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Customer Reviews (3)

A Fascinating Spotlight on One Mosaic of Albanian Culture
This is a book rather for those interested in gender studies than in Albania. However, there is plenty of information on some other aspects of Albanian culture unrelated to sworn virgins, such as laws of honor, hospitality and blood feuds. The author describes, how these sworn virgins fit in neatly.

Sworn virgins are biological females who behave like men (but not engaging in sexuality) in a severely patriarchal, gender dichotomous and dogma-loving society, transcending the branches of religion. At least that is the impression I gain from this book.

I read the paperback edition of 2001, which contains 33 monochrome pictures. Including the latter and footnotes, it features some 160 text pages. Originally, the book was published in 2000.

You may also be interested in When Men Are Women: Manhood Among The Gabra Nomads Of East Africa and Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in an African Society. A brief introduction including a chapter on Albanian sworn virgins can be found in Gender Diversity: Crosscultural Variations.

Exotic and interesting
This book was fascinating for presenting a little seen side of an exotic and interesting custom in Albania. The stories and interviews were amazing and well worth the read for anyone intersted in other cultures. It lacked a little in theoretical backing and proper methodology but a fascinating read nonetheless!

Literary gem!
I am a devoted academic researcher on Albanian culture. As an Albanologist having this book in my collection of Albanian studies is a true gem.The Albanians have a very fascinating and complex culture.Albanian culture is one of the most fascinating and complex cultures of all the European cultures.
Despite being one of Europe's least known cultures this book on Albanian sworn virgins gives a fantastic background on just one aspect of Gheg clan culture (North Albanian Culture) that predominates in Northern Albania and Kosovo.Antonia Young delivers valuable cultural insight on elements of the cultural phenomenon of sworn virgins. The tradition of sworn virgins has deep roots in the cultural traditions of the clans living in Northern Albania and Kosovo.The Ghegs are the most numerous of the Albanian population and compose of all North Albanians and Albanians in Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia.The Ghegs have a unique culture based on the clan system and extended family. The clan and extended family system is in full gear in the North of Albania and in neighboring Kosovo where on occasion a sworn virgin can be seen clinging on to the traditions that have engulfed this portion of the Balkans since the occupation of the Ottoman Empire and even prior to that.In reading this book not only will one interested in Albanian culture become knwoledgeable of a cutural practice that is little known to the outside world, but will also introduce to you the elements of the culture that comprises the Ghegs (North Albanians).
The most important thing is that the book summarizes and clarifies the cultural traits that unite Kosovars and North Albanians together and how not only linguistically, but culturally and politically North Albania and Kosovo are the same nation! ... Read more

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This text examines contemporary Albanian literature and culture from an outsider's perspective, bringing major Albanian literary works to a wide audience. ... Read more

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Chapters: Religion in Albania. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 71. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The most common religions practiced in Albania include Islam and Christianity. The country does not have a history of religious extremism and takes pride in the harmony that exists across religious traditions and practices. Religious pragmatism continued as a distinctive trait of Albanian society and interreligious marriage has been very common throughout the centuries, in some places even the rule. There is a strong unifying cultural identity which has been solidified historically by the common experience of struggling to protect their culture in the face of various outside conquerors. A Pew Research Center demographic study from 2009 put the percentage of Muslims in Albania at 79.9%. The CIA World Factbook gives a distribution of 70% Muslims, 20% Eastern Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholics. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, roughly 39% of Albanians are Muslim, and 35% Christian A Northern Albanian intellectual and poet, Pashko Vasa (18251892), made the trenchant remark, later co-opted by the totalitarian regime, that "Churches and mosques you shall not heed / The religion of Albanians is Albanism" (Albanian: ). The mythology and religion of the Illyrians is only known through mention of Illyrian deities on Roman Empire period monuments, some with interpretatio Romana. There appears to be no single most prominent Illyrian god and there would have been much variation between individual Illyrian tribes. According to John Wilkes, the Illyrians did not develop a uniform cosmology on which to center their religious practices. Christianity was imposed in urban centers in the region of Albania (at the time composed mostly Epirus Nova and part of south Illyricum) during the lat...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=2314027 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on March 22, 1997. The length of the article is 589 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Studies in Modern Albanian Literature and Culture.
Author: Janet Byron Anderson
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1997
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: v71Issue: n2Page: p430(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Chapters: Culture of Albania, Mehdi Bardhi, Gjekė Marinaj, Encyclopedia of Albanian Art, Puthja E Fundit. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 34. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The expansion of the Ottoman Empire pushed many Albanians from their homeland during the period of the Western European Renaissance humanism. Among the Albanian émigrés that became known in the humanist world are historian Marin Barleti (14601513) who in 1510 published in Rome a history of Skanderbeg, which was translated almost into all European languages, or Marino Becichemi (14081526), Gjon Gazulli (14001455), Leonicus Thomeus (14561531), Michele Maruli (15th century), Michele Artioti (14801556) and many others who were distinguished in various fields of science, art and philosophy. The cultural resistance was first of all expressed through the elaboration of the Albanian language in the area of church sacrifices and publications, mainly of the Catholic confessional region in the North, but also of the Orthodox in the South. The Protestant reforms invigorated hopes for the development of the local language and literary tradition when cleric Gjon Buzuku brought into the Albanian language the Catholic liturgy, trying to do for the Albanian language what Luther did for German. Excerpt from Meshari by Gjon Buzuku.Meshari (The Missal) by Gjon Buzuku, published by him in 1555, is considered to date as the first literary work of written Albanian. The refined level of the language and the stabilised orthography must be a result of an earlier tradition of writing Albanian, a tradition that is not known. But there are some fragmented evidence, dating earlier than Buzuku, which indicate that Albanian was written at least since 14th century AD. The first known evidence dates from 1332 AD and deals with the French Dom...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1181475 ... Read more

