The Albanian wedding 1871, from the book: Wedding book by Ida von Dueringsfeld 1871

The Albanian wedding 1871, from the book: Wedding book by Ida von Dueringsfeld 1871

The Albanians.
The Albanese do not all live in the country from which their general European name comes; we find Albanian colonies in Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Asia Minor, Sirmia, Dalmatia, Istria, Apulia and Calabria. In this latter Italian province, the young Albanese, who is courting the hand of a girl, places a tree trunk, the image of a new family, in front of the door of his beloved’s house. If the tree is picked up, the advertisement is accepted.

At the wedding, while the new wife is walking through the streets of the village surrounded by her relatives, the bridegroom usually pushes and pushes his way to her, grabs her by force and carries her in his arms to the threshold of the next apartment , where her mother ceremoniously welcomes the exhausted couple and girds them with a blue bandage.

In Albania itself the Albanian race is divided into two main tribes, the Gegish and the Toscan, of which the former inhabits central and northern Albania, the latter southern Albania. The following wedding ceremonies are from the southern Albanian landscape of Riça in the valley of Argyrokastron.
Paternal power in marriage matters is unlimited here. While in other areas the young man’s consent to a marriage alliance is required, the Riçat is usually betrothed at the age of ten and married at the age of fifteen, sooner rather than later. In fact, an only son rarely lives past the age of three without having a bride, who is often still in the cradle. It is believed that heaven is particularly favorable to engaged couples and that the act of engagement contributes to the preservation of life.

The girls are not asked whether they want to go anywhere, not just in the Riça. Here they get married at the age of twelve. As soon as the engagement has been announced, the bride is no longer allowed to appear in front of the groom and all his relatives and is not allowed to exchange a word with any of them.
The request comes from the boy’s parents – since they are already dead – and from his closest relatives. In the case of acceptance by the girl’s parents or relatives, as a “sign” of betrothal (nishan”, as in Turkish), old gold or silver pieces are exchanged, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, old Italian, all of course except Cours and all perforated, because they are worn by the Frans in their hair and pinned to the children’s hats. Should these coins be exchanged back, which never happened without very important reasons, the engagement would be annulled.
If it exists and the time that has been set for the wedding approaches, then on the Thursday or Saturday before this three Lent the groom, usually two men and a woman, go to the bride’s house, where through the The actual engagement is completed by changing gold or silver rings.

They are placed several times next to each other on a pile of wheat flour and with the formula: “Sweet bread and unseparated!” wish the bride and groom happiness and the connection between the two families for everlasting duration. After the ceremony, the emissaries feast. When they return to the groom’s house they are welcomed with songs.
Since the bride does not receive a dowry and even has to leave her own clothes behind, the groom sends her outfit on the Saturday before the wedding, the wedding dress along with a “fés” studded with gold pieces and a sum determined by local custom, which is not one hundred piastres The bride is thus purchased and from now on is the willless property of her buyer and master.

In the meantime, the wedding has already begun on Monday. Since the wheat needed for the wedding bread is led to the mill by the groom’s friendship with songs and volleys, it is called “Flour Monday.” As soon as the wheat is at the mill, the wedding day may no longer be postponed, unless it is because a death or other accident would occur.

Thursday is the wedding wood day”, on which all families who are to be drawn to the wedding receive a request in the name of the groom to bring the necessary wood. The formula is: “You are invited to the wedding wood.” Early on Thursday morning, the women of the invited families go singing to the forest, from where they return heavily laden. In their hands they carry poles, called “bighe”, to which a red cloth or a bouquet of leaves is attached. So they move into the groom’s house, put down their burdens, stick the poles into the pile of wood and sit down to eat.

Then they start kneading and baking, because Thursday is also the “baking day”. The person who puts their hands on the dough first has to be a virgin whose parents are both still alive. She also has to have brothers, or ever More the better. Such a maiden, no matter how poor she may be, is considered particularly lucky and is said to bring the same happiness to the people of Brant.
While the bread kneading begins with certain chants, the pre-kneader fills a bowl with dough, goes around the company and asks if they can throw money into the dough. She tries to smear dough on the groom and distract him as much as possible.

Whatever she collects in this way belongs to her. Another girl, decorated with the groom’s festive clothes and weapons, takes his place on this day, because he is only allowed to decorate himself on the wedding day. When the work is finished, we dance.
On Friday there is rest, on Saturday the closest relatives are invited to the groom’s house. Everyone must bring a lamb. The arrivals are greeted with singing by those specially appointed.
Franen, who thank you for the lambs with the words: “We remain connected to you, Lord!” Then they feast all day and all night, so that many show nothing less than festive faces at the actual wedding, but look at it bleary-eyed and sleepy.
The actual wedding takes place on Sunday and all relatives and friends are invited. Two to three people come from each family, often over a hundred together. Each guest contributes a pretzel bread, a wooden bottle with wine and, depending on the degree of relationship or financial circumstances, twenty pará (three krenzers to ten piastres (one guilder)) in money. The close relative who did not give a lamb contributes up to twenty piastres.

