Through the Land of the SerbDurham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
History
Through the Land of the Serb
Durham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
Montenegro -- Description and travel; Serbia -- Description and travel
those of the Italian and Austrian Frati, and such civilisation as the
Albanian possesses he owes to the labours of these devoted men. As for
travelling and means of communication, it seems probable that the roads
to-day are far inferior to what they were in the time of the Romans. And
this is the land of the only one of her subject races with which Turkey
has been "friends." The deplorable state of Albania is an even stronger
indictment against Turkish "government" than that of Macedonia. To-day
the country is practically in a state of anarchy. Little or nothing is
done in the way of cultivation; blood-feuds rage, and men are shot for
quarrels that are family inheritances and originated for long-forgotten
reasons in the dark ages.
Human life is cheap, very cheap. An ordinary Englishman has more
scruples about killing a cat than an Albanian has about shooting a man.
Indeed, the Albanian has many of the physical attributes of a beast of
prey. A lean, wiry thing, all tough sinew and as supple as a panther, he
moves with a long, easy stride, quite silently, for his feet are shod
with pliant leathern sandals with which he grips the rock as he climbs.
He is heavily armed, and as he goes his keen eyes watch ceaselessly for
the foe he is always expecting to meet. There is nothing more
characteristic of the up-country tribesman than those ever-searching
eyes. I have met him many a time in the Montenegrin markets, in the
weekly bazaar in his capital, and on the prowl with his rifle far in the
country. Up hill or down hill, over paths that are more like dry torrent
beds, it is all the same to him; he keeps an even, swift pace, and he
watches all the time. Dressed as he is, in tightly-fitting striped
leg-gear and in a short black cape, his appearance is extraordinarily
mediæval, and he seems to have stepped straight out of a Florentine
fresco. His sash is full of silver-mounted weapons, he twists his
tawny-moustache, and he admires himself exceedingly. He walks with a
long rolling stride, planting his feet quite flat like a camel or an
elephant--a gait which gives him an oddly animal appearance. His boldly
striped garments, with their lines and zigzags of black embroidery,
recall the markings of the tiger, the zebra, and sundry venomous snakes
and insects. He seems to obey the laws that govern the markings of
ferocious beasts; his swift, silent footsteps enhance the resemblance,
and his colouring is protective; he disappears completely into a rocky
background. The black patterns vary according to the tribe he hails
from. If you ask his name, he generally gives you his tribal one as
well, and points over the mountains towards his district. He is
So-and-So, for instance, of the Hotti or the Shoshi. Most men, whether
Christian or Mohammedan, have their heads shaven; sometimes on the
temples only, the rest of the hair standing out in a great bush;
sometimes the entire head, with the exception of one long lock that
dangles down the back.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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