1916 Grk Magazine article upset that soldiers in grk army speak Albanian

[Soldier of Macedon]

Interesting sources, thanks Epirot. I think the people of Mani are probably one of the few native Greek-speaking groups to have survived throughout the Roman and Ottoman periods.

[Epirot]

That appears to make some sense as they are in the southermost regions of the Peloponnese. Our old friend Spartan would have been happy with that comment

To be honest, I do not know much things about Maniates and their ethnic affiliation. I am very intrigued if they were some remains of an older Spartan population (as many Phil-hellenes pathetically claimed) or blended with Albanians settlers, as they become so similar both in language and way of life. They were famous for being one of the most warlike tribe in the whole Morea and Ottomans could submit them only superficially.

Like the Albanians, the Maniatai have many chivalrous qualities. A woman can travel all over Mane, and will be sure of her countrymen's respect. Indeed, the bloody annals of Mane's struggles against the Turks show that the fine Maniate women have proved themselves as courageous as the men, and have always been well able to defend themselves. Hospitality has always been a Maniate trait. If a stranger appeals to a Maniate for protection, his host will allow himself to be killed rather than break the code of honour by giving up his guest. Clannishness is naturally characteristic of such a people.

Greek life in town & country, William Miller - 1905

There are many other things that deserve to be further examined in that book: http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-en...ntry-lli.shtml

So according to the above description, Maniates cherish almost all characteristics which Albanians are most famous for. The Maniates were divided into several clans, which were hostile to each other. They had also a code of honor and hospitality was one of pillars of their code.

The same has been observed as well from an another author:

Very similar in their character to the Albanians in the north of Greece are the Mainiotes at the southern extremity of the Morea. These people, supposed to be the descendants of ancient Sparta,


The Quarterly review, Volume 23 By William Gifford,

Whereas the following passage reveal the ignorance of some foreign observers who considered Maniotes as one of the purest Greek groups, while they were nothing else but Albanians:

The Mainotes, or Maniotes. of the peninsula terminating in Cape Matapan, are generally supposed to be the Greeks of the purest blood. They themselves claim to be the descendants of the ancient Spartans, and amongst their strongholds they still point out one which belonged to " Signor Lycurgus." Their Councils of Elders have preserved from immemorial times, and down to the war of independence, the title of Senate of Lacedaemonia. Every Mainote professes to love unto death " Liberty, the highest of all goods, inherited from our Spartan ancestors." Nevertheless, a good many localities in Maina bear names derived from the Servian, and these prove, at all events, that the Slays resided in the country for a considerable time. The Mainotes practise the rendetta, as if they were Montenegrins. But is not this a common custom amongst all uncivilised nations ?

Or this one:

The martial spirit and the partial independence of the Souliotes of Northern Greece, and the Maniats (commonly written Maniotes)of the Peloponnesus, the former of Albanian, the latter of the purest Greek lineage,

The Southern magazine: Volume 13, Southern Historical Society - 1873

It is historically known that Albanians were settled in Mani:

Albanians settled in Athens, Corinth, Mani, Thessaly and even in the Aegean islands.

Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation

If I am not mistaken, it was the Arvanite intellectual, Aristidh Kola who suggested that Mani has taken its name from Albanian. "Man" in Albanian means 'mulberry'. I am not sure if this etymology should be maintained? What are your thoughts?

[Soldier of Macedon]

This makes us conclude that the Greek speaking population was only majority in Messenia and Mania b4 1820.

That appears to make some sense as they are in the southermost regions of the Peloponnese. Our old friend Spartan would have been happy with that comment

[Onur]

Epirot, if we rollback to 1820s in the second map (drawn in 1890), we gotta make all the central Morea and the northwest side as full red in color too, because in 1820, ~25.000 muslim Albanian and Turkish has been massacred and about ~5000 people was able to fled to Macedonia. I think that ~30.000 people was probably around 1/3 of whole Morea in 1820.

This makes us conclude that the Greek speaking population was only majority in Messenia and Mania b4 1820. In Crete, Turks and Greeks was about 50-50 `till 1897. So, in fact, there was more Greek/Romaoi speaking people in Istanbul and Izmir city centers comparing to whole Morea `till 1900s.
.

