Article

Antonis’ Wedding: The Moment, The Music and Rites Between Tradition and Modernity in Cyprus

Michalis Poupazis

Published in: Ethnomusicology Ireland 5 (2017)

Pages: 118-133 | Published Online: July 2017

https://doi.org/10.64208/HOQG2737

Abstract

This article takes a journey from the perceived “traditional” of the 1930s to contemporary modernity in Cyprus, seeking to answer how Greek-speaking Cypriots structure their place in the modern world in relation to cultural memory, and their apprehension of what is traditional. Exploring this new viewpoint—with the latest comprehensive study on Cypriot weddings taking place in late-twentieth century (Argyrou, 1996),—the paradigmatic example of Antonis’ marriage ceremony forms a particularly telling environment for the music-led collective enactment of selective ties to ‘tradition’ and the wider memorializing of family and community. In a departure from 1930s tradition (and most Cypriots perceive the 1930’s Paphos-area ceremony to be the acme of tradition) folk music is now reliably to be found only during the bride’s and groom’s adornment rituals, which take place before the crowning ceremony at church. The focus here is on the liminality of a musically-infused memory site, Antonis’ groom adornment ritual in Larnaca, and the micro-focus is on a single song and moment of the paneri (skep) rite. This article explains how Greek-speaking Cypriots draw on cultural resources to summon a remembered or imagined tradition and past while structuring and placing themselves in the twenty-first century. It is a very telling moment, helping to understand how Cypriots comprehend, portray and indulge themselves as contemporary and “oriental” entities locally, in Europe, and internationally.

Keywords: Tradition, memory, liminality, ritual, music, wedding, Cyprus

Author: Michalis Poupazis