Vajtim
Encyclopedia
Vajtim or Gjëmë is the dirge or lamentation of the dead in the Albanian
custom by a woman or a group of women. In Northern Albania
, men can also be seen singing.
traveller Evliya Çelebi
, visited Gjirokastër
, Southern Albania, then part of the Ottoman Empire
in 1670, and reported the following account from the city:
A particular type of the Vajtim is E qara me ligje (Weeping with Lamentations), which is a sub-genre of iso-polyphonic mourning. This is mainly encountered in Labëria
.
The exclamation used in the songs is a prolonged Oi-oi. The term Oirat is used by Albanian composer Aleksandër Peçi
in his opera Oirat.
rite performed only by men and for men only, in Albania
, exclusively in the highlands of Dukagjin
, Gjakovë and Iballë
, Pukë
. To perform this rite, a quorum
of ten or more men is needed. During the ritual, the men strike their chests and scratch their faces, repeating: O i mjeri u për ty o biri/nipi/miku jem, (Oh poor me, o my son/nephew/friend), depending on the deceased.
Gjâma served the unique purpose of expressing one's grief, but at the same time, to spread the bad news in adjacent regions for others to come and visit the deceased's family. The practice was strictly forbidden during the Communist regime. It was revived after the nineties. The origin of the gjamë is connected to the death of Skanderbeg
in 1468. The assumption of the connection between the Gjamë and Skanderbeg's death is based on Marin Barleti
's remarks that Lekë Dukagjini
had pulled out his hair and his beard as a sign of deep sorrow for his leader's death. The tradition has survived in the Malësia region.
Albanian Catholic
s practiced the gjamë more often than Albanian Muslim
s in the Malësia region. According to the Muslim faith, crying for the dead is prohibited to men. Today Albanian Catholics of Montenegro
no longer perform the gjamë and hire instead professional mourners called Gjamatarë, from Northern Albania.
The vajtim is well known in the Albanian mythology. One of the most beautiful parts of the Kreshniks' cycle is Vajtimi i Ajkunës, (Ajkuna's Lament).
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
custom by a woman or a group of women. In Northern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, men can also be seen singing.
Southern Albania
In Southern Albania a woman usually sings poetic verses and a choir behind her takes up the refrain. In Southern Albania only women participate in the Vajtim, whereas in Northern Albania men also can take part. The song will ask the deceased to get up from the dead because all he owned and all that was dear to him is calling for him/her to be back in life. In the past professional mourners were hired to perform a good vajtim by the wealthy families. The TurkishTurkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
traveller Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
, visited Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
, Southern Albania, then part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1670, and reported the following account from the city:
The people of Gjirokastra mourn their dead relatives for forty or fifty, indeed up to eighty years. Every Sunday all the relatives of the dead person gather in a jerry-built house, paying professional mourners who weep and wail and keen and lament, raising a great hue and cry. No one can stand to be in town on Sunday because of all the noise and uproar. I dubbed Gjirokastra the city of wailing. It is a great wonder how the professional mourners manage to weep and wail with such feeling - more than for their own relatives - for someone who has been dead a hundred years and to whom they are not even related. And how they lament! It is only when they are exhausted with hunger that they desist.
A particular type of the Vajtim is E qara me ligje (Weeping with Lamentations), which is a sub-genre of iso-polyphonic mourning. This is mainly encountered in Labëria
Labëria
Labëria is a region in southern Albania roughly reaching from Vlorë south to the Greek border near Sarandë, incorporating Gjirokastër and extending east to the city of Tepelenë. The people of Labëria are known as Labs, who have their own tradition of songs, dances and costumes....
.
The exclamation used in the songs is a prolonged Oi-oi. The term Oirat is used by Albanian composer Aleksandër Peçi
Aleksandër Peçi
Aleksandër Peçi is an Albanian composer; one of the most important figures of the contemporary Albanian classical music....
in his opera Oirat.
Northern Albania
Gjâma e burrave, or Men's Lament is a deathDeath
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
rite performed only by men and for men only, in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, exclusively in the highlands of Dukagjin
Dukagjin
Dukagjin is a region in Northern Albania and western Kosovo, which contains the Prokletije, an extension of the Dinaric Alps range. The highest point is Maja Jezerce .It is inhabited by nine fraternal tribes;* Shala* Shoshi* Nikaj* Merturi...
, Gjakovë and Iballë
Iballe
-Transportation:Different destinations and road conditions. 15 km from Fierzë 36 km from Fushë-Arrëz...
, Pukë
Pukë
Pukë is the capital of the Pukë District in northern Albania. The town has a population of 6,495 . The local football club is called KS Tërbuni Pukë....
. To perform this rite, a quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
of ten or more men is needed. During the ritual, the men strike their chests and scratch their faces, repeating: O i mjeri u për ty o biri/nipi/miku jem, (Oh poor me, o my son/nephew/friend), depending on the deceased.
Gjâma served the unique purpose of expressing one's grief, but at the same time, to spread the bad news in adjacent regions for others to come and visit the deceased's family. The practice was strictly forbidden during the Communist regime. It was revived after the nineties. The origin of the gjamë is connected to the death of Skanderbeg
Skanderbeg
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg or Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu , widely known as Skanderbeg , was a 15th-century Albanian lord. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440...
in 1468. The assumption of the connection between the Gjamë and Skanderbeg's death is based on Marin Barleti
Marin Barleti
Marin Barleti . was an Albanian historian and Catholic priest. He is considered the first Albanian historian, especially because of his biography on Skanderbeg, translated in many languages in the 16th to the 18th centuries.-Life:Barleti lived in Shkodër and was a scholar and a clergyman...
's remarks that Lekë Dukagjini
Lekë Dukagjini
Lekë III Dukagjini was an Albanian prince who fought against the Ottoman Empire. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit, a code of law instituted in northern Albania.- Biography :...
had pulled out his hair and his beard as a sign of deep sorrow for his leader's death. The tradition has survived in the Malësia region.
Albanian Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s practiced the gjamë more often than Albanian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s in the Malësia region. According to the Muslim faith, crying for the dead is prohibited to men. Today Albanian Catholics of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
no longer perform the gjamë and hire instead professional mourners called Gjamatarë, from Northern Albania.
The vajtim is well known in the Albanian mythology. One of the most beautiful parts of the Kreshniks' cycle is Vajtimi i Ajkunës, (Ajkuna's Lament).