7 minute read
Dancing: An international language
The history of Pontic Greeks
by Lola Itzá López Lungo
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Does anyone remember how beautiful those times were when you didn’t have to wear masks, there were no restrictions in shops, restaurants, all shops, and entertainment centers were open, and that you could travel everywhere without testing or checking if you are vaccinated? At the moment, I feel as if the above-mentioned examples were fiction, some imaginary reality. The coronavirus has changed the entire world and the lives of millions of people. Due to the pandemic, people became afraid of going out, going into the city, meeting friends, and a significant part of the population either lost their jobs or changed their working mode to remote work. I, as a student and volunteer, belong to this group because I have been studying online for almost two years, so I think that I have some experience in remote work that I would like to share. The pandemic has had an effect on volunteers as well. Helping refugees is much more difficult when social distancing is required because teamwork and communication is heavily affected.
The Pontian are a Greek ethnic group that used to live by the Black Sea, in the mountainous region in the north of Anatolia peninsula (now Turkey). Vasilis Gioranidis, history and dance teacher, Pontian himself, explains that the first evidence of them moving to that region goes back to the 8th century BC. Since it was a highly isolated place, they barely had contact with other civilizations through history. This is clearly perceived in their dialect, which remained close to Ancient Greek.
Pontic Greek Family in Trabzon
© Wikipedia
Nevertheless, due to the “ethnic cleansing” programme of the Young Turks starting in 1915, Pontian Greeks were forced to leave their land so as to survive the extremely violent persecution they were enduring. This migration turned definitive with the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. Let’s take the time to imagine how it would be to leave the place you grew up in. The hard decision to say goodbye to the place your ancestors have been living for centuries, knowing that you do not have the choice either to stay or to come back. You can’t take with you the flowers nor the fruits or the smells. With the minimum of material belongings, you start your journey. This is how, luckily, you get into a ship with your fellows. After weeks of travelling in the sea, you arrive to land at last! An island in the Aegean Sea, since now you are a refugee and you must quarantine. Still, when your feet touch solid ground again, the landscapes have changed. Now the trees come in different shapes and shades. All the group’s hearts are longing for home… Until someone takes out a lyra. The music and the voice surround you as if you were inside of a cloud. Everybody makes a circle, holds hands, and starts to dance. This is the event that remained etched in the memory of Pontian Greeks. Through dance, people express and mark the feelings coming with every life situation: joy, sorrow, marriage, exile. Today, particularly in the Pontian case, it is the predilected way of showing love and affection, especially to the family members (temeteron, “ours” in Pontian dialect).
Indeed, dancing traditional Pontian dances is very important since childhood. As Vasilis keeps on developing, usually in Pontian dance groups you will be able to find dancers from 5 to 20, 40, 50 years old… Almost all of the dances are performed in a circle. People stay together, as a unified group sharing their roots. Dancing carries traditions, it is a bridge between the past and the present. Nowadays we dance songs that might have been written centuries ago. The Pontian case is enlightening in that matter: dance is a part of identity. Here I would like to add a little reflection. National movements make us believe that we are essentially different and should stay apart from one another, since our differences would be incompatible. The other is perceived as a danger. Yet when in the 1990s, Pontian people could go back to the mountains, they experienced that their dance moves were highly similar to the Turkish dances of the region. And so, beyond language and religion, they danced together.
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage In 2003, the UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This includes, for example, “oral traditions and expressions”, “knowledge and practices concerning nature” and of course, “performing arts”. I believe it is possible to say these, in all different shapes, were born with humanity, since they are part of what we call “culture” and every society has their own.
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage’s logo
If cultural practices have always existed and transformed through time just as the society they originated from – language evolves, new dance styles appear –, then why do we need to “safeguard”? From what do they need protection? According to the Convention, “globalization and social transformation” renew dialogue among communities, but may also “as does the phenomenon of intolerance, give rise to grave threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction of the intangible cultural heritage”. Safeguarding provides the resources needed in order to identify, document, and ensure the transmission of such heritage. Now, what do we consider “heritage”? Is it only what the UNESCO recognizes as such? Prof. Rodney Harrison, specialized in Heritage Studies at UCL, states that we must separate official from non-official intangible cultural heritage. It is not because a construction, natural place or practice is not registered in a world list, that it is not of local value. Heritage is not free of politics and might be defined as “a dynamic process involving competition over whose version of the past […] will find official representation in the future”. (What is heritage ?, 2010). As you can see, this is a complex matter. What is important to retain is that we can understand as heritage the tangible or intangible practices that help us understand who we are: where we come from, what our roots are. And this, regardless of our nation. There is no one superior to another and it is a richness to be open to them and available for discoveries.
A joyful gathering in Thessaloniki On September 30th, the United Societies of Balkans volunteers gathered around the port in order to share their traditional dances. Everybody was welcomed to join. From Romania to Spain, passing by Italy and Hungary, European dances were at the heart of the day. You did not need to know them beforehand or to be a master teacher in order to explain/understand the basic steps, and then performing all together.
Dances of the World event
© Anastasiia Hrechka
What is it like to share a dance from your country? Gosia, a volunteer from Poland, declared that what she enjoyed the most was realizing that, no matter where the people came from, they were enjoying the dance as much as Polish people did. Diving into it, trying to do our best and having lots of fun. Vasilis gives as well his precious insight of the event, when we closed with the Greek dances. “When we were dancing, at that time when the Lyra player Christos came at the center of our circle, I was so excited… We were dancing Pontian dances at the Port, at this special place where my grandparents arrived a hundred years ago! It was very emotional for me, especially because there were so many foreigners, from all over the world… People far away from their home”. When asked about the relationship between dance as a national heritage and at the same time an international language, he replied: “All of us are carrying our national heritage. Dances of course are a part of this. But… Especially dancing is a way to show your heritage to other people even if you don’t speak their tongue and vice-versa. When you dance you share your past, your history and also your story.” We dance to share enthusiastically and learn open-mindedly, beyond words. And I believe those are the best words to conclude. So let’s dance!
