5tiphane Voell

THE KANUN IN ETHNOGRAPHIC SELF-DESCRIPTION

Research into Albanian Traditional Law during Socialism
1
The Kanun is a legal code orally transmitted from generation to generation
which is hard to delimit or define. On the one hand the Kanun is local law, on
the other hand it also serves as a projection screen for regional and national
conceptions of identity. Today, the Kanun is mostly practised in the mountain-
ous regions of northern Albania with a Catholic majority. Since the 19
th
cen-
tury, the Kanun is frequently mentioned in research literature and travelogues.
2
Until today, traditional law and especially blood feud remain a popular research
topic in post-socialist Albania.
3
The relevance of the Kanun extends to wide areas of social life, for instance
the family, marriage, self-government, property relations or blood feud. The
My fieldwork on the Kanun in post-socialist Albania during 2000 to 2002 was supported
by the DAAD (including a PhD grant within the Hochschuisonderprogramm III von
Bund und Liindern); the trip in April 2003 was supported by the Siidosteuropa-
Gesellschaft, Munich.
See for instance Boui, Ami: La Turquie d'Europe. 4 vols. Paris 1840. - Durham, Mary E.:
High Albania. [s.LJ 1994 [orig. 1909J (The Eastern Europe Collection). - Godin, Marie
Amelie: Das albanische Gewohnheitsrecht. In: Zeitschrift fiir vergleichende Rechtswis-
senschaft 56 (1953) 1-46; 57 (1954) 5-73; 58 (1956) 121-98. - Hahn, Johann Georg von:
Albanesische Studien. 3 Vols. Vienna 1854. - Hasluck, Margaret: The Unwritten Law in
Albania. Cambridge 1954. - Nupcsa, Franz von: Die Herkunft des nordalbanischen Ge-
wohnheitsrechts, des Lek Dukadiinit. In: Zeitschrift fUr vergleichende Rechtswissen-
schaft 40 (1923) 371-6. - HaS/lick, Margaret: Die Bergstiimme Nordalbaniens und ihr
Gewohnheitsrecht [excerpts from an unpublished manuscript, 1923]. In: Baxhakll, Fa-
tos/ Kaser, Karl (eds.): Die Stammesgesellschaften Nordalbaniens. Berichte und For-
schungen osterreichischer Konsuln und Gelehrter (1861-1917). Vienna 1996, 205-428.
See Schlvandner-Sievers, Stephanie: Zur Logik der Blutrache in Nordalbanien. Ehre, Symbo-
lik und Gewaltlegitimation. In: Sociologus 46 (1996) 109-29. - Voell, Stephane: Das
nordalbanische Gewohnheitsrecht und seine miindliche Dimension. Marburg 2004 (Cu-
mpira 17). - Waal, Clarissa de: Decollectivisation and Total Scarcity in High Albania. In:
.. 4brabams, Ray (ed.): After Socialism. Land Reform and S o c i ~ l Ch:lnge in Eastern Europe,
Providence, Oxford 1996, 169-192 (New Directions in Anthropology 6). - For an ex-
ample of recent coverage of the Kanun see r;elik, Ane Betiil/ Shkreli, Alma: An Analysis
of Reconciliatory Mediation in Northern Albania. The Role of Customary Mediators. In:
Europe-Asia Studies 62/6 (2010) 885-914. - MIlS/a/a, Mentor/Young, Antonia: Feud
Narratives. Contemporary Deployments of Kanun in Shala Valley, Northern Albania. In:
Anthropological Notebooks 14 (2008) 87-107.
278 Stiphane Voell
The Kalwn in Ethnographic Self-Description 279
importance of Kanun today is not easy to measure. The Kanun is closely con-
nected with clan structures and extended families, which mostly only exist as
ideas or ideals. In many places, extended families were broken up and resettled
during socialism. Rural exodus and migration abroad led to a further loss of
importance of the clans after the political change in 1991. The Kanun is now a
brittle canon of values and norms, which can still guide actions but is always in
competition with other legal frames of reference.
4
Yet the Kanun is much more than merely a traditional legal system, as this
article will make clear. Disassociated from concrete rules, norms and processes,
the Kanun has a close relationship with mythically inflated concepts such as
honour, besa (a given word) or hospitality. Many North Albanians highlight
these values as their central virtues. However, the Kanun must be seen in close
connection with identity. North Albanians consider the Kanun as their genuine
accomplishment which made the preservation of a centuries old clan structure
possible. The people say that the Kanun had helped them to survive the period
of Ottoman foreign rule and to preserve cultural autonomy up to the present day.
This ideological dimension of the Kanun also made traditional law interest-
ing to the socialist regime (1944-91) in Albania. Almost in the same way that
North Albanians hold up "their" Kanun as a cultural show-piece, the Kanun
was also used as a cultural quarry for politics, literature and research at the na-
tionallevel. Research on the Kanun and its interpretation were important com-
ponents of Albanian identity politics. The topic of this contribution is an inves-
tigation into the handling of culture in Albanian ethnography during socialism
using the Kanun as an example. The complexity of dealing with "tradition"
within socialist ethnography will become especially clear: Traditions were thor-
oughly condemned when actually practised socially, but celebrated in historiog-
raphy and positively depicted on stage and in museums.
In my work on the post-socialist practice of North Albanian traditional law,s
the following question was important to me: is the Kanun a post-socialist re-
invention or was the Kanun also used during socialism? Alongside interviews, I
used publications by Albanian ethnographers from the socialist period. Here, I
discovered the role the Kanun played in socialist ideology and how this affected
research. It became clear that the ethnography of the Kanun was part of Alba-
nian state identity politics.
The central arguments of this contribution are: On the one hand, research-
ers investigated the Kanun systematically and for the first time with theoretical
reflections. While taking note of the predominant ideology at the time, some of
their insights into the practice of the Kanun can still be important today. On
the other hand, Albanian ethnography took part in a re-interpretation and ex-
ploitation of the Kanun for political goals. This article starts with an explana-
Legal pluralism in Albania for example includes state law, religious legal codes, civil soci-
ety project law, international legal frameworks or still practised legal codes from the so-
cialist period.
See Voell: Das nordalbanische Gewohnheitsrecht.
tion of the concept of culture and the tradition of folk culture as it was under-
stood at the time. In a next step, I describe the assignment of ethnography dur-
ing socialism, its research practice and the materialist view on the Kanun. Fi-
nally, the interpretations of Albanian traditional law WIll be presented, L e. how
in ethnographic publications the Kanun became a part of Albanian ldentlty
politics.