[Epirot]

The Greeks are numerous in Etolia; and in Acarnania, now Karli-Ili, they form the entire population.

cultea you're intentionally avoiding from some basic principles to determine the demographic picture of the Greece at the time we are speaking about. I said that 'Greek' appellation had a very confusing connotation during all the time: it was used to denote the religious affiliation rather than ethnic one. That's why there are no chances to determine what is really Greek and what's not. In the quoted text it is stated that Greeks are numerous in Etolia and Acarnania. Is that true?

Pouqueville considered Acarnania as a little canton of Southern Albania:

Carlelia, the ancient Acarnania, is a little canton of Southern Albania...

Here I got a map which illustrates the above description:


Covens & Mortier, c. 1720.

I suggest to not ignore a small detail in the region of Acarnania. The cartographers have expressively noted it as Albania!!! If Greeks really made up the majority in Acarnania, then why this region has been grouped with Albania?

Originally posted by cultea

Now that the Turks have been expelled from the Morea, the Greeks may be said to form the entire population, with the exception of a few districts, where the Albanians are regularly colonized.

This is an assumption rather than an accurate statement. I suspect if the Greeks could ever form the majority of Morea...I mean there are plenty of cases where Albanians are labeled Greeks because of their Orthodox religion.


Source: Ethnographische karte des Peloponnes (ethnographic map of the Peloponnese), by Dr. Alfred Philippson, Petermanns Mitteilungen, 1890.

So in the time of Philippson, there were a lot of Albanians who got superficially Greacized.

The appellations Albani and Albania are of Roman and Greek origin; for in their own language they call themselves Arnauts, and their country Arnautlich. They differ in language, manners, and dress, from both Turks and Greeks, and as a people are greatly superior to both. Various colonies of them have settled in Greece, from time to time, even more than four centuries since. It is probable that many of them have lost their distinctive character from this circumstance, and become blended with the mass of the Greek population. The whole of the peasantry in Attica, and the eastern part of Baeotia, and one-fifth of the inhabitants of Athens itself, are Albanians. They are found preserving their distinctive character, and are generally employed as shepherds in the districts of Elis, Argolis, Arcadia, and Laconia. In Thessaly they are estimated at one-third of the population. In the districts south of Mount Qita, as Doris, Phocis, and part of Beotia, they are more numerous. Considering the revolutions Greece has undergone, the Greek population cannot be unmixed. Many of the mountaineers may be of Albanian descent, or the offspring of other tribes, distinct in manners and character from the people of plains. Major Leake remarks, that the Greek mountaineers closely resemble the Albanians in character and customs

[cultea]

Let's read this part from your book:

Population of Greece. The whole population of Modern Greece is composed of three races, Turks, Albanians, and Greeks: equally distinct In their origin, manners, and character. With these are mingled a small number of Jews, Armenians, and Wallachians. In what proportion these three races are combined, it is impossible accurately to determine. It is certain that the Turks are fewest in number. They are most numerous in Macedonia, Thessaly, and Negropont, are thinly scattered over the rest of Greece and Albania, and scarcely exist at all in the islands.

