Culture of Albania

Albanian women dressed in traditional costumes at the Sofra Dardane festival in Bajram Curri
National History Museum in Krujë
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Albanian culture or the culture of Albanians (Albanian: kultura shqiptare [kultuˈɾa ʃcipˈtaɾɛ]) is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of ethnic Albanians, which implies not just Albanians of the country of Albania but also Albanians of Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro, where ethnic Albanians are a native population. Albanian culture has been considerably shaped by the geography and history of Albania, Kosovo, parts of Montenegro, parts of North Macedonia, and parts of Northern Greece, traditional homeland of Albanians. It evolved since ancient times in the western Balkans, with its peculiar language, pagan beliefs and practices, way of life and traditions. Albanian culture has also been influenced by the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans.

The name 'Albanian' derived from the Illyrian tribe of the Albanoi and their capital in Albanopolis that was noted by Ptolemy in ancient times.[1][2][3][4][5] Previously, Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni and referred to themselves as Arbëreshë or Arbëneshë until the sixteenth century as the toponym Shqipëria or Shqypnia and the endonym Shqiptarë or Shqyptarë gradually replaced Arbëria and Arbëresh.[6][7][8][9] The terms Shqipëria and Shqiptarë are popularly interpreted respectively as the "Land of Eagles" and "Children of Eagles" / "Eagle-Men".

The double-headed eagle is the national and ethnic symbol of all Albanian-speaking people. The symbol appears in a stone carving dating from the tenth century as the Principality of Arbanon was established. It is also documented to have been used as a heraldic symbol by numerous noble families in Albania in the Middle Ages. The double-headed eagle appears as a symbol for bravery, valor, freedom and heroism. The symbol is widely used in Albanian traditional art, including jewellery, embroidery, and house carving.

Albanians can be culturally and linguistically separated into two subgroups: the northern Ghegs and the southern Tosks.[10][11] The line of demarcation between both groups, based on dialect, is the Shkumbin River that crosses Albania from east to west.[12] Outside of Albania, Gheg is mostly spoken by the Albanians of Kosovo, northwestern North Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia (Arbanasi). On the other hand, Tosk is spoken by the Albanians of Greece (Arvanites, Chams), southwestern North Macedonia and southern Italy (Arbëreshë). The diversity between Ghegs and Tosks can be substantial, both sides identify strongly with the common national and ethnic culture.

Home of Muslims and Christians, religious tolerance is one of the most important values of the tradition of the Albanian people. It is widely accepted, that Albanians are well known about those values, about a peaceful coexistence among the believers of different religious communities in the country.[13][14] All the aspects of the Albanian tribal society have been directed by the Kanun, the Albanian traditional customary law. Orally transmitted across the generations, it reflects many legal practices of great antiquity that find precise echoes in other Indo-European cultures such as Vedic India and ancient Greece and Rome.

Thanks to its long history, Albania is home to many valuable monuments such as among others the remains of Butrint, the medieval cities of Berat and Gjirokastër, the Roman amphitheatre of Durrës, the Illyrian Tombs and Fortress of Bashtovë. Other examples of important contributions to architecture may be found in Apollonia, Byllis, Amantia, Phoenice, Shkodër and many others.[15]

Despite being a small country, Albania has three sites on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List and one Intangible Cultural Heritage element. The Codices of Berat are eminently important for the global community and as well the development of ancient biblical, liturgical and hagiographical literature.[16] Therefore, it was inscribed on the UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2005.

  1. ^ Lloshi 1999, p. 277. "The Albanians of today call themselves shqiptarë, their country Shqipëri, and their language shqipe. These terms came into use between the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. Foreigners call them albanesi (Italian), Albaner (German), Albanians (English), Alvanos (Greek), and Arbanasi (old Serbian), the country Albania, Albanie, Albanien, Alvania, and Albanija, and the language Albanese, Albanisch, Albanian, Alvaniki, and Arbanashki respectively. All these words are derived from the name Albanoi of an Illyrian tribe and their center Albanopolis, noted by the astronomer of Alexandria, Ptolemy, in the 2nd century AD. Alban could he a plural of alb- arb-, denoting the inhabitants of the plains.
  2. ^ Malcolm 1998, p. 29. "Nor is there any mystery about the origin of this name. In the second century Ptolemy referred to a tribe called the 'Albanoi', and located their town, 'Albanopolis', somewhere to the east of Durres."
  3. ^ Mëniku & Campos 2012, p. 2. "Albanian is an Indo-European language, but like modern Greek and Armenian, it does not have any other closely related living language. Within the Indo-European family, it forms a group of its own. In Albanian, the language is called shqip. Albania is called Shqipëri, and the Albanians call themselves shqiptarë. Until the fifteenth century the language was known as Arbërisht or Arbnisht, which is still the name used for the language in Italy and Greece. The Greeks refer to all the varieties of Albanian spoken in Greece as Arvanitika. In the second century AD, Ptolemy, the Alexandrian mathematician, astronomer and geographer, used the name Albanoi to refer to an Illyrian tribe that used to live in what is now central Albania. During the Middle Ages the population of that area was referred to as Arbanori or Albanon. It is clear that the words Arbëresh, Arvanitika, and even Albanian and Albania are all related to the older name of the language."
  4. ^ Ramadan Marmullaku - 1975, Albania and the Albanians - Page 5
  5. ^ Land of Eagles: Riding Through Europe's Forgotten Country (Robin Hanbury-Tenison ed.). I.B.Tauris. 30 June 2014. p. 17. ISBN 9781780765020.
  6. ^ "www.pinocacozza.it". www.pinocacozza.it.
  7. ^ Casanova. "Radio-Arberesh.eu". Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  8. ^ Kristo Frasheri. History of Albania (A Brief Overview). Tirana, 1964.
  9. ^ Lloshi, Xhevat. "The Albanian Language" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
  10. ^ The Tribes of Albania,: History, Society and Culture (Robert Elsie ed.). I.B.Tauris, 2015. 24 April 2015. p. 2. ISBN 9780857739322.
  11. ^ Elsie, Robert. "Geographical location". albanianlanguage.
  12. ^ Mate Kapovi, Anna Giacalone Ramat, Paolo Ramat (20 January 2017). The Indo-European Languages - Routledge language family series. Taylor & Francis, 2017. p. 552. ISBN 9781317391531.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ UNESCO. "Island of Peace: Documentary on Religious Coexistence in Albania". unesco.org. p. 1. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  14. ^ BBC. "The country that's famous for tolerance". bbc.com. p. 1.
  15. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Butrint". UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
  16. ^ UNESCO. "MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER NOMINATION FORM Codex Beratinus 1 and 2" (PDF). unesco.org.