Gourds

In Cyprus, gourds (which are considered to be a kind of fruit in the family of Cucurbitaceae) are called ‘kolojia’, ‘nerokoloka’ or ‘vlaskoudia’. The shape of gourds depends on their position while they grow. If they lay on the ground, their stems curve round back towards their base. In the case that gourds are hanging from climbers while they grow, their stems keep straight. These are the most common gourd shapes in Cyprus, but there are many more shapes and sizes of gourds in the world, and you can see some of them in the table below. The Cypriot gourds are usually 7cm to 100cm long.

The folk art and tradition of gourds decoration is very old in Cyprus, believing that it goes back in the 15th century. Gourds were used for both decorational and utilitarian purposes. In the old days, patterns and illustrations inspired by nature, village life, and historical figures, were carved on the gourds using a knife, and later charcoal dust was rubbed in the designs so they take a darker colour. In the end, the gourds were smeared with olive oil for a shiny surface effect.

Except for the outside decoration, gourds used to be cleaned on the inside as well so they can store wine and olives. In order for gourds to be used like this, a special procedure needed to followed first. Firstly, the gourd's top of the stem was cut off, and then small pieces of glass or sharp stones were dropped in the gourd. Later, the whole thing was shaken until the seeds and the remaining flesh was edged out. Finally, a type of gum or resin was boiled and poured in the gourd to coat its inside and then, it was left to cool down.

Except for storing wine and olives, gourds also had many usages, such as storing cutleries, or used by huntsmen to store and carry gunpowder.

In our family, the tradition of gourds decoration was passed to us from grandpa "pappous" Lefteris, and today it is practised in a modern way by Lefteris' grandaughter, Chrystalla Pitsillidou. Nowadays, gourds are decorated using a pyrographer (engraver by burning) or common art materials, such as markers and paint.

The inspiration for the thematology of our gourd decoration styles vary from traditional images ("vrakas"-man with the traditional Cypriot costume, flower patterns, etc.), customs, celebrations and festivals of Cyprus (the wine festival, the annual blooming almond tree festival, etc.), but we also do special orders (such as our cooperation with the traditional sweets "Katerina").

You can have a look of our decorated gourds here.

I you wish to buy our "kolojia", you can contact us here, or alternatively, you can find them in some souvenir shops in Cyprus near the old port and castle of Limassol, in the Limassol and Paphos old market, in Laiki Geitonia in Nicosia, in Kykkos monastery and in Troodos and Kakopetria villages.

In addition, we are also experimenting with transforming gourds into other handicrafts, such as clocks and lightings. You can see some of our other products in the tab "Other Handicrafts" in this website, or in our second webpage (click here).