#dance of zalongo

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Just listened to Marina Sattis performance of "Stis Naousas to kastro", which as far as I understand is about a mass suicide of Greek women and children to escape the Turks. How many songs like these are there in Greek tradition? I know of "Dance of Zalongo", were such suicides common in Greek history?

Greeks hold their dignity and honor very high. Greece is one of the most conquered nations in history, and sadly there were many tragic moments like this from antiquity to more modern times. People of all ages preferred to take their own lives, rather than get dishonored through violence, rape, and forceful assimilation.

"Episode of the siege of Messolonghi" (1827), Francois-Έmile de Lansac

For the ancient years: Mass Suicide of the Women of Melos, the conquest of the Greek city of Miletos by the Persians, the women of Troezen preparing for mass suicide, the women of Argos, of Kassandreia, Euboea, of Torone in Chalcidice , Heraclea Pontica, of Aegina... So many cases! For the latter years I saw the cases of The siege of Mystras, the siege of Constantinople, the Fall of Corinth to the Ottomans were more of such cases when we speak of more recent centuries.

Some from the Ottoman times, summarized briefly:

The Arkadi Monastery (1866) During the Cretan Revolt against Ottoman rule, hundreds of Greeks, including many women and children, sought refuge in the Arkadi Monastery. When it became clear that they would be overrun, the refugees detonated barrels of gunpowder, taking their own lives to avoid surrender. This act of self-sacrifice became a powerful symbol of Cretan resistance.

Mass Suicides of Chios (1822) Following the brutal massacre of the Greek population of Chios by Ottoman forces, some inhabitants, particularly women and children, chose suicide over enslavement. Many took to the cliffs to escape capture, throwing themselves to their deaths in a final act of defiance.

The Exodus of Missolonghi (1826) During the long siege of Missolonghi, residents suffered starvation and deprivation at the hands of Ottoman forces. When defeat became inevitable, many women, children, and elderly people took their lives rather than fall into enemy hands. This exodus marked one of the most somber moments of the Greek War of Independence.

Sadly, I don't know the individual songs. I reckon they could be a dozen or even hundreds, since each village has its own songs here, and its own times of resistance.

[monogreek]

The dance of Zalongo (study, 1953) by George Zongolopoulos (1903-2004)

/National Glyptoteque, Goudi (Athens)-Greece/

(ph. Yorgos Yannakos, November 29-2024)

[sydneysartblogstuff]

Dance of Zalongo

Titel: De vrouwen van Souli

Artiest: Ary Scheffer

Gemaakt tussen: 1827-1828

De Soulioten waren oorspronkelijk Christelijke Albanezen die zich in het noorden van Griekenland vestigden. Hun belangrijkste steden, waaronder Souli, lagen in Epirus in het gebied boven de rivier de Acheron. Omdat ze hoog in de bergen leefden, behielden de Soulioten een zekere mate van onafhankelijkheid van de Turken. Hun leven bestond uit voortdurende strijd en vergelding; zij waren vastbesloten hun vrijheid te behouden. Zelfs de vrouwen droegen wapens en waren niet bang die ook te gebruiken. In december 1803 had het Turkse leger van Ali Pasja een grote groep Soulioten ingesloten op de berg van Zalongo. Liever dan het risico te lopen van Turkse gevangenschap verkozen de vrouwen de dood: in een ware dodendans dansten zij met hun kinderen het ravijn van Zalongo in.

- https://www.ecotoerisme.eu/griekenland/epirus/zalongo/

Het is een dynamische beeld door middel van driekhoekscompositie en licht/donkercontrast. Door middel van de schuine lijnen in de compositie worden je ogen door heel het schilderij geleidt

Title: The Women of Souli

Artist: Ary Scheffer

Made between: 1827 - 1828

The Souliots where official Albaians who had settled in the northern of Greece. Their most important cities, of which Souli, laid in Epirus, an area above the Acheron river. Because they lived high in the mountains they had somewhat of  an independence from the Turks. But their lives existed of continues fighting, as they were determined to have their freedom. Even the women wore weapons and wheren’t scared to used them. In December 1803, the Turkish army from Ali Pasja had embedded a large group of Souliots on the mountain Zalongo. Rather than living in capitivity the women chose for the death. They danced with their children into the ravine of Zalongo. 

