Mangas
Encyclopedia
Manges is the name of a social group in the Belle Époque
era's counterculture of Greece (especially of the great urban centers: Athens, Pireus, and Thessaloniki). The nearest English equivalent to the term mangas is wide boy
, or spiv
. Mangas was a label for men belonging to the 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); the two terms are occasionally used interchangeably. Manges are also notable for being closely associated to the history of Rebetiko
.
"), "Ε ντε λα μαγκέ ντε Βοτανίκ" (Et de la Mang-ué de Votanique (the title is in mangika, μάγκικα, the sociolect
/cryptolect of manges) "And of the Mangas of Votanikos
"), "Πού 'σουν μάγκα το Χειμώνα" ("Where were you, Mangas, during the Winter"), and "Μάγκας βγήκε για Σεργιάνι" ("Α Mangas promenaded")), and Karagiozis
shadow plays (a recurrent character was Stavrakas, Σταύρακας). In modern Greek language, mangas has become a synomym for "swash guy, swagger"; depending on context it may have more negative ("bully, henchman") or more positive ("brave man") connotations.
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
era's counterculture of Greece (especially of the great urban centers: Athens, Pireus, and Thessaloniki). The nearest English equivalent to the term mangas is wide boy
Wide boy
Wide boy is a British term for a man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing. According to the Oxford English Dictionary it is synonymous with spiv. The word 'wide' is in this sense means wide-awake or sharp-witted...
, or spiv
Spiv
In the United Kingdom, a spiv is a particular type of petty criminal, who deals in stolen or black market goods of questionable authenticity, especially a slickly-dressed man offering goods at bargain prices...
. Mangas was a label for men belonging to the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, 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); the two terms are occasionally used interchangeably. Manges are also notable for being closely associated to the history of Rebetiko
Rebetiko
Rebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
.
Etymology
The three most probable etymologies of the word Mangas are the following:- From the Turkish manga "small military troop" via Albanian.
- From the Latin manica (from the same root as Modern Greek μανίκι "sleeve", that is) "hand-related" (cf. the sound change from the Latin manicus to the Spanish mango "handle").
- According to a more marginal proposal, its origin is from the Latin mango, -onis "dealer, trader".
Mangas in popular culture
The stereotypical character of Manges became a central theme in several Rebetiko songs (such as "Του Βοτανικού ο Μάγκας" ("The Mangas of VotanikosVotanikos
Votanikos is a subdivision located 3 km west of the downtown part of the Greek capital of Athens. The area is named after a nearby botanical garden situated to the southwest . The eastern part are residential, the western part are forested and industrialized. The subdivision has no squares but...
"), "Ε ντε λα μαγκέ ντε Βοτανίκ" (Et de la Mang-ué de Votanique (the title is in mangika, μάγκικα, the sociolect
Sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, etc....
/cryptolect of manges) "And of the Mangas of Votanikos
Votanikos
Votanikos is a subdivision located 3 km west of the downtown part of the Greek capital of Athens. The area is named after a nearby botanical garden situated to the southwest . The eastern part are residential, the western part are forested and industrialized. The subdivision has no squares but...
"), "Πού 'σουν μάγκα το Χειμώνα" ("Where were you, Mangas, during the Winter"), and "Μάγκας βγήκε για Σεργιάνι" ("Α Mangas promenaded")), and Karagiozis
Karagiozis
Karagiozis or Karaghiozis is a shadow puppet and fictional character of Greek and Turkish folklore...
shadow plays (a recurrent character was Stavrakas, Σταύρακας). In modern Greek language, mangas has become a synomym for "swash guy, swagger"; depending on context it may have more negative ("bully, henchman") or more positive ("brave man") connotations.