As I am of Pontic heritage, I wanted to see the custom of Kotsamania (from the Turkish kocaman = the big man). In other places, this is also known as "Momoyer". This is an ancient tradition of the Black Sea. The performance refers to the priests of Momos*, the god of laughter and satire. The origin of the event is considered to have originated from Ancient Greece, namely the ancient Dithyramb, as during the centuries evolved by the Pontic population.
The Origins of Kotsamania
*Momos comes from the Homeric verb "Mo" which means to find a fault. Ancient Greeks said that the perfect man is the one that Momos has nothing to say about. Thus there is the Greek word "a(not)-momos, Amomos", which translates to immaculate. A common use would be the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary (Amomos Syllipsi).
Preservation in Tetralofos
This tradition takes place all over Greece, but this version, which is called "Kotsamania" was danced in the region of Pontus, Livera. Livera had certain privileges under the Ottoman Empire because of a local lady called Maria (later known as Gülbahar, after becoming a Sultaness). It is considered to be the most representative since it is the most complete, in the sense of being preserved intact for many centuries. This is the first Greek custom to be registered in UNESCO's Archive of intangible heritage.
More villages around Tetralofos keep this tradition, such as Aghios Demetrios, Ryakion, Alonakia, Skiti, Protochori, Komnina, Asvestopetra and Karyochori.
I had already made contact with the local Pontic Cultural Society of Tetralofos and they happily agreed to host me inside a room in the building of the Society. I arrived in Kozani, where I met a member of the Society Yannis, and followed him along to Tetralofos village. This is not too far from Kozani, just an approximate 20-minute drive. Along the way, you could see the huge utility power plant of Kozani which is kind of a landmark of the place. You could see the steam coming out of the chimneys.
I arrived at the home of Yannis' father in Tetralofos. His mother was around and offered to make coffee. I gladly obliged to that and to everything else they were taking out. I had a lovely Kourambies, or two (traditional Christmas biscuits with almonds, dusted with powdered sugar) and some lovely spoon-sweet.
Yannis along with his cousin Kostas started to get ready for the event. The mother was supervising and was giving directions to make things right. The father came along a few minutes later and he too started providing directions on how to proceed with the whole event. since the event is now protected by UNESCO, he believes that they should perform accurately even in the slightest details. At the end of every year's event, they will host a meeting with the community to discuss what might have gone wrong and what needs improvement. This is the leading family of Kotsamania.
We then went to the Cultural Society, where everyone would meet to start the event. This place was also going to be my home for the next few days. It was hosted in an old, but nicely renovated building. The heating inside was great, which was a good indication of a good night's sleep since it was freezing outside.
Inside, some people were dressing up or doing final preparations. After everyone was done, we went outside for a group photo and were ready to start.
