THE «8 NËNTORI» PUBLISHING HOUSE
TIRANA, 1978
Part II
VI. THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN
The progress of the Albanian women to their emancipation under the guidance of the Party of Labour of Albania is one of the finest examples and has yielded brilliant results. The linking of the problem of women with national liberation and the treatment of this problem by the Party of Labour of Albania as añ integral part of the uninterrupted socialist revolution not only ensured real conditions for the solution of all the problems of the women, but also made a contribution of great general value in this field.
Comrade Enver Hoxha has raised before the whole society that «the Party and the working class should measure the advance towards the complete construction of socialist society with the deepening and progress of the women's revolution within our proletarian revolution. If the women lag behind, then, the revolution marks time».
Before the establishment of our People's State Power the situation of the Albanian woman was appalling. Not only did she suffer oppression and poverty, as all the people suffered, but as well as this, she also suffered from discrimination, inequality with man, from feudal moral norms, from backward customs and religion. Often she was treated as a chattel - her father and his relatives sold her, her husband and his relatives bought her. Where the Moslem code prevailed, polygamy was permitted. According to these mediaeval laws, a young woman could be married off to an elderly man for the interest of the clan and for money. The birth of a girl was considered a misfortune and a burden on the family, In certain regions the woman was compelled to cover her face with a veil. Under these conditions, the participation of a woman in state employment was something quite extraordinary. Throughout Albania there were only 21 women teachers, two or three women doctors, not a single woman engineer, agronomist or chemist. No woman took part in parliament or in any more or less important job in the state apparatus. In the secondary schools, girls made up only 2.4 :per cent of the students. Illiteracy, which kept the overwhelming majority of the population in darkness, weighed evén more heavily on the women.
During the National Liberation War, the Party of Labour of Albania attached major importance in its program to the activization and mobilization of the women. There are many examples in the history of Albania when women have fought, arms in hand, against foreign invaders, but their participation in the National Liberation War had to become a mass phenomenon and with an entiirely new content. The Party called on the women to rise and smash the shackles of fanaticism with their own hands, to line up shoulder to shoulder with their menfolk in the struggle for national liberation, and, at the same time, in the struggle for their own emancipation. For the Albanian women, their participation in the armed struggle was a sound guarantee for their complete emancipation in the future. The Party had made it clear in its program that after the establishment of the People's State Power the struggle for the emancipation of the women would continue both in breadth and depth. In this program, the Albanian women saw the way to their salvation, thenefore they rose in whole-hearted struggle. About 6,000 women and girls joined the ranks of the National Liberation Army, and many of them wer e leaders of partisan detachments. Thousands of others Book part in underground work in the cities, in the demonstrations, and clashes with the invader s. Wamen and girls gave the National Liberation Army massive assistance with food and clothing, by providing shelter and treating the wounded, by transporting arms and ammunition. During the war, the councils of unti-fascist women were set up in villages and cities to conduct organized work with the masses of the women, politica and cuïtural work, courses against illiteracy and so on. The Anti-fascist Organization of the Albanian Women, which was set up in September 1943, played an outstanding role in the liberation war.
After the establishment of our People's State Power, the revolution in the economy was carried out, and this required the conscious efforts of men, women, and the entire people, to fight with self-denial to carry out the collectivization and the socialist industrialization of the country, to safeguard, administer and strengthen the common property at a higher level. Men and women were trained at work, in schools, in qualification courses, in political and ideological study groups, to see the emancipation of women, among other problems, as a problem of the socialist revolution.
To this end, special laws were proclaimed, guaranteeing the rights of women, old norms and customs were eliminated, replacing them with new norms and customs, based on raising the respect for and the dignity of the women in our society.
Today, the Albanian women play an important role in the whole life of the country. Let us refer to some figures: at present 47 per cent of the working peop'e employed in our Republic are women and girls. In certain sectors, like the light and food-processing industry, education, the health service and trade, this figure rises from 55 to 80 per cent. Women make up 33.3 .per cent of the representatives in the Supreme State organ, the People's Assembly, 25 per cent of the members of the Party of Labour of Albania, 26 per cent of the mem~bers of the Supreme Court, 41.2 per cent of the leaders of the organizations of the masses.
The People's State Power abolished capitalist exploitation, established a new legislative code, and opened the way to the operation of the objective laws of socialist society. Under the People's State Power, the new man has been educated, armed with Marxist-Leninist ideology, with new co.ncepts about work, property, the family, the woman, and so on. The creation of these conditions brought about a situation in which a girl is no longer treated as a slave, in which love must be the basis of every marriage. All roads have been opened to the youth to guide themselves by lofty socialist motives in the creation of the family and not by material interests, careerism and other motives which humiliate the woman.
At the present stage, the problem of the Albanian woman is more of a class struggle in the ideological field. Even under these circumstances, when all these objective conditions have been created, the processes which go on within the family, must not be left to spontaneity. Therefore a direct, but tactful struggle is waged to establish socialist relations and standards in the family, such as relations of equality, love, mutual respect and aid. In order to ensure equality ibetween the wife and the other members of the family, the struggle is now being waged in two directions; firat, to make family affairs, day sto day life, children and so on, as widely as possible the concern of the whole society; second, to have every member of the family understand that these things are jobs for which they are all responsible.
Under the conditions of Albania, the participation of women in the entire life of the country has become an objective necessity. The efforts, the physical and mental energies of the women, too, are necessary to promote the unceasing revolution, to strengthen the People's State Power and furth.er democratize it through the line of the masses. The efforts of the women are neoess.ary, too. for the strengthening and defence of the homeland against any enemy through the training of the whole people.
The emancipation of women in Albania is not a -feminist movement» as in the capitalist countries, but is the advance of the women to a high level, to full equality with men, the march of women hand in hand with their menfolk in harmony of feelings, aims, and pure ideals, the march towards communism.
The Party of Labour of Albania has pursued the line of the gradual narrowing of the differences in the level of incorre and the living standards between the working class and the cooperative peasantry and the categorie within them, between town and countryside; it has alwayJ been careful to maintain as correa a ratio as possible between the pay of the cadres and the incorre of the workers and cooperative members, to avoid flagrant differences in income which give rise to the birth of a privileged stratum and directly endanger the dictatorship of the proletariat and the construction of socialism. At the same time, the Party has always fought against tendencies towards petty bourgeois equalitarianism in the field of remuneration which is also alien and harmful to socialism.
In accordance with this revolutionay, Marxist-Leninist line, the wage system of the workers and t.he em ployees and the system of the remumïation for work for cooperative members have been set up and systematically improved always based on the socialist law of distribution according to work. The ilnplementation of this system in practice has made it possible for the differences between lower and higher wages, between the incorre of the employees and the workers and cooperative members to be narrowed and to have more correct proportions.
On this question the Party of Labour of Albania has always proceeded from the teachings of Lenin who stressed that «the corruptive influenoe of high wages is indisputable both on the Soviet State Power as well as on the masses of the warkers. . . The principles of the Paris Commune and every proletarian State Power demand that the wage of an employee be no higher than the wage of a good worker, they demand that career seeking be fought against with actions and not with words».
In the implementation of this great teaching of V. I. Lenin, in accordance with the concrete conditions of the development of and the socialist construction in Albania, the Party of Labour of Albania step by step has continually taken measures to narrow the ratio between the medium wages of the workens and the higher wages of the employees. Nine years ago, on April 29, 1976, in the Declaration of the Central Committee of the Party and the Government it was stressed that the establishment of correct proportions between the wages of the workers and the employees and between the wages of categories of employees is a measure of principled importance which blocks the road to bourgeois degeneration, career seeking and many other evils. Following the Declaration, the differences between lower and higher wages in Albania reached the ratio of 1 to 2.5. Now following the latest decision, this ratio is narrowed even further. Today in Albania the ratio between the average wages of workers and the salary of the director of the same enterprise is 1 : 1.7; that between the average wages of the workers in general and the salary of the director in the Ministry is about 1:2; that between the lowest and highest wages of the workers within the same branch is about 1:1.5-1.65 etc. These ratios are set by law.
This is a concrete and unprecedented implementation of the Marxist-Leninist thesis, a great reality of the proletarian justice in Socialist Albania, where a post is not a privilege and where cadres are integrated with the masses. «Living standards,» commade Enver Hoxha stresses, «should not be allowed to rise with big differences, officials should not be allowed to live far better than the workers, and the peasants to live at lower standards than their allies in the city. Our Party is fighting and will always fight to unoeasingly improve not only the life of the people but the life of everybody, proceeding from the correct principle of not having equality in wages but neither privilege for anybody, and differences of wages between the workers must constantly narrow their margin.»
The lowering of higher wages, together with the measures to lift over and above the basic wage of the working people of literature and art, education and science, better harmonizing the material stimuli with the moral stimuli is an expression of the class treatment of the problem of wages. This has the aim of further revolutionizing, from the material standpoint as well, the relations between cadres and the masses, and also the relations in the very fold of the cadres, a vital premise to protect people, especially the cadres, from alien influences and degenemation. Experience shows that bureaucracy is nourished by higher wages. Bureaucratic elements always lean towards the deepening of the ratio in wages through many ways and means. The working class, under the leadership of its Party, has fought and is fighting against these tendencies maintaining a clear-cut revolutianary class stand. Therefore the measures contained in the decision of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania and of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Albania towards lowering higher wages have a profound ideo-political and social content, they have their national value, but they are also an important contribution to the treasury of Marxism-Leninism. They express the desire and interests of the entire Party and people, the worldmg class, the cooperative peasantry and the people's intelligentsia; therefore they have met with complete approval everywhere, and have been received with enthusiasm and high mobilization towards socialist construction and the defence of the Homeland.
Wherever you go in Albania, in town or countryside, you are liable to come across leading cadres of all levels, workers of the administration, .people of intellectual pursuits who are working directly in production, shoulder to shoulder with the workers and peasants. The school youth works with enthusiasm in building railroads and opening mountain highways.
It is a principle in the social life of socialist Albania that, with the exception of the elderly or those whose health or physical condition does not permit it, all the cadres of administration of the State, Party or economic apparatus and organs, and social organizations, cadres of the army, intelligentsia, state enterprises and agricultural cooperatives take part regularly for definite periods in work direátly in production. In addition to classroom lessons, physical and military training, direct participation in production work has been introduced as an essential component in our school curriculum.
The participation of leading cadres and all the people of mental work directly in work in production is an aspect of our social life of vital importance to the cause of socialism and firmly based on principle. With what is this connected?
Above all, it has to do with the establishment, main tenance and perfecting of genuinely socialist relations in society. In order to establish such relations it is not enough just to establish socialist ownership over the means of production. It is also essential to establish correct relations between the leading cadres and the broad masses of working people in town and countryside. This requires that on the one hand the cadres, as representatives of the dictatorship of the proletariat, must manage, lead and supervise; while on the other hand, they must consider themselves servan.ts of the people, closely linked with the masses and integrate -themselves with them, must learn from and render account to the masses and to be constantly under their effective control. This means that centralism must be corretly combined with socialist democracy.
But in socialism there exists the danger that the leading cadres may become bureaucràtic, detach themselves from the masses and become opposed to them, may turn from servants of the people into rulers over them, may degenerate and thus create a new anti-socialist caste or class - a thing which leads to the liquidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the restoration of mpitalism. The existence of such a danger has already been confirmed by historical experience. Failure to take it into account is fraught with fatal consequences for the future of socialism. However, this is by no means inevitable and can be avoidad if a correct Marxist-Leninist s and is maintained, and effective measures are taken to prevent it from turning into reality. Among the measures which the Party of IAbour of Albania has taken to ward off this danger, of great importance are the circulation of cadres from leading posts to the base, and from the administration to production and vice versa, the brringing into the leading organs of more and more persons, who work in production, especially from the ranks of the working class; the reduction of higher salaries and putting the standard of living of the cadres in correct proportion to that of masses, the further deepening of the line of the masses in appointing cadres, intensification of the Marxist-Leninist, ideo-political education of the cadres and fighting against manifestations of technocracy, etc. The direct participation of our leading cadres in production is one of the most important steps taken in this direction. The aim of it is the revolutionary educa.tion of the cadres with correct concepts about work ancl. the working people, to protect the cadres from bourgeoia and bureaucratic degeneration, to link them closely with the people and their lives. Comrade Enver Hoxha says :, «The cadres must get oil on their hands and mud on their boots, so that they see the problems, the needs, the work, not just from above, but from down below, because this is how we wipe out bureaucracy, symptoms of conceit and arrogance, the diseases of commandism and cronyism among the peaple who rún things, because these pro-. blems arise most among those who, vested with power,think that it is they alone who create everything, that, the work wouldn't go on without them».
The participation of the leading cadres and the intellectuals in productive labour is a matter of great principle also, because it leads to the further strengthening of the morallpolitical unity of the people in the struggle for the cause of the construction of socialism, serves to over-come the separation of theory from practice which, as Lenin points out, is one of the greatest evils and misfor-tunes inherited from the old capitalist society. It constitutes one of the concrete and effective ways of gradually narrowing the essential distinctions between physical and mental work.
THE LANGUAGE. A glance over the history of the Albanian langua.ge, no matter how hurried and brief, cannot fail to bring out two contradictory aspects: on one hand, a language documented in writing very late (the first book in Albanian is that by Gjon Buzuku in 1555) and on the other, and ancient people autochthonous in the Balkans since the mists of prehistory.
How is this to be explained?
