Tespihler

Bugün çatı katını temizlerken, benim arabamda kullanıldığım koltuk kılıfına denk geldim. Bambu boncuklardan yapılmış bir koltuk kılıfıydı. Arada sırada ipliği yırtıldı ve boncuklar yavaş yavaş çıkıyorlardı. Temizliği bitirdiğimde kılıfı alıp, anneme gösterdim.

"Çöpe atmamız üzücü. Umarım bir şekilde bunu kullanabiliriz", anneme dedim.

"Belli ki bundan birçok tespih yapabiliriz ve satabiliriz", annem gülerek bana dedi.

Bu günlerde Yunanistan'da sadece keşişler namazlarını saymak için tespihi kullanmışlar. Ancak, eski günlerde tespihi oyunan insanlar her yerde görebilirdin. Geçen yüzyılın başında yeraltın dünyasındaki insanların şeyiydi, ama yıllar boyunca sıradan insanlara da yayıldı. Bazı insanlar sadece vaktını geçmek için, bazı insanlar ellerini meşgül tutmak ve sigarayı içmemek için tespihi oyunuyorlardı.

Ben çocukken hala tespihi oyunan yaşlıları görüyordum, ama şimdilik öyle tespihleri sadece dekorasyon olarak veya türist dükkanlarında satılan heddiyeler olarak görüyorum.

Today while cleaning the attic, I came across an old seat cover that I used to use in my car. It was a seat cover made of bamboo beads. The strings had been torn off here and there and the beads were slowly coming off. After I was done cleaning, I showed it to my mother.

"It's such a pity to throw it away. I'm sure we can use it somehow", I said.

"Ah, that's easy. We can make a lot of komboloi from this and sell them", she replied laughing.

In Greece, "komboloi" is pretty much like prayer beads. Nowadays, only monks seem to be using them for counting their prayers. However, in the old days, people playing with komboloi were a very common sight. Komboloi started out as a common accessory of people associated with the underworld at the beginning of last century, but through the years, it spread to common people too. Some people played with it to pass the time, while others played with it in order to keep their hands busy and quit smoking.

When I was little, I still saw elderly people playing with komboloi. Now however, I only see komboloi as decorations or souvenirs sold at tourist shops.

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Σήμερα ενώ καθάριζα τη σοφίτα έτυχε να βρω ένα παλιό κάλυμμα καθίσματος που χρησιμοποιούσα στο αμάξι. Ήταν φτιαγμένο από χάντρες από μπαμπού. Το νήμα είχε σκιστεί σε κάμποσα σημεία και οι χάντρες έφευγαν σιγά σιγά. Με το που τελείωσα το καθάρισμα, το έδειξα και στη μητέρα μου.

«Είναι κρίμα να το πετάξουμε. Σίγουρα μπορούμε να το χρησιμοποιήσουμε κάπου», είπα εγώ.

«Μα είναι προφανές. Μπορείς να φτιάξεις κομπολόγια και να τα πουλήσεις», είπε η μητέρα μου γελώντας.

Στην Ελλάδα τη σήμερον ημέρα, φαίνεται πως μόνο οι μοναχοί χρησιμοποιούν κομπολόι για να μετράνε τις προσευχές τους. Σε παλαιότερες εποχές όμως, ήταν πολύ συνηθισμένο να βλέπεις έξω κόσμο να παίζει με το κομπολόι. Το κομπολόι ξεκίνησε σαν σύμβολο των ανθρώπων του υποκόσμου στις αρχές του περασμένου αιώνα, αλλά σιγά σιγά διαδώθηκε και στον απλό κόσμο. Άλλοι το έπαιζαν για να περνάνε την ώρα τους, ενώ άλλοι το έπαιζαν για να κρατούν τα χέρια τους απασχολημένα και να μην καπνίζουν.

Όταν ήμουν παιδί έβλεπα ακόμα παππούδες να παίζουν με κομπολόγια. Τώρα πια τα βλέπω μόνο σαν διακοσμητικά ή να πωλούνται σε τουριστικά μαγαζιά σαν σουβενίρ.