Dance of Zalongo Greek: Χορός του Ζαλόγγου, Horos tou Zalongou) refers to the mass suicide of Souliote women and their children that is said to have occurred in the aftermath of the invasion of Ottoman troops on Souli on December 16, 1803. The event is commemorated in Greece in the context of the Greek War of Independence. About 60 women were trapped at Mount Zalongo in Epirus during the period of Ottoman control. Rather than submit to the Ottoman troops chasing them, they decided to turn towards the cliff's edge and die with their infants and children. According to tradition, they did this one after the other whilst dancing and singing.[1][2][3] A number of Greek theatrical dramas and a song in folk style commemorating the event are also named the Dance of Zalongo.[4]
 Les Femmes souliotes by Ary Scheffer | |
| Date | 1803 |
|---|---|
| Location | Epirus, Greece |
| Cause | Souliote War (1803) |
| Casualties | |
| 60 dead mass suicide | |
The story of the Zalongo women became so popular within the Greek community that more Greek women chose to commit suicide rather than to suffer rape and enslavement. During the Greek War of Independence, after a long siege of the city of Naoussa by Ottoman forces, thirteen women and their children took refuge in a hill above the waterfall of the river Arapitsa, in Stoubanos. The Ottoman forces set fire to the city, and much like the Souliote women of Zalongo, they jumped to their deaths with their children in the Arapitsa of Naoussa. In the 1950s, the city of Naoussa was given the title of Heroic City, and a monument was erected at the site in the 1970s by Greek sculptor Katerina Halepa Katsatou in their honour.[5][6]
History
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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.[7] The Souliote War gave rise to many legends and stories, such as the Dance of Zalongo, which became well-known throughout Europe. The events of Zalongo are portrayed in different ways depending on the version. Those versions that rely on Christoforos Perraivos' 'History of Suli and Parga' depict Ali Pasha as a cruel tyrant whose acts are all done in betrayal. These versions claim that Ali ordered his men to chase the Souliote refugees as they travelled to Parga, with the refugees only surviving because Ali's men did not want to kill them; however, the Souliotes that remained on the promise of protection from Ali withdrew to the mountain of Zalongo. It is claimed that Ali reneged on his promise and ordered his men to attack. The Souliote men were ready to fight to the death, whilst the women, holding their children in their arms, formed a circle dance on Zalongo and danced over the cliff to their deaths to prevent themselves from being taken as slaves.[8][9]
These events may have occurred, but Ali's motivations are pictured differently in other versions. The Alipashiad, which does not ignore that many Souliotes were enslaved, emphasises Ali's honourable dealings with the Souliote chief Fotos Tzavelas, such as by releasing Fotos' wife who had been taken as a hostage and providing safe passage to Fotos and a number of families who fled to Parga. William Plate of the Royal Geographical Society suggests that Ali was infuriated by the deception of the Souliote monk known as Last Judgement Samuel and sought to take revenge upon the Souliote fugitives, who were then forced to fight their way through to Parga. Samuel was the leader of a faction of Souliotes who preferred to die rather than surrender to Ali Pasha, and so when Ali's troops came to take the Souliote arsenal, Samuel and five collaborators set fire to the magazines and blew up the arsenal with the soldiers inside. Some of the Souliote fugitives decided to seek refuge at the convent of Zalongo, and after the convent was stormed and its defenders killed, those that could escape made their way to the top of the mountain, where they danced to their death before their attackers could reach them.[10] According to the legend, they jumped down the precipice one after the other while singing and dancing.[11]
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The incident soon became known across Europe. The story reached the English-speaking world in the 1820s. During the Greek War of Independence, the story was used throughout England and the United States to gain sympathy for the war. Articles repeated a story about 100 women from Souli who took their lives along with their children while singing and dancing to avoid capture.[12] European painters used the theme in their works. At the Paris Salon of 1827, the French artist Ary Scheffer exhibited two Romantic paintings, one of which was entitled Les Femmes souliotes ("The Souliot Women").[13] French female painter Constance Blanchard painted Greek Women of Souli Running to Their Death in 1838, it was also exhibited at the Paris Salon that same year. Today, the Zalongo Monument on Mount Zalongo in Kassope commemorates their sacrifice.[14]
Theatricals and Songs
editThere is a popular Greek dance-song about the event, which is known and danced throughout Greece today.[15] It was part of popular drama, written by Sp. Peresiades, published in 1903 and staged first in 1904.[16] The Greek folk song "Dance of Zalongo" has the following lyrics:
| English | Greek |
|---|---|
Farewell poor world, |
Έχε γεια καημένε κόσμε, |
Peresiadis describes this part of his drama as a "chorus of women", which can be translated as "dance", but in that context it possibly means a "group of women", as that in ancient Greek drama.[17]
An Albanian dance-song called Vallja e Zallongut ("Dance of Zalongo") was developed with lyrics that refer to the same aforementioned mass suicide, published in 1961 by Sako Zihnni:[18]
| Albanian | English |
|---|---|
Lamtumirë, o Sul, i shkretë, |
Goodbye, oh desolate Souli, |
Paintings
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Dance of Zalongo by Claude Pinet
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Dance of Zalongo by Filippo Agricola
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Souli Women with the Virgin Ary Scheffer
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Dance of Zalongo by Theophilos Hatzimihail
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See Also
edit- Despo Botsi another mass suicide of Souliote women and children in 1803
References
edit- ^ Nikolopoulou, Kalliopi (2013). Tragically Speaking On the Use and Abuse of Theory for Life. Lincoln: UNP - Nebraska Paperback. p. 239. ISBN 9780803244870.
