Traditional sheep and goat Bell Making Artisan in Ano Asites village - Crete Greece
Watch the production phases of handmade lambs' bells in one of the few bell making artisan laboratories left on Crete, in the workshop of Minas Milliarakis located on Crete, in Ano Asites rural traditional village
Video - traditional Cretan lamp breed bells manufacturing:
One of the characteristics of the pastoral life of Crete is the melodies from the bells of the flocks of lambs. Bells are an integral part of breeders' lives. With the sound of his animal bells the shepherd perceives if the animal is grazing, if it is drinking water, if there is danger, if it is running away from something or if there is panic, because all this translates into easy-to-read music scores for those who possess the behavior of the flock. The bells can be used to locate any lost small animals, but they can also be used to locate animals among themselves. And it is no coincidence that boars, or chiefs, carry the larger bells to better locate and lead the herd.
"Some of the bells on the market come from China nowadays - says Mr Milliarakis, they are cheap bells, taken from a mold, and so they all have the same sound... Because the sound depends on the shape of the bell and the processing during construction, which, when it is handmade as in our workshop, it is impossible for the sound of one bell to resemble the other.
The production process starts from the receipt of the iron sheets that you cut into the shape that corresponds to each size. On the anvil and in a concave mold you form by forging the bell. You pass the fork from where the bell hangs and you muddy it with bronze and copper. You put them in an oven at a temperature of 1.000 degrees where the glaze (copper coating) is done. It is then placed the beacon on the bell. After that the final step is for the bells to be cleaned and ready for their "musical journeys".
