Fustanela....?

Question

Does any body know ..if and how and when the fustanela was first introduced if it was a greek invention ? and who did it? and if you have additional information on either the enzvnos coustume or the klefti or the armatoli...i would most gratefull..ty

Answer 1

(after some research)

Is not clear if its Greek origin and there are some possibilities

•It is thought by some that the modern fustanella originated in the Ottoman vilayet of Yanya. This vilayet comprised much of the region of Epirus (today divided between Greece (Epirus (periphery)) and Albania) and was inhabited by a variety of populations, including Albanians, Greeks, Aromanians, Bulgarians and Turks. The use of the garment was probably spread by klephtic bands via Epirus into the rest of Greece during the 18th and 19th centuries.

•Similar garments exist as part of the folk costume as far north as Romania and as far east as Syria, with nationalists on every side claiming the garment to be an indigenous creation. Similarities to historical garments in literature and on art objects make these claims difficult to prove or disprove.

•One claim of an ancient link to the modern fustanella involves an ancient statue dated from the 3rd century BCE in Kerameikon (a part of Athens to the northwest of the Acropolis).

• Another claim involves a small figure from the 5th century BCE in Slovenia. Another one was found in the outskirts of the ancient Greek city of Epidamnus (modern Durrës, Albania)]

•Yet another claim involves the statue carved in a niche in the Cave of Archedemos the Nympholept, near Mount Hymettus in Athens, which statue wears a fustanella-like garment and has been dated to c. 500 BCE. Archedemos, although living in Athens, came from the Spartan colony of Thera. This is why he carved himself wearing the Dorian tunic. The Dorian tunic was also a garment of Kouretes.

•Another theory is that this type of garment was brought from the territory comprising modern Romania., by the Aromanians[citation needed] (see Romania in the Dark Ages), although there is no documented evidence of a migration of Latin speaking populations from the territory of present-day Romania to the western Balkans. The etymology could also be explained in this way: in Romanian, fuşte means "lance"/"wooden baton", from Latin fustis. A diminutive of it is fus, meaning spindle. Hence, fusta means a fabric made using a fus. The -ela termination is a typical Romanian ending of diminutives, in this case of the Romanian fustă, meaning skirt.

Answer 2

Here are the information you are looking for:

http://wiki.phantis.com/index.php/Fustan...