Xhubleta, skills, craftsmanship and forms of usage

Overview

Xhubleta is a handcrafted garment worn by highland women and girls in Northern Albania, characterised by its undulating bell form. Predominantly black with colourful embroidered motifs, the crafting process entails preparing the shajak (woven felt), cutting, sewing and embroidering symbolic figures. Xhubleta was once used in everyday life from the age of puberty, indicating the wearer's social and economic status. However, its use and production has been decreasing over the past decades due to socio-political and economic reasons. The new policies set by the socialist system in the 1960s altered traditional cultural patterns, bringing changes to the daily lives of the mountain communities and the use and production of Xhubleta. As women had to work in the agricultural socialist cooperatives, Xhubleta was no longer practical for everyday life. Furthermore, state collectivization led to...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Albania
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Albania
Countries: Albania

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Material Culture, Design and Technology Ceremony, Spirituality and Cosmology Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuidb220e471-517d-4f07-9fbd-344592828242

ich_public_ref1880

inscription_year2022

title_enXhubleta, skills, craftsmanship and forms of usage

title_frLa xhubleta, savoir-faire, artisanat et formes d’utilisation

type_of_element_enUrgent Safeguarding List

type_acronymUSL

countriesAL

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/01880

concepts_primary_namesCostumes, Textile arts

concepts_secondary_namesCurriculum, Embroidery, Exhibitions, Festivals, Handicrafts, Life cycle, Religious practice, Technical skills, Weaving, Wedding, Women workers

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/15940-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enBearer File Koka making the Spik thread for Xhubleta by using the Basket of Spik, Shkodra

main_image_copyrightKube Studios, 2021

main_image_authorErfort Kuke

videoshttps://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/uV9amgJZMVE

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Costumes Textile arts Curriculum Embroidery Exhibitions Festivals Handicrafts Life cycle Religious practice Technical skills UNESCO urgent safeguarding list

Review and Corrections

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