Rizitika

Rizitika are the a cappella mountain songs of western Crete, sung by men in unison at feasts, weddings and memorial gatherings. Named from the Greek rizes, 'roots', after the foothills of the White Mountains where they arose, they divide into songs of the road (tis stratas) and songs of the table (tis tavlas): slow, modal, long-breathed narratives of shepherds, weddings, funerals, exile and armed resistance. A lead singer launches each line and the company answers, without instruments. Long a badge of Cretan identity, the repertory reached national audiences through *Nikos Xilouris*, whose 1971 album "Rizitika" fixed its modern canon.