The rendezvous is again in the groom’s house, from which one moves to the bride’s house. At the head of the procession is the clergyman, then in the middle of the men comes the bridegroom on horseback, however small the distance between the two houses may be. Last come the women, who must all be young and lead a decorated horse or mule for the bride. The songs, to the sound of which the procession moves along, are addressed to the bride and warn her to prepare to leave Father Hans and not to cry.

However, it is not the bride who appears at the door of the wedding house, but only her mother, whose hand the groom has to kiss. She holds a vessel with pure water, dips a bouquet of flowers into it, sprinkles it on the groom and then gives him the bouquet. He throws money into the water vessel and she gives him a handbag cloth, which, folded long according to Turkish custom, she hangs over his right shoulder for cleaning purposes.

The same cloth is given to the “wlam”, the groom’s special friend, with whom the bridegroom has solemnly entered into brotherhood. This happens in the church, where the priest says a prescribed prayer for the fraternizers, who also feel comfortable here and there scratch the skin in order to drink each other’s blood. But the “wlam”, which is reminiscent of the ancient Greek “Paranymphos”.

Remember, they can also just be chosen for the wedding without being fraternized with the groom. In any case, he must represent this to the guests, e.g. B. thank him for his health when he has been drunk, because custom requires that not only the bride but also the groom be shy during the wedding.
So the bridegroom and the men shyly go into a room where a one and a half foot wide cloth (mesále) is laid out on the floor along the entire length and is generously covered with food.

In Oriental style, the men sit down with their legs crossed on either side of this tablecloth and have their first meal, during which they diligently drink to the health of the bride and groom with the words: “May they live, be, and be happy!” the desired formula: sweet bread and unseparated!” don’t forget

The women have gone to the bride, who has to kiss each of their hands. Behind her stands the jewelry woman, who is responsible for taking care of her cleaning. An hour later, the “wlam” is also called to her. He kisses her on the mouth, she kisses his hand, then he puts the belt around her, puts on her shoes, mostly red, into which he had previously put rice and money as a sign of fertility, and praises her to the men returned, most eagerly her beauty.

When everything is ready to leave, he steals two silver spoons that have been laid out for this purpose. If the groom’s people can, they also steal something else, a glass, a cup or something similar, which we later return! The bride kisses the hands of her parents and relatives and, with some reluctance, sits on her horse.

As soon as she is upstairs, she tilts her head three times to the right and three times to the left towards her father’s house to indicate that she will always honor and love her family, even when far away. The red veil of the modern Greek brides, the Roman flammeum, covers them. With reference to this bridal veiling, the Albanese says in the sense of “nubere”: “I covered (instead of I betrothed) my daughter.” In Greek it even says: ” I covered my son.”
When the bride, following the groom’s train, has reached half the way to her new house, she leaves the relatives who have accompanied her here and leaves her exclusively to the care of the “wlam”.

Above all, She bows her head as she rides past. If the procession reaches the groom’s house, they must offer wine his mother asks for a raise and throws it at him
with loud blessings, first the bride and groom and then the whole procession with rice. The groom dismounts and the bride is lifted down by his father or next of kin. A little boy whose parents are still alive, because only then is he considered lucky, is moved back and forth under the horse three times, as if one were trying to gird the horse. At the door through which the bride and groom enter, a circlet is held before them and as they crawl through it, holding hands, it is broken above them, as a sign of union until death.

They must cross the doorsteps, especially those to the room where the bridal wreaths await them, with their right foot first. Once they have entered, the bride is unveiled by the “włam” by lifting the red veil with something silver, preferably the silver handle of a weapon. At the wedding that follows, the “godfather”, which is customary in the Greek church, holds the crowns over the heads of the bride and groom. According to Albanian tradition, these godparenthoods are hereditary in families. Johann’s house is e.g. B. the godfather of the related houses Peter and

Paul, and the progenitor of this house, whether young or old, the born godfather of those two houses. If, in turn, it divides into different houses, then, just as with the shares of property, the godfatherships are also decided by lot. This relationship through godfatherhood forms an obstacle to marriage up to the fifth degree, just like physical relationship, and the curse of the godfather is considered even more destructive than that of one’s own father, which is why the baptismal houses do not lack the highest respect for the godfather’s house.

Even at the wedding, the godfather deserves the place of honor, even though he does nothing other than the crowns
hold and pay the priest for the wedding. As soon as this is finished, you sit down to eat. The bride stands in a corner of the room, her arms crossed over her chest and her head bowed. The groom rises in silence, as often as he and the bride’s health is drunk. The “wlam” speaks for ihu.

On the other hand, he opens the dance by being at the front of the line of men, who move hand in hand in a circle. Suddenly he pounces on Brant, who is dancing among the Franen, takes her by the hand, and they both dance to the following words:
The raven stole a partridge.
What does he want with this partridge?
To play and joke with him,
To spend life with him.

