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some glean detailed accounts of the habits of life among these primitive people; as for
me, I could only arrive at snatches of information by means of Italian, which many of
the Vuniote men speak. Only my asking Anastásio if his wife and mother were not
coming to dinner, he replied that the women never eat with the men, but his wife
Marína, would come and wait on us at supper, as by that time she would have less
‘vergogna’ of a stranger, an uncommon sight to Khimáriote females (Lear 1988: 139,
italics original).
The houses of Khimára are all of dark stone, and bear signs of having seen better days;
on every side are heaps of ruin, and a great extent of rubbish, with walls of different
dates, proclaims this remarkable Acropolis to have been once a considerable place.
The people of Khimára are all of Greek origin, and speak Romaic, though those of the
towns I have passed on my way, although Christian, are all Albanian with the
exception a few families such as Kasnétzi. The Khimáriotes of this place declare that
the town contains vestiges of sixty-two churches (Lear 1988: 144).
The golden age of Khimára’s liberty seems to have been in the days of the Pashás of
Avlóna, before Alí had swallowed up all Albania; but since his reign this restless race
are withered and broken. ‘We serve the Sultan’, say they; but if asked whether they are
Albanians, Christians, or Turks, they say—‘Neither; we are Khimáriotes’ (Lear 1988:
147-148).
The name Khimára is generally applied to the whole of the ancient Acroceraunian
ridge, from Cape Kefalí to Cape Glossa, including the valley of Oricum. The towns
are in the following order from south to north: Nívitza, Lúkovo, Pikérnes, Sopotó,
Kieperó, Khimára, Vunó, Dhrymádhes, Palása and Dukádhes […]. All these towns
have nearly the same semi-barbarous manners and customs. The Greek language is
spoken by almost all the men, and Italian by those who have lived abroad; but the
women in general know little of any language but the Albanian (Leake 1967: 88).
Nívitza is inhabited by Musulman Liape, and is described as situated on the peaked
rock, surrounded by deep ravines and torrents, where considerable remains of ancient
walls are preserved, and the castle particularly an entire door. It is agreed by all who
have seen these walls that they exactly resemble some pieces of Hellenic work, which
now serve as foundations to several of the modern houses of Khimára. The mansonry
approaches to a regular kind not any of the blocks of stone having more than five
sides. These relicts, together with the name, leave no question that Khimára stands
upon the exact site of the ancient Chimæra, which I believe is noticed only by Pliny
(Leake 1967: 89-90).
Rami Memushaj is one of the scholars, who interpreted Leake’s words according to the
national, pro-Albanian position:
‘The Greek language is spoken by almost all the men, and Italian by those who have
lived abroad; but the women in general know little of any language but the Albanian’
(Leake 1967: 88). With the expansion of Islam the number of Himarë villages
gradually shrank to 14 and later on 7 Orthodox villages. Seven villages of Himarë
were subject of hellenization that was based on the introduction of the Greek language
in the church and school. After the Bazilian missionaries left Himarë the patriarch and
despotisms did not impede the local people to open their own schools. That was the
period when in the villages of Himarë, especially in Himarë, Dhermi, Palasa and partly
in Qeparo began the expansion of the Greek language that was used in the church,
school, trading overseas and even in the everyday bases [sic.] (Memushaj 2003: 169).
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