Kosovo Culture
People l Tradition l Values
For centuries, the ethnic Albanian villagers have lived in Kosovo within extensive families among members consisting of 70 to 100 which were ruled by a chosen patriarch. Up to this date, the Kosovar society is still built on family units in the majority of the rural areas, even though the family structure has progressively eroded since the end of World War II.
Progress toward modernization started advancing in the 1970’s when the modern educated elite initiated the emerge, however, outside the major cities, in the rural areas, it has been unable to alter the loyalty towards tradition in which a large amount of the Kosovars hold among their extensive families.
The Kosovars constitute of the Gheg sub-group in which the basis of its social system if based on the clan or “fis”. Among this sub-group is also the sub-clan which is recognized as “vellazeri” consisting of a group of blood-related families. The clans are extremely devoted to their members and the great blood feuds that were frequent in the past century are no longer present. Although there are various religious beliefs among family units at times, they have been prevailed over by the great power of the clan and the members’ devotion towards it.
Unwritten or customary rules are very frequently practiced as law and order among Kosovars with its principles being as followed:
- Personal honor
- The equality of persons
The freedom of each to act in accordance with own honor, with law limits, and without being subject to another’s commands
The word of honor known as “besa” creating a situation of inviolable trust (upon Besa, Kosovars take the person’s honor and the person’s life the remote areas of the country.
Among the current modern times, the former customs and traditions are gradually vanishing due to the influence of the western world which has even reached remote areas of the country. The elderly generations are the ones who assist in keeping such customs and traditions alive, however. In the major cities of the country, families consist of the parents and children until the latter wish to live separately. Nowadays, females are very frequently well-educated and considered equal members in the families with the freedom to organize and live modern westernized lifestyles.
Among the current modern times, the former customs and traditions are gradually vanishing due to the influence of the western world which has even reached remote areas of the country. In the major cities of the country, families consist of the parents and children until the latter wish to live separately. As well, nowadays, females are very frequently well-educated and considered equal members in the families with the freedom to organize and live modern westernized lifestyles. It is mainly the elderly generations of Kosovo, like in most other cultures and countries, insisting and assisting in keeping such customs and traditions still alive.
Diversity
Many minorities live in Kosovo today. Through the years, because of the long efforts to the exclusive claim over its province, Kosovo has been a collage of ethnicities, languages, cultures that all add and reason to those minorities still here today.
The Ottoman Empire left behind their religion, their language, and their people (dating back to the 14th century). All three mark important facts of our culture today. You can go visit certain places of Kosovo, and realize that the mass are fluent in Turkish. And as for religion-based artifacts of the Ottomans, they are visible in the 90% of Kosovars that are Muslim.
Serbian minority, with 7% of the population, can account for the majority of the minorities in Kosovo. After the Ottoman Empire, Serbia re-acquired Kosovo (the first was during the medieval period before the Ottomans) and thus became their autonomous territory according to the 1974 Yugoslavian Constitution. After that, there were constant quarrels between the Serbians and Kosovars over the status of Kosovo. The result of the disagreement between the two ethnicities resulted in war, and the outcome was many Serbs moving back to Serbia and a small portion of them remaining here. Today, they lead the minorities of the newborn country. Although violence in the past affected both the Serbian and Kosovar society, the Serbs that have remained here continue to live and work on their traditional lands. Mainstreams of Serbs are found in the rural parts of Kosovo where they have remained in their homes throughout the troubles of the past decade. They live their lives and tradition as before and their culture remains out of harm’s way. One of the main cities of Serbian residence is Gracanica, a village not far from Prishtina. Here you can find Serb-language facilities, including schools, university, etc, together with the famous Orthodox monastery dating back to 1321.
The Roma is as well an important minority towards Kosovo’s multiethnic nation. The first Roma can be dated back to 14th century Prizren, although nowadays most are found in the Diaspora following the Kosovar-Serbian conflict. Before the conflict though, the Roma population lived an elite life, having their own institutions, theaters, newspapers and more. During the Kosovar-Serbian clash, the Roma located out of Kosovo, and only a small number remain here still. Their culture and traditions have had great influence on the Kosovo culture, brushing off their significant brass bands and trumpets styles of music onto us. Likewise, the Serbian adopted music known as “tallava,” a fast paced folk music type, has had a great influence in the recent years in Kosovo culture. Through art, music, history, and language, the minorities living in Kosovo leave patched onto our culture as Kosovo leaves some onto theirs.
Art l Music l Theater
Music in Kosovo may have come to an era where it is strongly westernized and combined with many music genres that occidentalized countries have undertaken the impact of, but traditional Albanian music is still very popular in the Kosovo region. The traditional instrument used in both Albania and Kosovo is the ciftelia and the mandolin. Other traditional music of Kosovar culture is folk music which is represented by the folk group Shota. Shota as well is a traditional dance style of Kosovar and Albanian culture named after the remarkable figure, Shote Galica. The dance requires a high tempo with quick steps and can be seen danced and played in many traditional Kosovar ceremonies.
Serb music is also played and listened in Serb populated regions of Kosovo. It is not surprising to hear Serb music in many parts of the Balkan region including Kosovo. Their main instruments for their traditional music include bagpipes, horns, flutes, trumpets and much more.
