The Swedish Cyprus Expedition – Part 1
This is the second time I have written and posted about the Swedish Cyprus Expedition. The first time was back in March, 2017 after reading an excellent book written by Rita C. Severis titled ‘The Swedes of Cyprus.’ The Swedish Cyprus Expedition was led by Professor Einar Gjerstad under the patronage of H.R.H the Crown Prince of Sweden. He was accompanied by two fellow Swedish archaeologists, Alfred Westholm and Erik Sjöqvist and a photographer named John Lindros. In fact, it is thanks to Lindros that the world has such an extraordinary photographic record of Cyprus during that time. I am fortunate to be granted permission from the Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World Culture) in Sweden for permission to share some of these extraordinary photos taken by John Lindros here today. The excavations undertaken in Cyprus by Gjerstad and his team sought to uncover numerous archaeological treasures linked to Eastern and Western civilisations and in particular, to Greek culture.
For centuries, looters and tomb raiders were the only ones interested in antiquities in Cyprus. Even the Islamic rulers of Cyprus during the Ottoman period did not concern themselves with antiquities. However, in the second half of the nineteenth century a few foreign archaeologists such as Luigi Palma di Cesnola and Robert Hamilton Lang were successful in gaining permission to conduct proper excavations on the island. Eventually, educated Cypriot scholars such as Demetrios Pierides would help to establish the Cyprus Museum with the sole intention of keeping excavation findings in Cyprus to help educate the native inhabitants about the past. In fact, it was Pierides’ grandson Loukis and archaeologist Axel Persson who together hatched the idea to organise excavations in Cyprus which led to the arrival of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition. Gjerstad and his team (aged in their twenties) would spend a period of almost four years excavating twenty-one sites all over Cyprus from August 1927 until March 1931. Together with a local workforce of farmers and peasants they would unearth around 18,000 archaeological finds from the Stone Age to Roman times, consisting of tombs, sanctuaries, settlements, fortresses and even a palace. Thanks to letters written by Alfred Westholm we now have an amazing insight into the mindset and behaviours of the local population. Westholm was only twenty-three years old when he accompanied Gjerstad to Cyprus in 1927. He was tall, blond and immaculately dressed. It is little wonder then why the local inhabitants would be attracted to the Swede and would at times treat him like a royal guest. Westholm was an educated, well-bred foreigner of impeccable appearance amongst a population that was mostly insular, uneducated and desperately poor. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading extracts from some of the letters Westholm wrote during his stay in Cyprus. I have added some of his more-interesting observations below for your reading pleasure. —————————————- In November 1927 when Westholm arrived in Galini the entire village turned out to greet him, both men and women in their high boots. He was quickly led to the Mukhtar’s kafenion (coffee house) where again he received a wild and tremendous reception. There was smoke, wine, grilled pieces of meat and shouting and handshakes in all directions. Afterwards, he was taken to a local wedding where he sat like a king observing traditional dancing and singing and served great quantities of food and drink. He was then led from house to house, where more eating and drinking took place and the guests sang and danced all night. Westholm describes the local songs as listening to ‘awful robber’s tunes’ accompanied by shrilling pipes and thundering drums. The most frightening dances, he notes were performed with knives in the wedding hall. In one letter he describes Cypriots as ‘utterly wild and untamed people who never open their mouth except for shouting’. He goes on to state that the locals of Galini get drunk and roar and beat each other up with whatever they can get their hands on. In the village of Karavostasi, Westholm is offended by a pungent smell that is emanating from the camel stables. He walks to the kafenion where he sees camel drivers engaged in a rather animated discussion with local inhabitants about the price of figs, dates and the fruit of the carob tree. One of the men whispers to another: “Who is this englezo (Englishman) who comes here in the middle of the winter with bare knees?” It appears that Westholm, like the other Swedes wore shorts, no matter the weather. A reply comes softly. “It is kyrios Alfiros who has come to excavate here. He is immensely rich, has ninety workers and pays 14 piasters a day.” Westholm was nicknamed Alfiros by the locals. The Swedes recruited local men and women from nearby villages to help with the excavations on the island. In Karavostasi, Westholm soon discovers that women, who worked twice as hard as the men, only received half the salary. In one of his letters he writes. “The females here are strong and clumsy in their huge boots. After work they walk back home, some of them as young as ten years of age, all the way up to Galini which is two hours away. The following day, two hours before sunrise, they walk all the way back to the excavation site to begin another day of backbreaking work.” It is in Karavostasi where Westholm stumbles across a flea epidemic. He notes that millions and millions of fleas are crawling all over the floor of a friend’s house. “They crawl on top of each other forming a layer that is one inch thick. Trying to protect your legs is useless. I must have caught at least five hundred fleas from my clothes.” Westholm explains that the house is later washed in seawater and then Persian insect powder is scattered everywhere. In March 1928, someone at a Galini coffee house beats up a local worker employed by Westholm for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, the Mukhtar was away settling a stabbing dispute and was unable to intervene. The local inhabitants tell Westholm that there is a stabbing incident in Galini every Sunday. He is told that almost all the men in the village have at some point spent time in prison because of an incident involving knives. When you read some of the letters written by Westholm you get the distinct impression that Cypriot men were rather hot-headed back then and quick to draw knives in response to an argument or disagreement. In July 1928, while staying in Vouni, Westholm witnesses a strange, almost pagan ritual when the full moon appears. Young unmarried men kneel down in front of the new moon and pray for guidance to help them to recognise a future bride in their dreams. The full moon is celebrated in different ways in other villages. In Lapithos, people are said to walk around banging pots and pans to greet the new moon. In the village of Dora people spit at the moon and cross themselves. I have relatives from Dora so this ‘explains a lot’. The Swedes discover that there are plenty of witches and sorcerers in Cyprus, both Christian and Moslem. The most famous of all is Eirenou of Lapithos who is feared and dreaded by all. People would go on pilgrimage to see her in great numbers. No one dares to speak about ‘Eirenou of Lapithos’ or even mention her name for she hears everything that is said in Cyprus. Limassol too has a famous old witch called Lougrou and in Trachoni village there is man named Constantis Papachristophorou who with the help of God works his ‘white’ magic. Others include Loustis from Erimi village and the priest from Lymbia village. In Cyprus many of the Christian rites and superstitions adopted and practiced by the inhabitants have ancient pagan origins. The Swedes discover that in Soli, it is common to see old clothes and other personal items (even hair) hanging from trees, especially near rivers and streams. Apparently trouble-ridden Cypriots make these offerings to a local saint in exchange for protection, safe passage and good wishes. In Vouni, Westholm describes the local Cypriots as xenophobic, suspicious and insular. “My former sympathy for the Greeks is now gone,” he writes. “I now look at them as disgusting and stupid braggarts, with their loathsome thoughts about the position of women and the family in general.” Westholm and the other Swedes become quite upset with the way many Cypriot men talked about and treated women at the excavation site. With regards to being ‘insular’ Westholm writes that he had met some locals that had never ventured beyond the outskirts of their village. “Quite a few may live an entire life without ever seeing the sea. A lack of travelling and education may have certainly helped to confine their knowledge and perception of the outside world. Perhaps this is a result of being under constant foreign occupation.” Although Westholm’s views can appear quite harsh at times, he does at times appear to show a deep respect and admiration for the local inhabitants, especially the women. “They can’t read or write and are incredibly backward concerning customs and behaviour, but they are human beings in the best sense of the word with a warm heart and with natural and refreshing feelings and thoughts. Too often their words made me feel happy for several days.” In early September 1929, Westholm and his team begin excavating in Agios Fokas. He realises that despite the poverty all around the locals are self-sufficient and have plenty to eat. “You can buy the most wonderful watermelons here for a couple of pennies. You can eat as many figs as you wish and the grapes are as big as plums. A hare costs 1½ shillings, a partridge is forty pennies and a dove is twenty pennies.” When Westholm decides to grow a long beard and sleep in the local church in Agios Fokas the inhabitants of the village begin to call him Saint Alfiros. When he emerges alive after his first night in the church some locals believed that divine intervention must have spared his life for it was bad luck to sleep in a church. One night as Westholm and his friends were dining on a ‘partridge cooked on the spit’ a fight breaks out between two of his workers, Mavrokeratas (real name is Sophocles) and Giorgos. The whole incident occurred because of a girl. Very Cypriot. Westholm describes Mavrokeratas as having ‘negro blood’. He was most likely a descendant of the African slaves that were brought to the island in the fifteenth century. Although these slaves were later set free, many chose to remain in Cyprus. We are told that Mavrokeratas is a boastful man and considers himself a great lover. He is married to Eleni who is the servant woman that accompanies the Swedish team throughout their excavations. Unfortunately, Mavrokeratas spends all of their earnings on alcohol. Because of this, Expedition leader Einar Gjerstad kicks him out of the camp. His wife Eleni on the other hand is allowed to stay. Mavrokeratas is furious about this and seeks vengeance by sending passionate letters to his wife imploring her to leave the Swedes. She ignores her husband’s pleas. He then threatens to leave her unless she obeys him. A husband deserting his wife was rated as one of the greatest scandals. Once again Eleni stands her ground. Eventually Mavrokeratas cowers and returns to his wife. Remarkably, he becomes a new man, docile and mild. Eleni had managed to tame her wild bull. In Cyprus, the Swedes became transfixed by local folk songs and poetry. Westholm states that Cypriot folk songs were similar to the ones that were sung in Sweden during the Middle Ages. “There is something sublime in the crude way these Orientals rejoice with their songs.” He goes on to describe a scene one dark night when Mavrokeratas starts to sing. “I can distinguish the square head of Lazaros, clapping his hands as Mavrokeratas groans a love song over the plain. His Negro eyes are rolling, directed towards the unobstructed expanse of stars above. His head begins to toss around on his thick neck. On his lap, a huge wine-koloki (dry gourd) bounces to the rhythm.” END OF PART 1:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Rita C. Severis (from CVAR, Nicosia) for allowing me to use transcripts from her excellent book, “The Swedes of Cyprus.” This book is must read for any person interested in the cultural history of our beautiful island. I would also like to thank Birgitta Lindros Wohl, daughter of John Lindros for her understanding and support of my work here on Tales of Cyprus. Birgitta is currently planning to publish a book about her brilliant father and his involvement in the Swedish Expedition. Thank you also to Mangus Johanssen from the Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World Culture) in Sweden for permission to share some of the extraordinary photos taken by John Lindros here on Tales of Cyprus. Special thanks to my beautiful ‘archaeologist’ wife Christina for all her support and advice over the years as I continue to develop these articles for ‘Tales of Cyprus’.
The Swedish Cyprus Expedition – Part 2
Alfred Westholm is a gifted wordsmith. His letters really capture the mood and colour of the world around him and what he sees. His descriptions of the night camp at Agios Fokas are so well written that it is easy to visualise the scene and be transported back in time. “The night breeze is full of the smells of the earth,” he writes. “The barren plain sleeps under the moon-light and its blue haze. The lights at Famagusta harbor glimmer in the distance but the thousands of stars of the Cypriot sky sparkle even stronger. The distant bells of sheep are ringing far away.” Westholm also describes the workers arriving to the excavation site before sunrise. “The workers all arrive here, riding on donkeys, which then stand around the excavation site during the day and when the evening-signal is heard, they all ride back in a group at full speed across the plain. It is so picturesque watching them disappear in a cloud of dust in the horizon.” Westholm meets a priest called Papa Polyvios. Apparently the priest is a beast of a man. He eats and drinks twenty times more than the average Cypriot and uses a washbasin as a plate. With his roaring ‘house-shaking’ laughter the priest tells the camp about his great achievements in his youth. He boasts that he once lifted a large ox over a metre-high wall. After finishing each story, he would throw back his terrific ox-like neck, his long beard sticking up in the air and punch his swelling neck-muscles with his fist while roaring and shaking his head. Terrified, Westholm would move his chair backwards. But in the next moment the priest would burst out laughing and ‘kindness is once again beaming from his beautiful eyes.’ The Swedish team leader Gjerstad describes Papa Polyvios as a wrestler priest who would often bless their Volvo and was always hugging and kissing them. I absolutely love the local characters described by Westholm and Gjerstad. From the ill-tempered but meek Mavrokeratas, to the wrestler ox-throwing priest Papa Polyvios. Even the servant woman Eleni gets a fair mention. “By nature, she has the ability of a primitive human being able to survive in the wilderness but somehow she manages to look after us with a polite European touch. In her spare time, she does the housekeeping for others such as Lararos, Christos and her husband Mavrokeratas without a thought of compensation.” The Swedes discover that the women of Cyprus see housekeeping as something quite natural while the men expect nothing less and barely lift a finger to help. It was clear by reading the letters written by Westholm that he was indeed shocked and upset by the way many Cypriot men teased and belittled their women. One day when Christos was making fun of Eleni, Westholm was unable to hold back his fury. He explains to Christos how Eleni has done the housekeeping for the Swedish team and others for over two years without demanding a morsel of gratitude. Was it too much to expect not to be treated as a dog by those she fed and looked after? Westholm then writes how in the Orient, a man is of course better and stronger than a woman but if he does not know how to appreciate his wife then he is not worthy of having a woman of his own or even a servant for that matter. Westholm does eventually become somewhat jaded and critical of his hosts and the local workers in Cyprus. “If you invite Greeks for a brandy they always want something to eat. The Cypriots have lived too long under tyranny and therefore cannot appreciate the slightest freedom or friendship. As long as they are treated as slaves the best comes out of them. Sometimes our foreman Lazaros needs to give Mavrokeratas a good beating with a stick to bring him into line. It is sad but it is also natural and true.” In Soli, Westholm befriends a tomb robber known as Koutso-Michalis (cripple-Michael). Some years earlier Koutso-Michalis went fishing with dynamite and lost his right arm. Despite his life of crime, Westholm discovered that this rather charismatic tomb robber never lied or tried to cheat him. In fact, his advice about where to excavate was always accurate and yielded many finds. Apparently, Koutso-Michalis was once the strongest man in Tilliria until poverty slowly took away his strength. The fact that he didn’t try to cheat the foreign visitors or steal any of the finds earned him the title of ‘the stupidest man in Cyprus’ amongst the local population. In late September 1929, Westholm is once again required to break up a fight in Larnaca amongst his workers. Two men were hitting each other with paving stones and had blood spurting from their heads. Westholm writes how a large crowd gathers nearby to watch the fight but everyone runs away when the police arrive to avoid being called up as a witness. In December 1930, Lazaros the Cypriot foreman assigned to the Swedish team, decides to get engaged. He travels to Kythrea and goes shopping for a wife. In Cyprus a man must negotiate his engagement to a girl before he even meets her. An agreement as to the type of dowry he is likely to receive takes place with her parents. For centuries a dowry consisted of all the necessities a man would need to set up a home. In some cases, land, animals and money may be added to a dowry to increase a bride’s value and desirability. When Lazaros arrives in Kythrea all the locals are keen to show off the young girls that live there. He goes from house to house and feast to feast negotiating a good price. Everyone is trying to outbid and outdo each other. They all want Lazaros to marry their daughter. All he has to do is compare prices and decide. On the last day, he arrives at a new house and he receives the highest offer and so he agrees to marry the girl who lives there. She is described as a somewhat shy, silent and not-so-ugly girl. Now we come to the tragic part of the story. Some days later when Lazaros and his fiancé go shopping for wedding rings he discovers that she has a harelip and speaks with a lisp. He immediately abandons his plans to marry her and runs away to Nicosia cursing himself for not getting her to speak sooner. In January 1931, Westholm attends a Cypriot wedding in Soli and discovers more ancient customs at play. In the church during the wedding ceremony, the priest declares to the congregation that the wife should be humble and fear and obey her husband. At that moment the groom steps with his boot on the bride’s foot. This is to remind her that he will be her master. Interesting how this custom is now reversed with bride stepping on the groom’s foot. Westholm and his Swedish team seemed alarmed at the way marriages are arranged in Cyprus and how young girls so willingly accept their fate. We learn about Elengou who was the daughter of the richest man in Galini. Many years ago, she was married to Yiannis who was also from a wealthy family. Unfortunately, on their wedding day Yiannis, has a mental breakdown and destroys everything in his path. He hits the guests, tramples all over