The subject of the present research is first of all the relation of cooking with magic in the traditional society of the Karagounis of western Thessaly. A second level examines whether this relationship constituted female symbolic power. Through ethnographic data, following an on-site qualitative research in lowland Thessaly, the practices of daily and ritual cooking that concerned the traditional society of the Karagounis were recorded. Some of these practices are preserved through tradition and are still practiced today, while others were brought to the memory of the inhabitants who were born in the first half of the 20th century and experienced in the second half the transition from the traditional to the modern way of life. Also, the research did not ignore the history, as it included as sources old field researches and interviews from the cultural area of ​​Karagounis. So the method of the subject is the historical ethnography. It was found that cooking in the traditional society of the Karagounis was a socially learned art, communicated from generation to generation and from mother to daughter. The preparation and offering of food was a female practice and marked the basic moments of human life (birth, marriage, death). In addition, cooking was associated with strong symbolism both as a ritual food during the holidays and as a simple, everyday food. Therefore, the symbolism of food was sought and whether and to what extent cooking and food had a metaphysical-magical dimension. This relationship revealed that the plant and animal species that had been selected as edible were beneficial. On the other hand, the items selected as non-edible were considered to be harmful. The benefit and the harm were much more on a symbolic level than on a material one. However, both types, edible and non-edible, could, through a special culinary treatment (ie become filters or be thrown into regular food), cause magic. The magic was performed by the masters, that is, the women of the area who were involved with magic, on occasion: either to benefit or to harm, so we can distinguish between beneficial and harmful magic, respectively. In addition, through the folk literature and life stories of the subjects, the connection of magic was confirmed not only with cooking, but also with other female fields of action, such as sewing and the household. Finally, men, when involved with sorcery, acted as "exorcists", who solved female sorcery. And this showed that the culinary-magic relationship was translated as the face of a female symbolic power in the society under investigation.

Non-probability: Availability

Face-to-face interview

Participant field observation