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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
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The Karagounides are found in four main centers of Thessaly, Greece: Karditsa, Sofades, Palmas, and Farsala. In each of these centers they perform their own versions of the dance Karagouna, meaning "Black Cape." In each case it is a simple dance usually consisting of one step done repeatedly.
After the Second World War, the Greek government mandated that, except for Muslims, no non-Greek minorities should live in Greece. Slav Macedonians became Slavophone Greeks. Vlachs became Vlachophone Greeks. Also at this time, Metaxes forced nomadic peoples of Greece to become seasonal migrants, changing location ONLY to follow sheep pasturage between lowlands and adjacent mountains. These formerly nomadic shepherd groups disdained music as a profession, relying on the Yiftoi who spread musical themes and styles among their clients.
The Karagounides are Vlach. The name means "Wearers of Black Capes" in Turkish or "head/fur" in Greek, referring to the hooded goats'-hair cape/cloak/coat worn by Greek nomads in winter.
The Karagounides of Karditsa in Thessaly gave us the dance Karagouna, although performing ensembles have changed the dance quite a bit for the stage. The traditional Karagounides woman's costume employs deep shades of red and orange.