Historically it is a wellknown fact that the Albanians and the Greeks were the earliest inhabitants.of the Balkan Peninsula. Our people have been living in these parts for well over three thousand years. From one generation to another they have spoken their own language which with the changes it has undergone in time, is spoken today by the Albanians.
Henoe, here we have a language so ancient as a spoken language and so recent as a written language. The five hundred-year period of the written Albanian language should be viewed only as a small part of the history of the ALbanian language, as the most recent stage of its historical development.
Albanian is a member of the Indo-European languages.
The first to prove scientifically that Albanian is a member of the family of Indo-Eurapean languages was the German scholar Franz Bopp. Other scholars before him like Xylander, Rasmus Rask, Schleiher and others had made separate observations regamding the relationship of Albanian to the other Indo-European languages, but Bopp dedicated a complete monograph, entitled «On Albanian in connection with its affinides», published in 1854, to this problen. As far back as 1843 Bopp had delivered a dissertation at the Berlin Academy on the numerals and pronouns of the Albanian language claiming with certainty that it belonged to the family of IndoEuropean languagies. But in 1854 he examined a broader range of material. He made a thorough scientific analysis of the A7banian language and arrived at the conclusion that it belonged, incontes ably, to the family of IndoEuropean languages.
As the Albanian Prof. Eqrem Cabej has pointed out, when speaking of the Indo-European character of the Albanian language, one should bear in mind that not all its linguistic wealth comes from the ancient Indo-European lieritage. With the passage of nane Albanian, like any other language, has lost a lot from its autochthonous 'heritage, due to its continuous oontact with the languages of other ,peoples; on the other hand, it has been enriched with new words, expressions and construotsons from its own source and has given to and received from the other languages with which it has been in contact.
The Albanian words having corresponding forms in the other Indo-European languages are ordinary words of day to day use whiclh serve as a basis on wlich others are built. Here are a few Albanian examples: ujk, ulk, Sankrit vrksh, Latin lupus, Greek Lykos, Russian volk, Albanian ditë, Sanskrit dinam, Lithuanian diens, Latin dies, Russian, den; Albanian mi, Sans'krit muh, Armenian mukn, Greek mys, Latin mus.
Bopp's assertion that Albanian has no successional connoetion with the other sister languages of our continent remains correct. The connections it has with other languages are not filial but of another character.
In his article «The Place of the Albanian Within the Circle of Indo-European Languages», the wellknown Albanologist, Gustav Mayer, accurately defined the position of the Albanian in this linguistic family. He places the Albanian close to the eastern and northern. Indo-European languages. When we say that the Albanian pertains to this or that ;group of languages, we have in mind that in certain features it has followed the same course of develstructure. For instance, in northern irido-European languages the short Indo-European «o» has changed to ..a», while in the southern ones it is kept as «o». On this point the Albanian joins with the first group. Thus we have Albanian natë, German nacht, Lithuaninan naktis, while Latin nox, noctis. The relations of the Albañian with these languages have been studied more concretely by other scholars among whom we should mention Holger Petersen and Nobert Jokl, who with their fruitful studies have ren~dered a valuable contribution to Albanological science.
Following the triumph of the people's revolution, very favourable conditions were created in Albania for the development of the science of the Albanian linguistics, so .that Albania has become the epicenter of studies in this field. Today, tens of Albanian schol.ars are engaged in studying the problems of the history of the Albanian language. Through many works illuminating various aspects of the historical development of the Albanian language, they are rendering a valuable contribution in this field.
Among other things, new facts and proofs have been brought forth ori the Indo-European nature of the Albanian language. A more profound argumentation has been provided for the conclusions reached and perceptible results have been achieved in defining the various laws that have acted in the evolutiom of the phonetic and morphological structure of the Albanian language in relation to the structure of the other Indo-European languages. Further studies have been conducted on its relations with the other Indo-European languages, on the problems connected with the pre-Balkan cradle of thé Albanians, with the origin of the Albanian language, with the country of its formation, with the autochthony of the Albanians and so on.
In connection with the origin of the Albanian language, as is known, three different theses have long been advanced, on its Illyrian oirigin, its Thracian origin or its Illyro-Thracian origin. The theses on the Illyrian origin of the Albanian langua-ge ,is gaining ground thanks to the studies of the Albani.an linguists coupled with the results of our archaeology in the material field. More and more convincing proofs are being advanced in favour of this thesis. The fact that the pre en.t Albanians dwell where the Illyrian tribes used to dwell, and that the history of our people records no later immigrations intó these regions, supports the thesis that the Albanians are the descendants of the Illyrians and the Albanian is the offspring of the Illyrian language. On the other hand, those few linguistic elements which modem science has at its disposal about the Illyrian language find their explanation through the Albanian. The Albanian historical toponomy is of special interest in throwing light on such an important problem of the history of our people. The comparison between the ancient forms of place names and the present forms show that the latter are the uninterrupted continuity of the former Rn line with the historical phonetics of the Albanian language. This proves that the Albanians are natives of their present territories, at least since the Greco-Roman period. And when it is known with certainty that Illyrian tribes inhabited the Albanian territory, this shows that the Albanians are the offspring o fthe Illyrians and that the Albanian is the continuity of the Illyrian language.
It can be said that during these thirty-two years oí our People's State Power, studies in the field of the history of the Albanian language have had two main objectives, namely, first to sum up in a creative way what had been achieved by the science of linguiistics before liberation from the middle of the 19th century when F. Bopp finally established that the Albanian language is part of the family of «Indo-European languages», second, to make a more thorough examination and analysis of many problems dealt with earlier, as well as to raise and solve a series of other problems in this field.
Special care has been devoted to the study of the Albanian language after the 16th century, with the scholars concentrating their efforts on discovering the special phonetic and morphologic features of the language of our authors of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
While giving priority to the study of the internal history of the Albanian language, our linguistica during the years after liberation has not overlooked the study of its external history. It was precisely Albanian linguistica that clewed up and dealt more extensively with the problem of the origin of the Albanian language and the cradle of the Albanian in the Balkans, which are important, not only to the history of the Albanian language, but also to the history of the Albanian people and the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula. A complete synthesis of the studies in this field was made at the Convention of Illyrian studies (Tirana 1972) through the report on -The Problem of the Place of the Form.ation of the Albanian Language» in which in a very compelling and convincing way it was shown that the Albanians are a people autochthonous on their present territory. In throwing light on such problems, which are as important as they are complicated, Albanian linguistics has aimed to advance with cautious steps and be as objetive as possible. It has made a valuable contribution to refuting the views of a certain foreign linguisticls expert who considered that the Albanians had coane from eastern to western regions, where they live today (G. Weigand). Bringing forward a series of new arguments from the field of toponomy and naval lexicon of the Albanian language and from the field of its reciprocal relations with ancient Greek and Latin, ALbanian linguástics shows that the thesis of Weigand and other of a similiar type held by foreign scholars are now obsolete and untenable.
Of special significance in this direction are the articles and studies on bhe contribution of the Albanian language to the formation of the affinity of the Balkan languages and on the role of Albanian as a contributor to the neighbouring languages.
Another occasion to add contributions in this field was the Conference of Ethnographic Studies (Tirana, June 28 to 29, 1976) at which, in addition to many contributions on the various aspect of the material and social culture of the Albanian people, three papers from the field of linguistica were read, which examined problems mainly of the history of the Albanian language viewed from an ethno-linguistic angle.
The results .of the work in the field of studies on the history of the Albanian language make up only one part of the successes attained by Albanian linguistica in the field of Albanological research.
Today, the Albanian language is spoken not only in the People’s Socialist of Albania but also beyond its borders. It is spoken by nearly one and a half million Albanians in Yugoslavia and Greece in the parts immediately over the borders. The Albanian is spoken also in distant settlements of Albanians who, in various periods, have emigrated from Albania, the majority of them several centuries ago, some of them during the past century and the beginning of our century.
In Yugoslavia, spoken Albanian extends over a large territory of north-western Macedonia and in the district of Kosova, in the regions of Peshtar, Preshova and Bujanovich, as well as in Montenegro, in the regions of Plava, Gucia, Tresh, Gruda; in the mountain region of Kraja, in Ulqin and its environs. In Greece, the Albanian language is spoken in the Qamëria district, the southern border of which extends to the Bay of Preveza. It must be said that the Albanian spoken in both Yugóslavia and Greece can not be separated from the spoken Albanian of the present day Albania because they have not been isolated during their development.
The Al'banian language has been maintained and continues to be spoken and, partly written, in old settleénents in Greece, Italy and elsewhere. On the islands of Hydra, Poro, Specia, Salamina and the districts of Athens, Euboea, the Peloponesus and elsewhere, spoken Albanian (dates back to the 14th century. Somew at later is that of the Arbëreshi who have settled mainly in the districts of Calabria and Sicily. Most of these settlements date back to the 15th and 16th centuries.
The most recent are the spoken Albanian of the Albanians in Dalmatia (Arbanas near Zara) formed towards the beginning of the 18th century, the spoken Albanian of Madrica in Bulgaria and the spoken Albanian of the Albanian settlers in the Ukraine, in. the districts of Melitopol and of Odessa, which were formed at the beginning and in the middle of the 19th century.
Having been detached for a long time from their motherland, the spdken Albanian of these settlements has been developed and influenced by a foreign environment but most forms of it, especially that of trhe Arbëreshi in Italy, have been very well preserved and on the basis of this language has been built an artistic literature represented by wellknown poets and writers like Jeroni,m de Rada, A. Santori; G. Rada, Z. Serembe, V. Sratigoi, V. Dorsa and many others.
In our days a whole generation of Arbëreshi like F. Solano, G. Fareco, U. Giordano, J. Farrari, V. Salvaggi and others are following the path of this pleaid of enlightened Arbëreshi, striving to preserve the language and folklore of the Arëreshi and prevent its being lost.
Outside the hoeneland the Albanian language, is spoken also by the Albanian emigrants of the past century and the beginning of this one to Egypt, the USA, Argentina, Australia, Turkey, Rumania etc.
ALBANIAN LITERATURE. Albanian literature is not among the newest in Europe as is usually claimed, because its first book (Gjon Buzuk's Masses) belongs to the year 1555, and the earliest written document which has reached us dates back to 1462. A document of the year 1332 speaks of tihe existence at that time of Albanian books. At the end of the l6th century, the Arbëreshi in Italy, driven from Alibania a century earlier, were still conducting their religious services in the Albanian language, while the great Albanian humanist, Marin Barleti, who wrote the history of .Scanderbeg, mentions chronicles in the popular language in 1504. However the ravages of time have destroyed all these. A more or less extensive literary activity re-emerged after the Ottoman-onslaughts of the 14th and 15th centuries with authors like Pjetër Budi, Frano Bardhi, Pjetër Bogdani (17th century) and others. Their works had a religious and didactic character, with religious books and a few poems, dictionaries (the first published in 1635), grammar books (the first .published in 1716), theological tracts etc. At the start of the 18th century, after the mass conversion to the Islamic religion took place in the country, a whole literary trend began under the influence of oriental literature, with a considerable number of authors and works in a number of ;genres, and this trend lasted for about two centuries. It included poets in whose works there is an obvious stress on social protest (Hasan Zyko Kamberi-late 18th century) and arti-feudalism (Zenel Bastari~mid 19th century) who were the precursors of the bourgeois critical realism which developed in Albania during the first 40 years of our century.
An Albanian literature of high artistic qualities began with Albanian romanticism, a contemporary of the European romanticism of the 19th century. Its earliest outstandin.g work was the poem Milosao's Songs (1836) by Jeronim de Rada (1815-1903) the author of a number of poetic works, such as «Serafina Topia» (1839), «The Unfortunate Scanderbeg» (1872-84), etc., and an outstanding publicist and patriot. But the writer, who dominateti Albanian Ziterature in the 19th century was Naim Frashëri (1846-1900) a lyric poet («Flocks and Farming» - a pastoral poem 1886, «Summer Flowers» a collection of philosophic and patriotic poems - 1890), and epic poet («The History of Scanderbeg» 1898, his masterpiece) and other important works. In Naim Frashëri, the Albanian language found a fiery poet who also gave a fresh impetus to Albanian philosophic thought by waging a special struggle against mediaeval theological thought and by upholding and courageously spreading some of the most outstanding achievements of science ,such as Darwinism. He remains the most beloved and most popular .poet of our past.
Among the other authors of the time, let us mention Andon Zako Qajupi, lyricist, satyrist as well as a writer of fables, with his collection of poems «Father Tomorri» (1902) from which our critical realism begins, the lyricists Ndre Mjeda, Asdren, Zef Serembe, Gavril Dara Jr., the author of a very well known epic-lyric poem «Bala's Last Lay», the revolutionary novelist, Mihal Grameno, and others.
The favoured themes of this literature were those of the wars against the Ottoman invaders and especially 'during the time of ,Scanderbeg (15th century), the call for the liberation of the country, denunciation of feudalism and so on. It was a literature closely linked with the national movement and with the ideas of illuminism, a literature Which led that movement in struggle against the occupiers, who had banned the writing of the Albanian language, the opening of Albanian schools and the
development of culture, which took the name of the Albanian Renaissance. During this time, from the middle of last century, the Albanian press came into being, and, later, Albanian cultural societies were formed and managed to open a few schools teaching in the Albanian language. As a matter of fact, the Albanian language was known as an instructional language as far back as the 17th century, of course for religious education.
