The xhubleta is an undulating, bell-shaped folk skirt, worn by Albanian women. It usually is hung on the shoulders using two straps. Part of the

Albanian traditional clothing The traditional Albanian clothing () includes more than 200 different varieties of clothing in all Albania and the Albanian-speaking territories and communities (including the Arbëreshë in Italy, Arvanites in Greece and Arbanasi in Croatia). ...

, it has 13 to 17 strips and 5 pieces of felt. The bosom and the part of the xhubleta covered by the

apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...

are made out of crocheted black wool. The bell shape is accentuated in the back part. The xhubleta is a unique type of dress for its particular shape, structure, and decorating system. It is worn by Albanians in Northern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

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 ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. There are two types of xhubleta: one is narrow and the other is large. In regard to colors, only two colors are nowadays used: the white one for the unmarried women and the black one for the married ones, however in the past many colors were used, as witnessed by a 17th-century author, who claimed that the peacock did not have as many colors as the xhubleta worn by the women of Kelmend. It is thought that the diminishing in colors in the last two centuries is due to the limitation of its use only in remote mountainous areas. The xhubleta was included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO in 2022.

History

The xhubleta is speculated to have an ancient origin. It represents similarities to wearing of some

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

figures found in Bosnia, but also in other areas of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

region, belonging to the second millennium BC, and linking accordingly with old Mediterranean civilisation.

References

{{Authority control Albanian clothing Women's clothing Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity