Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-06-24
THE ALBANIANS.
Cut of the Hair is the Tribal Badg>
or Sim of Individuality.
panion.

Cut of the Hair is the Tribal Badg>
or Sign of individuality.
The Albanians have resources of
character capable of wonderful de-
velopment. They are physically
superb race Large and well built,
but slender, with every feature finely
chiselled, they are pure Caucasians in
type, their rudy hue being the stain OF
the sun. You can pick out at
glance an Albanian officer in the
Turkish army. He cannot be distln-
guished from European There is
a better comparison: The Albanians
in appearance are like Americans OF
the Gibson type-a strongly marked
contrast to the Turk.
On their natural dress, however,
you have to scrutinize them closely
in order to find points of similarity to
any other people. I am speaking Of
the men The women wear full black
cloaks, apparently pulled out with
air to hide their figures, and white
muslin veil and head-cOvering in the
place of dark draperies of the Turk
ish women They are only women!
If you ask an Albanian how many
children he has he will shake his head
regretfully and reply, 1.-TWO children
and four girls" The Turks feZ is
an ugly thing, but the Albanian's
is gorgeous. 1t is of the same color
as the Turks, but, there is no air
space in it. It fits tight over his
skull. Instead of the thin black tassel,
one of long full blue silk falls to the
shoulders and trails to the front
gracefully This is the dress fez. For
everyday wear the Albanian uses a
white cap without the appendage.
The trousers, usually white, fit tight
to the ankle, where they flare out
over the shoe. Down each side Of
them and over the back is a broad
band of rich black silk cording. In
front from the waist is worked in
rich red, edged with black, design
which tapers off down each leg to the
knee A brilliantly colorei sash, pad
ded underneath with others Of less
gorgeous hue-altogether, some ten
or twelve yards of material, which
takes ten minutes to wind around one
forms the dividing band between
trousers and a Iow-cut shirt, and
serves as holster for pistol and knife.
A short, richly worked jacket, without
sleeves reaches down to the top of the
sash, but misses meeting across the
chest by six inches. There are varia-
tfons of this costume, but it is mate
rally the same all over Albania
The cut of the hair is the tribal
badge or sign of individuality among
| Albanians. Followers of one chief
will keep their heads closely shaver,
except in one circular space about an
inch across, which is never cut. This
single tuft curls down underneath the
fez like an Indians scalplock. Others
will shave the top of the head where
the cap rests, and there is sense in
| the arrangement, for they never re-
move their feZes, and the heat is
| thereby equaliZed over the head.
| There are a dozen other cuts, all Of
which spoil the intellectual physiog-
nomy Of the Albanian from a Euro
pean point of view; but when his hair
| is allowed to grow naturally and he
| dresses according to civilized ideas,
ne is unrivalled in appearance. 1t is
! sad to think that MusSulman fanati-
cism is so deeply engrained in these
people. 1t is not a racial inherit
ance; it is an infection from the Turk.