GETTING TO KNOW THE LIVING HERITAGE
TRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING IN MOVABLE-COMB HIVES
A MANTINADA* FROM KYTHERA
Mitata, a beautiful village
Who can forget you
Plane trees, nightingales and dew
And the water in the fountain.
The sun rises in the morning
And angels sing
And the bees make
Thyme honey…!
*Mantinada: musical declamation (recitative) in form of a narrative or dialogue, often sung rythmically with accompanying music.
Source: Ioannis Protopsaltis
Bearers of beekeeping heritage
1. Nikolaos Birlirakis
Apiaries like the one of Nikos Birlirakis, in Mikra Anogia, Rethymno, are hard to find. Because, in this apiary, among the modern hives, some of the last remaining clay hives with movable honeycombs, the traditional cretan vraskia, are also in use. Nikos, an experienced beekeeper and culture enthusiast, learned the traditional beekeeping method by his father, and by old beekeepers in the area. Wishing to preserve and develop the method, he also practiced it himself. In his apiary, Nikos, in addition to some vraskia that he has inherited, he also placed replicas of old vraskia, which were made for BEELOSOPHY by the traditional potter Markos Dandolos in Margarites, Rethymno.
The vraski and its use
Nikos exhibited an old vraski, a family heirloom, and explained to us how canons (top bars-slats) are built, placed and handled. He spoke to us about strong bee colonies that, depending on the season, might seal the ventilation hole just above the entrance of the hive with propolis. About branches of ferns, mastic, plane trees or oleanders that are placed on (or under) the saliera (top cover) to provide shade during the hot summer months, and much more. Then, Nikos inspected a beehive populated with bees and presented us details of the method.
Transferring bees from a modern hive to a vraski
Live in front of us, and with the help of his daughter Evangelia, Nikos transferred a bee colony from a modern hive to a vraski!
[It should be noted that, as traditional beekeeping is on the verge of extinction, the transfer process that is widely known is the reverse one, that is, the transfer from a traditional to a modern hive. Therefore, the specific demonstration and recording of the transfer process that we performed has a special value for the safeguarding of the traditional beekeeping method, as well as for its transmission through formal or informal educational measures].
For the swap, we cut pieces of honeycomb from a bee colony established in a modern hive, with all the brood and food reserves, and temporarily fastened them onto the top bars. The bees will secure the honeycombs permanently, and remove the ties (for fastening the honeycomb pieces on the top bars, fig leaves or peels or stems of other plants, string or tape, etc. can be used). Finally, we gave life to a hive, by placing the top bars in it, along with the entire population of bees. We then left the colony undisturbed to rebuild and settle in its new, "furnished" home.
2. Manolis Spitadakis
An old bearer of the traditional beekeeping method, Manolis Spitadakis, told us stories of his time. Manolis remembers placing the hives in southeastern spots, so that they would bask in the morning sun and for many hours a day. He spoke to us with admiration about the "first" (queen bee), and conveyed to us the difficulties of the profession with the means of the time. Among his stories, one that has not been recorded in other parts of Greece is the habit of feeding the beehives with sugar on a slice of bread placed inside the hive.
3. Other bearers
During our tour in Crete, while conducting primary research, we also met other practitioners of the traditional beekeeping method with movable-comb hives. We visited the apiary of Ioannis Sopasis in Apladiana, Rethymno, in which, in addition to frame hives, clay vraskia are also used. At the "Apithano" apitourism business in Melidoni, Mylopotamos, Christos Andrikos showed us vraskia that he keeps as exhibits, so that visitors can learn about the beekeeping tradition.
Photographs: George Mestousis
Narratives
Since a vraski* is round, the canons* are of different lengths and arranged in a specific order.
The canons*, on their underside, where the bees build the combs, were bevelled. On both sides. Bees are, in a sense, forced to draw comb following the "path" shown by the canon*. Without a bevel, the colony could then build the combs crosswise and cover all the canons*, which was a big problem, because then, in order to manage the colony, you had to basically ruin the entire hive.
Inspecting this type of hive, vraski*, is more difficult than it is in modern hives, because the canon* does not have the rim found in a frame, which protects the honeycomb, nor the wires that make up the skeleton and hold it in place. Thus, we are obliged to move very slowly, so as not to damage or break the honeycombs - which, of course, we must say, happens sometimes, no matter how careful we are.
*vraski: vertical movable-comb clay hive of Crete
*canons: wooden top bars
NIKOLAOS BIRLIRAKIS
BEARER OF THE TRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING MOVABLE-COMB METHOD
CRETE
To multiply bees, we would choose from good, productive bee colonies, a canon* with brood, a canon* with honey, a canon* with pollen, and put them in a new vraski, cover it and seal it from the bottom. And on the seventh day we would go and check on it...
If it was not a favourable period, we would sometimes add sugar on a slice of bread and place it on top of the canons* to help the bees.
It was a difficult job. Because we did not have pies* filled to the brim with honey. They also contained brood. And if they contained brood, we would not harvest them. We only harvested the pies* that were full of honey and brought them home afterwards.. a dramatic situation… we put them in sieves, we crushed them with our hands. Most of us did not have a honey extractor. Those who had one, would put the comb chunks in, rotate it, then the comb would brake, a dramatic situation.
*canon: wooden top bar
*pie: honeycomb
MANOLIS SPITADAKIS
BEARER OF THE TRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING MOVABLE-COMB METHOD
CRETE
Between Livadi and Chora*, in a place called Kaki Melissa, lies Theotokos Kaki Melissa (Holy Mary Bad Bee), a small monastery, nowadays left without any monks. Many years ago this was a women's monastery, where nuns lived. In the era of pirate raids, pirates once raided the monastery during the daytime. The nuns were locked inside the temple, knelt, and prayed before Theotokos (Holy Mary), while the pirates used axes trying to break down the door. Suddenly, while the nuns continued to pray in tears, the noise stopped and the wild talk went away. At the same time, they heard the phrase "bad bee". What had happened? In a stinging frenzy, a swarm of bees attacked the filthy pirates. The pirates, frightened as they were, retreated. Then, someone who knew Greek told the above phrase, or perhaps a Greek was acting as a guide. Since then, this monastery has been called "Bad Bee".
*Chora: name of an island's capital when it bears the name of the island
[From the book by Ioannis P. Kasimatis "Kythera under the Venetian occupation", p. 96. Thanassis Bikos. Beekeeping Review, January 1995 (excerpt)].
IOANNIS PROTOPSALTIS
BEARER OF THE TRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING MOVABLE-COMB METHOD
KYTHERA