A newlywed bride going to the source is a post-wedding ritual coming about on Monday, widely found in all villages. At around 10.30-11.00, men, women, boys, girls, and children head for the fountain spring nearby the village. The bride and the groom take the lead in the procession. The bride is dressed in Lunxh\u00ebria traditional costume and the groom in a fustanella. The bride is holding a traditional jug (pitcher, crockery) in her hand to fill in the water. Someone else holds wine glasses and bottles. Another one holds the bogace (loaf of bread) in a breadbasket (wedding bread, brought by the bride) covered with a boh\u00e7a (fringed fabric). They all start singing merrily in the house courtyard:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a. Merr qelqet e hajt n\u00eb krua. (Take crockery and let\u2019s go to the fountain spring)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ref: moj nuse-nuse (Refrain: Hey, my dear daughter-in-law)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
bij\u00eb,moj bij\u00eb e re (my daughter, my young daughter)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kadale se mos i thiesh (Beware, don\u2019t break them)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
………………………………<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dhe n\u00eb i thefsha, haj me det (And if I break them, woe is me)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mua babai s\u2019m\u00eb vret (But my father won\u2019t make angry with me)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
M\u00eb ka nuse me kimet (I\u2019m his beloved daughter-in-law)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once near the fountain spring, singing goes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lum si ti, o kroi i art\u00eb, (Blessed as you are, golden fountain spring)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Q\u00eb p\u00ebrmbledh t\u00eb bukurat\u00eb, (That draws in those beautiful girls)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ato qaf\u00ebfluturat\u00eb, (Those gracefully thin-necked)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ato mesk\u00ebputurate (And even slender in the waist)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lady of the house gives the bride and groom each a piece of boga\u00e7e. They soak it in water and funnily hit each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
T\u00eb gjith\u00eb k\u00ebndojn\u00eb: \u201cJepi, jepi, godite!\u201d (All in chorus call out: \u201cGo on, go on, hit him\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I japin kurajo nuses. Ajo q\u00ebllon e para. Pastaj dh\u00ebnd\u00ebri. (They encourage the bride. She hits first, then the groom takes turn)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
D\u00ebgjohen thirrjet: \u201cT\u00eb trash\u00ebgohen! Buk\u00eb e \u00ebmb\u00ebl e pandar\u00eb!\u201d (All cheering: \u201cMay you be blessed with children! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now it is time for everyone to hold a glass of wine and a piece of boga\u00e7e. They have a toast wishing the newlywed couple and their family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And singing goes on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1-T\u00eb p\u00eblqeu kroi in\u00eb, (Did you like our fountain spring)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moj xhiko nuse. (Our dear bride)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2- M\u00eb p\u00eblqeu, s\u2019m\u00eb p\u00eblqeu, (Whether I liked it or not)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
K\u00ebtu m\u00eb pru Jano beu. (It is here at Jano beu\u2019s I belong).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singing and dancing goes on well for a while.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A newlywed bride going to the source is a post-wedding ritual coming about on Monday, widely found in all villages. At around 10.30-11.00, men, women, boys, girls, and children head for the fountain spring nearby the village. The bride and the groom take the lead in the procession. The bride is dressed in Lunxh\u00ebria traditional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[834],"tags":[874],"class_list":["post-3627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gjirokaster-municipality","tag-social-practices-rituals-and-festive-events"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n