Re: Rakija i Klezperanto

[Owen Davidson <owend...>]

That's interesting.  Greeks also have "masticha,"  which is produced on
Chios using as flavoring the gum of the mastic bush, which grows only on
the island.  This gum is used in varnish for violins, on which one might
play klezmer music (the all-important Jewish music connection).  In
Ottoman times, I'm given to understand, the entire harvest of mastic gum
was requisitioned by the Sultan for the chewing pleasure of the
gum-snappers in his harem.  As the original chewing-gum, mastic also
gives
us the word "masticate."

When Nikos Kazantzakis went to visit the poet C. P. Cavafy in
Alexandria,
Cavafy served him masticha, complained that he wasn't drinking enough of
it, and swore it was from Chios.  Kazantzakis' essay, in a collection
called in English _Journeying_ (1975 Little, Brown & Co.), gives the
full
text of Cavafy's poem "The God Forsakes Antony."  Kazantzakis'
translators
wisely chose to use the translation by Rae Dalven, who made the
definitive
English edition of Cavafy's poems.  Rae (Rachel Israel) Dalven
collaborated with Israel J. Katz in 1991 to present a paper titled
"Residual Elements of Ottoman Culture and Language among the Romaniotes:
Personal Recollections (_Studies on Turkish-Jewish History_, 1996 by The
American Society of Sephardic Studies).  In this paper, she recalls her
childhood in the Jewish community Ioannina, in Epiros, and gives much
attention to the Greek songs her mother sang.

So, you see, it all intertwines, and though we stray from the stated
purpose and topic, we are never so far away that a twist or two can't
retrieve us.

Peace,

Owen

Carol Freeman wrote:

>
> The anise flavored alcoholic drink equivalent to Greek ouzo is called
> mastika.

--
Owen Davidson
Amherst  Mass
Repair, Construction and Design of Musical Instruments

The Angel that presided oer my birth
Said Little creature formd of Joy & Mirth
Go Love without the help of any King on Earth

Wm. Blake

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+