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Exile is the greatest hardship, the parting so upsetting
but oh, that greeting  “Welcome home”, oh that Maroúli,1 is bliss.

The diver's air-pump is my mother, the winding winch my sister
and on my mate upon the deck2 my very life depends.

For you, I wear the diving-suit, and drag the tube3 along
for you, they helped my feet into the boots with the iron soles4.

1 Affectionate form of Maria.
2 The experienced sailor who stayed behind, on the boat, holding the guide rope (kolaoúzo) which, tied to the diver, was used by him to communicate with the surface.
3 The tube which connected the diver’s helmet to the air pump on the spongers boat and allowed the diver to breath.
4 Heavy, metal boots which, along with the other weights, helped the diver walk on the seabed.

Translated by John Leatham

Ο μισεμός είναι καημός

Το Μαρούλι

Έρι, ο μισεμός είναι καημός, το κατευόδιο ζάλη
έρι, και το καλωσορίσατε, αχ Μαρούλι1, είναι χαρά μεγάλη.

Η μηχανή ’ναι η μάνα μου, η ρόδα η αδερφή μου
και στον κολαουζέρη2 μου κρέμεται η ζωή μου.

Για σένα βάζω φόρεμα3, για σε τραβώ μαρκούτσα4
για σένα μου φορέσανε τα σιδερέ4 παπούτσια.

1Μαρούλι: υποκοριστικό του Μαρία.
2κολαουζέρης: ο έμπειρος ναύτης που μένει πάνω στο καΐκι, κρατώντας συνεχώς τον οδηγό-σκοινί (κολαούζο), με το οποίο είναι δεμένος ο δύτης και μέσα' του οποίου εκείνος επικοινωνεί και του στέλνει τα μηνύματά του.
3φόρεμα: το σκάφανδρο, η στολή του δύτη.
4μαρκούτσα: αεραγωγός σωλήνας που ενώνει την περικεφαλαία του σκάφανδρου με την αεραντλία τον σπογγαλιευτικού πλοίου και μέσω του οποίου ο δύτης αναπνέει.
5σιδερέ: Βαριά μεταλλικά παπούτσια, που μαζί με άλλα βαρίδια βοηθούσαν τον δύτη να περπατάει στον πάτο της θάλασσας

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Notes

A song on the sponge divers of the Dodecanese and their way of life, entirely dependent on a demanding and hazardous occupation which required from them to dive down to the ocean floor with the primitive gear alone at their disposal. The men of Kalymnos were so universally involved with sponge fishing that the island itself and the craft became interchangeable. Local customs emerged out of sponging along with songs that express the community’s feelings towards the divers’ uncertain fate and the possibility that their next sponging expedition might be their last.

Miranda Terzopoulou (2018)

Recording information

Studio recording, 2001. Domna learned the song from Amalia Papastefanou, a native of the Dodecanese, in 1969.

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