Culture, Folk Culture and Tradition
In an anthology on ethnographic research in Central and Eastern Eur?pe dur-
ing the socialist period, Chris Hann, Mihaly Sarkany, and Peter n?ted,
that "culture" did not possess much relevance for Marx and Engels: the ldeas
which direct and legitimise social relations - in other words, the culture, as it is
expressed in law and religion - are no more than social forms of the mind".6 In
socialist theory the evolution towards new socio-economic structures occurred
through the introduction of new modes of production. Hann,
Skalnik highlight7 that in theory there remained little room for an lnvestlgatlon
of culture as a separate topic of research. Nevertheless, It was pos.slble for
research on culture to establish itself as a specialised branch ot research In
many socialist countries.
s
The goal of the project "socialism" was to restructure society.9 Traditional
relationships and social forms of organisation, were as back-
ward, were to be transformed. In Albania's case, thIS was particularly true for
patriarchal extended families, traditional forms of ownership, law and the
role of women. Research was supposed to play an Important role m the restruc-
turing of society. Science was seen as a necessary precondition for successful
modernisation. Yet research was not allowed to be separate from SOCIalist Ide-
ology. Ethnography had to operate within the and
had to support and prove the principles of Histoncal Matenahsm.
6 Hal,", ChrislStirktiJry, MihalyI Skolnik, Peter (eds.): Introduction. In: Hann, Chrisl Stirkalry,
MihalyI Skalnik, Peter: Studying Peoples in the People's Democracies I. SOClahst Era An-
thropology in East-Central Europe. Munster 2005,1-20, here 13 (Halle Studies In the An
thropology of Euroasia 8).
Ibid., 13-14. .
On ethnological research during socialism see Hanni Stirktinyl Skalnik (eds.): StudYing
Peoples in the People's Democracies 1. Socialist Era Anthropology In East-Central
Europe. - ..l\,1ibiii!esw, Vintil:3:! I1iet', Ilia'! f.\.Ta!!l?!oz'if, (eds.): StudYIng Peoples
the People's Democracies II. Socialist Era Anthropology in South-East Europe. Berhn
2008 (Halle Studies in the Anthropology of Euroasia 17). - Skalnik, Peter (ed.): A Post-
Communist Millennium. The Struggles For Sociocultural Anthropology In Central and
Eastern Europe. Prague 2002 (Prague Studies in Sociocultural Anthropology 2).
9 Hallnl Stirktinyl Skalllik (eds.): Introduction 13.
10 Ibid., 15.
280 Stiphane Voell The Kanun in Ethnographic Self-Description 281
For the political leader of Albania, Enver Hoxha (in government between
1944 and 1985), Albanian culture was a central concern. In his view, culture
kept the Albanian nation alive throughout the years of foreign occupation.
Hoxha wanted ethnographic research to show the "richness of the people and
the country".l1 And this it did: Research under socialism was supposed to find
objective and persistent elements within the Albanian ethnic group, such as
language, customs, traditions or a common cultural heritage.
12
According to Aleks Buda, national Albanian culture contains in fact two
types of culture. 13 The first type is a still living culture, which still produces
"great wealth and new accomplishments" (it remains unclear, however, what
exactly was being referred to). The other type of culture contains primitive
techniques, religion, superstition and patriarchal conservatism. For this reason,
argues Buda, there was also a class struggle within Albanian culture against its
traditional aspects. The still productive and living culture within socialism was
referred to as "folk culture".14 It supposedly had its origins and was continued
to be used within the suppressed working class. "Folk culture" was defined as a
collective product and was supposed to have a "monumental character", i. e.
was an expression of the struggle of the working class against the physical and
moral decay in the country. Despite the "ethnically diverse Albanians", 15 a uni-
fied core was assumed. Socialist culture was supposed to be built on these
common foundations. Due to the age-long isolation of Albania, the inner cul-
tural developments were considered to have been slow and exterior influences
limited. The core of Albanian culture was therefore considered to have re-
mained quite stable. This folk culture was declared to have remained an impor-
tant factor and still a "creative and shaping" force.
Tradition was important in socialist research, but its use was extremely con-
tradictory. Traditional culture was seen as a collective product which was
handed down through generations. Buda writes, that the bourgeoisie and revi-
sionist research had described tradition as a historical category, which belonged
to the past.
16
However, the situation was actually similar in socialist research.
Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers highlights, that tradition was categorised as be-
II Hoxha quoted following Buda, Aleks: L'Ethnographie Albanaise et quelques-uns de ses
Problemes. In: Buda, Aleks: (ed.): La Conference Nationale des Etudes Ethnographiques
(28-30 juin 1976). Tirana 1976, 19-43, here 19.
12 Buda: L'Ethnographie Albanaise 23.
13 Ibid., 38-9. - On Buda see Schmitt, Oliver: Genosse Aleks und seine Partei oder: Zu Poli-
tik und Geschichtswissenschaft im kommunistiscben Albanien (1945-1991). In: Krzoska,
Markus/ Maner, Hans-Cbristian (eds.): Beruf und Berufung. Geschichtswissenschaft und
Nationsbildung in Ostmittc1- und Sudostcuropa im 19. und 20.jahrhundert. rvful1ster
2005, 143-66 (Studien zur Geschicbte, Kultur und Gesellschaft Siidosteuropas 4).
14 Buda: L'Ethnographie Albanaise 20-2.
15 This probably refers to the Ghegs (North Albanians) and Tosks (Central and South Al-
banians), but also the Albanian population in Kosovo, in today's Macedonia or in Calabria
in Italy. These groups of Albanians show differences in their language, religion and culture.
16 Buda: L'Ethnographie Albanaise 20.
longing to the pre-socialist pastY Practiced tradition became obsolete because
of the socialist project. On the one hand, North Albania was described as the
place of origin of the Albanian nation. The local traditions, including traditional
law, were presented as proof for pure Albanian culture. On the other hand, the
uncontrolled display of tradition was forbidden.
18
Tradition was safely locked
away in museums and performed under supervision on official stages as folk-
lore. The Institute of Folk Culture played an important role in this regard.
In September 1999, I visited the Institute of Folk Culture (Inslituti i Kultures
Popullore) in Rruga "Kont Urani" in Tirana for the first time. The building
looked miserable. Both the decrepit, dully pink fa<;ade as well as the sparse,
outworn interior fitting gave no clue as to whether the Institute had an impor-
tant function in socialist Albania. Yet the Institute had not stopped working in
1991. The researchers organised projects in Albania (mostly called "expedi-
tions"), wrote articles and published their own journals. The secretariat of the
Institute of Folk Culture was most impressive for me. In hindsight, I saw it as a
metaphor for my contact with the Institute. After the opening of the door to
the secretariat, I stood in front of a black, massive and very intimidating iron
grating. Yet, a quite friendly voice could be heard from beyond the grating; it
asked for the reason for the visit. - I never saw the grating open, even if one
had to exchange papers. I always asked myself, what the grating was for: the
protection of important documents and cash of the Institute from theft - as I
was assured - or as a defensive measure, for instance against ethnologists like
me.