The 19th century is also regarded as the century of the beginnings of Albanian linguistic science, with such authorities on Albanian linguistics as Dhimitër Kamarda and Kostandin Kristoforidhi (the author of a famous dictionary) with so famous an encyclopaedist and thinker as
Sami Frashëri, Naim's brother, who was also the principal ideologist of the Albanian national movement. His work «Albania what it was, what it is and what it will be» (1899) rightly called the «Manifesto of the National Renaissance, is one of the most valuable works of political and social prose in the Albanian language.
Following the proclamation of Independence (1912) and under the continuous threat of the partitioning of Albania or a new occupation (this was achieved by Italian fascism in 1939), Albanian literature developed along the lines of the literature of the Albanian Renaissance, as a patriotic literature with an ever stronger antifeudal and revolutionary character. The author who dominated that period, Fan S. Noli (1882-1965), leader of the 1924 revolution, was one of the most outstanding poets («Album»), a publicist, aesthete, a translator who translated works by Shakespeare, Cérvantes, Ibsen etc.; an historian (his masterpiece, «The History of Scanderbeg», was first published in 1921 and then published in revised form in 1949), and a musical critic (renowned for his study «Beethoven and the French Revolution» which aroused the admiration of Bernard Shaw, Thomas Mann, Sibelius, etc.). After Kristoforidhi, Naim and Sami Frashëri, before the war, he made the most substantial contribution to- literary Albanian, which achieved its complete unification during the years of socialist development in Albania. A wellknown lyricist of the time was Lasgush Poradeci. Migjeni (1911-1938) with his anthology «Free Verses» (1935) and his short stories, marked the culmination of the development of Albanian critical realism with strong accents on social revolt, which, through arare talent, heralded the Albanian literature of socialist realism. Among the prose writers of the time were the novelists, Foqion Postoli and Haki Stërmilli. Stërmilli left a novel on the very difficult situation of the Albanian women during the time of feudal and bourgeo-is domination. A participant in the National Liberation War, he also left a «Diary» from the war which is outstanding for its im,pressions from the life of the people who had hurled themselves into the general armed uprising.
A new epoeh in the development of Albanian literature begins with the outbreak of the Anti-fascist National Liberation War of the Albanian people and with the historic triumph of the people's revolution (1944), which brought the country its national freedom, overthrew the old social order, and paved the way to processes of the construction of socialist society and socialist culture.
The revolutionary literature of the war years, which came into being in the clandestine communist press, was the expression of the anti-fascist resistance of the Albanian people, an artistic portrayal of the patriotic spirit of the masses of the people and of their aspirations to a new world. These motifs were expressed mainly in the war poetry, in the patriotic lyric, which was developed by such authors as the martyr poet Memo Meto, poets Kolë Jakova, Llazar Siliqi, Aleks Caçi, and Shefqet Musaraj, the author of the poem «Hepic of the Balli Komhëtar» (1944), one of the classic examples of Albanian satirical poetry and the most distinguished work of the revolutionary literature of the Anti-fascist National Liberation War.
The revolutionary literature of the anti-fascist resistance was quickly changed, after the triumph of the people's revolution, into a literature of the new type, pervaded by socialist ideals and the spirit of communist partisanship. It developed the best traditions of former Albanian literature, its pathos of city life and popular, democratic spirit, its realism and close connection ith the poetic tradition of the people's oral literature. Born on the basis of new ideas, on the basis of the Marxist-Leninist materialist world outlook, which throws light on the laws and processes of development of society, the new literature adopted the method of socialist realism, which opened previously unknown horizons to its enrichment and flowering. The literature of the socialist epoch in Albania constitutes the highest stage of artistic development in Albanian society. This has found expression in the richness of content and motives, in the flowering of all genres, in the variety of styles and in the high level of artistic expression. The ideas of the revolution and progress, the aspirations of the masses of the people, liberated once and for all from any sort of material and spiritual bondage, form the true content of present day Albanian literature. T.he object of its inspiration is the struggle of the masses for the thorough transformation of their life and themselves, for the construction of the new society, and the new man who has also become the central hero of this literature. Centering its attention on the future of the people and the revolution, the new literature portrays the masses not as victims of history but as a vigorous and active force, conscious of their historic mission of the construction of a new world, a new humane society, a new man freed from the shackles of the old world. The historical optimism and confidence in the brilliant communist future which fills the spirituaI life of socialist society has been turned into an inherent element of the literature which is being developed in Albania today. One of the most active genres in present day Albanian literature is poetry, which is taken up by a number of poets of outstanding artistic individuality among whom are Dritëro Agolli, Ismail Kadare, Llazar Siliqi and Fatos Arapi. They devote their efforts mainly to the lyric-epic poem, in which the motives of building the new life, of freeing man from the old, reactionary; psychology and ideology, the ideas of the historical vitality of the Albanian people and the theme of their resistance, and the historic destiny of the nation and revolution, cast in a vivid metaphoric language and powerful poetic symbolism, have revitalized this .genre of poetry and have opened wide vistas for its rapid development. The lyricepic poem in the present Albanian poetry is developed as a synthesis of lyrical meditations and timeless experiences in an epic spirit. It is characterized by the polyrphony, richness of motives and variety of tones of the poetic narration. In the artistic structure of this kind, which resembles a poetic mosaic, the laws of the association of ideas act to link -the times, ideas, and the various motives, .giving the poem artistic coherence and internal cohesion.
The most outstanding works of this kind are «prishtina (1949) by Llazar Siliqi, «Of what Are These Mountains Thinking?» (1964) by I.Kadare, «Devoll, Devoll» (1964) by D. Agolli, HBloody Alarms!» (1966) by F. Arapi and others.
The epic narrative poem, which is developed on the basis of the heroic folk epic, deals mainly with the theme of the historic past of the Albanian .people, of their wars and battles for freedom, and is represented by such works as «The Heroes of Vig» (1953) by K. Jakova.
Of the shorter poems, the development of lyrics of city and social life, lyrics of reflection and the landscape, is very extensive.
The best indication of the development of Albanian literature after the war, as well as of the artistic level which the present Albanian literature has reached, is prose in its two most widely used forms, the short story, and especially the novel. Today the novel has emerged as the leading form and has met with world recognition through such works as Ismail Kadare's «The General of the Dead Army» «The Bronze Bust» by D. Agolli, «The South Wind» by J. Xoxa, etc. (1971). The present Albanian novel is a realist novel which portrays the fate of man closely connected with the circumstances of the social environment, and the existing material and spiritual relations, but also under the light of the changes they will undergo in the days to come. The principal themes it treats are from the historical past, reflected in .<They Were Not Alone» (1952) by S. Spasse, -The Castle» (1970) by I. Kadare, «The Dead River» (1965) by J. Xoxe, the theme of the people's revolution and of the anti-fascist resistance reflected in -Before the Dawn» (1965) by Sh. Musaraj, -Three Colours of the Time» by Ali Abdihoxha, .,The Bronze Bust» (1970) by D. Agolli, as well as the theme of the building of the new life reflected in ..The Swamp» (1959) by Fatmir Gjata, «Again on his feet» (1970) by Dh. Xhuxani, and others. The works which reflect the epooh of the anti-fascist war tend towards the epic novel which takes up life in proportions of epic breadth with a few lines on the subject. Along with them is the novel with a more concentrated subject, as well as the novel without a subjelct in the traditional sense of that word. This kind of novel is characterized not by the movememt of action but by the movement of the idea, which is revealed through an original composition through the shifting of elvents, which creates the impression of the action and dictates breaking the bounds of time and mixing up periods.
In the field of narratives and short stories, the writers Dhimitër Shuteriqi, Arnastas Kondo, Teodor Lago, and others are outstanding. In the newv Albanian literature, drama inherited a poor tradition from the past, but, through efforts of the whole of literature, to reflect the major conflicts of the time, the drama of the old world, which was crushed and the stern stru.ggle which gave birth to the new life. this genra nuirklv set out on the road of realism and really began to flower, fostering the national theatre, which came into being in Albania after liberation. The dramas «Our Land» (1954) by K. Jakova, «The Highland Girl» (1971) by Loni Papa, or the comedy «The Carnivals of Korça (1961) by Spiro Qomora, etc., are constantly in the active repertory of the Albanian theatre. Keeping pace with the development of literature are aesthetic thought and literary criticism, which base their analysis of artistic phenomona on Marxist-Leninist methodology. Outstanding in this field are Alfred Uçi with his work, «Aesthetics, Life and Art» (1970), Dalan Shapllo with collection of criticism, «Uterary Manifestations and Works» (1974), Koço Bihiku with his collections of studies, «Literary Problems» (1975), Razi Brahimi with his essay, «Speaking of Poetry», (1972) etc.
The .new Albanian literature is ceaselessly flowering and developing. It is rising on the basis of the finest traditions of the artistic culture of the Albanian peopler utilizing the progressive experience of world art and literature. The phenomena of the crisis, which decadent art is experiencin g today, are alien to it, and all roads are blocked to the influence of this art through a oeaseless struggle for a realist humane art, which sings praises to the strength of the free man and which is permeated by the finest ideals of mankind, by the ideals of social progress and building communist society. As an artistic expression of Albanian life, present-day Albanian literature has a marked national character and a profoundly socialist content. 21he development of it testifies to .the vitality of socialist realism as a newv artistic method which gives wide possibilities for the allround reflection of life and for the flowering of creative artistic styles and individuality.
FOLKLORE. Albania has a rich beautiful heritage of folklore. In the wealth and diversity of Albanian folklore, the feelings and vitality of its people are reflected. In the first place the genius of the people themselves elaborated through the experience of so many generations contributed to this national treasure store. At the same time the social conditions exerted their influence, together with the historical, geographical and other circumstances, because various tides have ebbed and flowed through the centuries over this land situated at the crossroads between East and West, leaving, their traces in its folklore.
Musical folklore. «Variegated Songs» - this is what the people call songs of the lyrdc genre. This description is a very good expression of the great diversity of this genre in Albanian foWore. All sorts of songs of various forms, content and themes have always accompanied the Albanian people at the most important moments of their ]ives, at work or at rest, in war or in peace, in joy or in sorrow. Through them the people have expressed their feelings and thoughts, their wishes and dreams and have given vent to the anger in their hearts and the fire in their souls. All kinds of interesting motifs can be found in the various categories of folksongs, ranging from lullabies with which Albanian mothers rock their babies to sleep in their cradles, the nursery songs and rhymes, which bring the pleasant aroma of çhildhooá; from gentle lovesongs, full of emotion, to humorous and satirical songs, which display the keen eye of ,the people to observe details and pillory various shortcomings; from wedding songs to the toasts raised án drinking bouts; from elegies to funeral lamentation. Also of interest are the motifs on certain work songs of shepherds, ,farmers, artisans, and others which are replete with ancient elements both in the substance of the verses as well as in the archaic manners of musical composition. Many ancient relics are to be found especially in the category of ritual songs for yearly celebrations. From this standpoint Alban'ian folklore can be compared to a rich mine, in which many songs and dances of ancient times, which bring us the echo of the celebrations of our pagan forefathers are preserved. These songs handed down from ore generation to ano'ther, seem to be rooted deep in the hearts of our people although the new conditions of life are making an impact even in this category of songs, putting aside some obsolete manifestations and, vice-versa, developing certain new themes further. Like the genre of lyric songs, the songs of the epic genre are rich in motifs, subject matter and form. Certain popular ballads and Songs of the Knights. from the most important cycle of the legendary epic, captivate ore with the fantasy of their content and their poetic expriession. Besides being the poetic-musical trend - of the people, they are, at the same time, a reflection of their wor ld outlook, in which their optimism coupled with certain social manifestations - generosity, hospitality, manliness, together with many other noble virtues stand out.
With regand to the historical epic, it can be said thalt every important event that leaves its mark is commemorated by the Albanian people through songs. Listing epic songs of this kind in their chronological order, that is, begttnning with the ballads of the period prior to the Turkish occupation in the 15th century, going on to the epic songs during the tiare of the Turkish occupation, which tell of the struggle for freedom, for secession from the Turkish Empire, of people's uprisings or express their social protest against oppression or exploitation (the songs of emigrants abroad) or commemorate the mighty efforts of the patriots of our Nátional Renaissance for national independence, we arrive at the songs of the National Liberation War. All these epic songs give us valuable inforrmation about the historic circumstances that the Albanian people perpetuate. They testify to the heroic resistance of the people, who fought for centuries on end for their freedom and independence. Finally, the songs of the period of socialist construction represent the further development of the historical epic, either in the ideologica) theme or their content or in their new elements of artistic expression.
To this day, from the ranks of the Albanian peopie there continue to emerge rhapsodists who, along with the old ballads, know how to, sing to the events of the day, responding to current events as they occur.
The various genres of folksongs, the ancient heritage of many nlotifs, their constant elaboration, together with the new productions and a number of various factors, .bave enriched Albanian folk -music with an extràorcdinary variety of artistic expressions. This music is composed in all kinds of sequences of simple, compound, mixed and irregular rhythmic measures (that is, 2/2, 2/4, 2/8, 3/2, 3/4, 3/8, 4/2, 4/4, 4/8) or compound (that is, 6/2, 6/4, 6/8, 9/2, 9/4, 9/8, 12/2, 12/4, 12/8), or mixed (that is 5/4, 5/8,
4+5 10
7/4, 7/8, 8/4, 8/8, ---------, ----------- reaching higher measures
8 8
8
8 up to -----------. In addition to these, we bave irregular
25
measures and «free» rhythms (ad libitum) which are not divided into definite bars. Of special interest is the polyphonic corribination of voices in characteristic parts. From this standpoint, Albanian folk music is dzvided into two main dialechs which conform to the two language dialects; in regions north of the Shkumbin river we have homoph.onic (in unison) and heterophonic music while on the other side of this river we bave polyphonic music, both vocal and instrumental. The style of this polyphony varies according to the district, to the number of parts (two, three and four), to the age group and the sex of the singers, and so on. The polyphonic combination of voices in songs sung by choral groups follows certain original rules set by local tradition. The study of this popular polyphony is of importance to musicology from many aspects.