Albanians. The Albanians constitute the next class, and are very numerous. As to the etymon of the name, and, consequently the origin of the people so denominated, we are much in the dark. A people called Albani, and the city Albanopolis, are mentioned by Ptolemy; and the city so called is placed by him in 41° 6' N. lat. whilst the Albani are placed north of the Taulantii. They were, of course, an Illyrian tribe. Albanopolis is mentioned by Pliny, and is assigned by him to the district of the Almopians, who, by Ptolemy, are placed south of the Albani. There can be no reasonable doubt, that as both the Albani and Albanopolis are described by Ptolemy, and the latter is mentioned by both Ptolemy and Pliny, the Albani were the ancestors of the modern Albanians. History makes no mention of the extinction of the Illyrians, nor of the entrance of a new tribe which has since grown up into the modern community of Albanians. The Byzantine historians, to whom we are chiefly indebted for an account of the history and progress of this now interesting people, mention them at once as the inhabitants of a part of the region in which they now dwell—the high tract of mountains on the frontiers of Illyricum and Macedonia. It is probable that, on the extinction of the Macedonian power, always formidable to the Illyrians, and the depopulation of Epirus and the dismantling of all her towns to the number of 70, the Illyrians would gradually encroach on Epirus, now rendered comparatively defenceless. Among the Illyrian tribes the Albani would gradually gain the ascendency, till the name of Illyrian would be lost in that of Albanian. In the reign of Constantine the Great, southern Illyria, or that part which bordered on the ancient Epirus, was erected into a prefecturate called Epirus Novus. Hence the new denomination serves as a reason to explain why the famous Scanderbeg, born in the Illyrian provinces, assumed the title of prince of Epirus. During the 11th century, they bore a part in some of the wars of the Greek empire. In the times of the separate principality, which, under the name of Acarnania or Etolia, was erected by Michael Angelus, in the commencement of the 13th century, we find them extending themselves by a predatory warfare; and spreading themselves at intervals over the whole of Epirus, Thessaly, & in the middle of the 14th century, in spite of a powerful expedition against them by the second Andronicus. They ennobled themselves by the powerful resistance which they made to the Turkish sultans, Morad and Mohammed, under the auspices of the celebrated George Castriota, who defeated the Turks in 22 battles. He ruled over the territory extending along the coast, from the river Bojana and the Palus Labeates, or lake Schiabak, or lake of Scutari, to the mouth of the Thyamis, now Kalama, opposite the isle of Corfu. It was in his days that the designation of Albania prevailed, as the Albani of Ptolemy were properly his subjects, and at that time inhabited the districts of Kroja, Tyrano, and Dukagini, and to whom he was chiefly indebted for his victories. The Albani, strictly so called, are at present denominated Merediti, and live in the pashalik of Scutari.
The appellations Albani and Albania are of Roman and Greek origin; for in their own language they call themselves Arnauts, and their country Arnautlich. They differ in language, manners, and dress, from both Turks and Greeks, and as a people are greatly superior to both. Various colonies of them have settled in Greece, from time to time, even more than four centuries since. It is probable that many of them have lost their distinctive character from this circumstance, and become blended with the mass of the Greek population. The whole of the peasantry in Attica, and the eastern part of Baeotia, and one-fifth of the inhabitants of Athens itself, are Albanians. They are found preserving their distinctive character, and are generally employed as shepherds in the districts of Elis, Argolis, Arcadia, and Laconia. In Thessaly they are estimated at one-third of the population. In the districts south of Mount Qita, as Doris, Phocis, and part of Beotia, they are more numerous. Considering the revolutions Greece has undergone, the Greek population cannot be unmixed. Many of the mountaineers may be of Albanian descent, or the offspring of other tribes, distinct in manners and character from the people of plains. Major Leake remarks, that the Greek mountaineers closely resemble the Albanians in character and customs. If we suppose the Albanian population to be double that of the Turkish—and it can hardly be less, in the rising circumstances of the Albanians—or 1,200,000, then the whole population of these two classes in Greece will amount to 1,800,000; while that of the Greeks may be 1,600,000 or nearly equal.
[Note: So, according to him: Turks-Albanian-Greeks (18%-35%-47%), probably includes Muslim Albanians among them]

The Greeks. The Greeks are numerous in Etolia; and in Acarnania, now Karli-Ili, they form the entire population. In Joannina, the capital of Southern Albania, they are the most numerous and respectable class of inhabitants; and in the towns and villages of that province, they generally constitute the basis of the population. Every where the Greeks form a conspicuous part of the population of towns; and in all those south of Mount Eta, with a very few exceptions, they are the great majority of the population. Now that the Turks have been expelled from the Morea, the Greeks may be said to form the entire population, with the exception of a few districts, where the Albanians are regularly colonized.
The descendants of the ancient Hellenes still exhibit in their persons the beautiful classical forms which we admire in the works of ancient masters. They are still as giddy, vacillating, vain, and boasting, as they were in the times of Alcibiades; but they have also proved themselves not less gallant than their heroic ancestors. They have in general a fine and slender shape, their motions are noble, their features expressive, and their dress clean and elegant. The women are slender, with fine features, and manners full of dignity; their countenance is expressive. Mr Emerson maintains that on an examination of the traits of Greek character peculiar to each district, we shall upon the whole, find the seeds of numerous virtues, however slightly developed, still discernible under a mass of vices; and which, when properly cultivated, under an equitable government, cannot fail to raise the Greeks high in the scale of nations.
The Albanians have long since ceased to be considered either Mussulmans or Greeks. In the Morea, a closer connection with the Turks, and various minor causes, have produced a character less amiable and exalted than that of the Roumelich, the inhabitants of what is now termed Eastern and Western Greece. In the Messenians, or natives of the south-western coast, the traits of debasement are peculiarly perceptible. But there are two singular exceptions from these remarks to be found in the Morea: the inhabitants of Lalla in Elis, and those of Maina in the south-eastern promontory. The former are a colony of Albanian peasantry; the latter are the descendants of the ancient Spartans, and seem possessed of the common virtues of barbarians, accompanied by almost all their vices. In the Hyduots and Spezziots we find much to admire and esteem, especially among the higher orders.

