Aspects of the female power in the traditional community of the western Thessaly karagunides: Diet and witchcraft

The subject of the present research is first of all the relation of cooking with magic in the traditional society of the Karagounis of western Thessaly. A second level examines whether this relationship constituted female symbolic power. Through ethnographic data, following an on-site qualitative research in lowland Thessaly, the practices of daily and ritual cooking that concerned the traditional society of the Karagounis were recorded. Some of these practices are preserved through tradition and are still practiced today, while others were brought to the memory of the inhabitants who were born in the first half of the 20th century and experienced in the second half the transition from the traditional to the modern way of life. Also, the research did not ignore the history, as it included as sources old field researches and interviews from the cultural area of ​​Karagounis. So the method of the subject is the historical ethnography. It was found that cooking in the traditional society of the Karagounis was a socially learned art, communicated from generation to generation and from mother to daughter. The preparation and offering of food was a female practice and marked the basic moments of human life (birth, marriage, death). In addition, cooking was associated with strong symbolism both as a ritual food during the holidays and as a simple, everyday food. Therefore, the symbolism of food was sought and whether and to what extent cooking and food had a metaphysical-magical dimension. This relationship revealed that the plant and animal species that had been selected as edible were beneficial. On the other hand, the items selected as non-edible were considered to be harmful. The benefit and the harm were much more on a symbolic level than on a material one. However, both types, edible and non-edible, could, through a special culinary treatment (ie become filters or be thrown into regular food), cause magic. The magic was performed by the masters, that is, the women of the area who were involved with magic, on occasion: either to benefit or to harm, so we can distinguish between beneficial and harmful magic, respectively. In addition, through the folk literature and life stories of the subjects, the connection of magic was confirmed not only with cooking, but also with other female fields of action, such as sewing and the household. Finally, men, when involved with sorcery, acted as "exorcists", who solved female sorcery. And this showed that the culinary-magic relationship was translated as the face of a female symbolic power in the society under investigation.

本研究的核心议题首先是色萨利（Thessaly）西部卡拉古尼斯（Karagounis）传统社会中烹饪与巫术的关联。其次，本研究将进一步探讨此种关系是否构成了女性的符号性权力。本研究依托在色萨利低地开展的实地质性研究采集的民族志数据，记录了卡拉古尼斯传统社会中日常与仪式性烹饪的各类实践。其中部分实践通过传统延续至今，另有部分则留存于20世纪上半叶出生、于下半叶亲历传统生活向现代生活转型的当地居民的记忆之中。此外，本研究并未忽视历史脉络，纳入了源自卡拉古尼斯文化区域的既往田野研究与访谈资料作为研究素材，因此本研究采用的方法为历史民族志。研究发现，在卡拉古尼斯的传统社会中，烹饪是一门经由社会习得的技艺，代代相传且由母亲传递给女儿。食物的制备与奉食是女性的专属实践，且标记了人类生命的重要节点：诞生、婚嫁与丧葬。此外，烹饪兼具强烈的符号意涵——既体现在节日中的仪式性食物，也涵盖日常的普通膳食。因此，本研究探讨了食物的符号性，以及烹饪与食物是否具备、在多大程度上具备形而上学与巫术层面的维度。此种关联揭示出：被选定为可食用的动植物物种被认为具有增益性，而被归为不可食用的物品则被视为具有危害性。此种增益与危害更多体现在符号层面，而非物质层面。然而，无论是可食用还是不可食用的食材，均可通过特殊的烹饪处理（例如作为滤料或掺入常规食物）施展巫术。巫术由当地的巫师——即参与巫术活动的当地女性——在特定场合施行：或为施加增益，或为造成伤害，据此可分别区分为善巫与恶巫。此外，通过研究对象的民间文学与生平故事，本研究证实巫术不仅与烹饪相关，亦与缝纫、家务等其他女性活动领域存在关联。最终，男性若参与巫术活动，则会以驱邪者的身份介入，解决女性施行的巫术。这一点表明，烹饪与巫术的关联，可被解读为所研究社会中女性符号性权力的具象体现。