In every village and city block, from time to time one hears the sounds of musical instruments without which no wedding parties nor popular celebrations take place. The various instruments used by the people give our folk mussic all kinds of tonal shades. Fiom the simplest inatruments used by children to those used by adults to stress the rhythm, we have a wid'e range of tone and timbre. There are five folk instruments from the drum family, including the tambourine, bu't it is in wind instruments that the widest range ocurs from para-musical instruments like gourds and conche shells and horns, to various kinds of flute and pipe including the bagpipe. There are also many atringed instruments played both by plucking and with a bow. But it must be said that pride of place in our musical expression belongs to the human voice. Many interesting observations can be made about characteristic methods drawing the voice from the throat like some folk singens from 'the soúthwestern part of Albania (a kind of yodel, which suddenly changes from the deep register to falsetto) or of the outburst of powerful voices as in some songs sung by the northern mountaineers.
The inclination, creative ability, temperament, endusance, optimism together with many aspects of life, are reflected also in our folk dances, which are, without doubt, among the most beautiful and the most interesting expressions of Albanian folklore. Their beauty has attract ed the admiration of a number of foreign writers and artists, among whom it suffices to mention Lord Byron's picturesque desar-iption of Albanian dances in his work «Childe Harold».
Albanian folk dances vary more or less according to districts, the sex and age of the participants, their forms and content, etc. Every district, and indeed nearly every village, has its own characteristic dances. The distinctive features of every district conform to the dialectal and ethnographic branches with which a number of variants áxe linked. But in spite of the great variation of the dances of different districts they also contain conmon telements _emanating from the unity of the Albanian tradi,tion. In the part the women and men of certain distxicts used to dance separately, while mixer dancess were rare even within th;e one clan. As regards distinctions according to generation there arre old mens and young men's dances, old women's and young brides' dances; and then there are also children's dances.
Viewed from the number of participants, there are solo dances, which are danced in northern Albania, and in Kosova, while in southern Albania, where polyphonic music prevails, there are no solo dances.
Duo dances are danced in different ways throughout Albania, While in south Albania they exist only as an 2ntegral part of collectiv e danees.
As a rule trio dances are .danced by two women and a man or, vice-versa., by two anen and a woman. Most of them are of a dramatic eharacter.
Oollective dances have more than four participants. These, too, differ both from the standpoint of form and content. The commonest form is a straight chain as, for ir stance, the humurous dances of the caps or coffee cups, which are danced by the peasants of northern and northeastern Albania. There are also dances in ranks, which interchange with twists and winding movements as, for instance, those daneed by the Albanian settlers in Italy, in which all kinds of figures are formed, In addition, there are also dances of two facing rows, which are accompanied by songs. The commonest form is the circular dance which has spread all over Albania, as well as among the Albanlans beyond its borders. The circle may be am open one, like an arch, horseshoe, spiral and so on, or a closed one of big or small diametre, acoarding to the number of participants. The circular danoes of southern Albania have two leaders as required by the parts in polyphonic songs.
It is difficult to describe in words the structure of Albanian folk dances with their movements, steps and figures accompanied by gestures and mimicry in facial expression. In general, the folk dancers dance not only with their feet, but with the whole of their bodies, putting heart and soul into singing about their lives. Nor are aarobatic elements lacking as for instance in the so-called a ..living tower», which is performed by a circle of dancers linxed shoulder to shoulder, on which stands another circle of dancers.
The Albanian folk dances are not abstract performances but they express some lyric, epic, or dramatic content through plastic movements, mimicry, song and so on. Of interest from many points of view are the warlike dances which reflect strong character and manliness, the epic spirit moulded in the long resistance against every foreign oocupation. Also interesting are certain dances connected with ancient habits and oustoms. The most complete category of dances is that represented by those which are danced to vocal music provided by the dancers themselves. In this category poetry, music and dancing are all blended into a single synthesis. We have a very interesting phenomenon in the dances of the meadow performed by the Highlanders of northern Albania in silence, without musical accompaniment, but according to the rhythm which stems from the bodies of the dancers themselves.
The diversity of .rhythm and metre of our folk music enables the dancers to express all their spiritual ardour through all kinds of dynamic elements.
The National Costumes in general emphasize or, better, display the harmony of plastic movements. When one watches the Al'banian folk dances in their own environment with those picturesque costumes accompanied by their çharacteristic music, one cannot fail to be deeply impressed. All that diversity of forms and motifs handed down from one gene~ration to another, with those myriads of movements, steps and figures of great expressive pbwer, are convincing evidence of the creative fantasy, mastery, artistic taste and rich spiritual world of this people.
An ever lively and interesting branch of Albanian folklore is that of dramatic performaces ranging from the simplest to the more complicated forms. There are certain categories of popular performances with or without a given fable, such as humorous farces, stories dramatized in monologues or dialogues, pantomimes, peirformances involving song, dance and acrobatic elements, up to puppet shows and shadow pantomime.
Popular prose is also a great heritage of Albanian folklore. Its subject matter and themes are varied.
The varied phenomena which our popular prose deals with form a reflection of our society in the past in many colours and from many angles. Our people have crystalized these phenomena i.nto a number of types which, even though they often resemble one another, in both the skill with which they are developed and the action involved, have distinctive elements among them. The basic theme of our popular prose is the struggle between good and evil. In building up the events on this basis, the people have created figures, who confront one another, locked in fierce struggle until the complete triumph of good and happiness has been achieved. Along with fables, conundrums and puzzles filled with figurative expressions and metaphors created by the people as tests of ingenuity continue to thrive. Likewise proverbs and anecdotes with the profundity of their ideas and the keenness of their observation, in which is concentrated the wisdom and age-old experience of the people themselves, are constantly being enriched.
The Albanologist, Gustav Weigand, has described the Albanian language as a Balkan language «par excellence».
This description could be applied also to Albanian folklore in general, since, in addition to its national features, it has many motifs and characteristic elemenis in common with our neighbours. Of course these are the consequences of contacts or relations over many centúries, which have brought about many exchanges or borrowings also in folklore. By tracing the distribution of common motifs through comparative studies between Albanian folklore
and the folklore of the neighbours, interesting observations can be .made about a number of phenomena, indeed we can arrive at their origin, that is, among the most ancient inhabitants of the Bal'kan Peninsula. In this way the continuation of the Illyrians in the Albanians is brought out. Of course, what the people's traditions inherit from the distant past is not petrified in unchanging forms, because folklore does not remain stagnant, but moves along, flowing like an inexhaustible stream into which are poured the experience of many generations. During
its course through the centuries, it is constantly undergoing changes both in form and content. Thus the motifs and means of expression of folklore develop in accord with the dynamic of life.
To close this panoramic presentation we must stress the unquestionable unity of Albanian folklore with all its diversity of sources: all that host of ancient or more recent motives, borrowed or native, have been accumulateti, layer upon layer, and have been merged into a single synthesis.
Their ~persistence in preserving the mother tongue, the habits and customs of our ancestors, our folk songs and dances, as well as all the branches of folklore, have protected our people from the process of dilution and denationalization during centuries of oppression. Our folk tradition has always been of great value to our society. Formerly, in the Dark Ages, it compensateti to a certain extent for the lack of schooling by educating the younger generations with the experience and wisdom of their elders. For the patriots of the period of our National Renaissance, folklore was a powerful weapon in bheir struggle for national independence. The important social, artistic, sci.entific and political function of this national heritage continues to this day.
The history of the recording of Albanian folklore begins with a group of proverbs published in 1635 by Frano Bardhi in his Latin-Albanian dictionary. From that time on, the study of Albanian folklore encountered the difficult conditions of the Ottoman occupation. Nevertheless, many patriots of the period of our National Renaissance, especially those who had grasped the importance of folklore, strove, heart and soul, to serve in this field, too, prompted by lofty patriotic aims. In Albania, as throughout all Europe, the collection of folksongs began with the verses, thus, for a time it was only the poetic side of folklore, which was cultivated, while the musical side was left entirely fallow. The first publications on Albanian melody appeared during the 40's of this century. The collecting and study of our folk music has been actively pursued especially since the liberation of Albania. Under the care of the Party of Labour of Albania, characteristic groups of folk singers, dancers and instrumentalists were set up in the cultural centers established in the most remote corners of the homeland. From time to time local and national festivals have been organized. These festivals have been valuable in revealing previously unknown talents and beauties.
At the beginning of the 50's musical folklore was introduced into the program of the Lyceum of Arts as a separate subject of study. Meanwhile the Albanian musicologists began to publish a series of original studies about folk dances and instruments, about the themes of songs as well as about the morphology of folk music and so on. These studies are a significant proof of the rapid development of musicology which, although it is a new science in Albanian culture, has achieved a number of outstanding results.
In September 1957, the State Ensemble of Folk Songs and Dances with a vocal, instrumental and choreographic complex was set up in Tirana. This Ensemble has presented the beauties of Albanian folklore even beyond the borders of Albania, winning the admiration of many peoples of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and even being awarded top prizes. In 1960, the Institute of oral, musical and choreographic folklore with the respective archive, its collection of recorded songs and music and popular instruments was set up in Tirana. With the founding of this Institute more suitable conditions were created for the collection and study of folklore through research expeditions which are organized from time to time. The extension and deepening of the spheres of research, by adopting advanced methods and utilizing new technical devices, open wide prospects to the study of Albanian folklore.
In the period of the deepening of the cultural revolution, folklore continues to be an important factor in the ideoaesthetic education of the masses, that is why it occupies a prominent place both in the repertoire of the professional artists as well as in that of the amateur groups set up in work centers or at the houses and centers of culture. Radio and television broadcast regular folklore programs. Musical folklore has been introduced as a subject of study into the programs of the secondary schools of art, as well as in that of the Higher Institute of Arts. Besides its social, political, scientific and other values, this inexhaustible source also serves the further development of Albanian art and culture, national in form and socialist in substance.
EDUCATION. The struggle for the Albanian school has a long history. It begins as far back as the dark years of the Middle Ages, during the Ottoman occupation of the country. The Albanian has had to fight arms in hand for his education, just as for his freedom. He never separated his love for his country from his love for schooling and his mother tongue. The Albanian patriots considered the Albanian language and literature as vital to the struggle for the very existence of the nation. In 1873 they compiled a standard alphabet for the Albanian language.
Towards the beginning of 1885, patriots from the city of Korça, in the southeastern part of Albania, drew up a petition seeking the opening of an Albanian Club and Albanian schools to be run by it. After persistent efforts, they succeeded in opening the first Albanian national school in Korga on March 7, 1887 (March 7 is now commemorated every year as the «Teacher's Day»).
During its first year, the school had few pupils, but the following year their number increased to 200. It was a primary school in which the lessons were given in the Albanian language.
The opening of the first national school aroused great enthusiasm among the patriots all over the country. It prompted the opening of other similar schools in the various ,districts of Albania.
But, under the pressure of the Metropolitan of Korga and the Patriarch of Istanbul, the occupation authorities began to obstruct the existence of Albanian schools. Under this two-fold - reaction, efforts to open other Albanian schools failed. Even the schools opened during 1888 were closed ore after the other, with the exception of that of Korça, which continued to function at great sacrifice and in constant struggle with the Christian church institutions and the foreign occupiers. In 1891, the first director of this school was murdered, while the subsequent directors were imprisoned.
In 1892, the first Albanian elementary school for girls was opened in Korça. In the same year the bishop of Korça pronounced an anathema against the patriot teacher, Petro Nini Luarasi. During the final decade of the last century, the number of Albanian schools increased, while at the beginning of our century, they were opened even in some villages. They enrolled not only children but also adults for whom, special night schools were established. Since the number of teachers was limited, giving lessons in Albanian became a question of honour and a lofty patriotic duty.
In 1912, after five centuries of bondage and continuous struggles, Albania gained its independence. This marks a memorable date in the history of the country and our school. But subsequent events, both national as well as international, Trade it impossible for Albania to enjoy this independence. Consequently, our school, too, was unable to consolidate itself. This was a period of marked ups and downs in the progress of the school. Under these conditions it was impossible for our school to develop.
The period of the reactionary regime of Ahmet Zog (1924-1939) plus the time of the nazi-fascist occupation of Albania (1939-1944) was one of the gloomiest in the history of our school. The broad masses, over 85 per cent of the population, remained illiterate. This was because the number of schools was greatly reduced. On the other hand, the establishment of the system of school fees, meant that the doors of those few existing scools were open only to the children of the wealthy. During the period of the nazi-fascist occupation, the Italian and German policy of denationalization was stepped up. Hundreds of teachers abandoned their schools and took up the. rifle to fight in the ranks of the partisan units and brigades. .
The foundations of our people's educatibn were laid during the National Liberation War. The Albanian Communist Party (now the Party of Labour) charged the National Liberation Councils nuclei of the People'S State Power, along with the organization of the war, with the task of organizing the people's education. Thus, they took up the task of opening primary schools and courses against illiteracy in all the liberated districts.
The 1944-45 school year (the first year after the liberation of Albania) was a record year for our school. Whereas during the 1938-39 school year Albania had 649 primary schools with 1349 teachers, during 1944-45 (although the country was devastated by the war) there were 928 primary schools functioning with 1743 teachers.
