Roumlouki Macedonian Costume
The area of Roumlouki is part of the plain of Imathia, which is crossed by the Aliakmon river. The area stretched from below the northern edges of Pieria to the reed beds of the marsh of Giannitsa and below the heights of Veroia to Loudias and the mouth of Aliakmonas in the Thermaikos Gulf, while many extend it to the river Axios.This fertile plain has been inhabited since ancient times and a large number of villages have developed. During the Byzantine period, the common characteristics of this region were the local dialect, the costumes, and the customs. When in the 15th century it was conquered by the Ottomans, the Greek Christian population was dominated, so the name Roumlouki was given by the conquerors, where Roum means Greek (Romios) and Louk, place.
The costume of Roumlouki is different from the other Greek costumes with an important tradition back at Alexander the Great era.
The costume is characterized by the peculiar headband, which looks like a helmet and is locally called "katsouli", which it is a sign of Greek origin of the costume.
According to the story, the tradition of the headband, but also of all its costume and jewelry, comes from the years that Alexander the Great lived. To punish some of his soldiers for the cowardice they showed during the battle and to reward the women who did not stop bringing water and food to the soldiers, the King took the men's helmets and put them on the women.
The headband
Girls up to the age of 15 had their hair in braids and after 15 and until they got married they wore the tsemperi.
The tsemperi was worn as a headband by young girls when they first put on the shayas (small wooden construction, which was typically filled with cotton to form the helmet shape of the headband).
The tsemperi consisted of two scarves, the white dharmas and the black mafeshi.
The tsemperi was decorated with natural and paper flowers and pins with peacock feathers.
To fix the tsemperi they did the same hairstyle with that of the katsouli, just the middle tresses were stuck to the top of the head.
The «katsouli»
The female headband, gives particular grandeur and majesty to the entire costume, making it known and special throughout Greece for its similarity to the ancient Homeric and Macedonian helmet and for the tradition that connects it with Alexander the Great. There are many variations per village but also according to the woman's condition.
Rumlouki women wore it for the first time on their wedding day and did not part with it until a very old age and many of them not at all until their death.
The katsouli consists of the main katsouli, which is egg-shaped, protrudes from the headband and gives its name to the whole, as well as three scarves, two white and one black, the dharma, which has embroidery on one corner, the tsemperi and the mafesi.
The shape of the helmet on the "katsouli" was determined by a small wooden construction, the sayas, which was typically filled with cotton. The tying was elaborate and treated as a ritual, creating this headband a work of art.
The "katsouli" marked the married life of a woman and was first worn on the day of her marriage as well as in all the special circumstances of the Rumlukian society, such as celebrations, festivals, weddings and baptisms.
The core, the main part of the katsouli was a little white cloth ball, which concealed within it a wooden stick and some wool. This ball was fastened with two white handkerchiefs woven on the loom.
First, they would tie the dharmas scarf and then they tied the tsemperi scarf, and left one triangular side free, decorated with lace to cover the back of the head. Above the dharmas and the tsemperi they were elaborately tying the mafesi, a black bought scarf.
Above the scarves were tassels, which increased the height and the volume of the headband and added grandeur. The tassels, which are placed on the stump are reminiscent of the ponytail that were affixed to the iron helmet of the Homeric heroes.
The stump, then decorated with artificial flowers made of paper and cloth, with feathers from ducks and peacocks but also with special jewelry, offered by the groom's family to the bride.
An important role in the fixation of the headband was played by the elaborate hairstyle of the women of Rumluki. Their hair was particularly long and was cut only in front of the forehead to form a straight line and in the area of the temples, where it was rolled up and formed cylinders.
The Rumlukian women when no longer wore their katsouli, either for reasons of mourning or old age, they used to cover their heads with the black mafesi or the crepe black scarf. The crepe scarf was purchased, in cotton and was relatively small. It covered the whole part of the head and was tied tightly to its back. The black mafesi was twice the size of the crepe scarf, cotton too, and could be tied in three different ways.
The costume of Rumluki is considered simple and strict in terms of the colors that prevail in it, thus differentiating it from the general polychromy that prevails in Greek traditional costumes.
We distinguish 3 types of the costume:
The everyday simple without decoration, the festive, with embroidery and ornaments, and the bridal that is distinguished from the festive in kind of fabric, elaborate designs, embroidery, and rich decoration and jewelry.
The fabrics of the costume are usually all made of local materials and woven by special professional craftsmen.
The fabrics were usually cotton or woolen during the last period of use of the costume of Roumlouki, while in the past they were made of flax, except for the felt for the kontoshi and the katefe for the aprons of the shayas, which were procured from other villages. In exceptional cases, brides used silk fabrics for the antiri - a bride’s inner lining - and for their scarves.
The katastari was a cotton, knitted or woven on the loom, inner jersey worn on the body. It was used more in winter because of the openingmof the shayas and the thinness of the shirt did not particularly protect the women from the bitter cold of this season.
