The tradition of Lapithos knives and pocket-knives making is recognized by UNESCO since 2017 as a traditional craftsmanship. It is one of the several craftsmanship that the people of the village used to practice for their daily needs over the centuries. Some of the other traditional crafts are pottery, architecture, the production of silk, weaving, embroidery, blacksmithing, basketry and woodcarving. All these make Lapithos the “Largest multi-craft art center of Cyprus”. (1)

 

A proof of the rooted tradition of knife making in Cyprus, comes “directly” from the Bronze Age. The following extract is from the book “Mortuary Ritual and Society in Bronze Age Cyprus” by Priscilla Keswani:

 

“Another example of a ‘full complement’ of later date may be observed in Lapithos Tomb 837, where the deceased where equipped with one knife, one hook-tang weapon, one razor/scraper, one pair of tweezers, an awl, a whetstone and 12 pots.” (2)

 

The tradition of knife making, survived for thousands of years. After the Turkish invasion in 1974, this tradition has no more a village where is still being practice: from 1974 the Lapithos knife makers are spread around Cyprus, where they live as refugees in all the major cities (Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Pafos) as well as in several rural areas, such as Episcopi and Ayia Fyla in the Limassol area, Mantria in the Pafos district and Mammari in Nicosia district. (3) This eradication of a tradition from a geographical and environmental context, as well as also for the other traditions typical of the village, is just one of the damages that the war brought 46 years ago, whose consequences are still present, nowadays.

 

Despite the situation, the tradition is still in practice from some knife makers around the Republic of Cyprus: they are the living memory of a knowledge, that risks to find the oblivion if young generations will not learn all the processes and little recommendations that only old craftsmen have, for their decades of experience.

 

Those craftsmen accomplished the aim to give to the population of their village, all the kinds of knives that they could need, for all the daily use: from knives used as cutlery to butchery knives, sickle for harvesting to pocket knives for an adaptable use. All the knives are made out of two parts: the handle, which is usually made out of wood, ox bone or ram’s horn, and the sharp blade, also known as kourtella from the Italian “coltello”, which is usually made out of steel. All the different kinds of knives have a different name. In particular, the pocket knife, where the two parts (handle and blade) are connected and jointed to give the user the possibility to fold the blade, have three different names in the local dialect, depending on how big the knife itself is:

 

• Tchiakka: The biggest size which is for slaughtering, there is a dent along the line of the blade so the air can pass into the animal’s body during slaughtering for the killing to be more effective.

 

• Tchiakki: The medium size ones, which are the most common ones.

 

• Tchiakkoudi or Tchiakkoui: The smallest one, with the handle made from ram’s horn.

 

The butcher’s knives (called “pala”) are different from the pocket ones, it is impossible to fold them, and the size is obviously much bigger compare to the other types. Moreover, for the butcher’s and slaughter’s use, the knives have three particular features:

 

- the inner part the handle is carved in a wavy shape to follow the fingers of the hand and to provide a good grip;

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- the end of the handle is shaped like a “V”, to provide a strong grip and decrease the possibility for the knife to slip away during the use;

 

- on the wider side of the blade, especially on butcher’s knives and large “tchiakka” knives, there is a dent along the line of the blade, apparently to introduce air into the animal’s body during slaughtering and to be more effective. (3)

 

Even if the use of these knives is not as necessary for daily needs as it was decades ago, this tradition is an ancient heritage and deserve to be transmitted to the new generations to avoid the risk that all the knowledge will be lost with the passing of the old craftsmen. We warmly encourage the youngsters to approach this tradition and learn how their fathers and grandfathers used to make knives and to also transmit this knowledge to their children.