After liberation, our country pursued a revolutionary course to make education truly the property of the working people, of the workers and peasants.
In 1946, the school reform was carried out: education was proclaimed general and free of charge, elementary schooling was made compulsory, equal for both sexes, the State and secular character of the school was guaranteed, and so on. During the period from 1945 to 1955 a broad campaign was conducted to abolish illiteracy. 85 per cent of the people were illiterate. This campaign was turned into a major State and social activity, bringing about the complete liquidation of this age-old plague. In 1952, the law was issued making elementary general education compulsory. Now 8 grade schooling has been compulsory for several years.
Albania was the only country in Europe without a University. This was set up in 1957.
Now Socialist Albania has a complete education system with a wide network of full and part-time 8 grade and secondary schools and many higher schools, without mentioning here the large number of kindergartens for pre-school children, which constitute the first link of our school system. In proportion to its population, Albania ranks among the first countrieg in the world today as regards the number of persons who attend the various categories of school. Today, out of every three persons in Albania, one attends a school. The University of Tirana has eight faculties with forty five specialities and about 16,000 students, in addition to the other higher institutes and its affiliates set up in the other centers of Albania.
Every year the University of Tirana, or its affiliates, turns out six times as many cadres with higher training as the whole of Albania had in 1938.
The Albanian school is constantly strengthening its socialist features and physiognomy, its revolutionary character, both in its content and its structure. The reform which has placed the school on the basis of three components - lessons, productive labour, physical and military training with Marxist-Leninist ideology running through all of them, is being successfully carried out. This revolutionary transformation of our school was made on the basis of a broad public discussion, in which all the broad strata of the people took part. This is a real revolution for our school.
Children start school when they are six years old, both in cities and in the countryside. Earlier the starting age was 7 years. The change to 6 years was made bearing in mind two factors: first, the general cultural uplift of the population, hence, of the family, which enables them to give more help to their -children and, second, the extension of pre-school education (for ages 3, 4 and 5 years). Pre-school education has now become a constituent part of the school system of Albania.
The State pays the full cost of the school system in all its links. In our country there are no fees to pay in any category of school. The State pays for school buildings, their equipment, the salari.es of teachers and the auxiliary personnel.
The family pays only for textbooks. But the prices of textbooks are more or less symbolic. For instance, for pupils up to 12 or 13 years of age, the textbooks for one school year cost the family about as much as an average worker's wage for one or one and a half days. For a student at secondary school, a year's textbooks may cost as much as an average worker's wages for two days.
The kindergartens for pre-school children are of two categories: kindergartens without meals (here the family has no financial obligations) and kindergartens with meals. For the latter the family pays an amount which covers about 29 per cent of the costs of the food, while the balance is paid by the State.
The problem of bursaries to maintain secondary and higher school students is solved in this way: the State pays full bursaries to students from families with many depen dants, that is, with the lowest per capita incomes. The other families make a reasonable contribution.
To train an engineer it takes four years of study at the University plus a probationary period of one year's work in production, during which time he prepares his diploma thesis.
Let us take a student on a state bursary. Every year he lives ten months in the hostel. The other two months are his summer vacation. Hence he stays forty months all told. For this student the state spends what amounts to the average pay for a worker for thirty-six months. Hence, the burden of the State is by no means light.
The student's bursary covers his expenses for board and lodging at the «Student Town», for his textbooks with some pocket money over for his minor expenses.
This does not include the probation period the student spends in productioñ after four years, because during that period he works and receives the normal pay for his work. The Faculty he belongs to, provides him with a pedagogue who guides him in the preparation of his diploma thesis.
How many students does it take to open a school? This is not so much a problem for cities where there are groups of students, where schools are opened with normal capacities. The problem arises in the villages and not so. much for the villages of the southern districts of Albania,. which are grouped together, but for those of certain districts of Central and Northern Albania, where the houses are still far from one another. As a rule, the secondary schools are opened at the centre of the cooperative, which includes from five to ten villages. The upper cycle of the 8 grade schools (for ages ranging from ten, to thirteen or fourteen years) is usually opened in all villages or one school for two neighbouring villages when the children have no difficulty in attending. In many of these villages there are classes with from ten to fifteen pupils.
The most difficult problem is that of the elementary schools with children ranging from six to nine or ten years of age. It is aimed to ensure a minimum of twelve pupils per class, but this is not always achieved, for when houses of a village are widely scattered, schools are opened in each separate section of the village, in which case classes may have only - 6.7 or 8 pupils in them. This is a sacrifice for the State, but this is done for the sake of enforcing the law of compulsory education. There are cases when, to make it easier for children to attend school, boarding schools of limited capacities are opened in mountain districts. The pupils are boarded and lodged there from Monday to Saturday spending the week-end with their families.
As we have already mentioned, 8-grade schooling is compulsory in Albania. This is fully realized both in town and countryside. After this, the students make their own choice. Most of them choose 4 year secondary education (general or vocational education, in which there are from 65 to 70 profiles and specialities to choose from). Vocational secondary schools admit students on the basis of a plan, because the State works out a correo proportion in training, for instance, nurses, electricians, teachers, engineers and others. Admission to secondary schools of general -education is unrestricted.
In the rural areas, the profiles of the secondary schools conform to the needs of the countryside: agronomy, zooveterinary, fruit growing, horticulture, and so on. For the other specialities needed in the countryside, a number of peasant students are sent to city schools to be trained as mechanics, electricians, midwives, agrarian economists, and so on. Today students from the countryside in the secondary vocational schools of the Republic make up more than half the total contingent of students. This is in order to impart a greater impetus to the secondary education of the peasant students who, up to now, have not had, nor could have had, the same opportunities as those of the cities.
In addition to secondary education, the students who have been through 8-gr ade schooling can choose to attend 2-year courses (half teaching half work) at which they acquire a trade skill. These courses are preferred by those who want to master a skill and start a job more quickly. They are called lower vocational schools.
Ther e are other s who, having been through 8-grade schools, that is, having completed thesr compulsory schooling, want to start work directly in production. But they may not yet have reached the age of 16, the lowest age at which they can be admitted as workers. In this case they are admitted as learners in workshops or factories, where they work half time (for which they receive the corresponding wages) and study the other half. They att.end the system of courses which the enterprise itself opens according to its own profile.
For workers who have followed these two last systems there are part-time vocational secondary schools in which they can complete their secondary education in the profiles they have.
One detail worth metioning is that the programs of the vocational secondary schools are such bhat the subjects of gen.eral. culture (mathematics, physics, chemistry - for those who pursue the technical profile, and literature, history, geography - for those who pursue the social-cultural profile) are the saure as those of the secondary schools of general education. These prepare the students so that they can continue with higher studiés, if they want, and not feel deprived. of this opportunity, as they do in many other countries.
THE PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS. The first edition of the newspaper, «Zëri i popullit», organ of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania, was published on August 25, 1942. This day marks the date of the founding of the Albanian people's press. The course of 34 years which «Zëri i popullit» and all the Albanian revolutionary press has traversed, is, at the same time, the course on which the press has grown and become stronger, has increased its militant spirit and its role as a bearer of information and a collective agitator and propagandist.
During the National Liberation War, apart from «zeri i popullit», other illegal organs were published, such as «Bashkimi», (organ of the National Liberation Front) «Kushtrimi i Lirisë» (organ of the Communist Youth), as well as organs in districts and military units.
While preserving and further developing its revolutionary traditions of the war years, during the years of socialist construction, our people's press has been increased and strengthened in quantity and quality. The numbers of newspapers, .magazines, and other publications have increased and the programs of Albanian radio and television, the releases of the Albanian Telegraph Agency, etc., have been added. n Albania today, there are 25 newspapers with a total circulation of 47 million copies per year.
The newspapers, «ari i popullit» and «Bashkimi», are dailies. A number of other newspapers appear twice per week, such as. «Puna», central organ. of the Trade Union organization, «ari i Rinisë», organ of the Central Committee of the Albanian Labour Youth Union, and ~Luftëtari», central organ of the People's Army. Other important organs are the theoretical magazine, «Rruga. e Partisë», organ of the CC of the P.L.A., and -Drita» and «Nëntori», both literary organs of the League of Writers and Artists, the illustrated magazine, «Yllí», the magazine, «Shqiptarja e Re», organ of the Albanian Women's Union, as well as many others aimed at different categories of readers. Local papers are published in the administrative centres of 14 districts.
In Albania before liberation, there were only six newspapers, and these were completely in the service of the antipopular regime in power. The most important newspapers of that time, «Drita», was published in only 6,000 copies a day, whereas now, «Zëri i popullit. is published in 105,000 copies per day. The number of newspapers which are distributed today, in town and countryside, all over the country, is 20 times greater than before liberation. The number of magazines published today is 9 times greater than before liberation, three times greater than in 1950, and twice as many as in 1960.
Besides magazines and newspapers, books with more than 800 different titles, totalling 8.5 million copies are published each year. The number of titles published today is more than 100 times greater than before liberation.
Radio and Television occupy an important place. Radio Tirana is a powerful station that is heard in all parts of the world. It broadcasts regularly every day, from 5 a.m. till midnight in 17 foreign languages. Four local radio stations have been set up in outlying centres, and these relay Radio Tirana or broadcast special programs according to local conditions and requirements. Although quite new, Albanian TV is very widespread both in town and countryside. With the completion of the electrification of the whole country (October 1970) radio and TV programs are followed even in the most remote parts of the country. The daily papers, too, are delivered in these zones within the day.
The magazine, «Albania Today», has now been coming out for several years. It publishes different materials about the development and socialist transformations in Albania, as well as about the determined struggle that the P.L.A. is waging against imperialism and modern revisionism. The materials in this magazine have aroused special interest among foreign readers. This organ now comes out once in two months, in five languages. The illustrated magazine, «New Albania», has a history of 30 - years and is widely distributed. It is published in nine languages. The scientific magazine, «Studia Albanica», which publishes scientific studies on Albanology in the French language, is for foreign readers. The Albanian people's prèss is characterised by a high ideo-political, scientific, and cultural level and a militant revolutionary spirit. As a rèsult it has been turned into an ever more pówerful th,eans in the hands of the broad masses for the education and mobilisation of the working people in the construction of socialism and the defence of the country. Our press devotes special attention to international affairs; it consistently reflects the principled struggle of our Party and the Albanian people against imperialism, revisionism, and the oppression and exploitation of different peoples of the world.
An outstanding characteristic of our people's press is that it is based firmly on the broad masses of the people. This 'ìs, expressed in the fact that our press, the radio and TV, and the various publications are not only the property of the masses, tribunes of their revolutionary thinking, but also the product of the masses and a direct expression of the linë of the masses. Through the woluntary correspondents and collaborators of the press and the radio and TV service, the masses bring the thoughts, experience, and the beautiful language of the working people into the press. It is not just the professional journalist who brings out the paper or thè magazine, and neither are the radio and TV broadcasts done by the staff editors alone. Large numbers of people of different categories and professions, from city and village, who are close to the life and daily struggle of the working masses, to production, write for the press and speak on the radio and TV.
Matters of the press, like all other matters in the life of the country, are regulated on the basis of special laws. The Constitution of our country sanctions the right of every citizen to have his say freely, using the organs of the press, radio and TV for this purpose. The most favourable conditions have been created for the praetical implementation of this right, and the masses are urged and encouraged by every means, to exercise it.
In socialist Albania, the journalist is an honoured figure. He is esbeemed and respeeted by the masses fot his objectivity, his honesty, his lofty moral figure. On the basis of the law, the journalist also ènjoys rights as aii author. The people working in radio and television and on the press have their own organisation, the Union of Albanian Journalists, which publishes a monthly organ, «Tribuna e Gazetarit».
THE FIGURATIVE ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE. The objects of artistic interest from prehistory take us back to the 6th millenum B.C. Outstanding among them are anthropomorphic ceramics, and original objects of the Cakran-Dunavec cult (Middle Neolithic age), the great pota of Maliq and Kamnik, with painted geometric decoration (Late Neolithic age), the little terra cottas of Maliq women (Neolithic age). The vessels and the cupa with very pr onounced handles on the sides, began to appear during the Bronze Age. This is evidence of the beginnings of the Illyrian tribes.
The art of Illyrian tribes is distinguished in the Iron Age.
llth to the 5th centuries B.C.). The ceramic material found in the tumula (burial mounds) erected everywhere within the borders of Albania today and outside them, in the villages of Barç, Kuç i zi, (near Korça), Pazhok (near Elbasan) etc., are extremely varied in forms. So is that of the South, painted in the style of goemetric designs in a brown colour against a background of light red, called the -devollit» style. The bronze weapóns also have geometric decoration. The rich decoration of the bronze shaft of the weapon often ends with beautiful zoomorphic and anthropomorphic forms.
In the Illyrian cities (5th-2nd centuries B.C.) the walls made of huge quadrangular and polygonal stones are imposing. The earliest gates have the forni of a pointed arch (The peak of Aitoi near Saranda). They have majestic porticos (Dimal and Zg&desh), theatres and hippodromes (Amamtia, near Vlora), monumental tombs (Selcë e Poshtme, near Pogradec) etc. There are many little votive statues, and a wealth of oranaments like the decorative plates of the bronze belt (3rd century B.C.) from the rich finds at Selca e Poshtme.
