Xhubleta: A Heteroglossic Visual Space of Narratives

Xhubleta is a traditional dress of the communities of North Albania. A significant aspect of the dress is the visual language of the embroidered patterns on it, and this paper aims to address the visual aspect of them. They have been continuously modified, invented, elaborated by women bearers and s...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Contemporary Southeastern Europe Jg. 11; H. 1; S. 38 - 60
1. Verfasser: Arapi, Dorina
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Universität Graz 2024
University of Graz
Centre for Southeast European Studies
Schlagworte:
ISSN:2310-3612
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Abstract Xhubleta is a traditional dress of the communities of North Albania. A significant aspect of the dress is the visual language of the embroidered patterns on it, and this paper aims to address the visual aspect of them. They have been continuously modified, invented, elaborated by women bearers and subject to their subjectivism, thus shaping different and simultaneous denominations. Comparing the denomination given by the bearers with those given by non-bearers, it is observed different points of view influenced by cultural context, worldview, and interpretations shaped by present-day ideologies propagated through mass media and dominant historical narratives. Drawing on Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia and the work of A. Smith, this paper argues that the embroidered patterns in xhubleta cannot be simply interpreted as reflections of a historical past, as some non-wearers might wish to interpret them today. Instead, these patterns represent heteroglot, multivoiced realities wherein contradictory meanings of past and present converge within the xhubleta. The fieldwork was conducted in North Albania from 2019 to 2021. In-depth interviews, quantitative observations, and online questionnaires constituted the primary methods used in the analysis. The fieldwork data was then compared to ethnographic accounts provided by Albanian ethnologists, and further supplemented by artefacts and visual data to enrich the analysis.
AbstractList Xhubleta is a traditional dress of the communities of North Albania. A significant aspect of the dress is the visual language of the embroidered patterns on it, and this paper aims to address the visual aspect of them. They have been continuously modified, invented, elaborated by women bearers and subject to their subjectivism, thus shaping different and simultaneous denominations. Comparing the denomination given by the bearers with those given by non-bearers, it is observed different points of view influenced by cultural context, worldview, and interpretations shaped by present-day ideologies propagated through mass media and dominant historical narratives. Drawing on Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia and the work of A. Smith, this paper argues that the embroidered patterns in xhubleta cannot be simply interpreted as reflections of a historical past, as some non-wearers might wish to interpret them today. Instead, these patterns represent heteroglot, multivoiced realities wherein contradictory meanings of past and present converge within the xhubleta. The fieldwork was conducted in North Albania from 2019 to 2021. In-depth interviews, quantitative observations, and online questionnaires constituted the primary methods used in the analysis. The fieldwork data was then compared to ethnographic accounts provided by Albanian ethnologists, and further supplemented by artefacts and visual data to enrich the analysis.
Xhubleta is a traditional dress of the communities of North Albania. A significant aspectof the dress is the visual language of the embroidered patterns on it, and this paper aimsto address the visual aspect of them. They have been continuously modified, invented,elaborated by women bearers and subject to their subjectivism, thus shaping differentand simultaneous denominations. Comparing the denomination given by the bearerswith those given by non-bearers, it is observed different points of view influenced bycultural context, worldview, and interpretations shaped by present-day ideologiespropagated through mass media and dominant historical narratives. Drawing onBakhtin's concept of heteroglossia and the work of A. Smith, this paper argues that theembroidered patterns in xhubleta cannot be simply interpreted as reflections of ahistorical past, as some non-wearers might wish to interpret them today. Instead, thesepatterns represent heteroglot, multivoiced realities wherein contradictory meanings ofpast and present converge within the xhubleta. The fieldwork was conducted in NorthAlbania from 2019 to 2021. In-depth interviews, quantitative observations, and onlinequestionnaires constituted the primary methods used in the analysis. The fieldwork datawas then compared to ethnographic accounts provided by Albanian ethnologists, andfurther supplemented by artefacts and visual data to enrich the analysis.
