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important social event for the Larnaca and free
Famagusta districts.
Tsiattista poetic duelling
Tsiattista poetic duelling was the second
element to become inscribed to the UNESCO’s
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity, in 2011. It is one of the
liveliest parts of Cyprus’ folk poetic creation.
Tsiattista are poetic improvisations of a
competitive character, which is why they are
also known by the name tsiattista tou paliomatou
(“tsiattista of fighting”). The ‘tsiattistaes’ (people
who compose tsiattista) are competing in making
up two rhyming couplets, in the Greek-Cypriot
dialect, often using the iambic fifteen-syllable
verse, and are accompanied by music (violin-
lute). There are also other sub-categories, besides
the tsiatista tou paliomatou, that refer to love,
social issues, and even politics. Tsiattista were
diffused all around Cyprus, however they mostly
flourished in the area of Kokkinochoria. The
origins of the genre and competitions of poetic
impromptus can be traced back to the Homeric
period. Later on (15th century onwards), records
from foreign and Cypriot sources refer to Cypriot
peasants performing ‘tsiattista’ at gatherings
and fairs. Nowadays, competitions of “tsiattista
Fair of Kataklysmos (1945-1955)
Tsiattista poetic duelling
