The extent and assortment of "prika" items also defined how prepared the young woman was as a future housewife ("nikokira"). Girls at a young age would start sewing, weaving, or embroidering their "prika" items. They regarded this "labor of love" seriously and worked diligently for years on the creative process of making bed covers, sheets, tablecloths, undergarments, etc.

"…a Greek woman could marry a Greek man in the US without a prika, but without her prikia she could not make a home." -Artemis Leontis  "Women's Fabric Arts in Greek America" Laografia, May/June 1995

Counted cross-stitch of Jesus Christ surrounded by three children, by Despina Mouyios Gergulis	Square beige tablecloth, 1950's, created for Victoria Halkias's "prika" in Cyprus

Delivering the "Prika" to the Groom's Home

On the Thursday before the wedding, the bride's "prika" is delivered to the groom's home, where he couple would live, along with the groom's family. Although there are regional differences, Thursday is a common day for this event. It is typically a very important day in the preparation of the wedding. The bride does not accompany the procession of "delivery attendants," which might be horsemen or perhaps women on foot, depending on the region. In most cases, this procession was led by musicians and singers, a common component of ceremonial rituals.

"The Bridal Apron" by Eleni Mangos, 1939, Litohoro (near Mt. Olympus), silk applique	The Bridal Bed "To Nifiko Krevati"

On the wedding day, it was the custom in this town for the best girlfriend of the bride to wear this apron and accompany the bride to the church.  The bride made the apron and afterward kept it as part of her "prika."  As the procession went through the streets, people threw money in the apron, while the bride, carrying a basket of Greek "ring cookies" ("koulourakia")--each tied with a white ribbon--passed them out to the young children. The bride's procession from her home to the church was led by singers and musicians, as was the groom's procession from his home. The groom carried wine in a large straw-covered jug "tramintzana" and poured drinks for his well-wishers along the way. The singers chanted, "May they live long and age together, with hair as white as Olympus…."

An important duty of the bride's girlfriends was the preparation of the newlyweds' bed. Prior to the wedding--and often on that Thursday when the "prika" was delivered to the groom's home--the girlfriends arranged the "prika" for viewing and prepared the couple's bed. They carefully laid out the embroidered sheets and pillows, the woven blankets, and the embroidered bed cover and decorative pillows. The bed and the "prika" were available for viewing by close family and friends, who often threw gold coins "lires" and flower petals on the bed. The bride did not go to the groom's home until after the wedding.

From "The Bridal Bed" Photo

Crème crocheted bedcover, 1940's, created by Frieda Aravosis
White embroidered pillowcases, 1922-1950's, created by Bessie Hinos
Pink silk bedspread and sham with silk applique, 1938-40, created by Eleni Mangos
Wedding dress, 1933, donated by Tina Gianopulos
Handmade silk and embroidered nightgowns, 1950's, created as part of "prika" for Nina Iatridis
Bride's crocheted "morning shawl", 1939, created by Eleni Mangos

Cream Blouse and Skirt, 1910's, created by Georgia Bitzis Pooley. Georgia Pooley is the first Greek woman to come to Chicago, Illinois. She arrived in 1885, with her husband Peter, from Corfu, Greece. Georgia, a well-educated and spirited woman, organized the Greco-Slavonic Brotherhood in 1885 for religious purposes. The Brotherhood was the first Greek voluntary association in Chicago.

Pink silk infant crib cover and pillow with embroidery, 1940's, created by Eleni Mangos Shawl, 1920's, donated by Marina Metevelis Pooley Family Christening Dress, 1876, created by Georgia Bitzis Pooley

"Women's Work" in Preparing the Wool for Weaving

Once the sheepherders "tsoubani" sheared the sheep, the women then began their "labor of love" to turn the raw wool into yarn.

1. The women washed the wool by the river with "ash water" ("alisiva" or "stahtonero"). Wood ashes were boiled in a large vat "kazani" and the ash water was poured onto the wool, which was laid on a rock, to remove the lanolin and impurities.

2. The wool was then washed with soap and rinsed with cold water.

3. They spread the wool on bushes and branches to dry.

4. The wool was aired-out, being pulled apart by hand, and carded with a special set of tools "lanaria" with small metal teeth. The wool was made into balls, ready to be spun.

5. They spun the wool on a spinning wheel "tsikrika" with skill and diligence, taking many, many hours of spinning to make enough yarn for a rug or bed cover.

6. The wool was then dyed with another tedious process that involved gathering certain roots, tree bark, or plants that were boiled and used as the dye.