Author Arapi, Dorina
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  fullname: Arapi, Dorina
BookMark eNotzs1KAzEUhuEgCtbatSthbmDGnPzMJN2VorZQdOEP7sJJJqkzjE1JpoJ3b7GuPngXD98VOd_FnSfkBmjFJK_FHWUVwJxRJiqo-BmZMA605DWwSzLLuaeUgqp5o8SEiI_Pgx38iPNiUaz86FPcDjHnzhXvXT7gULzs0fkihuIJU8Kx-_b5mlwEHLKf_e-UvD3cvy5X5eb5cb1cbEoHUo1l64IMNXjeBC0COKgdt8ilBI0BmsA02sYrZ2squMLQBgatbBGZ09YKzadkfXLbiL3Zp-4L04-J2Jm_ENPWYBo7N3jTHqmgbc2RowDWKAuWKRqEDopqhkfr9mQ57-Ng-nhIu-N3A0wI3kj-C-MoXgI
ContentType Journal Article
DBID AE2
BIXPP
REL
DOA
DOI 10.25364/02.11:2024.1.3
DatabaseName Central and Eastern European Online Library (C.E.E.O.L.) (DFG Nationallizenzen)
CEEOL: Open Access
Central and Eastern European Online Library - CEEOL Journals
DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
DatabaseTitleList

Database_xml – sequence: 1
  dbid: DOA
  name: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  url: https://www.doaj.org/
  sourceTypes: Open Website
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline History & Archaeology
DocumentTitleAlternate Xhubleta: A Heteroglossic Visual Space of Narratives
EISSN 2310-3612
EndPage 60
ExternalDocumentID oai_doaj_org_article_dab7f9b63a3a41278b1b280f49f8092a
1244375
GroupedDBID 5VS
AAFWJ
ADBBV
AE2
AFPKN
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
BCNDV
BIXPP
GROUPED_DOAJ
IPNFZ
KQ8
M~E
OK1
REL
RIG
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c158t-dcf5f61e37f94f1c16c3ba35519af17f29ab7e8cb60438afdf21d5daa2c9bb493
IEDL.DBID DOA
IngestDate Fri Oct 03 12:50:57 EDT 2025
Tue Oct 28 18:53:55 EDT 2025
IsDoiOpenAccess true
IsOpenAccess true
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Issue 1
Keywords xhubleta
embroidered patterns
heteroglossia
bearers and nonbearers
Language English
LinkModel DirectLink
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c158t-dcf5f61e37f94f1c16c3ba35519af17f29ab7e8cb60438afdf21d5daa2c9bb493
OpenAccessLink https://doaj.org/article/dab7f9b63a3a41278b1b280f49f8092a
PageCount 23
ParticipantIDs ceeol_journals_1244375
doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_dab7f9b63a3a41278b1b280f49f8092a
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2024-00-00
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2024-01-01
PublicationDate_xml – year: 2024
  text: 2024-00-00
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationSubtitle Contemporary Southeastern Europe
PublicationTitle Contemporary Southeastern Europe
PublicationTitleAlternate Contemporary Southeastern Europe
PublicationYear 2024
Publisher Universität Graz
University of Graz
Centre for Southeast European Studies
Publisher_xml – name: Universität Graz
– name: University of Graz
– name: Centre for Southeast European Studies
SSID ssj0001863784
Score 2.2430174
Snippet Xhubleta is a traditional dress of the communities of North Albania. A significant aspect of the dress is the visual language of the embroidered patterns on...
Xhubleta is a traditional dress of the communities of North Albania. A significant aspectof the dress is the visual language of the embroidered patterns on it,...
SourceID doaj
ceeol
SourceType Open Website
Publisher
StartPage 38
SubjectTerms bearers and non-bearers
Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
embroidered patterns
Ethnohistory
heteroglossia
Sociology of Culture
xhubleta
Title Xhubleta: A Heteroglossic Visual Space of Narratives
URI https://www.ceeol.com//search/article-detail?id=1244375
https://doaj.org/article/dab7f9b63a3a41278b1b280f49f8092a
Volume 11
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
journalDatabaseRights – providerCode: PRVAON
  databaseName: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  databaseCode: DOA
  dateStart: 20140101
  customDbUrl:
  isFulltext: true
  eissn: 2310-3612
  dateEnd: 99991231
  titleUrlDefault: https://www.doaj.org/
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0001863784
  providerName: Directory of Open Access Journals
– providerCode: PRVHPJ
  databaseName: ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources
  databaseCode: M~E
  dateStart: 20140101
  customDbUrl:
  isFulltext: true
  eissn: 2310-3612
  dateEnd: 99991231
  titleUrlDefault: https://road.issn.org
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0001863784
  providerName: ISSN International Centre
link http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV27TsMwFLUQYmBBPFpRXvKA2NLGj8R2t4JaMUDFAFK3yHZsWqlKUNNW6sK340eGMrGwRHKGq_icyPfYvjoXgHukOUVM-bIKnCVUGn-_a93QOK2LsM2zMrjrv7DplM9m4m2v1ZevCYv2wBG4QSkVs0LlRBJJEWZcIYV5aqmwPBU4SCOnevY2U-F0heeEcRq9fHBGcjpIsVsehm6vT_uoT7wjpzH18pdVf8gpk1Nw0opBOIofcQYOTHUOOtG5YwcfoLeFlaH17u4C0Nl8oxzKcghHcO6rWOrPpUtxCw23i2bj4rjFQRtYW1jJVTT0bjrgYzJ-f3pO2p4HiUYZXyeltpnNkSFu0tQijXJNlHSiAAlpEbNYODwM1yr3V3jSlhajMiulxFooRQXpgsOqrswlgC53p5pS6TAvqdJU-aApY6xkmvEU90A3QFC0f21T-FxPWNYDjx6T4iv6XRTegTq8cLwULS_FX7xc_UeQa3DsCYtHHjfgcL3amFtwpLfrRbO6C5S75-v3-Afh3rBs
linkProvider Directory of Open Access Journals
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Xhubleta%3A+A+Heteroglossic+Visual+Space+of+Narratives&rft.jtitle=Contemporary+Southeastern+Europe&rft.au=Arapi%2C+Dorina&rft.date=2024&rft.pub=Universit%C3%A4t+Graz&rft.eissn=2310-3612&rft.volume=11&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=38&rft.epage=60&rft_id=info:doi/10.25364%2F02.11%3A2024.1.3&rft.externalDocID=1244375
thumbnail_s http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/image/custom?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ceeol.com%2F%2Fapi%2Fimage%2Fgetissuecoverimage%3Fid%3Dpicture_2024_82317.jpg