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Chapters: Culture of Albania, Zana E Malit, the Tale of the Eagle, E Bukura E Dheut, Tomor, Prende, Perendi, Verbti, Djall, Shurdi. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 34. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The zana e malit is an Albanian mythological creature (Albanian: Zane or Zëre in southern Albania)("fairy of the mountain" in English), zana (as a definite noun), or zanë (plural) of pre-Roman Paleo-Balkan origin. Its etymology is related to Latin Diana its also similar to the Bardha.The Zana are thought to have observed the speeches at the League of Prizren at 1878. In Northern Albania and Kosovo every mountain was said to have its own zana, who appeared as a fair maiden found bathing naked in mountain streams. The zana is believed to be extremely courageous, a formidable opponent, who can bestow her protection on warriors,. Albanians even have an expression Ai ishte trim si zana, meaning, "He was as brave as a fairy", this is used to refer to very courageous individuals. The zana is believed to have the power to petrify humans with a glance. The zana appear in many folktales and in the Albanian oral tradition. A zana appears, for example, in the Albanian folktale The Lover's Grave. She appears to a young army captain, Bedri, who prostrates himself at her feet and must be reassured that she means him no harm. On the contrary, she warns Bedri to beware a wooden beam and a doe, and that he is not safe when he is "at the root". Bedri goes on to meet a beautiful woman, with whom he elopes, pursued by soldiers who know from his pronunciation of the word for "wooden beam" that he comes from an area with which they are at war. Bedri learns that his beloved's name is Dre, meaning doe, and the soldiers capture and kill the couple outside the town of Nderendje - the name of which means "at ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=23214734 ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Not illustrated. Excerpt: In Albanian folklore, Gjergj Elez Alia was a great warrior of Albanian tradition. The song of Gjergj Elez Alia is usually sung in lahute, or occasionally in Çiftelia by Albanian rhapsodes. Gjergj Elez Alia had nine wounds on his body and lay suffering for nine years in his house and everybody had forgotten him. Only his sister took care for him night and day for nine years. Then news came that another enemy, Balozi i Zi (black knight) had come from the sea and was killing people and destroying villages every day. One day Gjergj felt some drops of water on his face and thought that his house had become so old that the rain was coming in. His sister told him that it was not the rain, but her tears on his face. She told him that Balozi had requested her and sooner or later would come to get her. Gjergj then told her to take his horse and make it ready for war, as he was going to fight against the horrible Baloz. He met Baloz the next day and had the fight; Gjergj was victorious. He returned home to his sister and as they hugged with joy, both their hearts stopped beating and they died instantly together. They were then buried in the same grave and the place was never forgotten. Everyone that passed by stopped to remember his great actions. Gjergj Elez Alia, the greatest of heroes,For nine years now on his bed has he languished,Night and day one sister stays at his bedside,Cleansing his wounds for nine years with spring water,Cleansing his wounds all the time with her teardrops,And wiping the blood with the locks of her long hair,She bound his wounds in the shawl of their mother,Their father's old garments protected his body,Down at the foot of the bed hung his weapons.Each night when tucked into his bed by his sister,He weaned ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1576145 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1068 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

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In some senses, Albania is a living museum of the past. Originally a small herding community in the most inaccessible reaches of the Balkans, the presence of Albanians in southeastern Europe has been documented for over a thousand years.

Albanian traditional folk culture, which evolved over centuries of relative isolation, is surprisingly rich. Yet despite recent events this culture remains little known to the Western world. Due to the lasting effects of a half century of Stalinist dictatorship, very few individuals even in Albania know much about their own popular traditions.

The Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture makes available for the first time a wealth of knowledge about Albanian popular belief and folk customs. Alphabetical entries shed light on blood feuding, figures of Albanian mythology, religious beliefs, communities, and sects, calendar feasts and rituals, and popular superstitions, as well as birth, marriage, and funeral customs, and sexual mores. This unique volume will stand as the standard reference work on the subject for years to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A drink of water in a parched landscape
This is a phenomenal resource.It is the first attempt, that I know of at least, to try and catalogue the mythology of a culture that at worst was a contemporary of the ancient Greeks.I'll be honest and say that I'm biased in regards to anything Albanian (I'm from Kosova) but I got a huge kick out of this.I flipped through with my mother and was able to find entries for monsters and tales she had told me while I was growing up codified by genuine certified academic types!

Much if not most Albanian folklore is handed down via an oral tradition that extends back to before Christ.It is a beautiful thing but being oral it dies if no one remembers it, that is exactly what I am afraid is going to happen.As someone who has been to the region many, many times I think it imperative that the knowledge of the oldest generations be recorded before they pass on.If not then all you'll be left with is people like myself, who have but a pale echo of that tradition of myth and legend.

The only downside to this fantastic book is that it is so very limited.It is obvious that material exists for a much more in depth examination of this amazing trove.Some doctoral candidates out there have enough raw materials for 100 theses. Get hopping! ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 5707 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Contains 8,000 to 12,000 word essays on specific culture groups in the United States, emphasizing religions, holidays, customs, and languages in addition to providing information on historical background and settlement patterns. Also covers ethnoreligious groups such as Jews, Chaldeans, and Amish. Each essay lists organizations and research centers; name, address, and contact information for periodicals, radio, and television stations; and a further readings section. ... Read more

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This historic volume was published in 1908 and, as you can read from the chapters below, explores Turkish history, customs and culture as they existed in the early 20th century.

Chapters:
I. Before the Turkish Conquest
II. After the Turkish Conquest
III. The Turks
IV. The Turks (continued)
V. The Turks {continued)
VI. Mohammedanism
VII. The Orthodox Church
VIII. The Greeks
IX. The Bulgarians and Serbs
X. The Albanians and Vlachs
XL The Armenians
XII. 1907
XIII. The Outlook
...............................................................................

A short summary from the book's Introduction:

The papers which are here presented to the reader in the
form of a book were written at various periods, but have a
certain unity as being the result of an attempt, prosecuted
during some years, to understand what is the real condition
of Turkey, and of some neighbouring countries, and how
that condition has arisen.I am well aware that an adequate
knowledge of any one of the many themes here touched
upon can only be obtained by lifelong research ; but in the
course of my studies I have often felt that though for the
purposes of practical politics it is well to see only one side
of a question and act accordingly, yet non-political writers
often impair the value of their work because they devote
themselves to a special subject and unconsciously become
partisans.Many authorities on Byzantine and Slavonic
history seem to pride themselves on their ignorance of every-
thing Turkish, while some of those who have contributed
most to our knowledge of the Turks and of the Mohammedan
religion, show an Ottoman indifference to the peculiarities which
may be exhibited by various kinds of Giours and infidels.

In the first two chapters I have given a brief historical
sketch of the countries which we now call Turkey and the
Balkan States from the foundation of Constantinople until
this century.They will, perhaps, be more useful for pur-
poses of reference than for consecutive reading, but it has
been so difficult to collect the information embodied in
them that it appeared worth while to present it in a con-
nected form.The third fourth and fifth, chapters treat of
the origin, history, and characteristics of the invading people,
whose presence is the main cause of the peculiarities which
to-day distinguish South- Eastern Europe.Then follow two
chapters on Mohammedanism and Eastern Christianity.
Religion and politics interact on one another everywhere,
but in the East more directly than in the West.The chief
reason why the Turks have never been assimilated by the
Europeans who surround them (as has been the case with
the Magyars, Bulgarians, Finns, and other peoples who were
originally Pagan Asiatics) is that when they appeared in
Europe they had already adopted an Arabian religion, and
with it a certain amount of Arabian and non-European
civilisation.On the other hand, the inability of the Byzan-
tine Empire to resist the Turks was mainly due to the dis-
sensions between the Eastern and Western Churches, which
rendered it impossible for Christendom to unite and oppose
Islam.Having thus, as I hope, explained the characteristics
of the Turks, and the general relations of Mohammedans and
Christians, I proceed to give some account of the various
Christian peoples who inhabit the Ottoman Empire, and of
the racial quarrels which prevent them from combining
against the Turks.




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