However, it is not that far yet. However, the guests leave towards the evening after they have given Brant money and she has kissed their hands, but the raven sleeps with his friends and the Rebhuhu with the women.
On the morning of Mouday, the “wlam” leads the bride and groom into a special room and lets her take turns biting into bread spread with honey three times, which of course the groom does more heartily than the brant. The meaning of this communal enjoyment is a reminder to the bride and groom , to go along just as well as bread with honey.

Then Brant’s mother appears with sugar, baked goods and brandy and congratulates her son-in-law, who kisses her hand. Once this formality is over, the Brantlente go with bowls in their hands to the village spring, where they are supposed to splash each other. Predictably, the Brant gets a good bath, while the groom, the gentleman, remains virtually dry. Then the father-in-law comes to the table with numerous friends and is prepared for this
Highly honored and most festively entertained.

The same thing happens to the groom when he dines with his relatives at his father-in-law’s house on Tuesday. Once he has been escorted back to Hanse by them, they soon move away, only the “wlam” remains and remains until the groom finally gets him out of the house with all kinds of promises of gifts and festivities. Then the groom goes to bed leads and awaits the bride, who, after the necessary resistance, is brought to him in an hour. With that the wedding is over, and the only question now is whether the mother-in-law is happy with the young Fran on Wednesday morning or not If this is the case, she will get up early and wash. This is her post-wedding, her first job in the new house , but humility is all the more required of her.

The families live together in the old patriarchal way, earning and earning is communal, and a Hans, in which the father is the absolute ruler, includes all children and grandchildren. So the young woman may find so many of her husband’s sisters and just as many wives of her older brothers; The young men are all out of the country as itinerant businessmen and only come home to visit; once and for all, only the old people, the women and the children live in the house.

Of these, the young Fran has to address even the smallest boy as “Mister”, and no less every older Fran as “Mistress” (zonje). She calls the young girls “sisters”, the married sisters-in-law “kounáte”, by name only the existing Fran of a younger brother. If her husband is the youngest son, she is primarily responsible for caring for the in-laws; e.g. B. she has to accompany them to bed and stand in front of the bed until she is allowed to leave.

Outside the house, she must kiss the hand of everyone she meets, regardless of whether they are old or young, noble or lowly, known or stranger. She goes decorated, wearing a “fés” on which hang the gold pieces that she received from the bridegroom and the wedding guests, and a white cloth wrapped around her forehead like a wreath.

Only when she is allowed to harbor hopes of being a mother does she change this “fés” with a simple headscarf and puts the money that belongs to her and which she calls “kiáfa ime” (my neck) on interest. Once her hopes have been realized, she no longer shows herself in the presence of others. even her parents-in-law, chatting with her husband or calling him by name, all things that until then would have been against all decency.

A peculiarity is that the inhabitants of different districts are in marriage with each other, while others are not allowed to marry each other because of common descent. To the former belong the Riçatians and the Ljunchariots neighboring them, to the latter the inhabitants of Holti and Shrkieli, all of whom bring their wives from abroad and marry their daughters abroad.
Incidentally, among the mountain tribes of the Skodra diocese, women are bought and sold for three hundred and thirty piastres, of which the father receives three hundred and the mother thirty.

The time of marriage falls later, for men between twenty and twenty-five
Girls between the ages of sixteen and twenty, except for their only son, who is married earlier. The engagement and going home are usually a year apart; The ecclesiastical blessing does not always follow immediately after the latter, but is sometimes postponed until the first child. Among the tribes in the diocese of Pulati, engagements between cradle children are taking place again instead of.

After an evening feast in the girl’s house, three or four of the boy’s relatives set the purchase price for her. It usually amounts to four to eight hundred piastres and is called “distance money.” The engagement is announced the next morning with a volley of pistols; the first installment of the purchase price is called “ring money.” Once this is paid, the man’s family considers the girl their property, and if his relatives wanted to marry her off elsewhere, blood enmity would arise.

The custom of buying Brant does not prevail everywhere: in Argyrokastron, in Jannina, in Skodra itself, even in Dragóti, a place which is separated from the Riça villages only by the Wiussa River, is as popular among the Muhamedans as it is among the Christians the Brant a more or less considerable dowry. The same thing happens with the Albanese people who live in the Archbishopric of Antiwari between the sea coast and the western shore of Lake Skodra. Men here marry at twenty-five, girls at nineteen or twenty. Three years pass between the engagement and the marriage, and the festivities at that time are limited to exchanging signs, gunfire and drinking brandy. For the wedding, friends and relatives gather in the groom’s house on Sunday evening, spend the night and go home on Monday morning the brandy.

Three of the closest relatives go in and get the brandy, while the large group stops forty paces from the Hanse and is treated to brandy. The bride’s friendship only leads her to the groom’s door and then returns to feast Back to the bridal house, Brant is now sat down on a chair in her new family and has a small child on her lap, with whom she stands up and turns around three times so that the guns do not stop , there is no need to mention Albania, the anti-Romantic connecting country between Dalmatia and Hellas, which is one of the uncivilized regions. whose wild sons still love the smell of the powder and occasionally the blood.