Mangas

Mangkes (/ˈmɑːŋˌɡəs/; Greek: μάγκες [ˈma(ɲ)ɟes]; sing.: mangkas /ˈmɑːŋɡəs/, μάγκας [ˈma(ŋ)ɡas]) is the name of a social group in the Belle Époque era's^[a] counterculture of Greece (especially of the great urban centers of Athens and Piraeus). The nearest English equivalent to the term "mangkas" is wide boy, or spiv.^[1]

Overview

Mangkas was a label for men belonging to the Greek working 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, their bead 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. Mangkes are also notable for being closely associated to the history of rebetiko.

Etymology

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

From the Turkish manga "small military troop" via Albanian mangë.^[3]
From the Latin manica (from the same root as Modern Greek μανίκι "sleeve") "hand-related" (cf. the sound change from the Latin manicus to the Spanish mango "handle").^[4]
According to a more marginal proposal, its origin is from the Latin mango, -onis "dealer, trader".^[5]

In popular culture

Most rebetiko songs refer to mangkes, 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 Mangkas of Votanikos", by Kasimatis, 1934). The admiration of mangkes was carried on with the later genre of Greek music Laïko. Examples are: "Πού 'σουν μάγκα το Χειμώνα" ("Where Were You, Mangkas, During the Winter", by Giorgos Mouflezis, 70s), and others.

Karagiozis shadow plays portray a recurrent character called Stavrakas, Σταύρακας.

In modern Greek language, mangkas 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 from kottabos; according to the Manolis Triantafyllidis Foundation it 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 on rebetiko and rebetes, 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 from kottabos; according to the Manolis Triantafyllidis Foundation it 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.

[a]