Καλλιτεχνικός Σύλλογος Δημοτικής Μουσικής Δόμνα Σαμίου

A fine example of a song packed with information about the social conditions of its time which sheds light on relationships within the family, and especially on the place of the wife, the buying and selling of whom provides its plot. The song’s core theme is a motif much beloved in the folk literature of every nation: one member of a family recognizing another in extreme circumstances (see A trader made his way, A maid bidding farewell, Dawn glowed in the East, Three lords a-sitting, A little shorty (Meli, Erythrae, Asia Minor)). In Greek fables, a Christian maid whom her husband either sells to settle a crippling debt or is captured by corsairs, is recognized at the eleventh hour -usually following divine intervention by her brother, who has been converted to Islam- before the two unknowingly commit the sin of incest.

That the brother is referred to as a janissary has prompted S. Baud-Bovy to date its creation to the 15th century, the era when the Janissary Corps was instituted. S. Kyriakidis, however, argues that the motif of the siblings who recognize one another and are saved from an incestuous union as a result predates the period of Turkish rule, and even features in the Talmud (which had been translated into Greek for use in synagogues for the benefit of Greek-speaking Jews). Miranda Terzopoulou (2008)

Local dance, danced during the Carnival period called “apokriatikos”.

Studio recording, 2006.

Domna Samiou taped the song in Skiathos, sung by Yannis and Syraino Parisis and Mary Batli, in 1974.