NAME: Mihael Pasaris (Mihalakis o Vounis) of Ioannis and Sofia
PLACE OF BIRTH: Amorgos
PLACE OF DEATH: Amorgos
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Amorgos
SPOUSE / MAIDEN NAME: Unknown / Unknown
PROFESSION: Craftsman, Inventor
Instrument: Folk Poet – Rhyme Improviser
The following biographical note on the folk poet Mihael I. Pasaris was written by the Amorgian philologist – researcher Georgios A. Mavros. It was extracted from the archive of the latter which was granted in its entirety to the Digital Audiovisual Folk Music Archive of Amorgos and its Islands. The structure, the spelling, and the punctuation of the text in Greek have been preserved. The English translation has been mildly edited.
He was born in Amorgos in 1907. From the well-known Passaris family, member of which was the fighter of 1821 (Greek Independence War) Th. Passaris, comrade of Kanaris. In 1923 he was in Egypt. In 1933 he joined the City Police where he remained until 1958 and was expelled for what he claims were political reasons. He studied up to the first year of High School in Amorgos. Since 1958 he has been living in Amorgos. Handicraftsman, inventor, musician, fisherman, hunter and rhyme improviser. He lives in a cottage outside the village, an hour’s drive away in the Vouni area (that’s where the nickname is from). He makes baskets from slate boughs, and chairs from “artikous,” a form of domestic bamboo. He created fire arms with firing mechanisms he invented himself. He also invented a fishing machine. Naturalist and proud as a man, he does not hesitate to come into frequent confrontations with the natives even for trivial reasons. His passion is women, especially young blondes and blue-eyed women. A lover, a renegade, he was inspired by his failed romances to write his lyrics. His romances start with him and end with him. These are not old men’s sagas, but the passion of a lifetime. (M.P. has fallen fiercely in love, successively with mother and daughter, spanning a stretch of about 30 years). His only contact with his sweethearts is to send a bouquet of wildflowers, with which he does make excellent combinations, or at most a fleeting glance at church, or a hello on the street.