the gifts, tears down the decorations and throws his mother-in-law out into the street and into the mud. Elengou fearing for her life shuts the crazed Yiannis out of her house and refuses to allow him back in. The local priest Papa Simeon demands that Elengou give up her promised dowry and take Yiannis back. Fearing that her crazed husband would surely kill her, she refuses. By now Yiannis has gone completely mad and the locals, somewhat reluctantly, send him to a mental asylum. In retaliation to Elengou’s defiance the vengeful priest refuses to give her Holy Communion and banishes her from his church. He even threatens her with eternal damnation in hell unless she takes back her husband. Eventually a local bishop is summoned and a court hearing takes place. Somewhat miraculously, Elengou is pardoned and her excommunication from the church lifted. Because of her obstinance she will never attract another suitor. The mad Yiannis on the other hand is eventually released from the mental asylum and marries again. This time, his next victim would not dare to throw him out no matter what he may do to her. Professor Einar Gjerstad and Alfred Westholm were intrigued that life in rural Cyprus seemed to have changed very little over time. The Cypriots would plough their earth and herd their goats in the same way their ancestors had done for centuries. As far as the women, the Swedes discover that the Cypriot woman has only one wish, namely to get married. “If she cannot be married then she will bring shame upon her family,” Westholm writes. “As a married woman however, she becomes nothing more than a slave to her husband.” The Swedish Expedition offered an opportunity for these downtrodden women to break free from their monotonous lives by helping the team with the excavations. Many of the young girls would earn their entire dowry while working for the Swedish Expedition. “They cannot read or write and know nothing whatsoever about the outside world,” writes Gjerstad. “But one thing they can all surely do – is work. In fact, the women performed most of the work on site; it was their job to fill the wheelbarrows with earth while the men had far easier work to do with their pick axes.” It is true that without the help and assistance of the Cypriot people, the Swedish Expedition would not have proceeded in the way it did and many archaeological finds would have remained undiscovered and underground. Due to the great generosity of the Cypriot authorities and the initial agreement hatched by Pierides and the Swedes, more than half of the finds (around sixty-five percent) were transported to Sweden where the bulk of the collections rest in the Medelhavsmuseet museum in Stockholm. It’s little wonder then that the Medelhavsmuseet has the largest and most important collections of Cypriote antiquities in the world outside Cyprus. The Lapithos tombs yielded large numbers of tools, swords, daggers and knives. At Enkomi in eastern Cyprus, rich tombs from the Late Bronze Age were uncovered containing objects of gold, silver and ivory and hundreds of vases. The most important find of the Expedition was the discovery at Ayia Iríni of a cult site dating from the Late Cypriote Bronze Age. About 2000 terracotta items were found in their original positions, standing in semicircles around an altar. The most important and imposing building excavated by the Expedition was the Palace at Vouni including limestone statuettes representing young women carrying offerings to the goddess Athena. We should be forever grateful that foreign archaeologists such as the young men who belonged to the Swedish Expedition of 1927, have helped circumvent looting and encouraged the preservation of our island’s antiquities. Perhaps it is true that before these archaeologists had arrived the inhabitants of Cyprus had little or no knowledge of the rich cultural history of their island. Their research and discoveries have raised our level of understanding and awareness of ancient Cyprus forever. Furthermore, they have helped create a comprehensive and well-documented archaeological record for us all to treasure.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Rita C. Severis (from CVAR, Nicosia) for allowing me to use transcripts from her excellent book, “The Swedes of Cyprus.” This book is must read for any person interested in the cultural history of our beautiful island. I would also like to thank Birgitta Lindros Wohl, daughter of John Lindros for her understanding and support of my work here on Tales of Cyprus. Birgitta is currently planning to publish a book about her brilliant father and his involvement in the Swedish Expedition. Thank you also to Mangus Johanssen from the Världskulturmuseet (Museum Of World Culture) in Sweden for permission to share some of the extraordinary photos taken by John Lindros here on Tales of Cyprus. Special thanks to my beautiful ‘archaeologist’ wife Christina for all her support and advice over the years as I continue to develop these articles for ‘Tales of Cyprus’.