The cities of the coastal colonies (6th to 3rd eenturies B.C.) that developed art of the classical style, have monumental architectural works, like the Lion Gate and the Theatre of Butrint, the Nympheum and the Monument of the Atheletes in Apollonia, the amphitheatre in Dyrrah etc. Among the best known works of sculpture found, there are the head of Apollonia, the Goddess of Butrint (3rd century B.C.), the portait of Agrippa (lst century B.C.), the head of Demosthenes (3rd cent. B.C.) The stelae produced in Apollonia are rich in ornamentation and reliefs, sometimes with three, one above the other. There is great variety in the many bronze statuettes, ceramics, mainly with red figures on a black background, and the terra-cottas. The most ancient mosaic is «The head of a girl» (3rd century B:C.) found in Durrës. The Roman mosaic in Apolonia, Durrës and elsewhere, is mainly in geometric designs of two or more colours.
The floors of basilicas of early Mediaeval times in central and south Albania, are paved in mosaic. In the baptistery of Butrint, (5th century A.D.), in the Basilica of Lin on lake Ohri (6th century A.D.), the mosaics represent mainly birds, vines, fish etc. Their colours blend in tonal effects. The only Byzantine wall mosaic (l0th century A:D.) is found in a chapel in Durrës.
From the 6th to the 8th centuries, like the Illyrians, the early Albanian tribes built burial mounds, the majority of them in the Northern Albania (near Koman village and elsewhere). This culture is distinguished for the working of metals, and its ornaments in bronze, silver and gold. On the ear-rings, clasps and pendants there are .images of the woman, the horse etc. They continue a number of the forms of Illyrian ornaments.
The monuments of the Mediaeval architecture, are to be found in abundance in the South in the Byzantine style, while in the North they are less frequent and in the Roman style. The church of Perhondi (l0th century) in typical Byzantine style, is a cathedral, with a bell-tower attached, like Western churches. The church of Saint Nikolla in Mesopotam (13th century) which looks like a fortress, is rich in heraldic reliefs, capitals, etc. An outstanding monument in the typical picturesque Byzantine style of the 13th century is the church of Saint Mary at Pojan. The church of ,Saint Mëhill, erected on a rock outcrop below Berat Castle, and 'Saint Triadha within its walls, belong to the 14th century. Th.e Icons of the 12th century are of classical Byzantine style: Saint Mary Odigitria in the Bllajshtona cave above lake Prespa, and others. In the icons of the 13th century, the religious stylization' is pronounced, whereas those of the 14th century express more intimate emotions; the Saint Mary in the church, of Saint Mary's Rest, in Berat, etc. The mural paintings of the refectory of Pojan monastry (1261-1328) are of a classic grandeur with transparent colours. The paintings of Saint Mary of Mborja 1380), and those of Saint Mary of the island of Maligrad, in lake Prespa, are remarkably expressive. The religious objects are artistically rich and skillfully executed. The epitaph of Gllanevica, embroidered to the order of Gjergj Araniti in 1373, is a document of great historical importance and a masterpiece of art.
The Albanian-Turkish wars during the 15th century, hindered the construction of monumental buildings and paintings. After the Turkish invasion, in the 16th century, iconography, mural-painting etc. were revived within the religious buildings which are not distinguished from their outward appearance. Berat is outstanding. The seven icons of «the great feastsH and the beautiful gates of Berat evangelistry are of marvelous precision: They are attributed to Onufri from Elbasan (mid. 16th century), a painter of murals in a series of churches in Kostur (Greece), Berat, and various villages of Elbasan. His paintings tend to be more materialistic, have dramatic expressions and outstandingly decorative colours. The icons and mural paintings of his son, Nikolla (the end of the 16th and the beginning of 17th centuries) have elongated and more aristocratic figures. There were a number of other distinguished painters. In the early 18th century iconography and mural painting took a new impetus, and realist elements of the baroque style were introduced into them. In 1726, David Selenicasi, painted the interiors of Saint Nikolla's of Voskopoja. From the 16th century, buildings of the muslim religion began to be built. The lead cupolo Mosque (18th century) in Shkodra imitates Arabic architecture, but in the Dervishes' Temple in Berat (1791) and the mosque of Et-hem Bey in Tirana (1791-1821) elements of local folk art are included.
The revival of economic life and trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, brought about a growth of the cities with a spontaneous but original and rational solution to the problems of town planning, and led to the development of the popular architecture. The Gjirokastra tower house, rising three or four stories on the steep mountainous terrain evolved. A typical example is the Zekate house. The houses with porches in Berat link their white facades to form «the city of one thousand windows». Shkodra's two storied house with a balcony extends horizontally amidst a garden surrounded by very high walls. The skilled trades and artistic peasant handicrafts developed greatly. Wood carving reached a superb artistic level in the intricate three-dimensional designs of the altar screens. Notable examples are those of the seat of the Orthodox Bishop of Korca (late 18th century), Berat cathedral (1850) and that of Leus village church near Përmet (round the year 1800). The interiors of dwellings were ornamented with wood carving (the styles varying according to each district) and Albanian wood carvers became renowned all over the Balkans. The fame of weapons, such as daggers, pistols, rifles and their equipment, as well as ornamental buckles and other objects decorated with various techniques, especially in filigree, produced in Shkodra, Prizren, Elbasan and elsewhere, spread far beyond Albania. The metal ornaments worn by the women of the North.ern Highlands faithfully continued the tradition of the ornaments of the Albanian culture of -early mediaeval times.
The Art of the National Renaissance begins from after the year 1880, in the struggle for national independence and freedom from the Turkish rule. It is secular, breaking away from the religious iconography, and treats patriotic and ethnographic subjects. Kolë Idromeno (1860-1939) is a distinguished painter, architect and artist of this period. The portrait of his sister (1883) has social-psycological depth and a delicate artistic interpretation. Of particular interest for their portrayal of the life and customs of the country are «Shkodra wedding» as well as many realistic scenes in compositions with religious subjects, like «Two streets... The main subject of the art of National Renaissance is the figure of George Kastriot-Scanderbeg. Spiro Xega (1863-1953) an amateur painter and patriot, produced eight variants of Scanderbeg's portrait. His most original work is «Shahin Matraku's Beta>. with its subject from the life of patriotic insurgents.
After the proclamation of the independent Albanian State in 1912, the conditions created for artistic activitv were not very favourabie - it was left to personal initiative. From 1932 a number of monuments, works of the sculptor Odhise Paskali (1903) were erected, such as that of the «National Fighter» in Korça, a realistic statue, with a strong expression and Albanian psychological characteristics. His bust of Scanderbeg (1939) has a legendary-epic spirit. The painting of this period is realistic, but inclined towards lyricism. The motifs of Vangjush Mio (1891-1957) are mostly from the streets and environment of Korga and Pogradec, joyful landscapes, full of light and colour. «A street in Korga» is typical for his work in which, in his own way, he expresses his love for the fatherland. Varied, more demanding in its search for artistic expression, is the work of Zef Kolombi (1907-1949), a, strict draftsman who uses the technique of «plain air». His portraits, such as his «Selfportrait» have dramatic force, his landscapes lik.e «The Harvest» reflect the melancholy and stagnation of the time.
The People's State Power, born from the National Liberation War, that was established in the year 1944, and the policy of the Communist Party (today the Party of Labour) of Albania are very favourable to the development of art, which is considered as an important factor of the people's culture. In the first 10-15 years many busts and statues were erected. The monument to Scanderbeg
by Janaq Pago with a popular and romantic spirit was erected in Kruja (in 1959), while the monument to Stalin, by O. Paskali (1949) and the monument to Lenin, by Kristina Hoshi (1954) were erected in Tirana. The busts of «Qemal Stafa» (1948) by J. Pago, «Vojo Kushi» (1949) by O. Paskali, are permeated by heroic and revolutionary
pathos. At this period the first compositional tableaus were painted. The National Liberation War was the predominant theme. «A story from the National Liberation War», by Nexhmedin Zajmi is of a decriptive character. While «The Liberation of Tirana» by Bukurosh Zajmi, is more of a summing up. Gradually the theme of reconstruction and socialist contruction began to occupy an important place. In «Voluntary Labour at the Stalin Combine», by Abdurrahim Buza, it is reflected in an original manner. Important works with historical themes, like «Bajram Curri at the cave of Dragobia» by Guri Madhi, were created. Year by year artistic organizations and institutions have been set up and the creative activity and the number of artists have increased. According to the directives of the Party, that art should be in the service of the people and express their revolutionary aspirations. the ideals of communism, the figurative arts, too, follow the creative method of socialist realism. Since the year 1960, while the socialist construction has been advancing in fierce struggle against the internal and external class enemy, resisting the imperialist-revisionist pressure, art, in general, has become more profound in its content and artistic expression, and more firmly based on its own national experience. The compositions with themes from the National Liberation War and history. express patriotic revolutionary emotions, such as Fatmir Haxhiu's «Skrockë, February 1944» and others.
Painting gives a broader reflection of the heroism at work. While Zef Shoshi's «The Cooperativists' Return to their Village». generalizes a moment from the life of the socialist countryside. Agim Faja's «The Struggle against the Drought» is a monumental decorative (panel) with the people's solidarity at work as its theme.
In sculptural portrait, works reflecting the new features of the man moulded with the lofty ideals of socialism are being created. The bust of comrade Enver Hoxha by O. Paskali (1966) is considered one of the most important works of the art of socialist realism. The energy, profound thought, farsighted view of the lead-er of our people is reflected in this work. One of the monuments of this period is «The Liberating Partisan» (1964) in Përmet.
The 15th plenum of the Central Committee of the Party in 1965 reached the conclusion that, socialist realism had proved itself as a method in Albanian art and should play a still greater role in the communist education of the masses. After 1966, a series of revolutionary actions and movements led by the Party, began. Painting, sculpture and graphic art responded to the directives of the Party and the revolutionization of the country reflecting the transformations that were going on, and sharpening their proletarian partisanship. With the improvement of material conditions, the demands of the masses for art increased. Many important national and personal exhibitions were opened. Many works of major genres and proportions were created and the artistic expression was enriched. The statue «Hold High the Revolutionary Spirit», by Muntaz Dhrami (1966) quickly became a symbol of socialist Albania. In the following years, a series of important monuments hav e been erected, some of them by groups of sculptors, like the solemn and expressive monument to Scanderbeg (1968) in Tirana, the Independence Monument in Vlora (1972), the monument to the Four Heroines (1971) in Rnëshen, the monument of Mushqeta on the outskirts of Tirana (1969), the «Monument to the War of 1920» near Vlora (1970) and «The Monument to the Martyrs of Borova» (1968) near Erseka, and others include beautiful reliefs. The bust of the heroine of the independence of the Fatherland «Shote Galica» by K. Rama is realistic, expressive, monumental. M. Dhrami's statue of the Labour heroine «Shkurte Pal Vata» is pervaded by revolutionary enthusiasm. In painting, many tableaus generalize the socialist life. The subject of many compositions is the construction of the big projects. «The Builders of Light» by Danish Jukniu is inspired by the irresistibl e vigour of the drive to build a gigantic hydro-electric power station. Viison Kilica's «December 1967» shows the people's solidarity to overcome the damage inflicted by natural calamities. The defence of the country is a theme extensively treated. In the conditions of the construction of socialism in Albania in unceasing struggle against the imperialist and revisionist blockade, the National Liberation War and the historical past in art, have a contemporary tone. The new man created in socialism occupies a place in the portraits. The landscapes reflect nature transformed by the hand of man. Other genr es, too, like drawings, caricatures, etc, have developed. Great changes have occured in the planning and appearance of the city and the village, especially after the 1960's. Architecture of simple feature and popular spirit assumed a new impetus. It is seen in a series of buildings, like the building of the Central Committee of the Party, the Palace of Culture in Tirana (by a group of architects), the «V. I. Lenin Party School», the Tourist Hotel in Gjirokastra etc.
In 1973, the 4th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania criticized bourgeois and revisionist modernist influences. The ideological struggle strengthened the art. óf socialist realism, encouraged the artistic creativity and deepened its proletarian partisanship and national character. The opening of the National Exhibition of Figurative Arts dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Liberation (Tirana, November 1974) was a great success. In paintings the dynamic life and optimism of the working class and the whole people is reflected in vivid colours. Tableaus of a monumental character deal with great historical events.
THE THEATRE. The foundations of the present day Albanian theatre were laid during the period of the Anti-fascist National Liberation War.
Our first theatne is called «The People's Theatre». It was given this name because it was born as a partisan theatre, in the mountains, in the prisons, in the city quarters and villages, wherever the fight -was waged against the fascist occupiers. On the 24th of May, 1944, on the eve of the liberation of the whole country, at the historic town of Përmet, the first professional theatre in the history of the country was set up.
Just as in music, dance, costumes, artistic craftsmanship, architecture etc., in the field of theatre too, the Albanian people have a rich tradition. Evidence of the preservation and development of this tradition are the amateur theatrical groups which we find in early times and which played an important role in the history of the Albanian theatre. These groups were developed especially in the main cities of the country such as Shkodra, Korga, Gjirokastra, Elbasan etc., where they functioned as groups of various patriotic and progressive associations created by the workers, craftsmen, patxiotic intellectuals and progressive youth.
The progressive ideas which they brought out through a repertoire built up of original dramatic works, or by staging outstanding works of world progressive drama, strengthened the patriotic forms in their struggle against reaction. The regimes in power not only did not give any assistance to the development of these groups, but they persecuted them , dissolving the groups and condemned their representatives. Therefore the enthusiastic efforts of many amateurs of the theatre were not crowned with the creation of a professional theatre. This theatre was. born much later.
