The aim of this short work, based on the study of nicknames in a province, is to show that they were used in various ways, and constituted, for the most part, a form of painless social game or a peculiar social "exclusion" or leveling, satisfying the masses' lower passions, as a valve of anti-social outlet, relief, and on the other hand, fun, satire, a permanent game that highlights the truth of the saying "when the devil has no work, he bores (or something worse...) his children".
As a rule, the nicknames were used very purposefully, with recipients being all those who the nicknamers - by convention "professional" pundits, who were usually the "guys" of the piazza, but many times implicit instruments of devils - set as their goal, either for reasons of jealousy and malice, to put others down, or equalize them, or, on rare occasions, praise when it came to the strong or the weak, showing ingenuity and seeking opportunity for self-promotion. And so nicknames developed into an "institution". The origins are very old.
Since ancient times, there was a tendency to use nicknames for various reasons that were related either to physical (physical) or professional qualities, or to behaviors, to random incidents, or to facilitate identification when it came to several people with the same surname or name, or, finally, because of other social etc. parameters or even toponyms that caused common attention, parody or satire. During the Turkish rule, the crafty and pompous dynasties invented diminutives to flatter the Greeks or to satirize them (e.g. in Crete Leventis became Leventakis, Palikaris, Palikarakis, Androulas, Androulakis, etc.). And this sick and corrupting mentality continued even after Liberation.
In the villages, the people, who could not find a way out in cultural or other fruitful activities - because the generally "Combogianni" state was not interested in the education of the people in order to exploit them in various ways - especially the lazy or the parasites of the market, who due to complexes , which were fostered by social inequality, etc., felt disadvantaged, or became instruments of politics, etc. expediency, and as "professionals" of the peculiar competitive system, they resorted to nicknames (commonly nicknames), which, as mentioned above, on the one hand contributed to a peculiar form of social exclusion, on the other hand they replaced satire and in this, let's say, primitive way, made puns , at the expense of their compatriots, who tolerated them if they were not offensive, thus participating in the collective pun, either voluntarily because the nicknames did not affect them, or from an inability to react because things might get worse. However, some reacted by not tolerating pseudonyms for understandable reasons.
And of course, when it came to derogatory nicknames, the initiators and users took care to keep the pretexts, they did not use them in front of their "victims", especially when they were powerful people, but in private, to laugh on the safe side believing that with him the way they earned credit for resourcefulness for themselves - which, indeed, sometimes, deservedly so when they were clever and positive - but also satisfying, in many cases, the general climate of malice and jealousy, or in the most indulgent case causing a calamity. Of course, in some painless cases, the inventors took care, when the circumstances required it, to invent by-words of praise, which would be liked by their recipients. This was true of leading people who influenced them and thus flattered them, commonly "coddled". Or, otherwise, they reduced them to gain credit from "opponents" or for their own cheap gratification.
So with this, shall we say, primitive sport, they were perpetuating a kind of idiosyncratic racism. It also caused competition, i.e. people who had already been victims of nicknames struggled to invent nicknames for others who didn't have them so that they could feel that the situation was balanced. An old adage said that when the fire cannot burn a peak it smears it with smoke. Or the famous Kolokotronis "the fruit trees are stoned". The "institution" was functioning like an epidemic. And when someone, at some point, for some reason, addressed a certain nickname either in front of the "victim" or in his absence, immediately the rest of the "group" took care to disperse it, enjoying the participation in the "feat". There was also the other category of pronouns due to physical attributes or neutral. Another parameter worth exploring more deeply is that in some cases, depending on family upbringing, etc. and the power of resistance and rivalry, the negative, derogatory epithets were also a motivation for resistance for social "purification", discrimination, etc. It must be pointed out that in many cases there were quite a few who were the last to learn that some people were using pseudonyms against them.
The selection of pseudonyms, in alphabetical order, was made in a mountain village whose name, for obvious reasons, is not mentioned. For some nicknames there is no explanation of their origin.
