«Ρύζι» Πηγή: http://blogs.cornell.edu/evidencebasedliving/files/2012/10/parboiled-rice.jpg
The first food given to a baby to eat was cream, often made from ground rice. In some poor villages, a gift offered to a new mother was just a plate of rice for making soup.
Name - Origin
Ρύζι.
Rice is an edible starchy cereal grain and also the grass plant (family Poaceae) by which it is produced (Babiniotis 2005, entry ρύζι,το, 1557).
ETYM. < medieval oryzion (with silencing of the arctic atonal o-), (Babiniotis 2005, entry rice, 1557) The word is derived from Afghan vrize or Indian vrihi (PetrouPoeitou 2013, entry Ρύζι, όριζα, 128).
The phrase ‘He came like unwashed rice’ is said of someone who arrived uninvited (Petrou-Poeitou 2013, entry Ρύζι, όριζα, 128).
Functional and symbolic role
The first food given to a baby to eat was cream, often made from ground rice. In some poor villages a a gift given to a new mother was just a plate of rice to make soup (Protopapa 209, pp. 84-85, 279, 308-309, 408, 551).
After a wedding ceremony, rice was thrown by the guests to the newlyweds while exiting the church (note: Stalo Lazarou).
In some villages, wheat or rice, was thrown where the placenta had been buried. It was believed that the placenta had to be protected from evil spirits. Another view is that using rice was a way to wish the newborn to grow up well (Protopapa 2009, 84-85, 279, 308-309, 408, 551).
One of the methods of healing a weakening infant was to take rice out at night under the stars and then place it on the infant to get well (Protopapa 2009, 84-85, 279, 308-309, 408, 551).
Additional information and bibliography
Babiniotis G. (2005), Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας. Με σχόλια για τη σωστή χρήση των λέξεων. Ερμηνευτικό, Ορθογραφικό, Ετυμολογικό, Συνωνύμων-Αντιθέτων, Κυρίων Ονομάτων, Επιστημονικών Όρων, Ακρωνυμίων, Centre for Lexicology, Athens, Greece.
Petrou-Poeitou E. (2013), Από πού κρατάει η σκούφια τους. Λέξεις και ιστορίες από τον κόσμο της γεύσης, Epiphaniou Publications, Nicosia.
Protopapa K. (2009), Τα έθιμα της γέννησης στην παραδοσιακή κοινωνία της Κύπρου, Publications of the Centre for Scientific Research, XLIX, Nicosia.
Demetra Zannetou, Stalo Lazarou, Argyro Xenophontos, Tonia Ioakim
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