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Audio Recording Interview with Bessie Danos about the baking of memorial wheat cake for the dead (sitari), Chicago, Illinois

Interview with Bessie Danos about the baking of memorial wheat cake for the dead (sitari), Chicago, Illinois

About this Item

Title

  • Interview with Bessie Danos about the baking of memorial wheat cake for the dead (sitari), Chicago, Illinois

Names

  • Bartis, Peter, 1949- (Collector)
  • Danos, Bessie (Interviewee)
  • Kerhoulas, Maria (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Chicago, Illinois, April 23, 1977

Headings

  • -  Greek Americans
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Illinois -- Chicago

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Mrs. Bessie Danos, part 1
  • -  Interview with Bessie Danos about the baking of memorial wheat cake for the dead (sitari), recorded at St. Nicholas Church, 10301 South Kolmar Ave.; most discussion is with Mrs. Bessie Danos, Maria Kerhoulas is present at the beginning, fieldworker Jonas Dovydenas present to make photographs; about the preparation of wheat the previous day, boiling for ten hours; about the tradition of preparation by family of deceased forty days after funeral, raisins and walnuts are symbolic of person's character; steps in preparation: spreading out and drying wheat and discussion of need to boil and wash well because people die if improperly boiled, sifting bread crumbs over wheat to keep next layer of powdered sugar dry; about frequency of preparation, 3-4 times per month; next step, patting and smoothing with paper towel, sifting powdered sugar; discussion of cost of ingredients and preparation, ten dollars for materia, a bakery sells a sitari for 75 dollars, Bessie Danos charges 30 dollars; next step, patting out with paper towel, decorating cake with cross using a cross mold and filling with brown sugar; discussion of attitude, Bessie Danos enjoys the preparation regardless of numbers; decoration of cake with candies, about the size of cake; names of the seven past parish priests for whom the memorial service is being prepared; discussion of Bessie Danos’s understanding of the reasons for baking the wheat and being taught the process by her mother when her father died.

Medium

  • audiocassette, C-60

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1981/004: AFS 20534a
  • MBRS Shelflist: RYA 0608
  • Field Project Identifier: CH77-T011-C

Source Collection

  • Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

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Credit line: Chicago Ethnic Arts Project collection (AFC 1981/004), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Bartis, Peter, Bessie Danos, and Maria Kerhoulas. Interview with Bessie Danos about the baking of memorial wheat cake for the dead sitari, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago, Illinois, 1977. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20534a/.

APA citation style:

Bartis, P., Danos, B. & Kerhoulas, M. (1977) Interview with Bessie Danos about the baking of memorial wheat cake for the dead sitari, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago, Illinois. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20534a/.

MLA citation style:

Bartis, Peter, Bessie Danos, and Maria Kerhoulas. Interview with Bessie Danos about the baking of memorial wheat cake for the dead sitari, Chicago, Illinois. Chicago, Illinois, 1977. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc1981004_afs20534a/>.