Rugova (sword dance)

The Rugova war dance[1] (Albanian: Vallja me shpata e Rugovës or Loja Luftarake e Rugovës)[2] is a traditional Albanian sword dance named after the Rugova region[3] in Kosovo.[lower-alpha 1]

The Sword Dance (1890) by Paja Jovanović.
The Sword Dance (1885) by Jean-Léon Gérôme.

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.[4] 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 dances (Albanian: valle luftarake), the remnants of pantomimic dances performed in the re-enactment or preparation of battles.[3] The dance is performed by two male dancers who fight a mock battle for the hand of a girl (a "maiden's dance"[5]).[6][7][8]

It was made internationally famous by the Kosovo Albanian Rugova clans (hailing from Kelmend in Albania).[9] The dance is also found in mountainous Montenegro, where a tribe of shepherds settled in the 18th century.[10][11] 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.[3] In 1982, it was noted that "in the last time the Rugova dance has gained wide popularity".[12]

See also

Annotations
  1. The political status of Kosovo is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, it is formally recognised as an independent state by 97 UN member states (with another 15 recognising it at some point but then withdrawing recognition), while Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory.

References
  1. Daubeny, Peter (1952). Stage by stage. J. Murray. p. 141. THE WARRIOR DANCE OF RUGOVO.
  2. Halimi, Kadri (1971). Vendi i Lojës së Rugovës në Vallet Luftarake Shqiptare [The place of the Rugova Dance in Albanian War Dances] (in Albanian). Pristina.
  3. UCLA Journal of Dance Ethnology. Vol. 13. UCLA Department of Dance. 1989. pp. 34–39.
  4. Mathieu, Aref (2007), Shqipëria(historia dhe gjuha)-Odiseja e pabesueshme e një populli parahelen, Tiranë, Albania, p. 150
  5. Nebojša Tomašević (1968). Yugoslavia in Colour. "Review," Yugoslav Illustrated Monthly. p. 34.
  6. Journal of the International Folk Music Council. Published with the assistance of the International Music Council, under the auspices of United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation for the International Folk Music Council by W. Heffer. 1951. A dance by two men of the Albanian minority from Rugova (Pec) represents a mock battle to obtain possession of a young girl.
  7. Žunić-Baš, Leposava (1966). Folk traditions in Yugoslavia: ten tours. Jugoslavija. p. 75. Besides their distinctive dress the people of Rugovo have inherited an ancient sword dance (borbena rugovska igra) in ... two dancers wielding short, curved swords act out for the favours of a girl.
  8. Zemlja i ljudi. Vol. 10. 1960. p. 31. Изводе се симболични двобоји оружјем; бор- ци су окружени младим девојкама од којих најлегапа игра око њих
  9. Dennison I. Rusinow (2008). Yugoslavia: Oblique Insights and Observations. University of Pittsburgh Pre. pp. 290–291. ISBN 978-0-8229-7349-2.
  10. Allenby Jaffé, Nigel (1990). Folk dance of Europe. Folk Dance Enterprises. p. 89. In mountainous Montenegro, a tribe of shepherds who settled there in the early eighteenth century have their own special sword dance, the 'Borbena rugovska igra"
  11. Cuddon, J. A. (1968). The Companion Guide to JUGOSLAVIA. p. 435. The militant traditions of Montenegrins are especially well illustrated in their sword dances: for instance, the Borbena Rugovska igra, (the Rugova war dance, named after the gorge)
  12. Ratko Božović (1982). Socijalistička Republika Srbija. Vol. 1. NIRO "Književne novine". p. 515. Y последнее време стекла je широку популарност игра Valija e Rugovëc (руговска игра) у KOJOJ nrpajy наиз- менично мушкарци и жене, да би се на Kpajy мешали у игри.
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