Forsaken Albania

North Albania in the twenties of last Century. I have frequently spoken about the relationship that exists between the Albanian and his arms, but today I would like to expand the view on this relationship to after death.The large photograph shows how final respects are being paid to a highlander after his death. It was the custom of certain zones that the deceased was presented in a mortuary ceremony, seated. From his attire and general appearance he belonged to an affluent family or perhaps he had been a Bajraktar (feudal chieftain). His cane and rifle have been placed beside him, and a cigarette protrudes from between his fingers. In their recollections, the elderly say that due to rigor mortis those individuals who prepared the corpse of the deceased for this ceremony, had to work rapidly and often had to break bones to prop the corpse up in sitting position. Other bones were broken after the ceremony was over and the corpse had to be laid out in the coffin. The deceased were always buried fully dressed, naturally with the exception of their personal weapons. This traditional ceremony continued in several isolated zones up into the forties of the 20th Century.
The other two photographs are of Catholic graves of the same period. Here, we have to do with an unprecedented pagan,religious and military mixture. Apart from the crosses, which are religious and pacifist symbols, there are also the weapons the deceased had used in his lifetime.
The first cross is made of stone and a woolen belt has been carved into it, together with a catridge belt, revolver, an amber cigarette holder, and rosary beads. From the type of weapon, a revolver, this grave dates back to about the first decade of 20th Century. The other grave has a wooden cross, on which there is a portrait of the deceased himself, very heavily armed. Apart from his revolver, you can see the rifle he used, carved into the horizontal part of the cross. In this case, after closely viewing the shape of the revolver that has been carved into the cross, this grave is older than the first one, dating back to the end of the 19th Century. I wonder to what degree the religious authorities of teh time agreed with all this carving on the fundamental symbol of Christianity, though I suppose that although they may have regarded this as a terrible sacrilege, they probably found consolation in the fact that at least there was a cross over the grave. On the other hand, the carvers did not bother to engrave the name of the deceased on the cross, and only focused on the details of the engravings.