Albanian Xhubleta in UNESCO as part of the "List of urgent protection"

In the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, it was unanimously decided to declare Jubleta and its shrine as part of the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the protection of UNESCO. "Xubleta, skills, craftsmanship and forms of use, Albania" is the title with which Xubleta has made its place in the "List of urgent protection 2022". The news was announced by the Minister of Culture of Albania, Elva Margariti. This achievement of Albania has been highly appreciated by those who deal with cultural heritage.

Jublet is full of signs that symbolize life. This traditional Albanian dress, since Tuesday, has also come to life as part of the world heritage. It entered UNESCO as intangible or spiritual heritage on behalf of Albania.

In the 17th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage, it was unanimously decided to declare Jubleta and its shrine as part of the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the protection of UNESCO. "Xubleta, skills, craftsmanship and forms of use, Albania" is the title with which Xubleta has made its place in the "List of urgent protection 2022".

The news was announced by the Minister of Culture of Albania, Elva Margariti. This achievement of Albania has been highly appreciated by those who deal with cultural heritage.

"A treasure that in the rush of time was in danger of being lost day by day, but we must not allow the jubilation to remain simply a relic of the past. By being included in this list, it will have all the support, not only of our institutions, but now also of international ones that will treat jubilee as the wealth of all humanity", Minister Margariti said through a video from the premises of the session that is being held in Rabat, Morocco.

According to her, it took many years of work to get to this day.

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"For us Albanians, the jubleta is not just a costume, a garment, but a way of life, a garment that accompanies the women of the Highlands from birth to death, that accompanies them in every joy and sorrow", said Margariti. According to her, this magnificent 4-year-old clothing full of symbols of life has already crossed the Albanian borders.

According to the UNESCO website, the jubleta is a handmade garment worn by mountain women and girls in Northern Albania, characterized by its wavy shape.

“Mainly black with colorful embroidered motifs, the crafting process involves preparing the shajak, cutting, sewing and embroidering symbolic figures. Jubleta was once used in everyday life from the age of puberty, indicating the social and economic status of the wearer," reads the UNESCO clarification. There it is known that its use and work have been decreasing during the last decades for socio-political and economic reasons. It is clarified that clothing has preserved its social and spiritual significance and is still considered an integral part of the mountain identity.

Through a video published by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), it is explained that the Great Highlands have a tradition of jubilation. Also, it is clarified that it consists of over 30 elements and is divided into jubilees of maidenhood, marriage, jubilees before evil and that of evil.

Anthropologist Arsim Canolli, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Pristina, has said that he agrees with his colleague, Professor Afërdita Onuzi, who says that "the jubleta was a garment spread all over the Mediterranean, but only the Albanian mountains gave their trust to the jubleta and passed down from antiquity to the present day. Now, the world recognized this long covenant of the Albanians with the Jubilee: it became part of the list of the cultural and spiritual heritage of humanity".

has said that, however, jubleta is in danger. "As far as I know, it has entered the list of UNESCO's spiritual cultural heritage because of the danger of disappearing as a practice, because there are very few individuals who know how to make the spike jublet in the way it has been done until now. now. Therefore, we expect to see how the new covenant will continue in new forms of documentation, preservation and promotion", said Canolli.

According to him, such survivals or survivals, which come from antiquity, Albanians have a lot, including the pleat, the clothing of the women of Has, the epic songs, the horror of the men, the sleep, the verse of March 13 and a host of other practices everywhere where Albanians live.

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"Some are in great danger of extinction, some are kept alive by all of us and may enter UNESCO tomorrow as representative symbols of spiritual cultural heritage. But the Albanian language itself is one of the survivals, which is the cultural and spiritual heritage of humanity, protected or not by UNESCO", he said.

Ethnologist of the Ethnological Museum of Kosovo, Bekim Xhemili, said that it is a question of a very old garment that is still used in the Great Highlands, which includes a part of Albania and
Montenegro.

"It tells about the antiquity of Albanian folk clothing, including material, spiritual and artistic culture. It is a very important part of the country's cultural heritage and ethnoculture. It is special, made of wool and indicates a person's status based on colors such as white, red, black", he said.

According to him, beyond the promotion of the Albanian spiritual heritage, admission to UNESCO also offers other benefits.

"It also helps to extend the lifespan of clothing, as it is in the last stage of survival," he said.

But beyond news like this one on Tuesday, Albania was late to advance the acceptance of the lute in UNESCO. In 2018, UNESCO announced that singing with the gusle (lute) has been registered as a world heritage.

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The registration was made at the request of Serbia. Gusle is the name in Slavic languages ​​of the musical instrument known among Albanians as the lute.

A few years ago, there was an effort between Albania and Kosovo to register this musical instrument in UNESCO as a cultural heritage asset. In 2015, Kosovo did not manage to become part of this United Nations Organization, due to the lack of three votes.