Agios Kirikos

                    

  Agios Kirikos, the capitol of Ikaria, or Agios as locals call it is  for the most part  a sleepy little harbor town, but on at least one occasion it exhibited a rather unique cultural flavor. One morning as I arrived at Agios to do my every-other day shopping, I heard some very faint non-native sounds. In the main square I happened upon a group of Ikarians gathered in a circle. Coming from the center of this crowd I could hear the music and beating of what sounded like Native American drums. Inside this cluster of about fifty or so Ikarians was indeed a dance troupe of four Native American Indians dressed in an eclectic wardrobe of Plains/Woodland Indians. They exuberantly danced around a table waving their fringed tomahawks in the air and yelling war cries to the beat of their drums. The stunned Ikarians looked bewildered and confused, as did I, as to what this dance program was about.
                Upon finishing their dance number the Indians proceeded to pass around a hat for donations. As the hat was circulating among the amused onlookers the performers brought out CD’s of their music to be sold to the locals. Out of curiosity I approached one of the dancers to find out what tribe they were from since I did not recognize the outfits they wore. With a whimsical smile the oldest male dancer said, "We’re not American Indians, we’re from Ecuador. We just put these shows on because Greeks only know about Indians from American western TV shows." So, cultural exchange programs do happen even in remote destinations such as Agios. The question becomes what culture?