[Epirot]

Gee, one wonders what the percentage of Albanians in 1870 Greece was (prior the addition of Thessaly). Or, if that book gives full statistics and an estimation (e.g. 13%), right above the caption you posted.

All the statistics given to that period contains some controversies as they fail to count properly people on the basis of language. Perhaps we shall never know accurately the real number of each people in Greece because 'Greek' term at that time had barely ethnic connotation. With the annexation of Thessaly, Ionian islands and large sections of Epirus, the Albanian population numerically increased even more. Thessaly had a very mixed population consisting of Vlachs, Turks, Albanians, Jews and Slavs:

The whole of the peasantry in Attica, and the eastern part of Baeotia, and one-fifth of the inhabitants of Athens itself, are Albanians. They are found preserving their distinctive character, and are generally employed as shepherds in the districts of Elis, Argolis, Arcadia, and Laconia. In Thessaly they are estimated at one-third of the population.

A system of geography, popular and scientific: or A physical ..., Volume 2 By James Bell

[cultea]

Gee, one wonders what the percentage of Albanians in 1870 Greece was (prior the addition of Thessaly). Or, if that book gives full statistics and an estimation (e.g. 13%), right above the caption you posted.

[Epirot]

I dunno if this has been posted even before, but I'll present some worthy passages which cast some light on the densely Albanian inhabited regions in what is today called as Greece:



In another place, W. S. Cooke ranks Macedonians as a nation in addition with Montenegrins, Albanians and Bulgarians:


p. 169

The Ottoman Empire and Its Tributary States (Expecting Egypt) By W. S. Cooke

P.S: The quoted book has been written exactly on 1876!!!

[George S.]

SOM i noticed some variations on name etc but it's all the same in the end.

[Epirot]

The Greeks from the Albanians, and the Albanians from the Macedonians, Serbs and other Slavic-speaking peoples of the Balkans

That is not sure at all. If a certain part of Macedonians (especially those of central and Aegean Macedonia) wore fustanella, this doesn't mean that Albanians borrowed from them since this dress had had a wide usage from North Albania up to the Morea. For the sake of truth, we should put forward the following statement: Albanians, Macedonians and Vlachs inherited this unique dress from the Thraco-Illyrians.

From what I've seen, there is a variation of fustanella. The Albanian fustanella and Macedonian one differs in some aspects.

Macedonian fustanella:







Albanian fustanella:







Usually Albanian fustanellas are more long, while in region of Macedonia are to be found mainly a version of fustanellas which are designed more short.

[Soldier of Macedon]

George, what exactly are you suggesting with the above list of words?

[George S.]

i found the following intersting & agree with his article of Epirot that the greeks adopted the albanian fustanella.

