Dance of Zalongo - Songs of the Greek War of Independence (with english subtitles)

The Souliots Greeks were a de facto indepedent greek area inside the Ottoman Empire. The Souliots lived in the Epirus region and grew up from a very young age as warriors. They were unmatched in war tactics , mountainous guerilla warfare and close combat.
Often the Souliotes Greeks annihilated even 10 times larger ottoman turk armies.

The Souliot warriors were of paramount importance during the greek war of independence (1821-1830).
Souliots chieftains like Marco Botsaris and Kitzos Tzavelas were some of he most known Greek heroes of the War of Independence and even today in Paris a train station is named after the Marko Botsaris

The Dance of Zalongo refers to the mass suicide of women from Souli and their children that occurred in the aftermath of the invasion of Ottoman Turk troops on December 16, 1803. The event is commemorated in Greece in the context of the Greek War of Independence.

A number of 60 women were trapped near the village of Zalongo in Epirus, modern Greece, then Ottoman Empire and decided to turn towards the cliff's edge and die with their infants and children rather to submit to the Ottoman Turk troops chasing them.

According to tradition they did this one after the other while dancing and singing. The name also refers a number of Greek theatrical dramas and a song in folk style, commemorating the event, named "Dance of Zalongo" (Greek: Χορός του Ζαλόγγου, Horos tou Zalongou