The tradition of Kasos is connected with its famous festivals, music, dances (sousta and zervos), mantinades (traditional rhyming couplets), the local cuisine's dishes (macarounes with sitaka, dolmadakia, Kasian pilaf), architecture, with celebrations such as the anniversary of the Massacre or customs like the farewell at the harbor, up to very modern events that have now been established as significant cultural events for the place, such as the annual August concert.

Local Traditional Cuisine

• Spaghetti with sitaka (local creamy cheese)

• Kasian pilaf

• Durmaes (Traditional small dolmades)

• Black cuttlefish pilaf (with cuttlefish ink)

• Roikio yachni (natural stamnagathi)

• Bustia (lamb belly stuffed with rice and liver)

• White lamb (stuffed lamb in the oven)

• Cashew rolls (with sesame seeds)

• Pittia (small spinach cakes)

• Cakes (with myzithra)

• Moschopougia (sweets filled with almonds)

• Myzithropies

As far as gastronomy is concerned, Kasos has a delicious traditional cuisine and rich, special flavors to offer. You'll find most of these dishes in the island's famous festivals.

Festivals

The festivals of Kasos are the epitome of local tradition, the ultimate cultural event, and the most important form of entertainment for the locals over time, which has made the island widely known while also highlighting its unique musical and dance character.

As an essential element of the local culture, they take place year-round during various social events, weddings, baptisms, or major religious celebrations in honor of Saints in church courtyards, gathering all the island's residents and visitors. They include folk music with songs, dancing, excellent food (often free), and plenty of wine or raki, in feasts that last until dawn.

The same ritual has been followed at these festivals for centuries. The kitchens with large "mantrokazana" and "paranisties" burning wood are off-limits to women. The men cook the meat and pilaf (separately) and fried potatoes in the pots, wearing white aprons. Once the food is ready, they form a human chain and serve the people by passing the plates from hand to hand. Tradition dictates that women and children eat first, followed by the men. The musicians play traditional melodies on the lyre and lute, simultaneously singing mantinades and inviting people to dance the festival dances, sousta and zervos.

The largest festival is that of "Pera Panagia," which takes place in the village of Panagia on August 15th and gathers over 2,000 visitors. Preparations begin several days in advance: the church's bell tower is decorated with colorful "signals," the communication flags of ships, women clean potatoes and onions and prepare dough for meatballs, men cover the courtyards with large canvas tents, and young people transport supplies and set up tables and benches. 

On the eve, dozens of women and girls sit at long tables and expertly wrap the famous dolmadakia in huge quantities and make tiny meatballs. On the day of the celebration, the morning Mass is held in the church, followed by the procession of the Virgin Mary's icon in the churchyard, which the faithful venerate. Nearby, the cooks boil the pilaf in the meat broth (which will be served with cinnamon) and fry potatoes in large pots set on the "paranisties" where the firewood burns. 

Guests sit on long benches in the hall opposite the church. Then, men of all ages, wearing special white aprons, serve bread, wine, and the main dish of the festival, which includes dolmadakia, pilaf, and stewed meat with fried potatoes, hand to hand. After the meal, everyone gathers in the churchyard, and the revelry begins with the lyre, lute, dances, and mantinades, lasting until dawn.

Other significant festivals in Kasos include the festival of Saint George in Hadies on April 23rd or another date (depending on when Easter is celebrated), Saint Marina on July 17th, Christ on August 6th, Saint Fanourios on August 27th in the village of Agia Marina, Saint Mamas on September 2nd at the monastery of the same name, the Panagia of Eleros on September 7th, and Saint Spyridon on December 12th.

Besides the established festivals, there are also spontaneous celebrations that occur without any organization in a café or tavern on the island, with musicians picking up their lyres and lutes and, playing traditional tunes, getting the attendees to dance. The banter, drinks, and treats can last until dawn, providing a unique experience for uninitiated visitors.

Calendar of Festivals

• July 17, of Agia Marina.

• August 6, of Christ the Saviour.

• August 15, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

• August 27, of Agios Fanourios.

• September 1, of Saint Mamma.

• September 7, of Panagia Helleros.

• September 14, of the Holy Cross.

• October 26, of Saint Demetrius.

• November 3, Saint George the Drunkard.

• December 12, of Agios Spyridon.

• February 2, of Hyapanti.

• April 23, Agios Georgios in Hadies.

• May 21, of Saint Constantine.

• Holy Trinity, after the Holy Spirit.

Apart from the established festivals, there are also spontaneous feasts in some cafe or tavern on the island. Musicians play and sing traditional tunes accompanied by the lute and lyre.