The Institute of Folk Culture in Tirana was an important socialist institution
which supported the development of a national identity through the research
and classification of folk culture. The researchers collected large amounts of
ethnographic material according to the value system of the time, for instance
on clothing, music, houses and habitation in general, on "folk epic" and "folk
art", but also about local law cultures. The institute documented and classified
all this, which they considered to be genuinely Albanian, and that which was
not. The researchers set up a large archive of music, texts and material culture,
published journals, also in foreign languages, and were co-organisers of the folk
festival in Gjirokastra in the south of the country. The Institute's leading re-
searchers were persons of note in socialist Albania. In a way, the researchers of
the Institute of Folk Culture were emissaries of the state on their expeditions.
17 Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie: The Enactment of 'Tradition'. Albanian Constructions of
Identity, Violence and Power in Times of Crises. In: Schmidt, Bettina E./Schroder, Ingo W.
(eds.): .Anthropology of Violence and Conflict. London et a!. 2001, 97-120, here 104
(European Association of Social Anthropologists).
18 The practice of the Kanun is public: During socialism, it was - for example - not possible
to publicly display reconciliation after conflict mediation (even though - as I was told -
mediation according to the Kanun was still practised). Precisely this public display of
reconciliation is important, as only it demonstrates to the village public that the parties of
the conflict bave settled tbe dispute.
282 S tephane Voell
The Kanun in Ethnographic Self-Description 283
They organised auditions to decide, who would be allowed to perform at the
folk festivals in Gjirokastra. Questions of the ethnographer were thus also
questions posed by the socialist state, which had to be answered and which
were difficult to avoid.
Since the political change, the Institute of Folk Culture is subject to an
economy of scarcity. There are only meagre funds for it in the state budget.
The researchers only have very humble work conditions. The extensive collec-
tions and materials are degenerating in the archives. Generally, people try to
avoid the Institute.
19
Foreign researchers working in post-socialist Albania take
about as much note of their Albanian colleagues as they do of the charm of
Albanian socialist-era concrete buildings. The Institute of Folk Culture is not
quite innocent about this situation, for it continued its research in almost the
same way as it had been during socialism. Younger Albanian researchers with
study and research experience abroad were hardly ever heard.
After the end of socialism, Albania was swamped by foreign experts trying
to explain the world to the Albanians (and quite often in a snobbish way). For-
eign representatives of cultural and social studies were often pegged as the
same thing. Figuratively, interested researchers hit the grating in the secretariat.
But it was also my research topic, the Kanun, which made communication
with researchers at the Institute of Folk Culture difficult. Since the 19
th
century,
the Kanun and the blood feuds connected with it are often presented as proof
of the "primitive Albanians". As has been alluded to above, the Kanun is an
ideologically charged topic and its investigation obviously does not belong into
the hands of foreigners. The specialist for traditional law unambiguously made
clear to me, that the topic was too difficult for me. I should rather start by cov-
ering material culture, costumes or music. Also, the Kanun was supposedly no
longer relevant and had been disposed of once and for all during socialism.
As it was almost impossible to talk about the Kanun with the researchers at
the Institute of Folk Culture, not to mention questions about the forms of re-
search into traditional law, my insights into the topics "culture" and "research
on culture" almost completely rely on written sources. I am aware, that these
sources only describe one side of the story and I would be happy if Albanian
researchers could complete or even contradict them with an inside view of the
Institute of Folk Culture and research during socialism.
2o
19 Person. I from. number of ..searchers worbng in Albania 2001-3. Alba-
nian researchers also expressed their regret to me that diverse foreign researchers (histo-
rians, ethnologists, etc.) only rarely introduced themselves at the Institute of Folk Cul-
ture, let. alone proposed cooperative projects.
20 For a recent artide on ethnography in Socialist Albania see HYJa, Armanda: Ethnography
in Communist Albania: Nationalist Discourse and Relations with History. In: Historicni
Seminar 8 (2010) 103-25.
The Mission ofEthnography in Socialist Albania
It has been shown in numerous studies on the role and execution of ethno-
graphic studies in Central and Eastern Europe
21
that it was the assignment of
science to provide data which would support the doctrines of Historical Mate-
rialism. Surprisingly, the ethnographic disciplines in Central and Eastern
Europe were able to develop quite independently from the predominant ideol-
ogy. Their research was closer to the national, pre-socialist approaches. Things
developed differently in Albania. Before 1944, there was hardly any ethno-
graphic research and certainly not any organisation at the national level. From
the beginning, the Academy of Sciences in Tirana was closely connected with
the political project of the Hoxha government. Ethnography was of national
importance and the research of ethnographers stayed close to the political de-
mands.
Soon after taking power in 1944, the socialist regime supported a new form
of national consciousness comparable to the propagation of Soviet patriotism
under Stalin during the 1930s.
22
The national history was inflated mythically
and locations of national remembrance were created, such as museums or
monuments for Skanderbeg.
23
The heroic history of the Albanians was staged
in theatres and in books. Culture, history, archaeology and linguistics were
highly politicised areas, in which the clarification of Albanian identity, the bor-
ders of the Albanian people and Albanian statehood were outlined.
24
In 1947, ethnographic research began in socialist Albania with the founda-
tion of an ethnographic sector. Since 1955, the department became part of the
Institute of History and Philology and in 1979 was upgraded to a separate Insti-
tute of Folk Culture. There were four departments in the Institute: The first
department covered the oral tradition. Another department investigated the
musical and choreographic heritage. The third department investigated material
culture. The fourth department had the duty to register traditional law and cus-
toms.
2S
21 See Hanni Sdrkdnyl Skolnik (eds.): Introduction.
22 Hildebrandt, Walter: Albanien - Geschichte und Gegenwart. Zur nationalen Identitat eines
kleinen Volkes. In: Deutsche Studien 81 (1983) 36-48, here 46.
23 Skanderbeg (also known as Gjergji Kastrioti, 1405-68), managed to hold out the Otto-
mans from Central and Eastern Europe for 18 years by creating an alliance with other
Albanian princes. Skanderbeg is an Albanian national hero, remembered by monuments,
museums and also in literature and art.
24 Hoppe, Hans-Joachim: Hochschule und Wissenschaft. In: GrothuJen, Klaus-Detlev (ed.):
Albanien. Gottingen 1993, 555-86, here 578 (Siidosteuropa-Handbuch 7).
