Fields of Wheat, Hills of Blood : Passages to Nationhood in Greek Macedonia, 1870-1990

Deftly combining archival sources with evocative life histories, Anastasia Karakasidou brings welcome clarity to the contentious debate over ethnic identities and nationalist ideologies in Greek Macedonia. Her vivid and detailed account demonstrates that contrary to official rhetoric, the current people of Greek Macedonia ultimately derive from profoundly diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Throughout the last century, a succession of regional and world conflicts, economic migrations, and shifting state formations has engendered an intricate pattern of population movements and refugee resettlements across the region. Unraveling the complex social, political, and economic processes through which these disparate peoples have become culturally amalgamated within an overarchingly Greek national identity, this book provides an important corrective to the Macedonian picture and an insightful analysis of the often volatile conjunction of ethnicities and nationalisms in the twentieth century. Combining the thoughtful use of theory with a vivid historical ethnography, this is an important, courageous, and pioneering work which opens up the whole issue of nation-building in northern Greece.—Mark Mazower, University of Sussex Library Journal One rarely encounters a scholarly book as disturbing as this provocative work, a study of ethnicity in the Greek province of Macedonia. It is so controversial that Cambridge University Press, fearing for the safety of its staff in Greece, refused to publish it. Having spent some time with villagers of the region, Karakasidou (anthropology, Queens Coll., CUNY) maintains that Macedonia is not exclusively Greek, as nationalists claim, but is instead a multiethnic, multicultural region experiencing the political and religious upheavals engulfing the rest of the Balkans. Karakasidou's obsession with the truth has brought her death threats, apparently from outraged Greeks. Her powerfully written book is a resounding statement of human courage, reminding readers that there is no substitute for honesty and critical thought. This superb book is highly recommended for all large social science collections.John Xanthopoulos, Art Inst. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Frontmatter List of Maps (page ix) Preface (page xi) Introduction (page 1) PART I CONSTRUCTING VISIONS OF THE HISTORICAL PAST: THE POLITICS OF READING, WRITING, AND TELLING OF HISTORY 1 BETWEEN ORAL MEMORY AND WRITTEN HISTORY: Re-Membering the Past (page 31) 2 EXCHANGING IDENTITIES: The Makings of the Guvezna Market Community (page 54) 3 CONVERGING FRONTIERS OF GREEK AND BULGARIAN NATIONALISM: Religious Propaganda, Educational Competition, and National Enlightenment in Macedonia, 1870-1903 (page 77) 4 THE MACEDONIAN STRUGGLE IN GUVEZNA: Violence, Terror, and the Scepter of National Liberation, 1903-1908 (page 108) PART II CLASS REFORMATION AND NATIONAL HOMOGENIZATION: PROCESSES OF CONSOLIDATION AND CHANGE FOLLOWING THE ADVENT OF GREEK RULE 5 CROSSING THE MOVING FRONTIER: Group Formation and Social Closure in the Era of Refugee Settlement, 1922-1940 (page 141) 6 ADMINISTERING THE "NEW LANDS" OF GREEK MACEDONIA: Class Reformation and National Homogenization, 1913-1940 (page 162) 7 SPONSORING PASSAGES TO NATIONHOOD: Material and Spiritual Patronage in Assiros (page 190) CONCLUSION Reconstructing the Passage to Nationhood (page 218) Afterword (page 228) Appendix: Genealogies (page 240) Tables (page 247) Notes (page 262) Bibliography (page 307) Index (page 321)