The painting is a dynamical imagine, that is because of the triangle composition and the light and dark composition. Because of the diagonal lines in the painting your  eyes are being led through the whole painting. 

[wordsmithic]

The Dance of Zalongo

On December 16, 1803, 50 women, 13 men, and children from Souli were trapped near the village of Zalongo in Epirus, and decided to turn towards the cliff's edge and die with their children rather get caught by their persecutors who had been ordered to execute them. According to tradition, they did this one after the other while dancing and singing.

Ali Pasha’s officer, Suleyman Agha, was the eyewitness of this event and was the first to paraphrase the event to the Islamic mercenary Ibrahim Mansur Efendi, who included this testimony in his book published in Paris in 1828. According to his testimony, women grabbed their hands and started dancing, and in the end, they screamed so loud and sharp that it echoed down the abyss in which they threw themselves after their children.

- first photo by Elias Pergantis

Claude Pinet, “The dance of Zalongo”. Oil painting, circa 1820. Benaki Museum, Greece.

The event is commemorated in Greece in the context of the Greek War of Independence. A song in Greek folk style commemorates the event, named "Dance of Zalongo" (Greek: Χορός του Ζαλόγγου, Horos tou Zalongou):

"Farewell poor world, Farewell, sweet life, and you, my wretched country, Farewell forever Farewell, springs, Valleys, mountains, and hills Farewell springs And you, women of Souli The fish cannot live on the land Nor the flower on the sand And the women of Souli Cannot live without freedom Farewell, springs, ... The women of Souli Have not only learned how to survive They also know how to die and not tolerate slavery Farewell, springs, ..."

The monument for the dance of Zalongo in the place it happened, Greece

[elladastinkardiamou]

The dance of Zalongo

Video by Meraki TV

[eastofthesun77]

The Dance of Zalongo (1803) by Claude Pinet

Benaki Museum. Athens. Greece

[michaelyukimichaelides]

The Dance of Zalongo is considered to be a monumental act of bravery and defiance. This graphic refers to the mass suicide of women from Souli and their children that occurred in the aftermath of the invasion of Ottoman troops in the Greek War of Independence.

Even though my media might revolve around a male audience I still think about of ways of incorporating ways of empowering women. This piece was inspired directly by the bravery of women throughout the years from my own culture. There is no real purpose of this work being a CD case other than the fact that it looks like an old RPG video game.

[gerardbillet]

Joannis Avramidis : Group of Five Figures, Dimitris Armakolas : Emerging Venus II, Giorgos Lambros : Little Men tightly clasped III, Konstantinos Dimitriadis : Discus Thrower, Yannis Parmakelis : Bouquet, Achilleas Aperghis : Solitude, Georgos Zongolopoulos : The Dance of Zalongo, Dionysos Gerolymatos : Anakyklosis. #nationalglyptothequeathens #alexandrossoutzosmuseum #koutlidisfoundation #armypark #goudi #avramidis #groupoffive #armakolas #emergingvenus #lambros #littlemen #thightly #dimitriadis #discusthrower #parmakelis #bouquet #aperghis #solitude #zongolopoulos #thedanceofzalongo #gerolymatos #anakyklosi #sculpture #instapic #photooftheday #athensmycity (à National Glyptotheque) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoOmfulEr2/?utm_medium=tumblr

[memolands]

Monument of Zalongo - The memorial of the Sacrifice of Greek Women in Zalongo

Monument of Zalongo – The memorial of the Sacrifice of Greek Women in Zalongo

A1961 monumental sculpture by George Zongolopoulos, commemorating the Dance of Zalongo. It is located at 700 meters altitude on Mount Zalongo. The monument depicts six abstract female figures holding hands. It is 18 meters in length, 13 meters high and is made of concrete supported by 4,300 whitish limestone blocks. The construction took six years, from 1954 to 1960.