2S Buda: L'Ethnogr;phie Albanaise. - FraJhefi: Kristo: sur I; Kanun de Skan-
derbeg. In: Buda, Aleks (ed.): La Conference Nationale 243-58. - G)ergji,
Andromaqi/ Dtijaka, Abat: Un quart de siede de travaux dans Ie domaine de
l'ethnographie. In: Studia Albanica 6 (1969) 57-68. - Stein, Helga: Das Folklore-Institut
in Tirana und das Folklore-Festival 1988 in Gjirokaster. In: Zeitschrift fiir Volkskunde
2 (1989) 264-6. - Stein, Helga: Volkskultur. In: GrothuJCn: Albanien 634-52.
284 Stephane Voell
The Kantlll in EflJllographic Sel/Description 285
Hoxha's assignment for the ethnographers was "to clean the garden of
choking shrubs".26 Ethnography in Albania was part of the class struggle and it
had to support the working class with its culture and "pure language" which
were seen as remnants of a long history. Folk culture was supposed to be juxta-
posed in opposition to the "culture of the upper class" and its "conventional
mentality".27
The investigation of the Kanun played a special role in this regard. In a first
step since the 1950s, the goal was to describe the Kanun, which was displayed
as a cultural monument.
28
The remnants of traditional law were still distributed
throughout the whole country. Yet according to Rrok Zojzi, there was no time
to lose,29 for traditional law was disappearing and it was therefore desperately
necessary to record what remained. Still, this was not about preserving the
Kanun. The regime had already pointed out at the beginning of socialist Alba-
nia that all norms of traditional law were to be dismantled.
3o
Traditional law
relying on patriarchal clans in socialist Albania was not accepted. The existing
"remnants" were now considered to be powerless)! The mission of ethnogra-
phy was to elaborate on the socio-economic framework which had made the
practice of the Kanun possible. Exposing the still existing clan structures in
North Albania, which were considered to be reactionary, was also an issue.
32
The patriarchal extended family, which was often described as archaic, was
supposed to be broken up and the role of women was to be strengthened.
33
But how was ethnographic research really conducted? A large part of the
personnel of the Institute of Folk Culture, who I met during my fieldwork in
Albania, was already employed with the Institute before the political changes in
1991. I therefore hoped to find out from them, how ethnographic research op-
erated during socialism. I received only very little information. For instance, I
was told that the questioning of an informant by the researchers of the Institute
was a highly official act. The interview partner was formally exempt from work
and even paid for working with the researcher. These were no conversations
between equals, but rather between the simple worker and the representatives
26 Hoxha cites in Buda: L'Ethnogtaphie Albanaise 19. The exact meaning of "cleaning" in this
context remains unclear in the text. It probably refers to the "liberation" of everyday cul-
ture of influences classified as foreign; these were not supposed to creep into folk culture.
27 Buda: L'Ethnographie Albanaise 26.
28 Frasher;: Remarques sur la Kanun de Skanderbeg 244.
29 Zojt!, Rrok: Mbi te drejten kanunore te popullit shqiptar [On the Law of Kanun of the
Albanian People]. In: Buletin per Shkencat Shoqerore 2 (1956) 144-51, here 145.
30 Dojalea, Abaz: Transformations des rapports il l'interieur de la famille In: Ethnographie
Albanaise 15 (1987) 95-103, here 97.
31 ZojZ'; Rrok: Survivance de l'Ordre du fis dans quelques Micro-Regions de I' Albanie. In:
Buda: La Conference Nationale 185-206, here 206.
32 Nova, Ko<;o: La Condition de la Femme Albanaise d'apres Ie Droit Coutumier. In: Buda:
La Conference Nationale 275-86.
33 Champseix. Elisabeth/Champseix, Jean-Paul: L'Albanie ou la Logique du Desespoir. Paris
1992 (Enquetes).
of the state and its ideology. There were also expeditions by Albanian ethnog-
raphers. For a few days, I took part in an expedition in 2001, which possibly
resembled the conduct of research during socialism. The ethnographers partici-
pating at that time told me that the research trip took place almost just "like in
the old days".
The ethnographers did not live in the regions of their respective research for
a long time. They conducted so-called "expeditions". As a rule, they travelled in
groups, with technicians, drivers, graphic artists etc. and then worked through
the different aspects of their inquiry. In late September 2001, I briefly partici-
pated in an "expedition" into Kosovo, which took a few days. I had already
heard about this expedition some months before in Germany during the prepa-
rations for my fieldwork. Albanian ethnologists from Tirana and Prishtina
planned joint research in the mountainous border region between the Republic
of Albania and Kosovo. The research on the Kosovar side was to take place in
September 2001.
The journey took us to Planeja in the mountainous Kosovar border region.
Before the expulsions by Serbian nationalists and the Kosovo War (March to
June 1999), the region west of Prizren was mostly inhabited by Albanians. First,
Serbian nationalists came and drove out the Albanian village population and
destroyed many houses. Then NATO arrived and in turn drove out the Serbian
nationalists, which again led to extensive destruction. It was possible to recon-
struct some buildings with the help of diverse aid organisations since the end of
the Kosovo War, but the village still looked like it was in shambles.
Two bus-loads full of ethnographers and accompanying personnel arrived in
the village one day in late summer 2001. The local population, by now obvi-
ously accustomed to invasions by foreign troops, reacted surprisingly joyfully
and many villagers came running to our minibuses. The visitors from Tirana
and Prishtina divided up according to their respective areas of interest. An eth-
nographer from Prishtina took her fellow female ethnologists under her wing
and visited some houses to investigate those areas mostly closed off to men.
The male ethnologists divided up into groups to look at the traditional house
constructions in the despoiled village. Others requisitioned villagers to ask
them about festivals and music. Late in the afternoon, the ethnologists gathered
at the buses again. Only one or two villagers said goodbye.
After this one-day "expedition", I did not have much interest anymore in
this form of research, which can be compared to an invasion. The next day, I
travelled back to Tirana from Prizren. Today I would say this was a little hasty.
Yet this experience was exactly the opposite of what I had learnt about ethnog-
raphv.
. On the basis of this experience, I wish to stress two points on the investiga-
tion of traditional law. First, the researchers only stayed in the region of inquiry
for a short time. The practice of traditional law was barely observed, rather le-
gal norms were asked about and notated. This resulted in impressive collections
of conceptions of law, but the actual legal reality was hardly researched. As tra-
286 Stiphane Voell The Kanun in Ethnographic SelfDescription 287
Fox: Introduction xix. - Jva17%ll, Julia V.: Kanuni i Leke Dukagjinit [The Kanun of Leke
Dukagjini]. In: Buletin i Universiteti Sheteror te Tiranes. Seria Shkencat Shoqeror 14/2
(1960) 95-124, here 118.
45 Kraitev, Peter: The Price of Amnesia: Interpretations of Vendetta in Albania. In: Z/;e(ya-
ZkovlI, Antonina (ed.): Albanian and the Albanian Identities. Sofia 2000, 204.
