Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1774721 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-01
• Released on: 2000-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 357 pages

About the Author
Robert Elsie, originally from Canada, is a writer, translator, critic and specialist on Albanian affairs. In addition to numerous translations, he has edited many books, including Kosovo: In the Heart of the Power Keg and A History of Albanian Literature.

Customer Reviews

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!