Albanian war dances
Traditional Albanian dances performed before battle and at feasts.
Albanian war dances (valle luftarake or loja luftarake) are traditional performances historically carried out before departure for battle. In recent times they are performed during particular events and feasts. Their form and content vary according to the Albanian ethnographic area.
Quick Facts
- Names
- valle luftarake, loja luftarake
- Region
- Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Italy (Arbëreshë)
- Notable dance
- Rugova war dance (Vallja me shpata e Rugovës or Loja Luftarake e Rugovës)
Facts from the source article.
War dance in circle around fire
Early 19th-century western travellers to southern Albania described the war dance performed in a circle around a fire. The dance lasts several hours with very short intervals, gaining energy from a song that begins with a battle cry invoking war drums. The ritual purifying fire (Zjarri) is traditionally used by Albanians for protection and energizing through its supernatural power.
Sword dance
The Albanian sword dance type is commonly performed in the northern Albanian highlands, spreading to the lowlands of the Lezha area and the Mati valley via mountain shepherds. In its primordial form it is danced silently, without instrumental music or vocals, following improvised rhythmic body movements. Sword dances in northwestern Kosovo are accompanied by instrumental music and called a contest to win the maid. The Arbëreshë of Italy perform a different version. Into the late 1400s Albanian sword dances were imitated by Italian tarantellas. The folk tale Skanderbeg and Ballaban describes the sword dance sung and danced by Skanderbeg's soldiers before battle. The Rugova war dance, named after the Rugova region in Kosovo, is a relic of pantomimic battle re-enactments. Two male dancers fight a mock battle for a girl. It was made internationally famous by Kosovo Albanian Rugova clans from Kelmend in Albania, and is also found in mountainous Montenegro. Slavko Kvasnevski created the Rugova choreography in 1971 for a Yugoslav folk dancing ensemble. By 1982 the Rugova dance had gained wide popularity.
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