46 Krastev: The Price of Amnesia 202.
43 Cjef0f,,', Shtjefen: Kanuni i Leke Dukagjinit. In: Fox: Kanuni i Leke Dukagjinit 1-269.
44
40 ZofZi, Rrok: Questions concernant Ie droit coutumier albanais. In: Studia Albanica 4/2
(1967) 117-26, here 120.
41 GleWi/ Dqjaka: Un quart de siecle de travaux 58. - On G j e ~ o v see Fox, Leonard: Intro-
duction. In: Gjefov, Shtjefen (ed.): Kanuni i Leke Dukagjinit. The Code of Leke Dukagjini.
New York 1989, xvi-xix. - Pupotci, Syrja: Burimet per studimet e kanunit te Leke
Dukagjinit [Sources to study the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini]. In: Studime Historike 25/8
(1971) 81-8. - Vodl: Das nordalbanische Gewohnheitsrecht 45-52. - ZojZi, Rrok:
Shtjefen Konstantin G j e ~ o v - Eminent Patriote et Specialiste de la Culture Populaire. In:
Culture Populaire Albanaise 1 (1981) 171-84.
42 After the First World War, G j e ~ o v was a priest in the Kosovar parish of Zym. For in-
stance, he resisted the prohibition by the Yugoslav authorities to teach the Albanian lan-
guage. So-called "nationalist Yugoslavs" murdered G j e ~ o v . See Zqj'(j, Rrok: Shtjefen
Konstantin G j e ~ o v - Eminent Patriote et Specialiste de la Cultute Populaire. In: Culture
Populaire Albanaise 1/1 (1981) 171-84.
and the relations of production was it possible for new, progressive conceptions
or mentalities to develop.4o The socialist project was supposed to change the so-
cial framework and thereby deprive the Kanun of the reasons for its existence.
During the times of socialism, research sought to theoretically embed the
Kanun in order to locate it in the dialectic between practice and the social
framework. Yet after the Kanun had been recorded ethnographically, dialectics
were no longer studied. They codified the Kanun just as Gje<;:ov had done be-
fore and thereby reduced it to a mere collection of norms: Shtjefen Gje<;:ov
(1874-1929) was a Franciscan monk and even during socialism his work on the
Kanun was considered to be the most important ethnographic investigation
before the "liberation".41 Next to his work as a priest in different parishes of
northern Albania and Kosovo, Gje<;:ov researched traditional law. He published
his findings between 1913 and 1924 in the journal Hyl/i i Dritiis, published in the
North Albanian town of Shkodra. After his violent death in 1929,42 Gje<;:ov's
fellow friars posthumously published his work on the Kanun in 1933. Since this
time and to this day, it is possible to call the Kanuni i Lekii Dukagjinit in
Gje<;:ov's version a standard work on traditional law.
43
Yet this codification of
the Kanun is highly problematic. Firstly, the Kanun is codified as if it were
state law with paragraphs and chapters. Oral, performative and negotiable tradi-
tional law was cast into a static construct which had little to do with reality.
Also, law from different regions and different periods was integrated into one
text
44
and the existence of self-administrative structures, which probably never
existed in this form, was postulated.
45
Secondly, Gje<;:ov's Kanun was also a
political project.
46
His activities as a priest, ethnographer and archaeologist
were shaped by his constant struggle against the Ottoman and Yugoslav rulers
34 Luarasi, Aleks: Conception et Ideologie dans Ie Coutumier de Lek Dukagjine. In: Bllda: La
Conference Nationale 269-74, here 269.
35 E/e'(j, Ismet: Traits du Droit Coutumier Albanais. In: Buda: La Conference Nationale 235-
41, here 235.
36 Nopcsa: Die Herkunft des nordalbanischen Gewohnheitsrechts. - Godin: Das albanische
Gewohnheitsrecht. Both authors hold the position, that there are Germanic influences on
the Kanun. - Elsewhere Nopcsa identifies Langobardic-Italian patterns, Nopcsa: Die
Bergstamme Nordalbaniens und ihr Gewohnheitsrecht.
37 ZqjZi: Survivance de I'Ordre du fis 185.
38 Frasheri: Remarques sur la Kanun de Skanderbeg 245.
39 See E/e'(j: Traits du Droit. - Hoxha, Izet: Nje paralelizem midis kanunit te drejtes Leke
Dukagjinit, Zakonikut te car Stefan Dushanit dhe te drejtes bizantine [A Parallel between
the Kanun of the Code of Leke Dukagjini, the Customary Law according to Tsar Stefan
Dushani and Byzantine Law]. In: Etnograhia Shqiptare 15 (1987) 65-86.
ditional legal practice was not relevant to the ethnographers - it was supposed
to disappear in the socialist political system in any case - and only comparisons
of the Kanun in different regions and the revealing of a common core were of
interest, one can only call the disregard of the practice of law logical.
Secondly, one has to consider that the researchers in a way were emissaries
of the state on their travels in Albania. There seems to have been litde reflec-
tion on the effect of this circumstance on the value of the responses. During
socialism, the Kanun was not allowed to exist. It thus seems probable that the
Albanian colleagues were not able to get any "true" answers.
Materialist Views oj the Kanun
In concordance with the predominant socialist ideology, the perspective on the
Kanun in Albania was materialistic. Traditional law supposedly contained phi-
losophical, political and social conceptions, which represented an image of its
economic foundations, i. e. the material living conditions.
34
The Kanun was
seen as a product of the socio-economic development of the region. Its devel-
opment brought a transition from customs to legal norms, but also to a feudal
class society.35 An important finding of the ethnographers was that the Kanun
had no author, i. e. it was not clan leaders, princes or kings (such as Skanderbeg
or Leke Dukagjini) who set up the Kanun.
36
The Kanun developed over the
centuries according to the socio-economic conditionsY There was vehement
opposition to those who claimed that traditional law was introduced or en-
forced from the outside. The Kanun was defined as a genuinely Albanian and
collective product.
38
In works on the Kanun, the possibility of outside influ-
ences on traditional Albanian law was denied.3
9
Traditional law supposedly pre-
served its pure "spirit" during the course of time. No norms could become part
of the canon of values of traditional law which contradicted the mentality of
the Kanun and which consequently stood in opposition to the socio-economic
foundations of the people. Only through the change of the productive forces
288 5tiphane Voel! The Kanun in Ethnographic SelfDescription 289
bears his name, see for instance Hasluck: The Unwritten Law in Albania 12-5. - Lam-
bert" Maximilian: Gjergj Fishta und das albanische Heldenepos "Lahuta e Maids" - Lau-
te des Hochlandes. Eine Einfiihrung in die albanische Sagenwelt. Leipzig 1949, 55. -
Pupa"ci, Syrja: Origjina dhe emri i kanunit te Leke Dukagjinit [Origin and Name of rhe
Kanun of Leke Dukagjini]. In: Studime Historike 26/9 (1972) 103-23.
