![Old man of Has of Prizren](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Old_man_of_Has_of_Prizren.jpg)
The ''qeleshe'', ''plis'', ''qylaf''
or ''kësul'' is a white brimless
felt
Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
skull cap traditionally worn by
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
s. It has spread throughout Albanian-inhabited territories, and is today part of the
traditional costume of the Albanians. The height and shape of the cap varies region to region.
Etymology
In Albanian: or , or , or .
The word ''qeleshe'' comes from the
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
word for wool (''lesh'').
According to
Vladimir Orel
Vladimir Emmanuilovich Orël (russian: Владимир Эммануилович Орëл; 9 February 1952 – 5 August 2007) was a Russian linguist and etymologist.
Biography
At the Moscow State University he studied theoretical linguistics ( ...
, the word ''plis'' comes from
Proto-Albanian
The Proto-Albanian language is the unattested language from which Albanian later developed. Albanian evolved from an ancient Paleo-Balkan language, traditionally thought to be Illyrian, or otherwise a totally unattested Balkan Indo-European la ...
, related to
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
id.,
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
id. and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
πῖλος id.,
Proto-Slavic
Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the Attested language, unattested, linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately ...
''*pьlstь'' id.;
according to Michael Driesen, Orel's reconstruction of Proto-Albanian is incorrect.
Process
There are many ways to make the plis. The most common way, in Kosovo, is using soap on the wool. The plis is always hand made. In the
bazaar
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
of
Krujë
Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana.
Kruj ...
, it is constructed by first getting a small chunk of wool that is placed on a table. Then, an instrument similar to a bow is used to beat the wool by hammering the string with a stone or a sturdy piece of wood. The wool is beaten and pressed until the wool strands become knotted around each other. Finally, it is washed, and shrinks.
It is then pressed by a flat wooden instrument on top of it, multiple times, until the wool becomes completely flat and smooth. Then, it is sealed in a flattener for 24 hours and soaked in hot water and salt. The hat is made by two finished, flattened and pressed wool. The corners are removed to form a round shape. Afterwards, soap is added as a glue substitution to finely keep the fibres smooth while both pieces of wool are rubbed together. Then it is washed and beaten to strengthen the fabric, and placed on a wooden model.
The shape of the plis is determined by the wooden model on which it is left to dry, and then rubbed with soap again to fix the shape. The wool will be smoothened with a razor. Lastly, a wooden instrument is firmly rubbed on the plis.
History
The Albanian plis/qeleshe has been handed down from
Illyrian times.
The Illyrian hemispherical cap dates from the Iron Age, found both in men's and women's graves, hence it can be assumed that it was worn both by men and women. A monument from Illyrian times that was found in
Zenica
Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. Th ...
shows a calotte-shaped cap, very similar to the plis. The Albanian/Illyrian cap has been classified in a broader and general Mediterranean framework, relying on illustrations on situlae and girdle plates from the later
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
in
Northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
and the
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...
. They also feature figures with hemispherical headgear with a small spike. The wearers of such caps are depicted carrying agricultural tools which leads to consider them as country people. Furthermore, in monuments from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD from Bosnia, Illyrians under Roman rule are depicted with similar cap shapes. Such caps are absent in the eastern half of the Balkans, in the
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...
n-
Carpathian
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
region and in eastern Europe.
The 1542 Latin dictionary equated an Albanian hat with a
kyrbasia
The ''Kyrbasia'' ( Old Persian: ''*kurpāsa'') was a type of headgear worn by the satraps of the Achaemenid Empire. It was later adopted by several post-Achaemenid dynasties, including the early Arsacids of Parthia, the early Ariarathids of Capp ...
, and described it as a "tall pileus
atin the shape of a cone" (). An early depiction of the hemispherical plis can be seen on
Johann Theodor de Bry
Johann Theodor de Bry (1561 – 31 January 1623) was an engraver and publisher.
