Manges ( /ˈmɑːŋɡɛs, ˈmæŋɡɛs/; Greek: μάγκες [ˈma(ɲ)ɟes], sing.: μάγκας mangas [ˈma(ŋ)ɡas]) is the name of a social group in the Belle Époque era's counterculture of Greece (especially of the great urban centers: Athens, Piraeus, and Thessaloniki). The nearest English equivalent to the term "mangas" ( /ˈmɑːŋɡəs, ˈmæŋɡəs/) is wide boy, or spiv.
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Mangas was a label for men belonging to the working class, behaving in a particularly arrogant/presumptuous way, and dressing with a very typical vesture composed of a woolen hat (kavouraki, καβουράκι), a jacket (they usually wore only one of its sleeves), a tight belt (used as a knife case), stripe pants, and pointy shoes. Other features of their appearance were their long moustache, their bead chaplets (κομπολόγια, sing. κομπολόι), and their idiosyncratic manneristic limp-walking (κουτσό βάδισμα). A related social group were the Koutsavakides (κουτσαβάκηδες, sing. κουτσαβάκης); the two terms are occasionally used interchangeably. Manges are also notable for being closely associated to the history of Rebetiko.
Etymology
The three most probable etymologies of the word Mangas are the following:
Mangas in popular culture
The stereotypical character of Manges became a central theme in several Rebetiko songs (such as "Του Βοτανικού ο Μάγκας" ("The Mangas of Votanikos"), "Ε ντε λα μαγκέ ντε Βοτανίκ" (Et de la Mange de Votanik - the title is in mangika, μάγκικα, the sociolect/cryptolect of manges) "And of the Mangas of Votanikos"), "Πού 'σουν μάγκα το Χειμώνα" ("Where were you, Mangas, during the Winter"), and "Μάγκας βγήκε για Σεργιάνι" ("Α Mangas promenaded").
Karagiozis shadow plays portray a recurrent character called Stavrakas, Σταύρακας.
In modern Greek language, mangas has become a synonym for "swash guy, swagger" or (in dialogue) simply "dude"; depending on context it may have more negative ("bully, henchman, hooligan") or more positive ("brave, crafty man") connotations.