“…Only holds the mallet…” Tinian Marble-Carving Today

My dear child does not sow, does not reap,
Only holds the mallet and carves marbles

Folk Song of Tinos

Marble-carving is a craft that dates back at least in the 14th c AD. It is interwooven with the island of Tinos and especially with the Panormos community, providing local people with a strong sense of historical and cultural identity. The film was created in order to support the inscription of the Tinian Marble craftmanship in the Representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO, 2003).

Silas Michalakas

Silas Michalakas obtained his MA in Visual Anthropology at the Goldsmiths College, University of London, while he also holds a MSc in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology and a BA in Archaeology. He has worked in the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and as a freelance documentary filmmaker, researcher and producer. Several of his works have been used to support the inscription of intangible cultural heritage elements to the representative list of UNESCO, while others have been exhibited in museums of modern history and fine arts. He was  the productions and educational activities manager in the Athens Ethnographic Film Festival – Ethnofest from 2017-2024.

Yiannis N. Drinis

Yiannis N. Drinis has studied History and Folklore at the University of Ioannina, Greece, and Social Anthropology (Master of Arts) at the University of Kent at Canterbury, Great Britain. In 2013 he obtained his PhD in Folklore from the University of Ioannina, Greece. He is head of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Intercultural Relations, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. He is particularly interested in space and place anthropology, ritual and religion, kinship systems in rural Greece and intangible cultural heritage.