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Book: 'Cyprus As I Saw It In 1879'

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cannedmoose
Warnings : 4
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Joined: 12 Aug 2005
Posts: 5357
Location: National Forest, England

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 3:12 pm Post subject: Book: 'Cyprus As I Saw It In 1879'

Highly recommend this book by Sir Samuel W. Baker, one of the first British administrators sent to Cyprus to survey its potential as part of the Empire. Contains classic imperial quotes such as:

Quote:

First impressions are seldom correct, but the view of Cyprus on arrival from the south was depressing, and extinguished all hopes that had been formed concerning our newly-acquired possession. This was the treasure acquired by astute diplomacy! For about twenty miles we skirted this miserable coast, upon which not a green speck relieved the eye; at length we sighted the minaret which marked the position of Larnaca, the port or roadstead to which the mail was bound; and in the town we distinguished three or four green trees

The book tells the story of Baker's sojourn around Cyprus, he went everywhere from Pafos to Apostolos Andreas. Some of the book is quite tedious, and goes into his detailed study of the flora and fauna of the island. But it's his perceptions of the people that are most striking and at times quaintly amusing... I found this one quite telling and such a contrast to the cultural differences between English and Cypriots today:

Quote:

Although the crowd was large, and all were busied in filling their jars and loading their respective animals, there was no jostling or quarrelling for precedence, but every individual was a pattern of patience and good humour. Mohammedans and Cypriotes thronged together in the same employment, and the orderly behaviour in the absence of police supervision formed a strong contrast to the crowds in England.

How things change...

I also liked this description of a gathering of Cypriots which greeted him as he passed Dhali:

Quote:

In spite of a chilly wind, crowds of women and children surrounded our vans and sat for hours indulging their curiousity, and shivering in light clothes of home-made cotton-stuffs. The children were generally pretty, and some of the younger women were good-looking; but there was a total neglect of personal appearance which is a striking characteristic of the Cypriote females.

In most countries, whether savage or civilised, the women yield to a natural instinct, and to a certain extent adorn their persons and endeavour to render themselves attractive; but in Cyprus there is a distressing absence of the wholesome vanity that should induce attention to dress and cleanliness. The inelegance of costume gives an unpleasant peculiarity to their figures - the whole crowd of girls and women looked as though they were about to become mothers.

The coarse and roughly-tanned, uncared-for high boots with huge hobnails were overlapped by great baggy trousers. Above these were a considerable number of petticoats loosely hanging and tied carelessly at the waist, which was totally unsupported by any such assistance as stays. A sort of short jacket that was of no particular cut, and possessed the advantage of fitting any variety of size or figure, completed the attire.

The buttons that should have confined the dress in front were generally absent, and the ladies were not bashful at their loss, but exposed their bosoms without any consciousness of indelicacy.

It is well known that Paphos in Cyprus was the supposed birthplace of Venus, and that the island was at one time celebrated for the beauty of women and immorality: the change has been radical, as I believe no women are more chaste, and at the same time less attractive, than the Cypriotes of the present time. They are generally short and thickset; they are hardly treated by the men, as they perform most of the rough work in cultivation of the ground and, from the extreme coarseness of their hands, they can seldom be idle, the men, on the contrary, are usually good-looking, and are far more attentive to their personal appearance.

Again, how things have changed...

So, I highly recommend this book for its glimpse into the Cyprus that British people first entered after 1878. Patronising certainly, but in a rather quaint and passe way that makes one laugh rather than seeth with anger. It demonstrates as much about British imperial attitudes to their subjects in the late Victorian age as about the condition of the 'natives' themselves.

magikthrill

Mukhtar/is

Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 630
Location: NYC

Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 4:17 am Post subject:

Quote:

the change has been radical, as I believe no women are more chaste, and at the same time less attractive, than the Cypriotes of the present time. They are generally short and thickset; they are hardly treated by the men, as they perform most of the rough work in cultivation of the ground and, from the extreme coarseness of their hands, they can seldom be idle, the men, on the contrary, are usually good-looking, and are far more attentive to their personal appearance.

brutal, yet honest ?