Page:The nomads of the Balkans, an account of life and customs among the Vlachs of Northern Pindus (1914).djvu/38

 Ghrevena though situated in the valley and having no good water supply is a pleasant little town, but in summer is very hot. Above the town to the east is a large Turkish school and in a similar position to the west are the barracks. There are Greek and Vlach schools, several mosques, seven Greek churches and a Vlach chapel. A market well attended by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages is held every Monday. The population cannot be estimated because so much of it is floating. The Christians consist of Greeks from the Hashiot and Kupatshar villages, and Vlachs from Samarina, Smiksi, Perivoli, and Avdhela who are always more numerous in the winter. The Mohammedans consist of Albanians, Valakliadhes, and Turks from here, there and everywhere. Of course since the war of 1912 in which it was partly burnt, Ghrevena has probably changed considerably in every way.

Tuesday, May 31st, the second day of the fair.—Shortly after davm Ave crossed the river on a diminutive donkey hired from a venerable Turk at a halfpenny a journey, and went at once to the fair. The crowd amounted to several thousands, and the majority were Vlachs. Vlach was the language most commonly in use, and no one who has heard the babble of a Vlach crowd can doubt the origin of the name Tsintsar. There were Vlachs from nearly every part of Southern Macedonia, and Thessaly : most were in the national costume. Vlach costume is a complicated and extensive subject, and for a full account of the various garments and their names the reader must turn to a later chapter. Besides Vlachs, there were Greeks mostly Hashiots, a few Turks not counting gendarmes and other officials, some gipsies dressed as usual in gaudy rags, and a number of Valakhadhes, and Kupatshari. The Valakhadlies are a mysterious people, Mohammedan by religion, but Greek by language, who principally inhabit the districts of Ghrevena, and Lapsishta where they occupy many villages. The Vlachs call them Vlāhadzi and say that they are Vlachs who became Mohammedans, deriving the name from Vlach Agha, but this etymology is hardly convincing. According to a more probable tale they are Greeks converted