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cypezokyli
Ministerial
Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 2344
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going back to the microcosmos of the cypriot villages , and from some stories i collected, the most hated people in a village was (or were) the tourkopoulos or agrofylakas (lets say the police / law of the country side).
as their name (in greek) suggests they were appointed by the ottomans , later on by the british , (and shortly after the independance by giorkatjis). as far as i understodd , they were responsible to solve disputes between farmers and animal owner etc.
the case often was, that they misused their power (as well as the appointed local mayor) , by placing high penalties or discovering illegalities. moreover besides the wage they got from the goverment - they were too often free to go to any field they wanted and take home whatever the field produced.
perhaps there are also stories of fair and just tourkopouloi , but i have the feeling that on an everyday basis, he was the main problem of cypriot villagers - rather than any communal one.
any experiences from your villages ? |
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Alexios
Mukhtar/is
Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 976
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| cypezokyli wrote: |
going back to the microcosmos of the cypriot villages , and from some stories i collected, the most hated people in a village was (or were) the tourkopoulos or agrofylakas (lets say the police / law of the country side).
as their name (in greek) suggests they were appointed by the ottomans , later on by the british , (and shortly after the independance by giorkatjis). as far as i understodd , they were responsible to solve disputes between farmers and animal owner etc.
the case often was, that they misused their power (as well as the appointed local mayor) , by placing high penalties or discovering illegalities. moreover besides the wage they got from the goverment - they were too often free to go to any field they wanted and take home whatever the field produced.
perhaps there are also stories of fair and just tourkopouloi , but i have the feeling that on an everyday basis, he was the main problem of cypriot villagers - rather than any communal one.
any experiences from your villages ? |
Well, at the time, agricultural produce was extremely important to the villagers as they relied on it heavily for their every day needs.On the other hand almost every family kept animals which grazed freely on the family's fields or government land,other land not cultivated etc. So disputes between people were very common, the most usual one being the case of a shepherd grazing his sheep on another man's land or the animals storming into a nice fresh cucumber field belonging to someone else other than their owner and having a feast!!! The tourkopoullos was responsible for keeping an eye on these things and deal with complaints etc.He was also responsible for other matters such as making sure that time tables regarding water from the village cistern allotted to each family were kept (as a child i witnessed huge fights amongst villagers regarding this very serious matter!!!  )
So his job was not easy at all to say the least at a time when the final act of solving a dispute was to pick up the nearest heavy stick or spade and bash the other man on the head!!!
Anyhow, my village tourkopoullos was a crafty old devil,who spend most of his time wandering about the countryside pretending he was doing his job but in reality his main concern was to pick the first agrelia that came out (you know those tasty wild Cyprus asparagus) before anybody else,identify where the hares hang around so he could shoot them first day of hunting season and other such noble activities....He also had a story or two to proudly tell about his encounters with shepherdesses and other lonely women around the countryside.....   |
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Bananiot
Warnings : 1
Deputy
Joined: 13 Aug 2005
Posts: 1214
Location: Nicosia
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| My village Tourkopoulos rode on horse back. He looked immaculate. One day he caught my young cousin, named Atch, picking almonds from some trees in the wilderness and he duly arrested him and sent for the police. Atch did not admit to the accusations. I was picking them from the floor, he told them ... |
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Alexios
Mukhtar/is
Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 976
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| Bananiot wrote: |
| My village Tourkopoulos rode on horse back. He looked immaculate. One day he caught my young cousin, named Atch, picking almonds from some trees in the wilderness and he duly arrested him and sent for the police. Atch did not admit to the accusations. I was picking them from the floor, he told them ... |
That was a usual excuse...The watermelon rolled down on its own and into my feet so i picked it up..... |
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brother
Warnings : 3
Site Admin
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 8920
Location: London/Cyprus
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depurple
Warnings : 1
Ministerial
Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Posts: 2879
Location: Australia
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Boys I can not answer that question:
Yes DP can not answer that! Amazing!
Because some of them are still alive today and in Power!
I will wait for them to kick the bucket and then I can say!
cheers |
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