57 ZojZi: Mbi te drejten kanunore te popullit shqiptar 149.
IntC/pretation of the Kanun
The investigation of the Kanun during socialism led to a more comprehensive
knowledge of traditional law in Albania. For the first time, traditional law was
systematically investigated throughout the country. 55 Before the 1950s the
Kanun was only connected with North Albania with exclusive reference to the
Kanuni i Lekii Dukagjinit.
56
Research on the Kanun uncovered that there were or
had been different regional forms of the Kanun, also in the middle and south
of the country.57 The researchers put the various versions of the Kanun next to
each other and highlighted four main forms (Kanuni i LeM Dukagjinit, Kanuni i
Skanderbegut, Zakoni Mus Ballgjini, Sharti IdriZ Suli/). The comparison of the dif-
ferent Kanun types then reportedly showed that all forms of the Kanun shared
a long existing "substrate". This core, which was supposedly present in all ver-
sions, could also be found with the Albanians in Kosovo, in Italy or in Greece.
Only because of the regionally highly divergent socio-economic developments
51 G)ergji. Andromaqi: Disa probleme ne lidhje me zhvillimin familjes se sotme fshatare [The
Evolution of the Contemporary Rural Family]. In: Studime Historike 27/4 (1973) 73-86,
here 84.
52 Elezi, Ismet: La Lutte contre les Survivances du Droit Coutumier. In: Studia Albanica
12 (1975) 31-46, here 33 and 42.
53 Dojaka: Transformations des rapports al'interieur de la famille 99, 103.
54 Alia, Zana: Die Familie und ihre Struktur in der SVR Albanien. Tirane 1989,20.
55 G)ergji/ Dojaka: Un quart de siecle de travaux 64.
S6 On the different interpretations vw'ho Leke Dukagjini may have been and why the Kanun
tises still followed patriarchal principles. The socialist Party of Labour called
for marriages of individuals and opposed arranged marriages. "Remnants of the
past" were allegedly responsible for the fact that social restructuring could not
be executed as planned.
51
In the mid-1970s it was stated that the new genera-
tion was slowly disassociating itself from the "backward traditions", but unfor-
tunately the Kanun was still being transmitted from generation to generation.
The traditional clans and their value systems were still able to survive. 52 In
1987, two years after the death of Hoxha and four years before the political
upheaval, it was said that the extended family and the authority of the clan
leader still played an important role in North Albania. The head of the family
reportedly still monitored work in the house and controlled the assets of the
family. At the regional level, the extended families still acted as cohesive units.
53
Finally, it was noted in 1989, just two years before the fall of the socialist re-
gime, that remnants of patriarchal structures still played a role.
54
Ele'(j: Traits du Droit 241.
Zoj'(j: Questions concernant Ie droit 124.
Zoj'(j, Rrok: Aspects du Coutumier de Skanderbeg vu dans Ie Cadre General du Droit
Coutumier. In: Illstitlit d'Histoire et de Lillgl/istique (ed.): Deuxieme Conference des Etudes
Albanologiques a l'Occasion du 5e Centenaire de la Mord de Georges Kastriote-
Skanderbeg (Tirana, 12-18 janvier 1968). Vol. 1. Tirana 1969,383-95, here 385.
47 Frasbe"ri: Remarques sur la Kanun de Skanderbeg 258"
48
49
50
and the spotlighting of traditional Albanian culture. With "his" Kanun, Gje<;ov
effectively gave Northern Albanians their own constitution. Here the mountain
region, which had often been described as archaic, was described as a differen-
tiated society based on law.
Gje<;ov's first "mistake" was taken up by the ethnographers during social-
ism. At first they systematically investigated the Kanun in the different regions
of the country. But once these investigations had been concluded, they codified
the Kanun in chapters and paragraphs as Gje<;ov had done. The character of
Kanun as a process in the dialectic between the socio-economic conditions and
its practice - i. e. precisely the way the Albanian researches actually wanted to
record the Kanun theoretically - was thus lost. They also took up Gje<;ov's
second "mistake", albeit certainly consciously: the instrumentalisation of the
Kanun for political purposes.
Yet the Institute of Folk Culture also documented the continuous practice
of the Kanun. After the "liberation" and the political changes, the Kanun had
reportedly developed into a downright negative factor, which had to be done
away with.
47
The family structures connected with the Kanun, the clans, were
also supposed to be broken up. Women were supposed to be liberated from
their subordinate position within the patriarchal extended families.
48
The eth-
nography of socialist Albania was supposed to record tradition and simultane-
ously to document the Kanun's downfall and the ascendancy of folk culture.
This was most generally the case. Yet it is hardly identifiable in works on the
Kanun, which period is being discussed. Is it the pre-socialist Kanun or the
Kanun observed during socialism? The articles usually begin with a denuncia-
tion of the "current" practice of traditional law before presenting the question
at hand. However, up to the 1980s there are direct references to practiced tradi-
tional law within socialism in some articles. They do not, of course, state that
the Kanun continues to exist; the topic is instead insinuated: reportedly, there
still were local legal customs or clan structures had been preserved. As these
publications are ideologically filtered one could suppose that the continued
relevance of the Kanun was probably much greater than admitted in the texts.
In 1967 one can read that, even though city and village shall be part of the
same society, the village leads its own way of life. In Northern Albania, the vil-
lagers continued to use their own legal regulations, far from those of the state.
49
Two years later the same author wrote that Albania distinguishes itself from
other European regions because only here was such rich traditional law con-
served "to this day".50 In 1973 another ethnographer noted that wedding prac-
290 5tephane Voell The Kanun in Ethnographic SelfDescription 291
had local differences emerged. 58 Yet which similarities there were exactly, is
only scarcely described. Ismet Elezi writes
59
that the fundamental institutions
of the Kanun, which are not otherwise specified, are present in all variants. In
another passage, he points out that there are almost identical rules in the fields
of ownership, inheritance, punishment or blood feuds.
For the present question of the interpretation of the Kanun during social-
ism, it is interesting how the evocation of the supposed unity in the Kanun
went along with the evocation of a cultural unity of Albanians. Investigations
into the Kanun supposedly allowed the formulation of the existence of a com-
mon heritage, i. e. one could talk of one traditional law of the Albanian peo-
ple.
60
The similarities in the Kanun supposedly reflected the unity of the Alba-
nian people.
61
After 1944 these commonalities had to be extrapolated for the
Albanian population (and for spectators from outside). Albanian ethnography
was part of this process and was supposed to show this unity in material cul-
ture, housing structure, the social sphere, mentality and the artistic sphere.
62
In
this context, Krasztev emphasises that the Albanian ideologues had a hard time
constructing an Albanian nation during the first years after the "liberation".