Biography
De Bry was born in Strasbourg, the elder son and pupil of Dirk de Bry. He greatly assisted his father in works such as, the ''Florilegium novum'', which ...
depiction of
Moisi Golemi
Moisi Golemi, also known as Moisi of Dibra ( sq, Moisiu i Dibrës), was an Albanian nobleman and a commander of the League of Lezhë. In 1443–44 he captured all Ottoman holdings in the area of Dibër region. For a brief period in the 1450s he ...
from 1596, however, earlier Italian and documents exist depicting Albanians wearing the plis from earlier centuries. It is also argued by Nopcsa that it may have been coloured red. During the 17-19 centuries, the appearances description and appearances steadily multiplied, depicting it as a common Albanian headdress as it became more widespread and easily accessible to wear. The white version became the most popular one and was finally declared a specific Albanian national costume during the
Albanian Renaissance
The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the ...
.
In the 18-19 century, the plis became popularly depicted in painting depicting
Arnaut
Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contemporary ...
, painters like
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ran ...
,
Charles Bargue
Charles Bargue (c. 1826/1827 – April 6, 1883) was a French painter and lithographer noted for devising an influential drawing course.
Life and career
He is mostly remembered for his ''Cours de dessin'', one of the most influential classical d ...
and
Marie-Gabriel-Florent-Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier
Marie-Gabriel-Florent-Auguste de Choiseul (27 September 1752, Paris – 20 June 1817, Aix-la-Chapelle), called Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier (), was a French diplomat and aristocrat from the Gouffier branch of the Choiseul family. A member of the ...
would paint Albanian subjects of the
Osman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
with the plis, as a diverse presentation of the
orient
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
. It would be casually depicted in a formal setting, such as in ''The Albanian Marriage'' by
Jean Pierre Louis Laurent Hoüel in 1785, where the priest is depicted with a plis.
During the 19-20 century,
Albanologists started taking photographs of Albanian national attires, many of which would include the Plis.
Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás
Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (also Baron Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás, Baron Nopcsa, Ferenc Nopcsa, báró felsőszilvási Nopcsa Ferenc, Baron Franz Nopcsa, and Franz Baron Nopcsa; May 3, 1877 – April 25, 1933) was a Hungarian Aristoc ...
is photographed multiple times wearing the headdress. It then became a popular headdress for Albanian soldiers to wear during the battle for independence,
Shota Galica
Shote Galica (10 November 1895 – 1 July 1927), born as Qerime Radisheva, was a Kachak Albanian insurgent. She has been declared a People's Heroine of Albania.
Biography
She was born in Radisheve village of Drenica region in Kosovo which wa ...
,
Isa Boletini
Isa Boletini (; 15 January 186423 or 24 January 1916) was an Albanian revolutionary commander and politician and rilindas from Kosovo.
As a young man, he joined the Albanian nationalist League of Prizren and participated in a battle against Ottom ...
and
Azem Galica
Azem Bejta (10 December 1889 – 15 July 1924), commonly known as Azem Galica, was an Albanian nationalist and rebel who fought for the unification of Kosovo with Albania.
Biography
Early life
Azem Bejta was born in the village of Galica in ...
are depicted wearing the plis while fighting Italian, Turkish, Greek, Serbian and Montenegrin troops during the
Partition of Albania
The Partition of Albania ( sq, Copëtimi i Shqipërisë) is a term used for the partition of the Albanian state, which proclaimed its independence on 28 November 1912. The delineation of the newly established Principality of Albania under the ...
. The plis formed part of the official uniform of the
Waffen-SS Skanderbeg division and
Albanian Legion.
Overview
The cap is part of the traditional costume of the Albanian highlanders
and is considered as a
national symbol
A national symbol is a symbol of any entity considering and manifesting itself to the world as a national community: the sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of colonial or other dependence, federal integration, or even an ...
among a large number of Albanian communities.
