The Roka Dance (Tuesday after Easter)
One of Voio’s most moving traditions, the Dance of the Roka is revived every Tuesday after Easter in Galatini and Sisani, recalling the times when the region’s renowned master builders left their homeland to work abroad. Only women participate, dressed in traditional costumes. The dance is always led by an elderly woman holding a roka (spindle), a symbol of household virtue and patient waiting. Behind her stand the married women, followed by the unmarried women at the end of the line, singing farewell songs filled with longing. Though today the dance takes place in the village squares, it was once a farewell ritual and an expression of hope — a promise that the return of loved ones would bring celebration once again. The custom continues to be revived in Galatini and Sisani.
