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

This is a fascinating look at how the greek national identity grew in Macedonia. It is a complicated history that many Greeks seem to gloss over or deny. The Macedonia of the 1700's was much more Slavic and Muslim than it was Greek. It wasn't until nationalism(bulgarian to the north and greek to the south) and a weakening Ottoman rule that greek national identity entered the picture. Overall this book deals with the questions of national identity in an interesting way and traces the development of families in Macedonia and how Macedonia became greek.

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.

Contents......Page 8 List of Maps......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Introduction......Page 26 Part I. Constructing Visions of the Historical Past: The Politics of Reading, Writing, and Telling of History......Page 54 1 Between Oral Memory and Written History: Re-Membering the Past......Page 56 2 Exchanging Identities: The Makings of the Guvezna Market Community......Page 79 3 Converging Frontiers of Greek and Bulgarian Nationalism: Religious Propaganda, Educational Competition, and National Enlightenment in Macedonia, 1870-1903......Page 102 4 The Macedonian Struggle in Guvezna: Violence, Terror, and the Scepter of National Liberation, 1903-1908......Page 133 Part II. Class Reformation and National Homogenization: Processes of Consolidation and Change Following the Advent of Greek Rule......Page 174 5 Crossing the Moving Frontier: Group Formation and Social Closure in the Era of Refugee Settlement, 1922-1940......Page 176 6 Administering the "New Lands" of Greek Macedonia: Class Reformation and National Homogenization, 1913-1940......Page 197 7 Sponsoring Passages to Nationhood: Material and Spiritual Patronage in Assiros......Page 225 Conclusion: Reconstructin the Passages to Nationhood......Page 253 Afterword......Page 263 Appendix: Genealogies......Page 274 Tables......Page 282 Notes......Page 297 Bibliography......Page 342 Index......Page 356