[Gjergji, 2004, p. 166: "To this day many zones of the Dukagjin Plateau in Kosova and various zones inhabited by Albanians in Montenegro and Macedonia have preserved their folk costumes or some expressive element of the costume, such as the white "qeleshe" (brimless felt cap) considered as a symbol of their nationality."] During the Ottoman period, the hat as a white colored
fez
Fez most often refers to:
* Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire
* Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco
Fez or FEZ may also refer to:
Media
* ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
cap was the characteristic Albanian national headgear, in particular of Muslim Albanians.
[ "Gli Albanesi, in parte di religione musulmana, conservano del lunghissimo periodo della dominazione turca il caratteristico fez bianco (qylaf o qeleshe), autentico copricapo nazionale, la cui altezza varia da regione a regione."]
![Ethnographic museum wool](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Ethnographic_museum_wool.JPG)
In the northern Albanian highlands, the shape is
hemispherical
A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
, while in
Kukës
Kukës ( sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in the Republic of Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës, one of 12 constituent counties of the republic. It spans and had a total population of 16 ...
, it is truncated.
In southern Albania, the cap is taller than in northern Albania, especially in the
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...
and
Vlorë
Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...
regions, with the exception of the
Myzeqe
The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; rup, Muzachia) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands.
Location
The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by t ...
low plains region. In some areas of southern Albania the cap has a small protrusion. The cap is made from one single piece of
woolen
Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...
felt
Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
, usually white, that is molded to the shape of the head.
The town of
Kruja is particularly known for Albania's traditional felt-makers who also produce the felt caps ''qeleshe''.
The cap is used by men during the traditional weddings of the
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
region.
Gallery
File:Plisi 002.png, Hemispherical type ''qeleshe'' or ''plis''.
File:Plisi 001.png, Flat-topped fez type ''qeleshe''.
File:The symbol of Albanians.JPG, Hemispherical, oval and flat topped shapes of ''qeleshe''.
File:Mjeshtri i plisave.jpg, A felt-maker.
File:Arolsen Klebeband 01 455 2.jpg, Moisi Golemi
Moisi Golemi, also known as Moisi of Dibra ( sq, Moisiu i Dibrës), was an Albanian nobleman and a commander of the League of Lezhë. In 1443–44 he captured all Ottoman holdings in the area of Dibër region. For a brief period in the 1450s he ...
, engraving by Johann Theodor de Bry
Johann Theodor de Bry (1561 – 31 January 1623) was an engraver and publisher.
Biography
De Bry was born in Strasbourg, the elder son and pupil of Dirk de Bry. He greatly assisted his father in works such as, the ''Florilegium novum'', which ...
, 1596.
File:Lahut, fyell, çifteli.tiff, Albanian music trio with hemispherical type qeleshe, Has District
Has District ( sq, Rrethi i Hasit) was one of the was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 19,842 in 2001, and an area of . It is in the north-east of the count ...
.
File:ARGJIRO POLYPHONY.jpg, Iso-polyphony ensemble Grupi Argjiro wearing tall qeleshes with a small protrusion on the top, Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...
File:Fustanela 001.jpg, Albanian singers with flat-topped type ''qeleshe'', Skrapar
Skrapar ( sq-definite, Skrapari) is a municipality in Berat County, southern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Bogovë, Çepan, Çorovodë, Gjerbës, Leshnjë, Potom, Qendër Skrapar, Vendreshë
and Zhepë. ...
.
See also
*
Culture of Albania
Albanian culture or the culture of Albanians ( ) is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Albanians. Albanian culture has been considerably shaped by the geography ...
*
List of hats and headgear
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Pileus
*
Opinga
Opinga (Gheg Albanian: Apânga) are traditional shoes worn by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia (opinci), Montenegro, Greece (by the Arvanites), and the Arbëresh villages of Italy. They were also worn by countrymen in Romania (opinca) ...
*
Traditional clothing of Kosovo
Traditional clothing (folk costume) is one of the factors that has differentiated this nation from neighboring countries, dating back as far as the Illyrian era.Halimi-Statovci, pp.9–10.
The evolution this attire has undergone, has been in se ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
{{Folk costume
Caps
Albanian clothing
Kosovan culture