EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis): I came across this fantastic video by coincidence—or was it Google’s algorithm? A group of young Pontians from Samsun, a beautiful city on the Black Sea in the heart of Pontos, traveled to Europe to perform their beautiful traditional dances in various venues. In front of the Eiffel Tower, the scene is beyond amazing!! What to think first? The fact that Erdogan a few years ago banned all DNA tests in Turkey? Although these dancers do not need any DNA test to prove their Greek origins… I am sure they know they are dancing a 3,000-year-old dance… Pictured in ancient vases: “Pyrrichios” was a war dance – in Crete, the equivalent is the famous “Pentozali.”… I wish we had interviews with these dancers to see how they feel and think of their ethnic roots…
What a horror for those sensitive enough to feel the conflict of knowing they are directly connected to ancient Greeks – yet they speak Turkish, and they are Muslim… Yes, for most people, it is not a problem; they get used to it and live their lives without thinking about it. Erdogan himself is a Pontian; the Mayor of Constantinople, Ekrem Imamoglu, also visited Greece, met with his fellow Pontians in Northern Greece, and communicated flawlessly with them in the Pontian dialect, which is closely connected to Ancient Greek. What a tragedy!! If DNA tests are ever allowed in Turkey, the country will disintegrate in a few years…
But in the end, we all can see the central role that dancing has in our culture. I have said several times that as long as our children and grandchildren can dance our dances, we can be sure they will always have a direct connection to their roots.
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