An amulet of Greek earth: generations of immigrant folk culture

Abstract

The boys and men who left their Greek valley and mountain villages in the early 1900s for America, came with amulets their mothers had made for them. Some were miniature sacks attached to a necklace; more often they were merely a square of fabric enclosing the values of their lives; a piece of holy book or a silver of the True Cross representing their belief in Greek Orthodoxy, a thyme leaf denoting their wild terrain; a blue bead to ward off the Evil Eye; and a pinch of Greek earth. This work examines the concept of the vibrant culture these immigrants brought with them to the new world. The Romiosini culture, as it was called, provided an old foundation to their new lives and was often at times the cause of strife as they passed on their beliefs and traditions to successive generations of Greek-Americans. Helen Papanikolas unearths the cultural beliefs and passions that compelled the Greek-American culture of America. Based on extensive research, personal interviews, and a lifetime of experience, this work is an informative chronicle of the immigrant's experience in becoming an American.