page_title: Culture of Albania
section_title: Wedding traditions
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Albania / Wedding traditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Kolë Idromeno, Dasma Shkodrane, 133x94 cm
context_page_description: The Culture of Albania is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Albania and Albanians. Albanian culture has been considerably shaped by the geography and history of Albania. It grew from that of the Illyrians, with their pagan beliefs and specific way of life in the wooded areas of far Southern Europe. Albanian culture has also been influenced by the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans.
  Albanians can be culturally and linguistically separated into two groups such as the northern Ghegs and southern Tosks. The line of demarcation between both groups, based on dialect, is the Shkumbin River that crosses Albania from east to west. Outside of Albania, Gheg is mostly spoken by the Albanians of Kosovo, northwestern North Macedonia, Montenegro and Croatia. On the other hand, Tosk is spoken by the Albanians of Greece, southwestern North Macedonia and southern Italy. The diversity between Ghegs and Tosks can be substantial, both sides identify strongly with the common national and ethnic culture.
  Albania is the name of the country attested in Medieval Latin.
context_section_description: The dress of the Muslim bride is characterized by its elegance and transparency, in that of the Catholic one can see full colors. The Catholic bride's dress is characterized by its picturesque effects and harmony. There are two types of Muslim wedding dresses. One is worked on a "shajak" (large piece of wool) and with floral motives worked with "gajtan" (kind of rope) black cotton, sometimes mixed with green. The other one is worked in the same material but with red color. Different from the first here the motifs are enriched with full colors. The difference between this two dresses that at the first dress the motifs occupy all the area, at the second it occupies a little part in the front and back. These dresses have a belt worked with gold and grain necklaces in red, rose, orange creating all together a warm surface. Here the motifs are very small.
  Dress of Catholic Shkodran Bride
  The dress is tripped from the transparent white, shiny, soft, which spreads all over the body, and is intended to suggest tranquility and a warm purity. This concept of tradition is achieved through the white of the base material and the gold thread over. This dress is composed by the "barnaveke": some kind of very long pants which seem a skirt.
  Paja
  Ritual songs name various elements which contain "paja" (pronounced paya) of the girl, which are the goods parents give to the daughter to wear, to furnish the house, gifts for her husband and the intimate cousins. Elements are typically made by weaving clothes using looms. The preparation of the "paja" for the parents of the bride is a pleasure which means also accomplishing the obligations toward the daughter.
  Dhuntia
  "Dhunti" in Shkodra means the gifts that the groom prepares for the bride during the engagement, mainly clothes, jewelry, gold ornaments and tricks, which are sent to her a few days before the wedding.
  In addition to those received by the family of his father, the bride takes many gifts from the groom and his family. "Dhuntia", which had a considerable monetary value, was prepared with great care by the family of the boy, because in some way embodied respect and love for his young bride, to whom these gifts were made, love for their son that he married at the same time was also a representation of the family in its economic and aesthetic. In "dhunti" there were enough clothes and items for use at all times, in joy and in sorrow, which expressed particular attention to the role of women.
caption: Kolë Idromeno (1860–1939): Wedding in Shkodra, 1924.
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