At the end of the last century and up to the thirties. of this century, the world famous Albanian actor, Alek-sandër Moisiu (1879-1935) was alive and performing. Find-ing it impossible to realize his ardent desire to set up a na-tional theatre, he lived all his life abroad. The world progressive theatre considered Aleksandër Moisiu one of thegreatest actors of the time.
Today, there are 8 drama-theatre companies in Albania, 15 «estrada» companies specializing in humour and. satire and 26 puppet theatre companies. In the tradition of the oPeople's Theatre», the other theatres also bear the names of other oubstanding compatriots, who have lived at, different times. The theatre of the city of Korça, for example, bears the name of the great poet and patriot of the. National Renaissance, «A. Z. Çajupi», the theatre in the city of Shkodra bears the name of the revolutionary poet of the thirties, -Migjeni-, that of the city of Durrës, thename of the great Albanian actor, «Aleksandër Moisiu».
The number of amateur theatxe groups has increased beyond all comparisson with the past. Almost every work: centre and institutdon has its own amateur theatrical group,.. where the lovers of dramatic art gather regularly afterwork and prepare perfomances which they stage hoth for their fellow workers and also for others. Festivals are organized systematically on a district, regional and. national scale. The two theatres, amateur and professional, assist, influence, and inspire each other. While the amateurs learn acting skills from the professional theatre, the professionals, for their part, learn a great deal frorn the freshness, the natural acting, and the creative enthusiasm of the amateurs, and also find new talents among them. The professional theatres carry out systematic work with the amateur movement. The most experienced actors ar e charged with this work.
The theatre draws its new talents from the amateur rnovement and also from the schools. In 1946, the first secondary school of art, the «Jordan Misja» School, was opened, while in 1959, the «A. Moisiu» Higher School for actors was opened. This is one of the branches of the Higher Institute of Arts. In recent years producers have been trained at this school, too. Courses and other forms are organized for the training of directors of the amateur theatrical movement.
Although each theatre has its own premises with all the neeessary facilities, both for the spectators and for the actors, the theatre companies also go out to their audiences at work and production centers, in town and countryside. Each year, every company must stage 40 to 60 per cent of its performances outside its own theatre.
The d-evelopment of the theatre in breadth has brought about an improvement in its quality. The building up of the repertoires of the theatres mostly with naVonal works has been one of the fundamental concerns of the theatre. Proceeding from the principle that there cannot -be a truly national theatre without a national dama, 1 tuday's theatre has completely solved this problem. This á is one óf its outstanding victories.
Hundreds of dramatic works have now entered dhe treasury of the national theatre. Our theatre cannot be conceived without such works and performances as: «The Prefect» by B. Levonja, «Our Land» by K. Jakova, «the Fisherman's Family» by S. Pitarka, -The Carnival of Korça» by S. Çomora, «The Highland Girl» by L. Papa, «The Bullet in the Dowry» by F. Kraja, etc. An important place here is occupied by the staging of outstanding works of our prose such as «The Swamp», based on the novel of the same title by F. Gjata, «The General of the Dead Army», based on the novel of the same title by I. Kadare, «The Dead River», also based on the novel of the same name by J. Xoxe.
Appreciating the values of the progressive drama of other peoples, our theatre has staged works from the treasury of world culture such as Shakespeare's Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, The Merry Wives of Windsor; Moliere's «The Miser», -Tartuff», .xThe Noble Bourgeois»; Goldoni's «Mirandolina»; «The Auditor» by Gogol; «The Enemies» by Gorki»; «Love and Intrigue» by Schiller; «Nora» by Ibsen; «Arturo Ui» by Brecht and so on.
The Albanian theatre is a theatre of socialist realism which truthfully reflects the reality in its revolutionary development. The main aim of the actors is the faithful characterization of the figures they interpret in their dialectical development. The Albanian theatre puts the actor, the real living man, at the center of its attention, and places each of its components and the components of the scene at his service or at the service of the idea which he bears. This is also the aim of the scene painter, composer, lighting operator, etc. The Albanian theatre is waging a fieroe struggle both against naturalism, melodrama, theatricality etc., and also against the ugly features of the socalled «modern» theatre of today, the formalist, absurd, abstract, and «anti-everything» theatre, which has nothing in common with the realist and progressive theatre.
As an indication of the care and esteem for the place and the robe of the theatre in our society, artists may be awarded the high and honoured titles, «People's Artist», and «Merited Artist», which are held by many people of the stage. One of the highest decor ations of the country is that of «Hero of Socialist Labour». There are stage artista among the ranks of the most highly honoured people who hold this decoration.
MUSIC. Albania, this country at the crossroads between East and West, has ancient musical traditions. Through their architecture, scul~pture, ceramics, mesaics and coins with effigies of dancers and instrumentalists, the early centers of Southern Illyria, show us that musical culture has flourished here for a very long time. Along with archaeological monuments, such as the arena of entertainment at Bylis, the stadium at Amantia, the theatres at Butrint, Orik and Durrës, the odeu~ìn at Pojan and at other centers in which concerts and musical performances were given further convincing evidence of this is provided in information from certain Greek and Roman classical authors. The cult of the Muses, itself, the legenda and myths around certain marvellously talented Illyrian artists, prove what importance was attached to music in the life of our ancestors.
Just as for Europe as a whole, for Albania, too, the early mediaeval centuries are dark and almost impenetrable. From that period there is only one prominent musician in our tradition, Niketa of Rameziana who, during the 4th century, composed a number of Paleo-Christian songs, the best known of which is «te Deum Laudamus».
From the 4th century, with the invasions of the barbarians, one of the gloomiest periods of our history began. Then, for about ten çenturies on end, our country was under the bondage of the Byzantine Empire. It is not to be wondered at that we have to pass on to the 12th century to come across a musician like Jan Kukuzeli from Durrës, the outstanding master of Byzantine music, who, through his broad and manysided activity as a composer, a marvellous singer, a brilliant theoretician and reformer, opened new paths and gave a fresh impetus to musical development.
Evidence is not lacking of the development of the art of music at the time of the State of Arbër. The Albanians who emigrated from this state and settled in Southern Italy, where they founded the Arbëresh colony during the 15th century, took with them some old musical manuscripts which are a living source for the history of our music.
With the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks, Albania was afflicted with chaos for nearly another five centuries.. The Turkish occupation interrupted any artistic develop-ment or manifestation for a very long time. During those dark days of oppression and ruthless exploitation, the very existence of our people was in jeopardy. When thè Albanian cities gradually began to recover, music also began to revive through the setting up of the odd society, fanfare or band. The evidence we have of musical activity from that period is mainly connected with the Christian sphere where certain composers of hymns like Gjergj Papazima and Grigor Manesi (18th century) or Krisanth Mediti, former bishop of Durrës during the first half of the 19th century, were prominent. Krisanth Mediti was active in cultivating the fields of music and musicology, publishing a number of studies on Byzantine music, organizing choral groups, and training many pupils.
During the second half of the 19th century, in addition to fighting for freedom and national independence, Albanian patriots spared no efforts to promote art and culture. Overcoming many obstacles and hardships, a school for music was opened in Shkodra in 1878 and a band was set up. From that period we have some vocal and instrumental compositions by Palok Kurti. On the eve of throwing off the shackles of five hundred years of bondage, the national movement made rapid progress in all fields. However national independence in 1912 found Albania with few musicians and only a few brass bands in the main cities. At that time our country was backward from all points of view. The lack of cadres with technical-professional training, the low educational and cultural level, were, of course, not suitable conditions for the flowering of Albanian music. Under such circumstances a few composers emerged from the ranks of the people, who, in addition to vocal songs and romances, turned out some instrumental works like rhapsodies, fantasies, medleys, and the odd symphony. But the proclarnation of independence did not ensure the freedom and tèrritorial integrity of Albania. The Balkan War and, later, the First World War, turned Albania into a field of battles with all their devastating consequences. In such adverse political, economic and social circumstances, the necessary conditions for music to flourish were absent.
A new stage began for our country in 1920 when the foreign troops were driven out of Albania. At that time, Thoma Nasi, the conductor of the «Vatra» band, was very active in many directions.
During the period of Ahmet Zog's monarchic regime (1925-1939) art and culture were not supported and, as a consequence, talented composers did not find favourable conditions to exercise their artistic talents. Some of the few technically and professionally trained Albanian composers, like Fan Noli and Thoma Nasi, were obliged to emigrate abroad, instead of contributing to music in their Homeland. Abroad, Fan Noli composed a number of symphonic poems based on Albanian themes and published his musicological study entitled «Beethoven and the French Revolution».
In 1939 new misfortunes descended upon the Albanian people, with the fascist occupation of the Homeland.
During the National Liberation War, some clandestine artistic formations were organized with a repertoire of patriotic and partisan songs. During the heat of the war, in July 1944, in the region of Opar, the Emsemble of the People's Army was set up under the direction of Gaqo Avrazi.
Right after the liberation of Albania, the State Choir was set up, and later (1941) this was incorporated in the Albanian Philharmonia.
1947 marked the inauguration in Tirana of the Lyceum of Arts which, in addition to the branches for the training of middle level music cadres, also includes a branch of ballet. Now, with the constant increase in artistic education in Albania, there are five secondary sohools of art in various districts, and seven 8 grade art schools.
The Higher Institute of Arts, which includes, the Conservatorium, was opened in Tirana in 1961. It trains singers, instrumentalists, composers, conductors, musicologists, music teachers, etc.
The setting up of the Albanian Philharmonia stimulated stage perfórmances. In 1950, a ballet group was organized and this was later incorporated in the Opera and Ballet Theatre. The Albanian work to be performed after liberation was the operetta «Dawn» (1953) composed by Kristo Kono on the basis of Kolë Jakova's libretto. In December 1958, the first Albanian Opera «Mrika», composed by Prenk Jakova, based on Lazar Siliqi's libretto was staged. A series of operettas by Albanian composers were performed, such as P. Dungu's «The Golden Neb». T. Daia's «Leila» and «Golden Autumn», T. Harapi's children's operetta «The Story of the Foresb>, N. Zoraqi's «The Idler», Kozma Lara's «Spring Days», A. Prodani's «The Bridegroom Was Transferred» and others. Later on the Albanian repertoire was enriched by such operas as «The Spring» by T. Daia, «The Flower of Remem~brance» by K. Kono, «Scanderbeg» by P. Jakova. «The Sons of Scanderbeg» by A. Grimci, «The Heroine» by V. Nova, «Beyond the Fog» by P. Gaci, «The Commissar» by- N. Zoraqi, «The Awakening» by T. Harapi and others.
Meanwhile, the genre of ballet did not lag behind. The first Albanian ballet «Halili and Hajrija» composed by Tish Daia, on the basis of the drama by Kolë Jakova, with choreography by Panajat Kanagi, was performed in January 1963. Then came «Delina» by C. Zadeja, «The Boy Partisan» by K. Laro, «The Mountain Girl» by N. Zoraqi (choreography by A. Aliaj), «The Fearless Eagle», «The Fisherman's Sons» and others.
During the years of the People's State Power, the Albanian composers have cultivated all the forms of vocal music ranging from songs and romances, to cantatas and oratorios. The main contributors in these two genres are K. Kono, K. Trako, P. Dungu, K. Ugi, R. Mara, T. Harapi, T. Hoshafi, A. Mula, V. Çangu and others. They also cultivated the forms of instrumental music, miniatures for various instruments ranging from chamber music forrrrations like duets, trios, quartets, quintets and so on, in which the main contributors were T. Daia, T. Harapi, N. Zoraqi, R. Sokoli, A. Grimci, M. Kapidani, up to the major forms of instrumental music like suites, overtures. ballads, rhapsodies, symphonic dances, and so on, the main contributors of which were S. Gjoni, L. Dizdari, Sh. Kushta and others; or concertos for violin, flute, cello and piano with orchestra, and programmatic or symphonic poems etc.
All these composers have striven to enrich to the national artistic repertoire with something new and original. Of course it was no easy job for the first generation of composers after liberation to forge ahead with such small forces and without any adequate artistic heritage; while the younger generation, which has grown up in this climate, found the ground already cleaned, and they improved style, form and technique. Almost none of these composers has yet reached the peak of his achievements, which are constantly on the ascent, none has said his final word. Many genres of Albanian music are still only budding, but they are thriving well, nurtured as they are by the inexhaustible source of folk creativeness. Three decades are a very short period in the history of music but in spite of that in Albania during these last three decades an unprecedented development has been achieved in music, which reflects the rapid development of our people in all fields of life. Basing themselves on their native soil, that is, on the folklore of the country, the Albanian composers have avoided abstract and decadent trends. Their aesthetic aim is «national in form and socialist in substance», as the basic principle of socialist realism. Meanwhile the new Albanian culture carried on the tradition or the artistic past of bhe country. Consequently, it developed also the branch of science, musicology, which greatly assisted the flourishing of music through conferences, creative discussions, and different publications.
Now a word or two about concert life in Albania. In September 1937, the Ensemble of Folk Songs and Dances, with a vocal instrumental and choreographic com~plex was set up in Tirana. This Ensemble has often presented the beauties of Albanian folklore outside the borders of the country in many countries of Europe, Asia and Africa, and has won the highest awards. Apart from this Ensemble, that of the People's Army and the collective of the Opera and Ballet Theatre, extensive artistic activity is carried on
by the Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra, the orchestras of the secondary schools of art, the orchestra of the Higher Institute of Arts, as well as a number of symphony orchestras, set up in the other cities of Albania, such as Shkodra, Korça, Elbasan, Durrës etc. To these must be added forty or more bands set up in various districts, especially among army detachments as well as the smaller orchestras of thirteen professional variety theatre companies. One of the distinctive feautres of musical development in socialist Albania is the mass participation in scores of workers' clubs and houses of culture in the cities, which together with some hundreds of cultural centers of the countryside, carry out a wide range of artistic activities. Every year festivals of new songs are organized by the Albanian Radio and Television Service, as well as by the houses of culture and young Pioneers' centers in the districts. Every year the May Concerts are organized in the Capital as well as national contests òf variety theatre, bands, workers' ensembles, groups from agricultural cooperatives and, especially the regional and national folklore festivals. All these contribute to the very vigorous concert life in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.
