The craft of wood carving in the community of Tala was limited to the making of several agriculture / farming tools and various furniture for the house. A bit of carving craftsmanship, with representations of flowers, birds, and other decorative elements, was used upon the cabinets and on the mirrors.
Some of the farming tools that were made then are the ploughshare along with the yoke, which were used for the cattle’s and cows’ harnessing in order to seed and cultivate the fields.
Also, wooden dippers were made for the stirring the “resi” (traditional wedding meal), the “palouze” (type of must-jelly), and the “trachanas” (soup / porridge with dried curd, flour, and lemon).
They made the “faoutes” (plural of “faouta”, from the italian “Fagotto”), with which they would pound the “resi” in hand; they were also using them for the pounding of the clothes (they pounded the clothes with the “faouta”, adding hot water and soap for the clean up).
They made pack-saddles for the donkeys, cases upon which they placed the water crocks, and the “mistarko” –a V shaped board upon which they placed their foot when wearing the “podina” (high leather boot).
Other tools that they made were the “kope” or “fournoftio”, which they used for inserting breads in the oven, and the planks upon which they placed the breads.
Unfortunately, all these things have vanished and only the tools, used today mainly for decoration purposes, are extant.
Today there are two persons in the village engaged with woodcraft to some extend, in a way not bearing an essential resemblance with the old craft but rather dealing with the making of old tools’ imitations and the processing of various wood or root types and their conversion to decorative items.
Courtesy of the Community Council of Tala