Language Kilt/short skirt Skirt Dress
Albanian fustanellë/fustanella fund fustan
Aromanian fustanelã fustã fustanã
Bulgarian фустанела
(fustanela) фуста
(fusta)
Greek φουστανέλλα
(foustanélla) φούστα
(foústa) φουστάνι
(foustáni)
Italian fustanella gonna
Macedonian фустан
fustan фустан
fustan фустан
fustan
Megleno-Romanian fustan fustan
Romanian rochiţă fustă rochie
Serbo-Croatian фустанела
fustanela фистан
fistan фистан
fistan
Turkish

[Soldier of Macedon]

... Greece commonly dressed up their children in the Albanian dress of jacket, and kilt ; and this dress became also the military dress of the Greeks in their War of Independence, though it was not before that time their national dress. Calcutta review: Volume 2; Volumes 94-95 University of Calcutta - 1892

The Greeks from the Albanians, and the Albanians from the Macedonians, Serbs and other Slavic-speaking peoples of the Balkans:

http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum...national+dress

The Albanians who dwell in Greece all belong to the Greek Church. They are mostly agriculturalists, and seem to care little for political or professional life. They wear a peculiar dress, which was adopted by them mostly from the Slavs, and was regarded as the national costume of Greece after the Revolution.........(Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1907)

[Epirot]

@SirGeorge8600

Hi mate,

I'm really not in a good mood to hear pointless assertions that Fustanella is a Turkish influence. There are ample evidences pointing out the very fact that Fustanella at the given period was an Albanian dress, who was adopted officially in Greece after 1830 onward.

The great variety of picturesque costume which the traveller meets with throughout Greece, Albania, the coasts of Asia Minor, and the Levant, generally gives a singular charm and interest to his route. In continental Greece, not merely every province, but every district, nay, almost every town and village, has its distinctive dress: so that when the people are seen in crowds at fairs, or any common place of rendezvous, an attentive observer of their costume can tell where they all come from, without reference to anything else. This is also the case in the south of Italy, particularly in Gala-, bria, Basilicata, and Apulia, where the whole type of manners and customs is much more Grecian than Italian. In the mountains that back and hem in northern Greece, and which are chiefly occupied by tribes descended from the great Slavonic race, the costume is essentially different from that worn by the Greeks ; and this costume, again, is subdivided and modified according to the difference of tribes and clans. The kilt, differing only in color from that worn by the Scotch Highlanders, is common to them all; and the whole dress, figure, and manner of living, of the Arnaouts, or Albanians, struck Lord Byron as bearing a striking resemblance to those of the Gaels of Scotland. These Arnaouts always wear a red shawl round the head; their neighbors, the Montenigrini, wear a yellow one; and the Chimariots, the Gegdes, and other Slavonic tribes, are distinguished, not only by a difference of color, but also by the fashion of their turbans, and the way in which they wear them. They all go armed ; and the importance and wealth of an Albanian may be estimated by the number of weapons he bears upon his person, and the richness of their mountings and inlayings in silver, gold, '•fid precious stones. The chief of a clan is frequently seen thus accoutred: bis long-barrelled, slim-stocked gun in his hand, four mounted pistols in his girdle, a sabre by his side, a large horn for powder, and a cartouch-box slung over his shoulder, a yataghan, and a short dagger stuck in his girdle to keep company with his pistols—in short, he is a walking mass of arms; and, though rude, undisciplined, and not worth much in an open field against regular troops, he is a dangerous enemy to encounter in irregular mountainwarfare. His taste for dress is almost as expensive as that for arms: his loose jacket is generally richly embroidered in gold; and the gyves, which descend from the knee to the ankle, and the massy clasps that fasten on his buskins or sandals, are pretty generally of the same metal, or at least richly ornamented with it. The color of the kilt is white among all the tribes; and, however dirty may be the shirt, which is very seldom changed, it is the special care of the Albanian to keep the kilt spotless as new-fallen snow. A good deal of this care is also extended to the sheep-skin capote, which is worn, in a most graceful manner, over the right shoulder. We have been treating of a man of importance ; but all ranks of Albanians have a passion for dress and finery, and, when not absolute paupers, contrive to go smartly attired and armed. The long gun is even more indispensable than the pipe to the Turk, or an umbrella to an Englishman in rainy weather. "Thif weapon," says Mr. Hobhouse, "is to be found in every cottage in Albania: the peasant carries it with him either when he tends his flocks or tills his land. It is the weapon in which he considers himself to excel, and he regards it both as his ornament and defence. The gun-barrels, however, are thin and ill made, and the locks are of the rudest manufacture, the works being generally on the outside. Owing to this circumstance, and as the powder is large-grained, and Otherwise very bad, the Albanians are not good marksmen, although they never fire without a rest, and take a very deliber ate aim."

