Pontic Folk Costume of Sanda, Σάντα, region

 

Hello all, 

Today I want to talk about a little known folk costume, that of the region of Σάντα, Sanda, in  Pontos, in Turkish Şada, in 1959 renamed Dumanlı. 

From the 17th century until the "Exchange of Populations" in 1923, this region was inhabited almost exclusively by Christian and Crypto-Christian Greeks, perhaps with some Armenians as well. Besides the town of Santa itself, it also included 7 villages in the region, found in the upper reaches of the Yanbolu valley. Even today, at least some of the Greek Orthodox Churches remain as tourist attractions. 

This area lies approximately 60 km south of the city of Trabzon. Today it is part of the Province of Gümüşhane, which is odd given its geographical location. It would more logically be part of the Province of Trabzon. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumanl%C4%B1

https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A3%CE%AC%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B1_(%CE%A4%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%81%CE%BA%CE%AF%CE%B1)

When one sees "Pontic" or "Kara Deniz" exhibits or performances, what is almost exclusively  seen is the Costume of the City of Trabzon for the women, and Laz costume for the men. I have already written an article about that costume. 

https://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2021/02/costume-of-city-of-trabizond-and.html

This is not incorrect, but there were other folk costumes worn by people in Pontos, and the Santa costume is one of them. 

Here we see a line of dancers, most in Trabzon costume, but the woman third from the right is wearing the Santa costume. 

Here we have a good view of the various parts of this outfit. A striped silk kaftan over the chemise, covered with a sigouni open on the chest and edged with gold embroidery or cord applique, and a red apron over the top, similarly ornamented with gold. It bears a strong resemblance to the Armenian Costume of Alkhatsk, about which I have also written an article.

https://folkcostume.blogspot.com/2020/12/armenian-costume-of-karin-and.html

The men would have worn an outfit similar to that found over a much wider area. They would not have adopted the Laz costume. 

Here we see some screenshots of a performance of Pontic dances by a Greek group. The dancers and musicians are mostly in Trabizond and Laz costumes, but the singer is in Santa costume. 

Here we see the Trabzond costume on the left, the Santa costume in the center, and a third Pontic costume that I have not yet identified on the right. Does anyone recognize it?

And this is all that I have on this particular folk costume. I would welcome additional information. 

Thank you for reading, I hope that you have found this to be interesting and informative. 

Roman K. 

email: rkozakand@aol.com