Erasmus+ Cliche Inventory for Imerominia or weather lore

1. Inventory for Local ICH: Imerominia
1. Name of the ICH IMEROMINIA or merominia in Greek is the traditional annual forecasting used to prepare people for the coming year
(visual weather lore in English). The first twelve days of August are also known as ‘imerominia’.
In Mexico, the first twelve days of January are known as las cabañuelas "a derechos». The Maya version was known as
Chac-chac. The same cabañuelas system is used in various parts of Spain, but the annual forecast does not always begin
on the same day. For instance, in Alcozar, las cabañuelas "a derechas" begin on December 13. Elsewhere in Spain, they
start on August 2 or August 13.
2. People
(individuals,communities,agents,
transmitters, institutions,states)
Individuals, farmers, shepherds, sailors, and rural people, astute weather watchers that apart from recognizing weather
signs, they also observe the behavior of birds, insects, animals and plants.
3. Language involved Greek
4.Location(s) Area of Viotia/Boeotia, community of Distomo and Arachova
5. Characteristicsof the
expression/tradition
By watching the microenvironment and weather patterns of an area on the first 12 days of August, e.g. the form of the
clouds, the direction of the wind, the characteristics of the sun, the moon, the stars, the morning dew, rainbows, any hail
that falls, etc., experienced people can make month-to-month weather predictions for the year ahead.
A weather log is kept during these days of August that tells us what to expect for the coming twelve months. Weather
maps are also made.

2. This is how it works. The kind of weather on August 1st is the type of weather that we will get on January. The type of
weather on August 2nd is the typical weather for February. August 3rd is for March, the 4th for April, the 5th for May, the
6th for June, the 7th for July, the 8th for August, the 9th for September, the 10th for October, the 11th for November and
finally the 12th for December.
Starting from the 1st of August and dividing the day in 3 parts amateur forecasters make
So, if the weather for August 1st in the morning is overcast and mildly cool, that is the kind of weather you can expect for
the first 10 days of January in a general sense.
This technical knowledge among locals can also come in the form of stories, songs, folklore, proverbs, cultural values,
norms, beliefs, rituals, local language and cultural practices and helps to model weather and prepare for favorable or
adverse events.
Of course, it cannot replace scientific knowledge because it is holistic and specific to local situations providing farmers and
others to prepare for the coming agricultural year. They use it however to supplement public meteorological information
and weather prediction.
6.Associatedtangible elements(if
any)
Detailed weather maps of imerominia
7. Availabilityofassociated
tangible elements
Generally, no but some
 proverbs,
 folklore,
 trivia,
 facts,
 wisdom and
 rhymes
are still used passed down by word of mouth. They cover Months, Seasons, and Climate; Cold Spells, Snow, and Hail;
Sunshine, Heat-waves, and Droughts; Cloud, Rain, and Flood; and Storm, Wind, and Tornadoes.

3. 8. Performedat what occasion(s)? The first twelve days of August in the area of Sterea Ellada.
9. KeyTransmitters
Performedby whom
(age/gender/name)?
50-80-year-old people, farmers, shepherds
10. How transmitted? Oral tradition
11. Viability,or level of
endangerment;
The level of endangerment is great as younger generations don’t care about this kind of oral tradition.
12.Threats (ifany); With the passage of time, details are confused and forgotten.
Meteorologists using modern instruments, such as satellites and weather-observing stations to predict weather still
dispute whether any type of weather lore can be applied in predicting weather or should be considered as superstition.
This is because, even though there is some predictive quality in visual weather lore, there is no established technique yet
that can be applied to verify and evaluate its validity.
However, mechanisms for synthesizing traditional and scientific weather forecast systems exist today driven by the
realization that SCFs and weather lore complement each other and that the rich weather lore could help in making the
forecasts more relevant to the local people’s context.
There is also a need to authenticate the various traditional methods and ways to predict other natural phenomena such as
floods, cyclones, tsunami or even earthquakes. A great number of researchers have been directing efforts towards promoting
weather lore especially on disaster management.

4. 13. Safeguarding- local and
international strategiesused
No
14. Relevantlocal organisations
(NGOsand others) (ifany);
No
15. Reference to
literature/discography,
audiovisual material/
internet?
Youtube, TV channels
16. Communityexplicitlyagreeing
to listingin UNESCO?
Yes
17. Connectionto the past/
present/future
The people who practice imerominia claimthat it is "an empirical science" and that its origin is thousands of years old when
the "only reference of the time was the Moon“. Some claim that the system's roots lie in the Old World, in the Babylonian
calendaror even Aristotle (Aristotle, father of Meteorology, Meteōrologika, Hippocrates, father of climatology). People in ancient times
had already undertaken sophisticated astronomical observations and developed advanced mathematical and calendric
systems, even to the point of being able to predict the arrival of some comets. So, perhaps by long and patient observation
of their weather patterns, they had also amassed evidence of cyclical weather phenomena.
IMEROMINIA have passed down from one generation to the next and they constitute common heritage of the ancient
indigenous peoples of Greece. Traditional farmers, for instance, use their knowledge of traditional seasonal forecasting to
decide on cropping variety, planting dates, and mitigation measures, so as to realize crop yields that could sustain them in

5. the coming seasons. Elders used to coach young people about historical experiences that they should imitate, emulate or
evade.
Unlike in science that relies on instrumentation, in traditional knowledge local language and terminologies are important
as they are used in conversations, stories, and oral histories.
18. Type of research
(interview, field research, focus
group interview)
interview
19. Information collectedby? Students of B4 class of 1st General Lyceum of Levadia