We fancy that, as marksmen, the Albanians vary in ability, for we saw some clans at Constantinople that fired with admirable precision. We believe, however, that the powder furnished them by the sultan was English. Their mode of practice was this: they built up a tambour of loose stones, between three and four feet high, like those the Greeks loved to fight behind during their late war, and then, dropping on the knee, rested the barrel of their piece on a stone, and fired, after taking a cool aim. Some of these fellows were about the finest specimens of limb, make, and feature, that we ever beheld; but there is an expression of cunning and ferocity in the Arnaout countenance which renders it disagreeable. Many of them, from the snowy mountains of Albania and Thessaly, were fair in complexion : some of them had light-brown hair, and not a few sandy-colored hair. They wore no hair at all on the fore-part of their heads, but suffered it to flow down behind, in large quantities, from the top of the crown; it was generally in curls, but they are said to admire it most when straight and long. These hardy mountaineers, who were then about to take the field against the Russians, evidently carried their fortunes on their backs, for every one of them had some gold or silver worked in his jacket or vest. As they are almost constantly at war, and as property is very insecure in their own turbulent country, we believe this portable, succinct mode of investing it, which also obtains among the Turks, is almost general among them.
At Smyrna, we had an opportunity of watching the proceedings of two Albanians, who had recently left the service of the pacha of Scio. With their heads turned with the comparative freedom of that great seaport, they plunged into all the dissipations it afforded, their main and capital pleasure, however, being drinking the rum and brandy carried thither by foreign ships. They had little or no money, but they paid their way in uncoined metal: one of them had a small gold chain, of which he cut off so many links a day, according to their expenses, as long as it lasted. When this was drunk out, they drew upon the mounting and inlaying of their yataghans and pistols; and when that resource was exhausted, they began to strip the embroidery from their clothes. At last, having fairly drunk all the gold and silver off their backs, they girded up their loins, slung their guns across their shoulders, and took their way into the interior of the country, to seek service from the Turkish governor of Magnesia. The only things of value they had left untouched when they departed from Smyrna were the silver mountings of their guns.
The Albanians have the practice, so common among sailors and people of various nations, of making figures on their arms and legs, by punctures which they color with gunpowder. The custom is ancient, for Strabo informs us it was prevalent among the Illyrians. They are so fond of going smart, that nearly every man among them is an adept in tailoring, and can make his own clothes. In passing an Albanian corps-de-garde, we have often been amused by seeing a sturdy, fierce-looking fellow, armed to the teeth, plying the needle with wonderful activity, and cutting and patching with the address of a professional Schneider. They almost invariably carry about their persons a small quantity of cloth, red leather, catgut, some thread, and a large needle. These articles are usually wrapped up in part of the pouch which contains their cartridges. But there is another operation one is apt to see on passing their stations, which is not so agreeable to the eye. Though so fine, they are very filthy: they generally wear their shirts and under vestments till they rot on their skin, and they swarm with vermin, which they pick from themselves or from one another in public. In addition to the red cloth skull-cap, which in form resembles the cup of an acorn, those who can afford it wear a shawl bound round the head in the turban fashion. In cold weather they draw the ends of this shawl over the ears and tie them under the chin, as will be seen in the opposite engraving.
This figure represents an Albanian soldier in all his glory; and in the days of old AH Pachathere was a strong corps of janizaries in his capital equally well dressed and splendidly appointed: the bosses on their knees and ankles were of silver filagreed, the bottom of the sandal of goatskin, the open work at the top of catgut, studded with small silver stars. The aghas and the superior officers of the Albanian janizaries were wont to have their jackets made of rich velvet, and so inlaid with gold or silver that they had almost the stiffness of a coat-of-mail. "The whole Albanian costume," says Mr. Hobhouse, "when quite new and clean, is incomparably more elegant than any worn in the Turkish empire." And to this we may add that it has served as a model to several others of the sultan's former subjects, particularly to the Greeks of the Morea and Maina, and the mountaineers of Candia, who have copied it more or less closely, but confined the use of it to men of martial occupations.
Every Turkish pacha or mootzellim of any importance has, or at least used to have a few years ago, a set of fierce-looking Albanians for his body-guard.


