LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

246 John nandriŞ
Mountain people with limited natural resources did not wait like village
dogs upon the charity of a welfare state. they travelled far and wide to
support their families, often for periods of many years. For example in
Daghestan 16 the villagers of Kubachi high in the eastern Caucasus engaged
in trade, not only within the Caucasus but into Iran and the near east,
becoming rich with their chosen specialism of elaborate niello decoration
on arms and armour. the shashka sabre and the kindzhal dagger were
essential in any definition of Caucasian manhood, and Kubachi rose to the
demand. the Aromâni also fashioned metalwork, including weaponry for
the armatule [the armatoles or armed men], and developed commercial links
as far afield as paris, Vienna and odessa, within and beyond bounds of the
ottoman or Austro-hungarian empires. As craftsmen the Aromâni worked
in wood of every variety, from joinery and carving to the building of large
scale machinery, water mills, saw mills, fulling mills. they specialised
in the elaborate carving of ikonostases throughout the Balkans, including
Mount Athos, as well as domestic panels and ceilings such as those in the
beautiful wooden-panelled room from the trantoyiannis [= John tranta]
house, now in Kozani Museum 17 .
In their capacity as independent “Greek” merchants 18 the Aromâni
fulfilled a distributive function, and were self-employed at a totally different
level of social being to that of the impecunious modern Gastarbeiter. they
flourished in government, commerce [Srb. Čaršija] and in the professions. By
virtue of their prosperity and professionalism the Aromâni supplied Greece
with the middle class which it lacked, and they were able to act as generous
patrons. Many become doctors or bankers in Athens or thessaloniki,
not to mention taxi-drivers, or even government ministers like Averoff,
although the Greeks do say that “Kathe Hellenas Ipourgos: every Greek
is a government minister”. It was wealthy Aromâni who endowed many
of the most notable buildings and institutions in Athens, among them the
16 NANdriŞ, john (1994b).
17 John tranta became establish ed as a merchant in Kozani in 1649, with 12,000 sheep
and 120 families, after the destruct ion by Albanians and turks of his native village of Kteni
above Aiani. his sons went to russia and Constantinople, and he obtained privileges from
the Valide Sultan, for the “Malikianes” [Vlahs from Maliq in Albania], such as exemption
from taxation. harisis tranta laid the foundations in 1664 for the striking basilica of Agios
nikolaos in Kozani.
18 sTojANoViĆ, T., “The conquering Balkan orthodox merchant”. Journal of
Economic History, 20 (1960) : 234-313; VAKAlopouloS, Ίστόρια τις Μακεδονίας
(1969). the Serbs used the term pečalbari for travelling merchant Vlahs; and called the
Vlahs Cincari, reputedly because of their pronounciation of many ts sounds, as in tsintsi/
cinci = five.