Religion did not provide unity, for the country was inhabited by Muslims as
well as Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Also, there was no united Albania
before the Ottoman occupation that could be used as a historical reference
point, as was possible in neighbouring Serbia with its "Golden Age".63 The Al-
banian regime resorted to philology, archaeology and folk culture, as reflected
in the Kanun.
While the Kanun was not supposed to have any importance under socialism,
this does not mean that its practice was generally condemned. The Kanun was
necessary in pre-socialist times and had inward and outward effects. During a
time without a functioning central state apparatus with a monopoly on power,
blood feuds supposedly served as an internal, deterrent means of sanction. It
was said that blood feuds had served a purpose as a social phenomenon and
had been necessary under the prevailing socio-economic conditions. However,
the development of a class society had supposedly transformed blood feuds as
a legal instrument of the clans to a weapon of the ruling class.
64
Only after the
58 Elezi: Traits du Droit 236. - Ele,\!, Ismet: About the Albanian Customary Laws. In: New
Albania 5 (1980) 209.
59 E/ro:!: La Iutte 35. - Ele'\!: Traits du Droit 236.
60 Zoj'\!: Aspects du Coutumier 384.
61 Goa; Haxhi: A p r e ~ u Historigue sur Ie Coutumier de Scanderbeg. In: Ethnographie Alba-
naise 15 (1.987) 75-87, here 75.
62 Hoxhihasoni, Qema!/ Dtjo.ka, Abaz: Achievements of Albanian Ethnography and Folklore.
In: Albania Today 4 (1984) 43-7.
63 Krastev: The Price of Amnesia 195-6.
64 E/r,\!, Ismet: L.ufta kunder vrasjes dhe hakmarrjes ne Shgiperi (The War against Murder
and Revenge in Albania]. In: Bulletin i Universiteti Shtetetor te Tiranes. Seria Shkencat
Shogerore 13 (1959) 205. - Ele,\!, Ismet: Sur la vendetta en Albanie. In: Studia Albanica
3/1 (1966) 307-18, here 309.
introduction of socialism and country-wide united legal structures had the
blood feuds become obsolete. Elezi even writes about a "nationalisation" of the
blood feuds,65 i. e. the socialist state had transferred the monopoly on violence
from the feudal structures to the socialist government.
Traditional law was supposed to posses a protective function against assimi-
lation by the outside world. As Elezi emphasises,66 Gjes;ov's research shows
that the patriarchal social structure connected with the Kanun was well organ-
ised. The Kanun held North Albanian society together under the Ottoman oc-
cupation and made the total subjugation of the mountainous region impossible
through the centuries.
67
- It should, however, not remain unmentioned that the
Ottomans did not have much interest in incorporating the North Albanian
clans completely. The region was only loosely part of the Ottoman administra-
tion. The North Albanian clans could live for four centuries under the Otto-
mans with some autonomy. Karl Kaser goes even further and believes that it
was only through this relative autonomy that clan societies could become last-
ing units. According to his interpretation, the North Albanian clan structures,
which were strong until the ZO,h century, did not develop in opposition to its
occupiers; on the contrary, they indirectly supported and built it up.68
Yet ethnography during socialism also wanted to counter foreign views of
the Kanun and Albania. Often, the Albanians were described as a "primitive
Balkan people", barbarians, or "Indians of Europe". For many outsiders, Alba-
nians were backward; this was supported with inflated numbers of blood
feuds.
69
The Kanun now showed the opposite: a well situated, self-administered
society with a functioning traditional legal system.
Just like many other aspects of Albanian culture, the Kanun was investigated
thoroughly by socialist research, but then dismembered into its parts. During
the work on the Kanun, the elements of traditional law which were categorised
backward (such as blood feuds or arranged marriages) were dropped and as-
pects, which were important according to socialist ideology, were "extracted".
The argumentation in this context was the following: The Kanun supposedly
was an important social institution at a certain time under special social condi-
tions. Still, the Kanun contained fundamentally Albanian virtues, which were
still of great importance in socialist Albania. This mostly referred to hospitality,
besa or honour. The Socialist Party wanted to preserve and develop these vir-
65 Elezi, Ismet: The Vendetta in Albania. In: Albanian Notes 8 (1967) 1-5, here 3.
66 Ele'\!, Ismet: Burime te se drejtes zakonore shgiptare [Sources of Albanlan Customary
Law]. In: Knlttlra Popnllore 1 (1981) 101-12, here 101. - On the description of Albani-
ans in books by Balkan travellers during the 19,h and early 20,h centuries, see Kaser, Karl:
Hirten, Kampfe, Stammeshelden. Urspriinge und Gegenwart des balkanischen Patriar-
chats. Wien et aJ. 1992. - Voe/!: Das nordalbanische Gewohnheitsrecht 35-40.
67 Elezi: La lutte 35. - EIe'\!: About the Albanian Customary Laws 209.
68 Kaser: Hirten, Kampfe, StammesheJden 92.
69 E/rzi: Lufta kunder vrasjes dhe hakmarrjes ne Shgiperi 205.
292 5tphane Voe//
The Kanun in Ethnographic SelfDescription 293
tuesJO However, these were not virtues of the Kanun: they preceded it. There-
fore it was supposedly impossible to say that parts of the Kanun were still be-
ing overestimated or glorified today. The socialist state was thus not interpreted
as a construction on the values of the Kanun, instead being based on values
which long preceded itJl
As an example, reconciliation is introduced here. The quoted works by Elezi
were written during socialism or later. According to him, there are hardly any
means of limiting blood feuds in the Kanun. Once a feud was begun, it was
very hard to stop. Yet there still was the Albanian virtue of reconciliation or
forgiveness. Forgiveness is an expression of the gallantry, courage and toler-
ance of the Albanian people.
72
Forgiveness can be found in all forms of the
Kanun, but it is not part of the Kanun and merely mirrors the traditions of the
Albanian people.
73
Conclusion
In 2008 the Institute of Folklore Studies no longer exists. The government un-
der Sali Berisha (prime minister since September 2005) has undertaken a re-
structuring of the Academy of Sciences. The change does not yet seem to run
deep. The Institute has received a new name and now calls itself "Institute for
Social Anthropology and the Study of Fine Art" and is part of the ("Inter-
university") Centre for Albanological Studies (Qendra Ndiiruniverritare e Studillleve
Albanologjike) , which is under the control of the Ministry for Education. A
change of personnel has taken place. Younger researchers, who had not yet
completed their PhD, have been fired. The long-serving researchers are allowed
to stay. Tradition is being adhered to - and not only in North Albania.
