Hello, Greece! I have a question about this painting. Or rather the name. It’s called “Γιάντες” by Gysis Nikolas. I wonder what it’s called in German (my native language). in English it’s wishbone, but what does wishbone mean here?
Hello, Greece! I have a question about this painting. Or rather the name. It’s called “Γιάντες” by Gysis Nikolas. I wonder what it’s called in German (my native language). in English it’s wishbone, but what does wishbone mean here?
4 comments
Hello friend!
Γιάντες, or wishbone, is the forked bone of a chicken that is used to play with. You basically pull on the wishbone and whoever gets the largest piece when it breaks off, wins. I think there are some more variations of the game as well. Not sure if that was the inspiration behind the name of the painting.
The greek word though comes from the persian word yād ast ( ياد أست ) which means “to remember” – yades also is being used in Turkish with similar meaning.
So one could say that γιάντες as the painting’s title, would be closer to the notion of remembering and memories, maybe explaining the melancholy in the girl’s eyes.
There is a interesting opinion [here.](http://iscreta.gr/2016/01/%CE%AE-%CE%B7-%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%B3%CF%87%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CE%BC%CE%BD%CE%AE%CE%BC%CE%B7%CF%82/). The article is in Greek but Google translate is your friend 😉
I am in my 40s and the word «γιαντες» is absolutely unknown to me (literally first time in my life I see it) so I had to look it up.
https://el.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%AC%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%82
Apparently it is the word for the particular chicken bone in a roundabout way. The page says it comes from Turkish, it means “remembrance” and it somehow gave the name to a game where two people pull a wishbone and the person who ends up with the bigger piece wins.
I have no idea if this game is still played, if the painting does relate to the game or just “remembrance “ (in that case it would be a poor translation) and I am unaware if the word «γιαντες» is still in use. My paternal side comes from Peloponnesus and my maternal from Central Greece, both stayed under ottoman rule significantly less than eg Macedonia and it is shows in the dialects (fewer Turkish words).
The word isn’t used anymore in Greece , but it means something about remembering
first introduction to the word was on ERT3 radio in this song:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hqFAU6U4bc0
I assumed the term meant nostalgia and recall, so “remembrance” tracks.