The «shirt» was thick, cotton with geometric designs embroidered with silk and gold in strict coloring and was worn over the katastari. It reaches just below the knee. It is closed below the waist and has an opening at chest height.
It had long sleeves and additional embroidery on the neck like a small collar. It also had embroidery of rich material and decorative themes used only by Rumluki women, such as geometric designs and black borders.
Another characteristic of the shirt, which differs from the Greek costumes of other regions, is the embroidery on the back of the shirt.
The trachilia was a square cloth with an opening at the waist for their festive days, made of silk fabric. It had fine embroidery, lace, or colored (light blue or red) piping on it.
The antiri is a silk lining and is worn over the shirt and the trachilia mainly in the bridal costume. It is known in other Greek places as well. In Rumluki it was an example of luxury and was one of the optional gifts of the groom.
The shayia is the most basic and characteristic garment of the whole costume. It is made of cotton fabric, woven on the loom. Narrow strips of velvet were attached to some of the ends of the shayia. The shayias is found in two colours white and dark blue. The white one was worn by young girls from the age of about 15. The dark one was worn by the Roumlouki women on the day of their wedding and then throughout for the rest of their lives. The shayia, although it is considered as a woman's dress, is in the front open from top to bottom and looks more like a coat. It is narrow and fitted at the waist and as it descends it widens. The two front edges are folded back and fastened at the waist under the belt. In these two almost triangular folds of the shayias embroidered simple but very elegant designs like gometric shapes (triangles, rhombuses, cylinders) and flowers.
The elderly and the widows wear a shayia without any embroidery.
The zonari (belt) is an elongated piece of woolen fabric, measuring approximately 2 meters long and 25 cm wide, and accompanied all kinds of Rumluki women's costumes. The belt was fastened with large pins, compovelona and a kind of buckle. Its decoration consists of embroidery with geometric shapes and flowers all along its length. The decorated surface of the zonari is divided into isometric rectangles,covered with sequins. Zonari with sequins like fish scales is not found in any other Greek costume. The belt of Rumluki had a particular functional role, since it was where the trachilia and the raised edges of the shayas. In addition, it filled in the gap created between the short dress and the apron, and several jewels of the costume were hooked on it. In addition, the women's scarves used in the dance were fastened to it.The zonari also hid a pocket of the shayia, that kept the waist of the women during their daily, strenuous tasks, stable and warm.
The fouta is a kind of apron, which is tied just below the waistband with a woolen cord. It has a rectangular shape and is shorter than the shayia and shirt. The fabric of the fouta is stiff and woolen and decorated with geometric shapes. The fouta was replaced by the women of Rumluki during their daily work by the pistimali, a cloth, wide and flexible apron, which was more functional compared to the fouta.
The (additional) sleeves
The sleeves of the shayias and shirt reached somewhere around the elbow of the arm and left the rest of the arm uncovered. This gap was covered by special additional sleeves for ethical reasons since naked flesh was not allowed. The formal sleeves were made of velvet and had elaborate embroidery in various shapes with white and gold bands. Most daily sleeves were made with loom cloth, about the same as that which they used to use for the shirt. Usually, though, the Rumlukian women in their daily work they did not wear sleeves.
The kontoshi is a short coat (overcoat) that was worn over the shayias. Its color is dark blue or black. The fabric of the kontoshi was made on the loom. Many times, the daily mainly kontoshi to be warmer they lined it internally with the skin of a sheep, which kept its wool. The decoration of the shortening is peripheral and was made with purchased gaitan (thin silk cord) and strips, sewn onto the fabric.
The capote and the kontogouni (short fur). When it was very cold, the Roumlouki women, over all the former clothes they wore the capote and the kontogouni.
The capote is a woolen, flocked, dark blue coat, which the groom made a gift to his future wife. In the old days, the brides used to wear it on their wedding day. The short fur is another a sleeveless woolen coat, decorated with black wide gaitan.
The shoes and socks.
The official shoes of the women of the Rumluki were called botinia and were black, leather, round in-front short boots, with a low square heel and thick soles, made by order and individually for each woman to a shoemaker in Veria town. For their daily tasks, women wore the same shoes as men, i.e. the gounotsarouha (fur shoes), which were coarse, short and with small tips at the edge.
The socks were woolen, white, or black, and they knitted them the women themselves.
The jewelry.
Μany different types and designs of jewelry were used to decorate the katsouli and the body of the female dress.
The most characteristic are:
The maglicutari was an obligatory ornament for the female bridal costume of Rumluki. It was worn for the first time at a woman's wedding and was one of the necessary gifts from the groom to the bride.
The maglicutari was worn on the head around the katsouli and symbolized female honor and dignity. The newlyweds, when they had two maglicutari, would place the one under the front tassel of the katsouli and the other on the back. The older maglicutari had a different construction, a finer finish and red beads hanging from the ends.
The silver yordani (necklace of golden or silver coins) was once worn around the neck like a necklace. Over time, however, they stopped wearing it and only put three rows of coins.It consisted of a 2 cm wide tape braided with silver wire. On its front side, a metallic plate with colored stones was applied.