Roma music is a mixture of Albanian/Kosovar, Macedonian, Serbian music with a sort of oriental rhythm and it brings about one of the most commonly listened to music nowadays in Kosovo, known as Tallava.
Kosovar film-making is not so frequent as it would be in other countries due to it being a high risk and very high budget industry. There are only a few movies that have been produced and most deal with the concerns of the war. Kukumi by Isa Qosja is, to this date, the most famous film made in Kosovo in 1999, winning a jury prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival. None the less, although it may be a high budget industry, Kosovo still shows much interest in film-making and have proved it through their hosting of film festivals. The Doku Fest Film Festival is held in Prizren each year towards the end of summer, and has grown slowly to become well-known in Europe.
As for theaters, there are many all around Kosovo, some for children plays, others for the use of jazz music or any type of live band in general. The main theater is the Kosovo National Theater located in the heart of Prishtina where you have plays performed regularly, as well as special theater weeks which usually have visitors coming from outside of Kosovo to watch.
Clothes
Traditional clothing in Kosovo resembles much of the Albanian traditional clothing if not all the same. There are over 200 different kinds of clothing and styles of wearing the clothes all depending of where you’re from, the history of your fis (clan), and many more reasons. There are usually 6 to 7 parts that make up the full bodied Kosovar traditional dress. First is the headgear: a woolen cone-shaped plis for the male, and a pashnik headdress for the female of a common red color. Second is the pants or dress, depending on the style and gender. The men usually have on long woolen white pants called tirq or a fustanella which is a skirt like costume. The women wear a xhubleta which is a skirt like type of clothing as well, only it can resemble more as an apron in the front instead. Before wearing the shoes, both men and women had socks or Çorape and finally came the Openga or shoes worn by men, wheras women would usually wear wooden clogs.
As for present day clothing – there isn’t much difference in Kosovo fashion from any westernized country.
Architecture
An indigenous Islamic tradition is a practice in which Kosovo has been home to for over 600 years due to its wealthy archeological heritage consisting of various mosques, tekkes (brotherhoods), Islamic libraries, medreses (theological schools), bazaars, hamams (Turkish baths), and such. Those traditions as a part of the Kosovar heritage have suffered substantial damages as a result of the latest conflict. Besides those of the Kosovo culture, there are other architectural monuments remaining in those areas where minorities rest. Most importantly, are the Serbian Orthodox churches and monetary that still stand strong in the most important areas of Kosovo.
Most architectural monuments in Kosovo are linked to religion due to the impact that the different overpowering countries have had over us. The Turks, for example impacted their Muslim religion onto us, and therefore it gives reason for the many ancient mosques that you will see around you during your stay. The mosques, like the Minaret of Arasta Mosque in Prizren or the Mbretit Mosque in Prishtina, can date all the way back to the 14th and 15th century. There are many traditions that have come along with these mosques. For example, in front of the Mbretit Mosque, there is a square like space that has been a place for the men of the village to gather and discuss heated topics of the town. This tradition still occurs today.
The Serbs, mostly being Orthodox, have left their architectural monuments as well. You can find Orthodox Churches and Monasteries in many places of Kosovo, some of which are not used anymore, and many that are for the Serb residents today. One of the main Serbian monuments highlighting the capital city, Prishtina, is the Serbian Orthodox Church located behind the National Library. It was founded in 1990 under the rule of Slobodan Milošević and was initiated to be known as the biggest church in Kosovo, but a halt came to the construction of it in 1999 due to the conflict. During the war, the church was rocked by an explosive, but left harsh damage, and today it is left like that and seen as a historical monument of a crucial time period in Kosovo as well as a religious symbol.
Gračanica is one of the many historical Serbian sites in Kosovo. It is located not far from Prishtina, and has architectural influences of late Byzantine. The monastery of Gračanica is located there as well and it is one of the main attractions of the village. It was built on top of an older Byzantine basilica, and is said to be one of the most exquisite bestowals of King Milutin in the 13th century. The mixture of brick and stone used for construction of the church walls is typical Byzantine design, and the fresco in the interior of the Church is, as well, the product of well known Byzantine painters of Milutin’s time. Overall, the structure of Kosovo’s architecture differs from city to city because of the number of ethnicities and cultures that have once lived there or continue to, and each tells a distinct story of Kosovo’s past.
Kosovo was inflicted with severe armed conflict and savage “ethnic cleansing” in the period of early spring 1998 to the end of summer 1999. The fate of Kosova’s rich cultural heritage, including its mosques, churches, monasteries, and other various religious monuments, historic urban areas, archives, traditional resident al architecture, libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions or educational centers, is much less well-known than the human tragedy that took place.
Out of the four most preserved historic areas in Kosovo, three of them suffered massive destruction; those areas consist of old historic cities known as Gjakova, Peja, and Vushtrri. On the other side, the historic city of Prizren endured from the war without much devastation among its historic monuments apart from the burn down of the 1878 Museum of the Albanian Language of Prizren in March 28, 1999. However, two Ottoman-era bridges have suffered undeviating hits in the city of Gjakova.