Paper short abstract:

Folk Festival in Gjirokastër is one of the most important events in Albania's cultural life from WWII till nowadays. This feast is deeply connected to the process of revitalization of old ritual practices and popular costume. Ritual humour is one especially significant feature of the festival.

Paper long abstract:

The 20th century is totally marked by innovation processes in the sphere of economics, social relations, traditional culture, etc. in the Western Balkans. We can observe huge transformations of ritual code and popular clothes during last decades.

One of the most important events in Albania's cultural life is folk festival in Gjirokastër which has been organized once in four years (the last one in 2015). This feast is deeply connected to the process of revitalization of old ritual practices and popular costume and to the socialization of people which have to do with ethnic culture by professional and semi-professional point of view. It is still very popular in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Festivali i Gjirokastrës is feast of song, dance, traditional clothes and performance. Nowadays we can speak about several different motivations and versions of this event in the 20th and 21st centuries: from the honouring of the best singers, dancers, folklore groups and costume complexes by the professional jury to simply presenting gifts to the eldest artist in the village or in the country. However, in all cases the tradition of ritually venerating traditions remains central.

The narratives recorded by the author show one especially significant feature of the festival, namely, ritual humour. During the performance of ritual humour everything (including what is usually prohibited or tabooed) is allowed. This is because uncontrolled festivities with jokes, mockery, and pranks are regarded as an expected form of behaviour that corresponds to the successful and correct honouring of participants.