In this way they were scattered thickly over the whole of continental Greece, with the exception of the country of the Mainotes—a people as fierce anc warlike as themselves. The partial adoption of their costume by the Greeks may have arisen from this circumstance, but it remains to be mentioned that many colonies of Albanians who, though they have lost the language and speak Greek, retain the dress, manners, and features, of the great Slavonic stock, have been settled for many ages in the plains of Greece. Thessaly, Boeotia, Attica, and the eastern Morea, have long been full of their villages; and the men of the island of Hydra, who took so active and so noble a part in the late wars against the Turks, are of Albanian and Slavonian descent, and wear the Albanian dress. Moreover, the Hellenic or true Greek blood, which must be looked for in its purity in the islands of the Archipelago, has been mixed up, by intermarriages with that of the Albanians, in a large part of the country, and hence would naturally arise a fusion of manners, customs, nnd dress. There may have been some other causes besides good taste, which would naturally give preference to such a costume: but this fact is certain, that most of the armed Greeks we met during the late war of independence wore the white kilt, and nearly all the rest of the Albanian dress, which was also adopted by the English general Church, when he took the command of the Grecian army.
In the engraving of the Greek officer of Nauplia (p. 71), there is no sheepskin capote, but we have frequently seen it worn, by both officers and men, among the Greeks. In the groups of islands, the Cyclades and the Sporades, the Albanian kilt was less rarely seen; but there, as on the coast of Asia Minor, and at Constantinople, the Greeks wore loose trowsers like the Turks, but dyed blue, and had Turkish morocco boots and slippers over them instead of the buskin or sandal. This was also the case with the non-military Greeks in the Morea. The Turks prohibited them all the use of yellow slippers, and made them (under penalty of a bastinading) wear black or dingy-colored ones. This exclusion and humiliating distinction was a constant source of irritation to the Greeks, and boots and slippers had more to do in bringing about their revolution than some philosophers would imagine.
The passion for dress and finery is common to the whole Greek race, high or low. The costume of the capitani, or feudal chieftains of the mountainous and always-independent country of Maina, is or was very splendid and graceful. Mr. Morrit, in describing one of these capitani, says: "He wore a close vest with open sleeves of white and gold embroidery, and a short black-velvet mantle edged with sables. The sash which held his pistols and his poignard was a shawl of red and gold. His light-blue trowsers were gathered at the knee, and below them were close gaiters of blue cloth with gold embroidery, and silver-gilt bosses to protect the ankles. When he left the house, he flung on his shoulders a rich cloth mantle with loose sleeves, which was blue without and red within, embroidered with gold in front and down the sleeves in ihe most sumptuous manner. His turban was green and gold. . . The dress of the lower orders is in the same form, with the necessary variations in the quality of the materials and absence of the ornaments. It differed considerably from the Turks, and the shoes were made either of yellow or untanned leather, and fitted tightly to the foot. The hair was never shaved." The Grcuk females are celebrated for their love of finery and of varied attire, as may be seen in the cuts.
Scio, which stands at the mouth of the gulf of Smyrna, is one of the places distinguished for its Greek costume. In the happy days of that island, before the destroying hand of the Turk passed over it (in 1822), all classes of Greeks there dressed with exceeding elegance, for trade and industry had introduced...

The wonders of the world, in nature, art, and mind ... By Robert Sears

This is what I could pick up from the above quoted book:





How fitting! A "Greek" officer of Nauplia seem entirely similar with an Albanian Janizary...Is there any brave heart among our Hellenized brothers who dare to explain that?

I am so sorry that our Hellenized southern brothers pays little attention to their official adopted dress!!! Most of our Hellenized southern brothers omitted from the true history of Fustanella because it is an evident feature of their Albanian origin. But let face them with some impartial sources written as always by western observers:

... Greece commonly dressed up their children in the Albanian dress of jacket, and kilt ; and this dress became also the military dress of the Greeks in their War of Independence, though it was not before that time their national dress.

Calcutta review: Volume 2; Volumes 94-95
University of Calcutta - 1892