1)England (champion shooter who had competed in England and shot a volley in a ring and was called "England") {praise}, 2)Akamatis (lazy) (reducing), 3) Alivanitos (who had not been incensed in the church) {reducing}, 4) Alipogatos (like a cat in a litter) {reducing}, 5)Ablas {mdiminutive}, 6) Ablanigos {reducing}, 7)Arapis (from the color –{reducing), 8) Asikis (praised), 9) Astrinis, 10) Vetos (from birch), 11) Vidonis (from screw) {reducing{reducing}, 18) Giannakaris (looked like someone Giannakaris), 19) Gaidosotiros (reducing), 20) Gildis, 21) Glaxon (from the sound of IX {reducing}, 22) Gianitsoulas, 23) Gouvoutis {diminutive}, 24) Gules, 25) Fur (from fur) {diminutive}, 26) 27) Diogenes (turner) {praise}, 28) Zvigos (throwing stones and saying "svig" from the noise they make) {reducing}, 29) Zgouris, 30) Zenios, 31) Zizis, 32) Zobolis (he was a Zavoliarian) {reducing}, 33) Will (he kept saying "will"), (reducing), 34) Theonis (from his wife because she was defending){reducing}, 35)Thymionikolas, (from anger) (reducing), 36) Kazanis (from kazani) (reducing), 37) Kalapostolou (from the "good Apostle" she used to call her husband), 38) Kakoskalis (from the dangerous steps outside his house) {reducing}, 39) Kamberis, 40) Kanayas (due to unscrupulous character), {reducing}, 41) Kantarchos, 42) Cantrilias (he played a lot of cantrilias, {reducing}, 43) Captain (from his trade in the merchant marine), 44) Kaunis (from the melon),{reducing},45) Kalaitzis (by profession - potter), 46) Kaplanis (Turkish-Meiotic), 47) Karkazis, 48) Kantarchos, 49) Karabelas, 50) Karoubalis (from the caroubalas he had), {reducing}, 51) Watermelon (from watermelon) {reducing}, 52) Katsimouris, 53) Coffee (sold coffee),{reducing}, 54) Kapsondamis ("he was burning" with the queen at cards),{reducing}, 55) Kin, Kin reducing, 56) Quinine (yellow like quinine) (reducing), 57) Kologionnis (diminutive), 58) Kolokas, 59) Kolytiris (from his profession, a plumber-glued things), 60) Klitsis (from klitsa), 61) Kombinas (made combs){reducing},62) Kontokouris, 63) Korais (because he was called Adamantios, at school they combined it with Korais) {commendative},64) Koraklis, 65) Kosyvogiannis, 66) Katsianis, 67) Korfitis (he easily climbed peaks) {commendable} .reducing}, 73) Kules {reducing}, 74) Koumoutsoyiannis (very poor, he had no "koumoutsi" (piece of bread) to eat) {reducing}.reducing), 78) Kourkoumbas, 79) Kourlos, 80) Kournutis, 81) Koutifaris {reducing}, 82) Koutouzos {reducing}.reducing}, 87) Crasoulas (drank a lot of wine) {reducing} 88) Lagadis (due to descent from Lagadia, 89) Lagoudis (like the hare) {reducing}, 90) Of Lainis, 91) Lakas (she ran away quickly), 92) Lamponicolis, 93) Lambritsas (he walked happily like Lambri) {praise}, 94) Lapathas, 95) Lapathoyannis, 96) Lardanos (from lard) . ) Lyseas, 97) Lordos (pronounced as Lords (ironic), 98) Louridas, 99) Mavias (because of color), 100) Makriopalissios, (from toponym) 101) Maliaras, 102) Malisovas, 103) Maluchos, 104) Mantzalas, 105) Mandukos, 106) Mapas (as mapa) (reducing), 116) Carpenter (by profession), 117) Margoulis (from the name of Marigoula's wife, who was a commander) 118) {reducing}.reducing{reducing}.reducing}, 132) Mokos (did moko) {reducing}, 133) Muzzle (due to muzzle, face), (reducing), 134) Murkhoutis, 135) Mousgas, 136) Mouchtouris, 137) Bayas (from stale) {reducing}.reducing), 145) Blutsoyannis 146), Bulldozieris (from the bulldozer he had), 147) Bourbounis (looked like a bourbuna (diminutive), 148) Bournovalos, 149) Bratsioulias (had strong arms), 150) Brouklis, 151) Nelos, 152) Nerofidas (drank water like a snake) (reducing), 153) Dakos, 154) Darlas, 155) Darlolias, 156) Delicas, 157) Dovaios, 158) Doilas {reducing}.reducing},161) Xesmichtis (he was separating goats), 162) Palamidis, 163) Panotiras (he kept looking up), 164) Papadogangros (father's son-in-law), 165) Paparoumbas, 166 ) Parparas (he was saying par-par){reducing{reducing}. 169) Petrandrikos (son of Peter), 170) Platanias (from the plane tree), 171) Putanis {reducing}. .reducing}, 190) Sinagridas (from Sinagridas),{reducing}, 191) Skaltsoras {reducing}, 192) Scouse (scouze), {reducing}, 193) Sioutis, 194) Sclavunos, 195) Kotsaftis) {reducing}. . .reducing}, 212) Trakas (reducing), 213) Trapatsas (from the word strapatso), 214) Triadis (from his wife Triada), 215) Triantafyllos (from the roses he wore), 216) Tsavalas, 217) Tsagris, 218) Jackal (from the jackal) .reducing}, 224) Tselepakos (origin), 225) Tsinonis, 226) Tsimbas (from the sting), {reducing}, 227)Slut {reducing}.reducing}, 234) Chutsos, 235) Trapatsos (from strapatso), {diminutive}, 236) Treklas (he staggered when he was drunk){reducing}, 237) Tremors (tremulous from Parkinson's),{reducing}, 238) Tsochos (from the weed zochos) {reducing}, 239)Jirilis (he often threw jirils (abscesses) on his body){reducing}.reducing}, 244) Flechtouris (flechtourage), 245) Floris (from his father-in-law's surname), 246) Pholos (from the egg){reducing}. (diminutive), 250) Haliouris (dumb){reducing}.reducing}, 254) Hatjiloukas (combination of two names), 255) Chitis (from the period of the civil war),{reducing}.reducing} 259) Liar (reducing), 260) Tall (neutral), 261) Flea (like a flea),{reducing}, 262) Psychas (spirited, his soul said so) {praise}.
The sad conclusion, which should be troubling, is that out of the 262 nicknames, a very large percentage are derogatory, insulting, negative, and this demonstrates the tendency of anti-social behavior, idiosyncratic racism, jealousy, malice, the social "civil war", which they ransacked and ransacked the society especially in the villages, and which, unfortunately continues (fortunately to a lesser extent) to the glory of the "education" and "civilization" of the country that was their cradle, because of the political, social and cultural Komboyanism that prevails and also because of which our Country has reached its present sad point of decline.
P.I.Karafotias
photo PublicDomainPictures / https://pixabay.com