- ^ Karanikas, Dr. Alex. "The Dance of Zalongo". Hellenic Communication Service. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ^ Tzanelli, Rodanthi (30 May 2011). Cosmopolitan Memory in Europe's 'Backwaters': Rethinking Civility. Routledge. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-136-74159-3.
- ^ Royal Society of Canada 1943, p. 100; International Folk Music Council 1954, p. 39.
- ^ Staff Writers (March 17, 2024). "Place of sacrifice of Naoussa women". Macedonia, Greece: Region of Central Macedonia Managing Authority. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Staff Writers (August 20, 2020). "Arapitsa River". Epiros, Greece: YouInGreece. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Sakellariou 1997, pp. 250–251.
- ^ Royal Society of Canada 1943, p. 100; International Folk Music Council 1954, p. 39; Papaspyrou-Karadēmētriou, Lada-Minōtou & Ethniko Historiko Mouseio (Greece) 1994, p. 47; Pritchett 1996, p. 103.
- ^ Russell, Quentin; Russell, Eugenia (2017). Ali Pasha, lion of Ioannina: the remarkable life of the Balkan Napoleon. South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Military. pp. 172–174. ISBN 978-1473877207.
- ^ Russell, Quentin; Russell, Eugenia (2017). Ali Pasha, lion of Ioannina: the remarkable life of the Balkan Napoleon. South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Military. pp. 172–174. ISBN 978-1473877207.
- ^ International Folk Music Council 1954, p. 39; Mynatt & Kaiman 1968, p. 28.
- ^ Percy, Sholto; Percy, Reuben, eds. (1823). "War". The Percy Anecdotes, Original and Select. Heroism-War. Vol. 7. London, UK: Brothers of the Benedictine Monastery. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
One hundred women and children, being cut off from the rest, fled towards a steep precipice at a little distance from the convent: there the innocent babes were thrown over the rocks by their despairing mothers, whilst the women themselves, preferring death to the dishonor that awaited them joined in hand in hand and raising their minds to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by songs in honor of their lost country they whirred round and round in a species of frantic dance like ancient Thyades, till they approached the very edge of the cliff; then with a very loud shout of defiance, and as it were by a preconcerted signal, one and all threw themselves headlong down.
- ^ Athanassoglou-Kallmyer 1989, p. 102.
- ^ Pritchett 1991, p. 219 (Footnote #326); Pritchett 1996, p. 103.
- ^ International Folk Music Council 1954, p. 39.
- ^ Spyridon Peresiadis, "The Dance of Zalongo", Athens, 1903 (Σπυρίδων Περεσιάδης, Ο χορός του Ζαλόγγου, εκδ. Γεώργιου Φέξη)
- ^ Irene Loutzaki, "The Dance of Zalongos: an invented tradition on canvas?" in Barbara Sparti et al. (eds.) "Imaging dance. Visual Representations of Dancers and Dancing", pre-edition version, 2011, p. 7
- ^ Mero Rrapaj, Fatos (1983). Këngë popullore nga Çamëria [Popular songs from Chameria]. Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Kulturës Popullore. p. 451. "Kjo është «Vallja e Zallongut». Siç dihet, pjesa me e madhe e suljotëve (që s’mundi të hidhej në Korfuz me Foto Xhavellën), e nisur për në Pargë, ndeshet në fillimet e vitit 1804 me forcat e Ali Pashës. Mjaft prej tyre nuk pranojnë të dorëzohen dhe vazhdojnë luftën gjersa shfarosen, ndërsa një grup grash suljote për të mos renë në duar të armikut, në çastin e fundit, dredhin e këndojnë këtë valle lamtumirë, dhe njëra pas tjetrës me fëmijët në krahë hidhen në greminë nga shkëdmbenjt e Zallongut, duke u bërë copë-copë. [This is the «Dance of Zalongo». As is known, the majority of the Souliotes (who could not go across to Corfu with Photos Tzavella), started to go toward Parga, encountered at the beginning of 1804 the forces of Ali Pasha. Many of them refused to surrender and continued to fight until they were destroyed, while a group of Souliote women not fallen into the hands of the enemy, at the last minute, they sung this dance of goodbye, and one after the other children in their arms were thrown into the abyss upon the rocks of Zalongo, becoming pieces.]"
Sources
edit- Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, Nina M. (1989). French Images from the Greek War of Independence (1821-1830): Art and Politics under the Restoration. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-04532-8.
- International Folk Music Council (1954). Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Volumes 6-10. Cambridge, England: Published for the International Folk Music Council by W. Heffer & Sons.
- Mynatt, Constance Virginia; Kaiman, Bernard D. (1968). Folk Dancing for Students and Teachers. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co.
- Papaspyrou-Karadēmētriou, Euthymia; Lada-Minōtou, Maria; Ethniko Historiko Mouseio (Greece) (1994). The National Historical Museum. Athens, Greece: Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece. ISBN 960-85573-0-5.
- Pritchett, William Kendrick (1996). Greek Archives, Cults, and Topography. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: J.C. Gieben. ISBN 90-5063-147-9.
- Pritchett, William Kendrick (1991). The Greek State at War, Volume 5. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07374-6.
- Mero Rrapaj, Fatos (1983). Këngë popullore nga Çamëria [Popular songs from Chameria]. Tirana, Albania.: Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Kulturës Popullore.
- Royal Society of Canada (1943). Mémoires de la Société Royale du Canada. Ottawa, Canada: Royal Society of Canada.
- Sakellariou, M. V. (1997). Epirus: 4000 Years of Greek History and Civilization. Athens, Greece: Ekdotike Athenon. ISBN 960-213-371-6.
- Sako, Zihni, ed. (1961). Mbledhës të Hershëm të Folklorit Shqiptar (1635-1912). Tirana, Albania: Instituti i Folklorit, Sektori i Folklorit Letrar.