Kasian Music

Kasian music is very distinctive and characterized by a richness comparable to the history of the island and disproportionate to its size.

Drawing elements mainly from Crete and the Dodecanese, Kasian music is a sound composition with many tunes, lyrical in melody and simple in structure. Generally, the display of virtuosity is avoided, though it is not entirely absent. According to records, more than 74 different tunes (melodies) have been played on the island.

The people of Kasos are talented musicians and distinguished in their field, using two main instruments: the traditional Dodecanese lyre, pear-shaped with three strings, which is the primary instrument played with a bow, and the lute, which accompanies the lyre. Although the lyre is traditional to the Dodecanese, it is now only found in Kasos, Karpathos, and Chalki, and is crafted by local artisans from walnut, mulberry, or cypress wood, while the bow is notable for its "gerakokoudouna," the small bells that are attached along its length.

Traditional Kasian music survives to this day, passed down from generation to generation, and has been and will remain a pivotal element in the cultural identity of Kasos. Since 2009, the island also hosts the International Meeting of Lyre and Bowed Instruments every year.

International Meeting of Lyre and Bowed Instruments

The International Meeting of Lyre and Bowed Instruments is a short-term event that began in 2009 in Kasos and takes place every September, aiming to foster interaction among musicians from different parts of Greece and abroad.

It includes exhibitions and presentations of musical instruments, lectures, and, of course, celebrations with traditional instruments, songs, and dances performed by dance groups. Musicians and instrumentalists from Italy, Drama, Ikaria, Crete, Rhodes, Chalki, Cyprus, Istanbul, Karpathos, and Pontus participate in the festival.

The International Meeting of Lyre and Bowed Instruments is organized by local associations and the Municipality of Kasos.

Traditional Dances 

Sousta

The Sousta is the dominant dance at Kasian festivals and is danced by men and women in an open circle, accompanied by the lyre, lute, and violin, but without singing.

After dancing in a circle, men and women split into two groups based on gender and face each other, forming pairs that dance in opposite directions. Another form of Sousta involves all dancers in a line following the lead dancer, who moves in complex patterns.

The Sousta has a musical meter of 2/4 and consists of six steps, characterized by the small extent of the steps and the light "bouncing" on the toes.

Zervos

The Zervos is a dance performed in an open circle by men and women in random positions. Its name likely comes from the movement of the dance "zerva," meaning to the left.

The Zervos has a 2/4 musical meter (characteristically slow), which progressively evolves into a faster tempo, with the main feature being the "bouncing" that occurs primarily in the faster part and is almost identical to that of the Sousta.

Kasian Mantinades

Kasian mantinades are a form of metrical folk expression that captures the emotions and thoughts of the locals.

These are poems consisting of 2 fifteen-syllable verses or 4 hemistichs with similar endings.

Kasian mantinades are inventive and often the product of spontaneity and fleeting thoughts, drawing their themes from all aspects of human life, pain, loss, alienation, love and more.

Kasian homes

The traditional Kasian house stands as an important piece of local heritage, reflecting the islanders' way of life.

Typically, the traditional architecture found here closely resembles that of neighboring Karpathos, owing to the fact that Karpathian craftsmen were almost exclusively employed on Kasos.

The Kasian house is a simple, single-room, ground-level dwelling with a small courtyard. Inside, there is a combined kitchen-dining area, the "soufas" with its elevated sleeping platform, and the "mousandra" (wooden room divider).

The "soufas" essentially serves as a loft-style bedroom with carved wooden railings, slightly raised from the floor, integrated into the wall where the family sleeps (the upper soufi is slightly elevated).

The spaces beneath this unique construction are used as storage areas, while in the middle of the room, the central column adorned with a column scarf supports the roof, symbolizing the absent sailor who is still the pillar of the house.

On the walls of the room, there are built-in wooden shelves with porcelain and gold-embellished decorative plates, complemented inside by wooden chests with embroideries and weavings, "samoundania" (candle holders), and other ornaments.

Finally, the "chokhlaki" is the black-and-white pebble mosaic found in the courtyard of the traditional Kasian house.

The tradition of farewell at the port

In Kasos, there has been for many years a tradition of bidding farewell to summer visitors with lyres, lutes, "sousta," and "mantinades." The celebration organized by the locals, with dances and farewell verses at the dock while the ship is being tied, leaves tourists deeply moved, often bringing tears to their eyes. This tradition dates back many years, as locals used it to bid farewell to their relatives departing from Kasos