CINEMATOGRAPHY. The first Albanian documentary film was put on the screen on May Day, 1947. This day marked the birth of cinematographic art in Albania.
The «New Albania» Film Studio which at first turned out newsreel films was founded in 1951. Later, wth the creation of the material possibilities and the training of the necessary cadres, it became possible to produce feature film, a short one, was «Her Children», turned out in 1957, which deals with the struggle against the prejudices of parents, while the first full length Albanian feature film is «Tana» (1958) based on the novel of the same name by Fatznir Gjata, dealing with life in our countryside during the post-Liberation years.
Within a short period, Albanian cinematography outgrew its «infancy» and now has fully earned an important place in the field of the new socialist culture in Albania. Today our cinematography produces more than 12 feature films a year (some of them in colour) in addition to numerous documentary and newsreel films.
Up to now tens of feature films and hundreds of documentaries and newsreels have been produced. They bave dealt with the most varied problems from the life of our people, giving a clear reflection of the efforts, the selfsacrifice and victories of the broad masses in their battle against everything alien and reactionary, of the revolutionary drive of our people to carry out the tasks of building the new socialist society. One of the most important themes of Albanian cinematography continues to be the National Liberation War of the Albanian people. It serves to evoke for the younger generation the most glorious page of our history. Thanks to its lofty content and richness of ideas, the Albanian film makes a major contribution to the problem of the education of the masses of the people with the moral principles and ethics of our new society.
Now the Albanian film has begun to appear on the screens abroad, in international festivals and during the Week of the Albanian Film, which has been organized in serveral countries of the world.
THE THESAURUS OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY.
The National Library is one of the most important cultural institutions in our country, both because of the large number of books it has available and because of the work it does to publicize and spread them among the masses.
The library has a priceless collection of publications and manuscripts, which increases its scientific and bibliographic value, not only on a national level ,but also internationally. This is best reflected in its collection of Albanology, which is considered the richest in the world.
Today it is a recognized fact that for anyone studying Albanological science, whether an Albanian or a foreigner, it is essential to turn to the materials in our National Library.
Of particular importance is the collection of antiquities, which includes very old and rare publications, incunabula and manuscripts of the period from the 15th to the 18th centuries, most of which refer directly or indirectly to various Albanian problems in the fields of geo
graphy, history, archaeology, ebhnography, folklore, linguistics, literature and so on. In reviewing the bibliography «Albanica- the noted historian, Karl Gö1,ner, makes this comment: «It (Albanica) astounds us with the treasures in the collection of the National Library in Tirana, of which many historians do not know», adding that «these publications are also important in regard to the history of books printed in the 15th century».
The place of honour in the collection of Antiquities is occupied by books in Albanian written by our ancient authors. Among them are the 2nd an.d 3rd volumes (1636 and 1664 respectively) of Pjetër Budi's work «Doktrinë së Krishterë» (The Christian Doctrine), Frano Bardhi's «Dictionarium Latino-Epirotium» (1635) and Pjetër Bogdani's «Cuneus Prophetarium» first published in 1685 and republished in 1691.
Gjon Buzuku's «Meshari» (Masses) (1555) the first book in Albanian, Budi's first publications of «Doktrina Cristiana» (1618), «Passchyra e të refuemit» (Spectrum Confessionis) (1621) and «Rituale Romanum» (1621), Frano Bardhi's work on Scanderbeg, Lek Matranga's and Jul Variboba's works are all kept in photo copies only, since the originals are in the Library of the Vatican and in the Paris National Library.
This heritage is enriched by the works of the Albanian humanists Barleti and Beçikemi. The first edition of the first work of Barleti «De obsedioni scodrensis» (1504) describing the first and second sieges of the city of Shkodra by Sultan Mohamed II (1474-1475) and (1478-1479) is kept in this library. The author himself took part in war against the Ottoman Turks.
The most important work of Barleti, which immortalized his name is his «History of Scanderbeg». The National Library has an almost complete set of volumes of this work. It was first published under the title «Historia de Vita et Getis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum Principis» (1508-1510) and was republished in Augsburg in 1533, in Strassburg in 1537, in Venice in 1554, in Frankfurt-on-Main in 1561, in Lisbon in 1567 and so on. It was also translated into many languages.
In addition to Barleti's book, the National Library has hundreds of other works about our National Hero, Scariderbeg, by such authors as Lavardin, Duponce, Biemmi, Kockert, Menezes, Pontanus, Sarocci, Whincop and others.
The history of our Illyrian ancestors is reflected in the works of ancient Latin and Greek writers, of which the oldest examples in the library are Pliny's Natural History» printed in 1516, Caesar's Commentaries (1539), Strabo's «De situ orbis, libri XVII» (1549), Aristotle's «Summi Semper Philosophi» (1550) and Diodor Siculi's -Bibliothecae historiae» (1559).
The history of the Middle Ages, together with the Turkish occuaption and the struggle of the Albanians for freedom, are dealt with in the works of Byzantine and other chroniclers as well as of various travellers, and our National Library contains «Historiae Bizantinae scriptores tres greco-latini» (1615), «Chronicorum turcicorum» (1578) and individual volumes by Ptolemy, Anna Comnena, Chalchondylos, Sansovino and others.
As Gö11ner remarked, the collection of ancient books and manuscripts in our National Library is also of particular interest for the study of the history of books in general. In this collection we have incunabula like that of Silvius Piccolomini, published in 1473, hence in the first period of the birth of the printing press. Amongst other things it speaks about Scanderbeg and about the struggle of the Albanians against the Turks. There are also old e_ditions of the Bible and the Koran, books put out by' famous publishing houses, such as Aldins (Aldo Manunzio) and Elzevir, illuminated books with valuable gold and silver inlaid vellum bindings, decorated vvith precious stones and filigree, which reflect the history of `books at various stages of their development.
Mith all of these treasures, the section of Antiquities of our National Library is a precious heritage and the pride of our people.
MUSEUM - CITIES. Among the large number and many kinds of monuments, dating from the dawn of history to our days, our museum-cities occupy a special place. The underground of the city of Durrës, the old Bazaar of Kruja, the city of Berat and the city of Gjirokastra have been designated as museum-cities and placed under state protection on the basis of a special decision taken by the Council of Ministers. Special regulations in the spirit of this decision deal with the concrete problems of the administration, the preservation and restoration of these important centers of the history and material culture of our people.
Durrës is one of the most important ancient centers of our country. The new city was built long ago on the ruins of the ancient city founded ás early as the 7th century B.C.
Of the ancient and mediaeval structures of this city only part of the defense structures which have resisted the ravages of time are preserved above ground level, for instance, the fortress built in the period of the Byzantine Emperor Anastas I, of Durrës origin, and a number of mediaeval turrets and walls which date back to the period from the 13th to the 14th centuries. All the other monuments of this city are preserved under the surface of the ground dn such density that anywhere you dig you will find traces of them. Through excavations for new buildings, a series of important monuments have been found by chance such as the thermal baths of the Roman period in the center of the present day city, mosaics, the sewer system of the city and so on. That is why the underground of Durrës has been proclaimed a monument of culture; no new construction is allowed without the approval of the Institute of Monuments of Culture.
The Old Bazaar of Kraja, which dates back to the period from the 18th to the 19th centuries is one of the rare specimens of these beautiful architectonic complexes which, in the past, were centers of production and trade in our cities. This ensemble is outstanding for its successful functional solution through a simple architecture in
which timber occupies the main place. The facades of the shops, -which can be dismantled so that they can also serve for displays, and the characteristice aves which, apart from sheltering displayed goods, can protect the buyers from
the sun or rain, are made of timber. Thus, the space between the two long rows of shops covered by the eaves, turns into a sort of open, very picturesque market accessible to the customers. The Kruja Bazaar which was restored during the period from 1965 to 1967 by the Institute of Monuments of Culture, is one of the most interesting and the oldest of its kind preserved in Albania.
The museum-city of Berat is an important center for the history and material culture of the Albanian people because it preserves structures beginning with bhe Illyrians as early as the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. and ending with historic monuments connected with the National Liberation War. Worthy of mention in this museum-city is the fortress in which we find many kinds of constructions. Apart from Illyrian traces there are also constructions of the 6th, 13th, 15th, and 19th centuries. This fortress is one of the biggest of its kind and is distinguished for the great variety of contributions from various epochs. Some cult constructions of the 13th and.14th centuries, some of which also preserve mural p4intings are worthy of mention for their architectonic values. The city itself, that is, the residential center as it is today, belongs partly to the 18th century and even more to the 19th century during which a vigorous process of recontruction of old houses took place. The ensembles of the museum-city of Berat are distinguished for their close combination with the terrain which is utilized in a masterly way in the compositional volume of the buildings which, joining together, create long strips of buidings. These ensembles stand out for their architectonic coherence and their identical exteriior appearance, the balanced horizontal composition and careful integration of~separate architectonic elements. The many windows and the arched projections of the residential storey lighten and give variety to the dimensional composition of these compact constructions.
The museum-city of Gjirokastra is younger. Its fortress, a structure with architectonic values, appears to date back to the 9th and 12th centuries. It was the nucleus of the city which, by the middle of the 17th century, had achieved rapid and vigorous development. Apart from the fortress, the characteristic houses of Gjirokastra, which constitute a specific type within the framework of the Albanian popular house, are of very important value. These houses are distinguished for their development in height and their pronounced monumental character due to their severe outward appearance and cozy and highly ornamented interiors. The ensembles of this city stand out for their
accentúated monumental and expressive character, their organic connections with the environment and variety of dimensional composition.
SPORT. In Albania all the younger generation is involved in sport. This is realized first of all at school, where physical training is one of the main components of the teaching process. The other masses of youth take part in sports according to an extensive calendar, which constitutes the basis for the program of national and local sports activities. This program is worked out in detail by every district, wofk center, institution, agricultural cooperative and enterprise, in collaboration with the broad masses of youth. It ensures not only the wide variety of sports but also the mass character of participation in them.
Our sports enthusiasts are organized in clubs and collectives on the basis of districts, schools, work centers.
agricultural cooperatives and enterprises, institutions or military detachments. These clubs develop their activities by taking part in various championships. Thus, for instance, there are the National Football Championships of the lst, 2nd and 3rd categories, the National Championships in basketball, volleyball, swimming, shooting, chess, table tennis, classical and free style wrestling, weight lifting, cycling and so on.
Great progress has been made in athletics, in which boys and girls above 12 years of age compete in various age groups. The young pioneers of both sexes have their own basketball and voldeyball championships, and so do the young football players. Today about 90 teams compete in the mens and women's basketball and volleyball championships.
At the «Voja Kushi» Higher Institute of Physical Culture there is a special branch engaged in training for athletics, gymnastics and football.
Before the liberation of Albania from the invaders and local traitors, only four official sports activities were carried on, namely, football, athletics, swimming and cycling. Only males took part in these activities because the Albanian women and girls were terribly oppresed by the backward feudal customs which prevàlled at that time. Those four simple officdad activities with that very limited number of teams and sportsmen, very, quicly, (indeed in the first years after liberation) grew to mass activities with the participation of many clubs and thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen. Another telling fact which shows how quickly and in what a revolutionary way our women rejected fanaticism and patriarchalism is the great step which they took as far back as 1945, that is, a few months after liberation, when they came out on to the sports fields and competed in athletics, volleyball, basketball and- other sports events.
The maximum figure of those engaged in sports in 1938 was 5,000. During the first year after liberation (1945) 70,000 young men and young women took part in mass road races. In 1950 over 100,000 persons took part in road races, mountaineering, organized marches, athletics and other sports events; while in 1960 - 200,000 persons, and to~day nearly 1/7th of the entre population of Albania engage in sports.
Spartakiads are the highest form of sports activities as far as mass participation and quality are conc-erned. In the First National Spartakiad in 1959 the number of participants was 150,000; in the Second National Spartakiad, this number rose to 200,000 persons, and in the Third it rose to 300,000 persons.
For the development of these sports activities ,the People's State Power has put considerable funds at the disposal of the younger generation.
All we inherited from the time prior to the triwmph of the people's revolution were 3 sports parks, 5 practice grounds, Band a f~ew football fields and volleyball and tennis courts. During the period from 1945 to 1950 perceptibk steps were taken in this field, too, Among others 2 stadiums, 27 gymnasiums, 57 practice groun~ds, 37 football fields etc., altogether 535 various sports facilities were built; in 1960 we had 1,042; in 1970 - 1,720, and in 1975 - over 2,100 of these. Today there are 21 stadiums and 81 sports centers, 3 sports palaces (two additional ones are under construction), 36 shooting ranges for sports purposes; 375 practice grounds, 271 gymnasiums, 366 football fields, 339 ;basketball and 478 volleyball courts.
Even in the ~most remote mountain village, togethér with the school, the house of culture and the electric light, you will also find the vodleyball court or football field, the shooting or wrestling team. There are villages or administrative localities which have their own stadiums like Narta, Krutje and others, and which compete in sports activities on a national scale.