Karabasi, the essential oil which has been produced since the 18th century in Tzitzifes of Apokoronas, has been recognised as a product of Greece’s intangible cultural heritage.

Announcing the admission of karabasi to the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Monday 24th July, Regional Councillor Sofia Malandraki-Krasoudaki noted that the original submission had been made in February 2021 “as a result of my acquaintance with Christos Tsouroupakis, the last ‘karabasist’. That submission, which was accepted, was made with the mayor [of Apokoronas] Mr Haralambos Koukianakis, since karabasi is only made in Tzitzifes of Apokoronas. It was done with the help of Giorgos Limantzakis, a special adviser to Mr Koukianakis, and Maria Flouri, a teacher and a personal friend of mine.” The Regional Councillor emphasised that registering karabasi as a significant cultural feature for Chania and for Crete “provides a certification which enables one to do many things, including linking with universities and other research institutions.”

At the presentation, Christos Tsouroupakis, the only surviving producer of karabasi, said that “this essential oil, karabasi, was only produced in Tzitzifes. I learned about this medicine from my father Ioannis Tsouroupakis, who supported his family with it and passed on his knowledge to me. It’s a very strong medicine.” He said that the old “karabasists” had died over the years and only he is still involved with it, helped by his daughter.

The mayor of Apokoronas Haralambos Koukianakis said that he was very satisfied with the inclusion of karabasi on the national register, emphasising the contributions of Ms Malandraki-Krasoudaki and of the Municipality. “I believe that it was an obligation for all of us vis-à-vis the locality’s history and our ways and customs. We would not be here if it were not for Mr Tsouroupakis, who is continuing this effort, and we thank him for it. It is our obligation to promote the therapeutic properties of karabasi and ensure that they are passed down to succeeding generations. We older people grew up with karabasi – I remember Mr Tsouroupakis’s father passing through our village and my late father taking it in exchange for other products.”

The production of karabasi
Karabasi or laurel oil is a product of distillation. Its producers, who were called karabasists, gathered the branches of the laurel or bay tree in the summer (usually July to the end of August), left them to dry out for a few days or weeks and then “cleaned” them, separating the leaves from the branch with a small knife. They then put them in a kettle and boiled them to produce a distillate, as is done with raki (tsikoudia).

The vapours resulting from the boiling were fed through a pipe in a sink or tank full of cold water, so that they condensed and produced a liquid. The drops from this process passed through a series of perforated discs (lambic) and the distillate dripped from the end of the pipe into a container. At this point the distillate was not pure essential oil, but was mixed with water and other elements. The producers collected this fluid in a metal container and let it settle until the water and other elements had dropped to the bottom and the oil was left on the surface. They then collected the oil from the surface and strained it, the end product being karabasi.

To produce 150-200 grams of karabasi it is necessary to boil up 5 large bundles of laurel leaves in 70 litres of water. Although it is now much reduced, in the 18th and 19th centuries the production of karabasi was a flourishing trade, with some 10 karabasists active in Tzitzifes and the surrounding area.

Its properties
Karabasi is held to possess both therapeutic and cosmetic properties. Many people used to consider it particularly effective against headache, toothache, herpes, ear infections, pharyngitis, sinusitis, arthritis, extreme fatigue and lassitude, intestinal problems, kidney pains and catarrh. The most common usage was to drink it in small quantities – 5-6 drops for adults, half the amount for children, diluted in a little water with sugar. It was also used as a liniment, especially for headaches, arthritis and other localised pains.

Given the difficulty which a large proportion of the agricultural population had in accessing medicines and health services, karabasi was considered one of the “superdrugs” of the era, along with quinine and cod liver oil. It was even used by doctors in the villages and hamlets of Crete, chiefly as an antiseptic on wounds or for minor ailments, and was probably administered in agricultural surgeries as well as by midwives at births. The latter used it to disinfect their hands and the site of the umbilical cord when cut, so as to avoid puerperal fever, which was a major threat to women after they had given birth.

Karabasi was also considered effective against the intestinal parasite Taenia (tapeworm). Both adults and children suffering from it would lose weight continually despite eating properly. The remedy was to drink several drops of karabasi (2-3 for children) in half a spoonful of sugar and the parasite would be excreted shortly after.

Apart from the multiple uses for humans, karabasi was also used to relieve pain in animals and to protect crops. According to an old karabasist, “I used to sell a lot of karabasi to people with smallholdings, with mules and goats suffering from colic. They would put some feed in a nosebag and some karabasi on top and the animals would breath it and it took away the pain. If a goat broke its foot and there was an open wound, they put karabasi on it and the smell would drive away the flies.”

According to other witnesses, some farmers on the Messara plain south of Heraklion used to put a few drops of it on stacks of wheat and corn (in a closed space) as this repelled insects and thus protected the harvest. It had a strong smell of laurel, and for this reason it was used as a scent by quite a few women in the villages of Crete. The old karabasists said that women were traditionally good customers, as they were in the habit of keeping a small bottle in or near the iconostasis, in a symbolic demonstration of its importance.
(Haniotika Nea, 24-07-23)