Monument of Zalongo, on the…

[alisein-spb]

(Bruce Klepper | Composer)

[elladastinkardiamou]

The Dance of Zalongo is considered to be a monumental act of bravery and defiance against the Ottoman rulers by the women of Epirus, and stands as one of the most colorful pages in Greece’s history.

By the end of 1803, Epirus ruler Ali Pasha wanted to finish once and for all with the Souliotes; the rebel people of Souli who were creating problems for him and the Sultan. His army besieged Souli and forced them to sign a treaty on December 12. The basic condition of the agreement; which was not observed, was for the Souliotes, along with women and children to evacuate their villages, and they would not be harmed. On December 16, the people of Souli; divided into three phalanxes, left their ancestral land behind.

Two days later, the third phalanx, heading south, was attacked in Zalongo by a large body of Turkish-Albanian soldiers. During the violent fight that followed, a group of Souliotes was trapped by the enemy. Among them there were about 60 women, some of them pregnant.

[darth-azrael]

West Shore 2016 Spring Chorus Concert - Dance of Zalongo

[suicideintheorthodoxchurch]

The Dance of Zalongo (Greek: Χορός του Ζαλόγγου, Horos tou Zalongou) was a mass suicide of women from Souli and their children during the Souliote War of 1803, near the village of Zalongo in Epirus, in the then-Ottoman Empire. The name also refers to a popular dance-song commemorating the event. There is also a similar Albanian dance-song called Vaji i Zallogut ("Dance of Zalongo").

History

During the Souliote War in December 1803, the Souliotes began evacuating Souli after their defeat by the forces of the local Ottoman-Albanian ruler, Ali Pasha During the evacuation, a small group of Souliot women and their children were trapped by Ali's troops in the mountains of Zalongo in Epirus. In order to avoid capture and enslavement, the women threw their children first and then themselves off a steep cliff, committing suicide. According to the legend, they jumped down the precipice one after the other while singing and dancing. The incident soon became known across Europe. At the Paris Salon of 1827, the French artist Ary Scheffer exhibited two Romantic paintings, one of which was entitled Les Femme souliotes ("The Souliot Women"). Today, the Zalongo Monument on Mount Zalongo in Kassope commemorates their sacrifice.[

Songs

There is a popular Greek dance-song about the event, which is known and danced throughout Greece today. The Greek folk song "Dance of Zalongo" has the following lyrics:

  English

Greek

Farewell poor world, Farewell sweet life, and you, my poor country, Farewell forever Farewell springs, Valleys, mountains and hills Farewell springs And you, women of Souli The fish cannot live on the land Nor the flower on the sand And the women of Souli Cannot live without freedom Farewell springs, ... The women of Souli Have not only learnt how to survive They also know how to die Not to tolerate slavery Farewell springs, ...

Έχε γεια καημένε κόσμε, έχε γεια γλυκιά ζωή Και ’συ δύστυχη πατρίδα έχε γεια παντοτινή. Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες λόγγοι, βουνά, ραχούλες Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες και σεις Σουλιωτοπούλες Στη στεριά δε ζει το ψάρι ούτ’ ανθός στην αμμουδιά Κι οι Σουλιώτισσες δεν ζούνε δίχως την ελευθεριά. Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες ... Οι Σουλιώτισσες δε μάθαν για να ζούνε μοναχά Ξέρουνε και να πεθαίνουν να μη στέργουν στη σκλαβιά. Έχετε γεια βρυσούλες ...

An Albanian dance-song called Vaji i Zallogut ("Dance of Zalongo") was developed with lyrics that refer to the same aforementioned mass suicide:[

English

Albanian

Mosko1 afoot, has left her baby in the ground, Hits this woman, this brave woman, Her gun and cannon everything scares. "Look here girls, how close they are!" Even walls became ash, but Dhespo1 as always stands up, To her girls speaks, with voice and calamity. "Girls, slaves of the Turkish can we be? Follow me, girls, our place is down there!"

