Kalafat

Kalafat (Ital. calafato) derives from Greek and Arabic languages, and during the centuries, it became a common word in Dalmatia for a master shipwright who used to caulk (calafate) the hull of a boat with parts of hemp string so that the boat would not sink during long navigation. Caulking was complex but well-respected work. It took eight years of apprenticeship to become a kalafat, and years of service could last until a person aged. The importance of a kalafat was extensive, not only in shipbuilding but also in the development of the entire maritime culture in Dalmatia, and consequently for music, which would not arrive from afar if the boat wasn't well caulked. The mutual intertwining of different cultures in the Mediterranean basin started with frequent navigation. A boat was a medium used for collecting different melodies and bringing part of them back to the Adriatic, where, by the influence of various domestic cultures, they transformed into traditional Dalmatian music. The concept of the ensemble "Kalafat" is to interpret traditional Dalmatian music through the context of its origination in the vast space of the Mediterranean and its existence in the small fishermen's places of Dalmatia, whose charms and tales are deeply encompassed within its melodies.