The Rugova war dance
( sq, Vallja me shpata e Rugovës or ''Loja Luftarake e Rugovës'') is a traditional
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 ...
sword dance
Sword dances are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances from Africa, Asia and Europe.
General types of sword dance include:
*solo dancers around swords – such as t ...
named after the
Rugova region in
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
.
Origin
The Pyrrhic Dance (or Warrior Dance of Rugova) has traditionally been performed by mountain dwellers. This dance was based on the Korybantes (guards of the baby Zeus). The Korybantes prevented Cronus from finding the place where his son, Zeus, was hidden, by clashing their swords to cover the cries of the baby. Dorians took this dance to Sparta, Alexander the Great danced before attacking Persia, and Julius Caesar, after his stay in Illyria, made the dance known in Italy. The Albanologist, Thelloczi, asserts that Illyrians danced with swords in their hands as Albanians do today.
Women dance with handkerchieves. There is also a combined dance in which women and men dance together.
Description
Rugova dance is considered a relic of the
war dance
A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare.
Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settin ...
s ( sq, valle luftarake), the remnants of pantomimic dances performed in the re-enactment or preparation of battles.
The dance is performed by two male dancers who fight a mock battle for the hand of a girl (a "maiden's dance"
).
It was made internationally famous by the
Kosovo Albanian
The Albanians of Kosovo ( sq, Shqiptarët e Kosovës, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovar/Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars/Kosovans, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo.
Kosovo Albanians belong to the ethnic Albanian sub-gr ...
Rugova clans (hailing from
Kelmend in Albania). The dance is also found in mountainous
Montenegro
)
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, where a tribe of shepherds settled in the 18th century.
Based on the war dance of the Rugova clans, Slavko Kvasnevski created in 1971 the Rugova choreography, which was part of Yugoslav folk dancing ensemble.
In 1982, it was noted that "in the last time the Rugova dance has gained wide popularity".
See also
*
Albanian tribes
The Albanian tribes ( sq, fiset shqiptare) form a historical mode of social organization (''farefisní'') in Albania and the southwestern Balkans characterized by a common culture, often common patrilineal kinship ties tracing back to one progen ...
Annotations
References
{{Reflist
Albanian culture
Albanian folk dances
Balkan music