Regarding the investigation of Albanian culture, the assignment of the so-
cialist regime was the highlighting of the genuinely Albanian elements. Just like
philology or archaeology, the Institute of Folk Culture actively participated in
the construction of a national Albanian culture. The topic "Kanun" was espe-
cially exploited: A core contained in all the different regional Kanun versions
was distilled and used as additional proof for the unity of the Albanian people.
The Kanun was vehemently suppressed as practised law, just the same as the
patriarchal social structure, which was connected with traditional law. But the
Kanun was also celebrated as an Albanian achievement, which had contributed
to the resistance against the occupiers of Albania. In an impressive feat of
'mental gymnastics', central aspects of the Kanun (such as reconciliation, hospi-
tality, honour or besa) were extracted from traditional law and reinterpreted as
70 Lnarasi: Conception et Ideologie dans Ie Coutumier de Lek Dukagjine 273-4.
71 E/ei!: Traits du Droit 241.
72 E/ezi: Vrasjet per Hakmarrje e per Gjakmarrje ne Shqiperi [Murder because of Revenge
and Blood Feud in Albania]. Tirane 2000, 29-30.
73 [bid., 31.
Albanian virtues preceding the Kanun. In this way, the Kanun was reduced to a
previously important form of law, which does not exist in the present and was
not allowed to exist under socialism. Adherence to values such as honour, hera,
reconciliation or hospitality was thus not interpreted as a sign of the persistence
of the Kanun, but rather as the continuation of Albanian values, which could
be found also in the Kanun.
Ethnographic research on the Kanun during socialism did certainly not pos-
sess a monopoly on the ideological cannibalisation of the Kanun, however. At
the beginning of the 20
th
century, the blood feuds of North Albania were re-
ferred to in the context of the "Albanian question", which dealt with the bor-
ders and political status of the region after the Balkan Wars. The opponents of
a creation of an Albanian national state described its inhabitants as mutually
murderous barbarians. Ethnographers such as Edith Durham74 and Gje<;ov
(mentioned above) argued quite the opposite: With reference to traditional law,
they described a complex and not at all "primitive society". Both positions can
still be found in post-socialist Albania. The North Albanian population upholds
"its" Kanun, also because so many researchers and journalists are interested in
it and it is conscious of its relevance and peculiarity. Here the Kanun is becom-
ing a part of North Albanian identity, even though it is hardly ever used today.
Just as at the time of the Ottoman Empire, many North Albanians argue, the
Kanun provided a minimum of structure during the absence of the state during
the turbulent 1990s. - In the Albanian public however, North Albanians and
their "archaic traditions" are perceived as backward or living relics of the past.
And yet there still is a mythological glorification of the Kanun and of the vir-
tues connected with traditional law in literature, politics and research, also be-
cause many persons from the socialist period are once again in important posi-
tions. The Kanun practised today has very little to do with the old legal system,
however. According to an Albanian colleague, the Kanun is now perverted and
merely "a good excuse for criminals".
Albanian ethnology did not exist as a research institution before socialism.
From the very beginning, ethnology was closely connected with the political
interests of the socialist regime and was hardly able to develop independently.
In other socialist countries, ethnography and folklore studies were able to pre-
serve a certain degree of leewayJ5 Yet the research of the Institute of Folk Cul-
ture should not be passed over in the investigation of the Kanun or patriarchal
family structures in today's Albania. Research in post-socialist countries must
not ignore the history of the region before the political change. As it was only
possible for few foreign researchers to work in Albania between 1944 and 1991,
there is no other possibility when scientifically researching the Kanun than to
resort to the works of Albanian ethnographers (besides interviews of contem-
74 Durham, Marie E.: Some Tribal Origins, Laws and Customs of the Balkan. New York
1979. - Durham: High Albania.
75 See Hanni Stirktinyl Ska/nik (eds.): Studying Peoples in the People's Democracies 1.
Mihiii/esctlIIlievINaumovii. (eds.): Studying Peoples in the People's Democracies II.
294 5!ephane Voell
poraries, of course). However, the texts must be read while taking the pre-
dominant ideology at the time they were written into account, which is actually
true for any text.
The materialist view of the Kanun during socialism in itself is not an inno-
vative theoretical framework. It can however deliver preliminary explanations,
why the Kanun is still present in post-socialist Albania. Albanian ethnographers
connected the Kanun with specific socio-economic conditions, such as certain
economic or social circumstances. In their eyes, the reason for the persistence
of the Kanun could only be that these "traditional" socio-economic conditions
still continued to partially exist.7
6
The materialist interpretation can thus rather
complement or question more cognitive explanation models (persistence of
dichotomies such as friend-enemy, interior-exterior, honour-shame etc.).77 If
the Albanian folklorists had also brought together their theoretical explanation
of the Kanun with its practice during socialism (which may have occurred out-
side their publications), they would have quickly noticed, why the Kanun still
existed under socialism, just as they described it.
Translated by Giles Bennett.
76 Voell, Stephane: The Kanun in the City. Albanian Customary Law as a Habitus and its
Persistence in the Suburb of Tirana, Bathore. In: Anthropos 98 (2003) 85-101. - Voell:
Das nordalbanische Gewohnheitsrecht.
77 For examples of such interpretations see Sch.'af1dner-Sievers: Zur Logik der Blutrache in
Nordalbanien. - Schwaf1dner-Sievers, Stephanie: Humilation and Reconciliation in North-
ern Albania. The Logics of Feuding in Symbolic and Diachronic Perspectives. In: Elu)ert,
Georg et at. (eds.): Dynamics of Violence. Processes and De-Escalation in Violent Group
Conflicts. Berlin 1999, 127-45 (Supplements to Sociologus). - Schwaf1dmr-Sievers: The
Enactment of 'Tradition'.
AAVCR
aj.
BAS
BCP
BRD
BUKSz
c.
CCE
CCF
CCS
ch.
CPSU
CSAV
CSc.
CSSR
DAAD
DDR
E.A.S.A.
e.g.
et al.
etc.
ED AVCR
FRG
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Archiv akademie ved Ceske republiky [Archive of the Acad-
emy of Sciences of the Czech Republic]
Archivni jednotka [Archive unit]
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Communist Party
Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Budapesti Konyvszemle (Budapest Review of Books)
Cislo [number]
Ceskobratrska cirkev evangelicka [protestant Church of Czech
Brethren]
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation
Cirkev ceskoslovenska [Czechoslovak Church]
Chapter
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Ceskoslovenska akademie ved/Ceskoslovenska akademia vied
[Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences]
candidatus scientiarum
Ceskoslovenska socialisticka republika [Czechoslovak Socialist
Republic]
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
Deutsche Demokratische Republik
European Association for Social Anthropologists
exempli gratia
et alii
et cetera
Etnologicky ustav Akademie ved Ceske republiky [Institute of
Ethnology at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic]
Federal Republic of Germany