Moskua në këmbë, foshnjën përdhe ka lënë, Qëllon a s’qëllon kjo grua, deli grua, Pushka top gjithçka zhurit. "Vështrojuni një çikë more, si jeni bërë meit!" Edhe muret u bënë hi, po Dhespua përherë në këmbë, Nuseve ç’u thërret, me zë e me gjëmë. "Skllave të turkut bija, a mund të bëhemi ne? Pas meje, mori nuse, vendin e kemi atje!"

1 Dhespo is the wife of Giorgos Botsaris and Mosko was the wife of Lambros Tzavelas.

[mortisia]

The Souliote women. Romantic painting by Ary Scheffer (1795-1858), depicting the heroic suicide of Souliote women known as the Dance of Zalongo during the Souliote wars (1827, Oil on canvas, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France). In a famous incident on December 16, 1803, the so-called Dance of Zalongo, 22 Souliot women were trapped by enemy troops and committed suicide to avoid capture. According to tradition they did this by jumping off a steep cliff one after the other while dancing and singing.

[sorakun555]

Daily Post #15

You know, I was in choir in school. Started in elementary school in the fifth-grade-only choir and had lots of fun. I distinctly remember singing one song, some sort of tiki song I can't remember any more than that, that we kids swore up and down changed the weather. Every time we sung it all the way through the weather would change, sometimes slightly sometimes drastically. Pure coincidence since the area I live in has sporadic weather anyway being right between the mountains and the water, but it got us excited.

I loved being in choir so much that I kept going through with it in middle school. It was then I found out that I had a bit of stage fright, but since I was with many other kids it wasn't that big of a deal. After my first year of middle school I changed districts when my mom found someone and got engaged after a four year divorce from my dad. The first thing I remember doing was taking the choir class. Being the new kid (and naturally shy and introverted) choir was the only place I felt I didn't have to worry. Even the tad bit of insecurities of my actual singing talents didn't keep me from having my one comfortable class of the day. It was actually in choir that I started making a friend, which then VERY quickly snowballed into having so many friends I could hardly remember all of their names, and most of them I still keep in contact with today along with MANY new ones.

Naturally, I continued taking choir all through high school and I wanted to get in my school's top group (Ars Nova). I didn't, but of my own choice. Fees were insane and honestly by the time I had the chance to try out I realized that singing wasn't what I wanted to do after graduation, not as a career at least. I stayed in Concert Choir (technically the top group choir, Ars Nova is the show choir) for my last three years of school.

Mind you, I'm not as good a singer as I may be making myself sound. I have a hard time staying in key. Not because I'm tone deaf or anything (luckily, considering my parents) but just because I'll find one note to get wrong and then just switch the entire thing one key down to make myself sound correct. I usually catch it before too long, but it's still a problem.

We did solo projects in that class, every choir did. Always in the middle and end of each semester. The one in the middle was very casual. It was called "Talent Day" and you could do literally anything and get an A. The Final, though, was much more formal. It had to be no shorter than three minutes but no longer than five, could have no more than four people (surprisingly limiting, actually), and had to be a performance of some kind, from a song to a skit or a poem and all, naturally, by memory. You had to maintain eye contact with the audience, express your words, basically perform as if it were for Broadway. Which is funny, because despite the many years of singing in front of an audience and presenting school projects and all that stuff I never got over my stage fright. I honestly don't know how I managed to get 90/100 on almost all of them since I sung so quietly and so stiffly.

I honestly don't really know where I was going with this post. I just came back from a choir concert at my school since my youngest brother is in Ars Nova (a real pain for everyone involved, I might add, so I'm glad I didn't join) and we sang the song we always sing at the Christmas concert, "Hallelujah." In that song ALL of the alumni from that school go down and join the kids to sing it. I've been feeling strangely nostalgic since and decided I may as well share it with Tumblr.

For the sake of it, here's what I find to be one of our, if not the, best performance we've done in the four years I was there. It's almost 10 minutes and 3 1/2 of it is  taken by the intro, but altogether it's a song about about a whole village of women escaping slavery and choosing the freedom of death over a lifetime of enslavement. Every single woman, including the little girls, all throw themselves in turns over a cliff just as they're about to be caught again.

In case you cared, I'm one of the boys in the middle. I'm a bass, though I used to be a tenor. Puberty took a while to fully set in, you see =P