Mangas

Manges(/ˈmɑːŋˌɡəs/;Greek:μάγκες[ˈma(ɲ)ɟes];sing.:mangas/ˈmɑːŋɡəs/,μάγκας[ˈma(ŋ)ɡas]) is the name of a social group in theBelle Époqueera's^[a]countercultureof Greece (especially of the great urban centers ofAthensandPiraeus). The nearest English equivalent to the term "mangas" iswide boy,orspiv.^[1]

Overview

Mangas was a label for men belonging to the Greekworking class,behaving in a particularly arrogant/presumptuous way, and dressing with a very typical vesture composed of a woolen hat (kavouraki,καβουράκι), a jacket (they usually wore only one of its sleeves), a tight belt (used as a knife case), stripe pants, and pointy shoes. Other features of their appearance were their long moustache, theirbead chaplets(κομπολόγια, sing. κομπολόι), and their idiosyncratic manneristic limp-walking (κουτσό βάδισμα). A related social group were the Koutsavakides (κουτσαβάκηδες, sing. κουτσαβάκης^[2]); the two terms are occasionally used interchangeably. Manges are also notable for being closely associated to the history ofrebetiko.

Etymology

The three most probable etymologies of the word Mangas are the following:

From the Turkishmanga"small military troop" via Albanianmangë.^[3]
From the Latinmanica(from the same root as Modern Greek μανίκι "sleeve" ) "hand-related" (cf.the sound change from the Latinmanicusto the Spanishmango"handle" ).^[4]
According to a more marginal proposal, its origin is from the Latinmango, -onis"dealer, trader".^[5]

In popular culture

Most rebetiko songs refer to manges, even when this is not explicit, as rebetiko was part of this subculture. Examples are: "Στην Υπόγα" ( "In the Basement", by Kostis, 1930), "Ο Μάγκας του Βοτανικού" ( "The Mangas of Votanikos", by Kasimatis, 1934). The admiration of manges was carried on with the later genre of Greek musicLaïko.Examples are: "Πού 'σουν μάγκα το Χειμώνα" ( "Where Were You, Mangas, During the Winter", by Giorgos Mouflezis, 70s), and others.

Karagiozis shadow playsportray a recurrent character calledStavrakas,Σταύρακας.

In modern Greek language, mangas has become a synonym for "swash guy, swagger" or (in dialogue) simply "dude";depending on context it may have more negative (" bully, thug, hooligan ") or more positive (" brave, crafty man ") connotations.

Notes

^The time period in Greek history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I is called προπολεμική Εποχή ( "antebellum era" ) in the Greek literature and corresponds to the Western European Belle Époque.

Notes and references

^Petropoulos, Elias(2000).Songs of the Greek Underworld: The Rebetika Tradition.Saqi Books.ISBN 0-86356-368-6.
^According to lexicographer Menos Filintas (Μένος Φιλήντας) their name comes fromkottabos;according to theManolis Triantafyllidis Foundationit derives from the surname of Dimitris "Mitsos" Koutsavakis, a notable mangas who lived in Piraeus:κουτσαβάκης.
^Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής,Manolis Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998:μάγκας.
^Babiniotis, Georgios.Dictionary of Modern Greek(2nd edition), Athens: Lexicology Centre, 2002.ISBN 960-86190-1-7.
^Andriotis, Nikolaos.Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής(Etymologiko lexiko tis koinis neoellinikis), Manolis Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1995.

Bibliography

See also the bibliography sections onrebetikoandrebetes,much of which also deal with the lifestyle of manges.

Stasinopoulos, Epaminondas.Η Αθήνα του περασμένου αιώνα (1830–1900) – Last Century's Athens (1830–1900),Athens, 1963(in Greek).

[1] The time period in Greek history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I is called προπολεμική Εποχή ( "antebellum era" ) in the Greek literature and corresponds to the Western European Belle Époque.

[2] Petropoulos, Elias(2000).Songs of the Greek Underworld: The Rebetika Tradition.Saqi Books.ISBN 0-86356-368-6.

[3] According to lexicographer Menos Filintas (Μένος Φιλήντας) their name comes fromkottabos;according to theManolis Triantafyllidis Foundationit derives from the surname of Dimitris "Mitsos" Koutsavakis, a notable mangas who lived in Piraeus:κουτσαβάκης.

[4] Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής,Manolis Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998:μάγκας.

[5] Babiniotis, Georgios.Dictionary of Modern Greek(2nd edition), Athens: Lexicology Centre, 2002.ISBN 960-86190-1-7.

[6] Andriotis, Nikolaos.Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής(Etymologiko lexiko tis koinis neoellinikis), Manolis Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1995.

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