July is one of the hottest months of summer, the seventh in a row. In Pontus, July was called “χορτοθερτς” because it was the month of haymaking.
The name “χορτοθερτς” is derived from the noun (grass) and the verb (to reap).
“Harvest”
July was also the month of the harvest. In Pontus, harvesting took on a festive character, with the main harvesting tool being the “drepan.” More rarely, they used the “kerenti,” a large “drepan.” with a long handle, with which they reaped the grain. While standing and usually used it for grass or clover.
They reaped the grain was usually done by women and young girls, who reaped with great joy and singing, divided into groups, from morning until evening. The sections they reaped from one end of the field to the other were called “amnous.” The reapers held the “drepan.” in their right hand and the grass they cut in their left, until they filled a “herovolo” (hand-held: bundle of ears of corn). Two or three “herovolo” made a bundle of straw bundle. And many a bundle of straw together formed the “thimonies” (haystack: a pile of harvested crops or other plants, especially the tied one).
When the harvest was successfully completed, they would hang a bundle of straw of straw with ears of corn, artistically tied, in front of their door, while the owner of the field would give money to the reaper, who would first place the first a bundle of straw at his feet.
“Threshing”
When the harvest was over, the women loaded the sheaves onto carts and took them to the threshing floor.
The threshing floor was a compact circular space where the ground was watered and then the surface was well compacted with a cylindrical stone. After preparing everything, they spread the stalks out for threshing. Threshing was usually done with oxen, which were harnessed to a special yoke so that they could pull two thick parallel wooden beams with sharp stones underneath, sharp metal blades, so that the grain could be separated from the chaff. To increase the weight of the wood and make it easier to separate the grain, they would place a child on top of the wood, creating a fun atmosphere for the children.
Then came the “vorisma” They waited for the wind to blow, and then they began to throw the straw into the air with a special wooden shovel so that the grain would separate from the chaff. Then, using a “threshing sieve,” they continued to separate the grain from the chaff. This was followed by “tepurisma” using a wooden disc with a single piece, which was used to clean the grain of stones and wild vetch.
The threshing floors of each village were gathered in one area, which was called the “alonotopi” (threshing place).
“Argatia”
However, what is touching and characteristic of our ancestors is their solidarity, love, and support for the suffering, the orphaned children and the widowed. So, if someone couldn’t harvest or thresh, jobs that couldn’t wait because there was always the risk of fire or storm, then they would gather together and, without pay, go and work happily until they finished the work of the person in need. This offering was called “argatia.”
The years come and go, but bread is still the blessed bread, and those who work hard to provide it for us, even with modern technical means, are and will remain blessed, because bread has remained bread and nothing has replaced it over time.
By the book “THE FOLKLORE OF PONTOS”
Writer Elsa Galanidou – Balfousia