7. Women spent hours, weeks, and months at a time, weaving the yarn on a loom, in metered rhythm--carefully counting, designing, and creating.

Navy and magenta hand woven "bread runner", created by Eleni Mangos Navy and orange traditional wool apron, 1938, created by Eleni Mangos Red and black traditional wool apron, 1938, created by Eleni Mangos Red wool blanket with black border created by Fotine Bakopoulou Agrafas

Bed covers, 1942 and 1943, hand woven on a loom by Frieda Aravosis. Framed needlepoint of a cross with flowers, 1920, made in Egypt, on loan from Anastasia Tsevis Framed needle point, Byzantine stitch with silk thread, 1919, created by Kiriakoula Tsinidou in Turkey White flokati rug, 1938, created by Eleni Mangos Embroidered red and navy pillow with black satin back, 1947, created by Maria Marinakos

Bed covers, 1942 and 1943, hand woven on a loom by Frieda Aravosis in her teenager years.

This piece was one of many made by Frieda for her "prika." Bedcovers such as this were made very heavy with the cold Greek winters in mind. Since there was often times no heat, except for a single "tzaki" in many homes in many Greek villages, extra heavy covers were necessary to keep warm.

Frieda remembers that "every house in our village (Sellasis, Sparta) had a weaving loom and all of the girls were taught at any early age how to weave so that they could start preparing their "prika" as soon as possible. When I immigrated to the United States as a young woman I brought with me a trunk filled with all the items I had prepared since I was very young."

The Pin Cushion

Some of the earliest memories of my mother, Vasiliki, are woven around her pin cushion. She had two, one that hung on the side of the built-in china cabinet in the kitchen, and one that was in her magic container full of colorful threads she used for her kentima, embroidery. They were both, of course, hand made. The one that hung in the kitchen was red, with its own special lacey overlay, which she had fashioned, and the one in her container was a bright mauve velvet. These pin cushions were filled with needles of all shapes and sizes and with all manner of colored threads, but with the standard black, white and brown threads ready to salvage a tear to any needed garment, sheet or coat. The order of the day was repair, salvage and recycle. This was not a throw-away generation.

The most vivid memories of my mother were ones of industry. She was an early riser who had completed countless chores before 9 a.m. In the early years at our home, which had been built by my father, one of the early immigrant settlers in Glen Ellyn, my parents raised chickens, complete with extensive chicken coops and fenced in grazing yard. My mother's first chores were to tend to the chickens, wash at least two loads of laundry, which she hung outdoors, and make bread. By 9 a.m. the loaves were fashioned neatly on the dining room table, covered with warm blankets to ensure the appropriate rising. Every day was a busy day--either cleaning the house to meticulous perfection, washing and stretching curtains on a large curtain holder outdoors, or making a Greek delicacy such as diples.

Needless to say, I was never bored, as she included me in many of her activities. I was sent outdoors to gather vasiliko for the keftedes, to the basement to fetch a jar of canned peaches or tomato sauce or to the garden to climb the tress and gather cherries for the pie she was making. One would think she was cooking for an army, but we were only a family of four. When all of the chores were finally done, my mother did not just sit and relax. She picked up her needle and began her magic. First came the mending and then the embroidery. She would sit by the window in the dining room with her collection of needles and colored threads for hours decorating pillowcases, dresser scarves, decorative doilies and her very favorite, a large intricate tablecloth. She very patiently taught me how to do embroidery, but she did not have the patience to teach me all of the fancy needle and threading. Her embroidery was intended to enhance the beauty of her home,--special pink and white pieces for a new vanity or a crisply starched white pillow cover for the couch. She was indeed a real Greek homemaker.

As I now have acquired these lovely pieces and use them in my home, they serve to bring back memories of an enchanted time in my early childhood, but none stand out so vividly as the picture of my mother sitting by the windows and spinning her magic with piece after piece of colorful and intricate design. She was very proud of her endeavors, taking extreme care in their maintenance, washing then in the correct temperature, starching them to perfection and then ironing them with care. Nothing smelled quite as beautiful as a freshly completed project that had hung on the line outdoors and captured the clean outdoor air and sun. I have preserved her container of colorful threads, and, of course, her two pin cushions.

-Frances Hinos Kapsalis

Continuing Traditions

The Greek-American Community Services' Culture and Arts Program's "Fabric Arts of Greece Class" is one of many examples of the continued interest in the tradition laden work of textiles. These groups of women help to preserve the formal work of creating textiles and, by doing so, keep the traditions of their mothers and grandmothers alive.

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