The music and dance of a sponge diver suffering from the bends

The following description and photo come from the "Lykeion ton Hellnidon"  CD.

8. O MICHANIKOS (Instumental)
"Michanikos" (mechanic, machine-man), is the name given in Kalymnos to the sponge-diver who wears a diving suit.

The "michanikoi" are very daring and very often become semi-paralized or paralyzed (from decompression sickness, or what is colloquially called the "bends" - in Kalymnos "piassimo".)

The Michanikos is danced by men only and is a kind of syrtos.

At a certain point in the dance, the leader, who enacts the role of the diver suffering from the bends, stops, leans on the stick he is holding, and walks with small trembling steps, while the others continue to dance in place. Presently the stick slips from his hand and he almost falls. Then grasping his stick again, he rises and begins to dance again with quiqk, lively steps.

It is danced at gatherings, but few can do it properly. In Kalymnos it is not sung.