After our return from the mountain hike, the music for the evening’s festivities kicked off. The festival area was outside, with a sound system set up at one end near a fenced off area of farmland. Both sides of a dirt dance floor were lined with benches and chairs occupied by men. The women congregated near the entrance to the great-house, seated under a veranda on pillows, blankets and rugs.
In a near by field below, the main dinner courses were being prepared by a team of three men working over four, lidded, steel drums heated by beds of red-hot coals. The man at the helm had been a chef in London for four years before returning home to Albania. He now works as the head nurse of a local hospital. Getting a job abroad is a boon for both the individual Albanian man, and his family.
The first people to eat were all of the oldest men, served at long tables near what would later be the dancing area. At this time Veesy and I were taken back upstairs to the room where we had eaten a lavish meal only four hours earlier. Veesy explained to me that it was out of profound respect for me that we were being treated to this. I would have preferred to eat with everyone else, but the protocol is to swim with the flow of the river. We were treated to cheese, bread, beef, lamb, salad, and soup. Neither of us could eat very much. After visiting briefly with Veesy’s wife and daughter, we soon went back down stairs.
There was a five piece band of clarinet player, drummer, keyboardist, singer, and technician for the families entertainment. The music was traditional Albanian dance music which I do not have the vocabulary to describe. Each song was about ten minutes in length and came in volley after volley of enchanting lyrics; sometimes slow, and sometimes fast. The dances often would begin with only women or only men, hand in hand in an open circle, dancing to the right. The lead dancer carried a handkerchief, spinning and waving it in the air until another participant came to the front to take the lead. When men and women danced in the same circle, men danced beside men, and women with women. I was soon invited to dance by one of the groom’s brothers. The steps were confusing and clumsy for me, and soon I was the most profusely sweating person at the party. After a few minutes I was temporarily rescued from further cardiovascular activity by a concerned participant who insisted I take a break for water.
At one point I was the lead person spinning the handkerchief. It was here that I found I could not articulate my feet in the proper sequence. My hosts loved me for trying. This dancing in a circle continued from sundown until about 1:3AM on Sunday, at which time Veesy and I were ushered to a nearby house to take our rest. I was encouraged not to venture far into the darkness alone because the dogs of this mountain place are quite formidable. Why argue? My backpack had been stowed behind a couch on the second floor of the great-house. Inside was my passport, my ipod and a number of other “precious” items. I did not fear for their security in the least. It is disorienting to be around a people who’s mindset is so different from the one I am used to. It had not occurred to anyone that I should be harmed in any way. It was an honor to show me every degree of respect and deference. For this reason I will always love my mountain family.
albaniacalling 