Xorafa

“Xorafa” are the traditional handmade shoes of Naxos. They are a type of footwear worn by the “vrakades” and their use is continued by the inhabitants of the mountain villages, especially by local shepherds. The name “xorafa” derives from the particularity of these shoes, which have their seams on the outside. They are characterised by their durability and are traditionally made of leather, rubber for the sole and “syrimi”, a thin string made of goatskin. Interestingly, their production is also linked to other local activities, such as beekeeping, as the wax was widely used for waxing the string (syrimi) used by the shoemakers of the time, and even for dyeing the leather.

Today, one can buy xorafa, among other leather goods, from one of the two Pagonis Greek Sandals workshops in Chora of Naxos, which belongs to the Pagoni family, which has an 80-year tradition in leather goods. While, if one looks hard enough, one can discover the two shoemakers of the mountain villages of Naxos who still custom make a few pairs of traditional xorafa for the local shepherds.