Sworn virgins

Since the 19th century there were travelers and researchers in Northern Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro who witnessed the existence of women who lived as men. The Albanians named these women virgjin or virgjër (virgin), virgjëreshë e përbetuar (virgin by oath) or vajzë e betuar (girl bound by an oath). Although this phenomenon was not widely spread, it was legal following the ‘Kanun’, the customary law in northern Albania. A general characteristic of them is that they were dressed like men and they behaved like men in a society, as was observed by authors like Young, Grémaux, Stahl, Hérault and others, that was one of the last tribal societies of Europe (with distinguished features of patrilineality and vendetta). As we deal with an old phenomenon, but still present in Albanian society, Hérault names it “trans-historical” (Hérault: 273). In the ethnographic literature in the Balkans, and Albania is not an exception, the ‘sworn virgins’ have been explained in terms of a Marxist approach, as the last remains from a matriarchal order, and also as a feature of perseverance of an original, isolated culture. Today the interest in sworn virgins is related particularly to questions of gender power and hierarchy; sex and identity; gender role and display (see articles of Šarčević, 2004: 128; Hérault 2009; Young: 2001); as well as with central differences of regional belonging in Northern and Southern Albania (De Rapper 2000).

Edith Durham, who in 1908 traveled through Northern Albania, in her writings describes the ‘sworn virgin’: dressing like a man, associating with men, eating and smoking with men, keeping arms etc. Based on the reasons driving the women to become ‘sworn virgins’, Durham draws two categories. According to her, such women were ‘sworn virgins’ as there was no man around them to sustain her and her family. Durham says that a man who had daughters but no sons, used to decide that one of the daughters become a ‘sworn virgin’ and behave like a man. In such a case she was allowed to direct everything related to the house, until the last days of her life. Secondly, a woman might became a sworn virgin in case she was promised to marriage while still unborn or when just born, and arriving at an age when the marriage could be officially concluded, she refused the long ago promised husband (see Durham 1920: 453).
According to Šarčević, ‘Sworn virgins’ are located in Montenegro, Kosovo, Metohija (Western Kosovo) and Northern Albania and they belong to two ethnic groups (Albanian and Serbian), and to three dominant religions (Orthodox Christian, Catholic Christian and Muslim). Young says that despite their religious belonging, no religiously related ritual is undertaken when they make the oath for eternal virginity (Young 2001: 92). Like Durham, Šarčević also outlines two categories of sworn virgins in the Balkans: biological women who are raised as boys from infancy with the consent of their parents, and biological women who later in life decided to socially reconstruct themselves as men after having socialized as women for a certain period in life (Šarčević, 2004: 125).
Young, however, outlines three types. Apart from two categories explained above, based also in the findings of Grémaux, she adds a third one which she names as “the semi-religious one”. These women are dressing in black and behave like nuns, sometimes as assistants to priests, but living at their family homes (Young 2001: 60 - 61). Young (2001: 62) cites also Grémaux, who sees the religious virgins as outsiders to the system, versus the ‘sworn virgins’ who were part of it: “Friars and ‘virgins’ were outsiders in a society obsessed by marriage and procreation. According to the standards of that society, the friar was not a genuine man, nor the ‘virgin’ a real woman.” Young also makes a distinction between rural and urban ‘sworn virgins’. While rural virgins manage a household, with a clearly defined role, organizing their self-sufficient family units working in agriculture, the urban ‘sworn virgins’ are the head of a household, but also have different occupations. She also distinguishes different types of male clothes worn by sworn virgins, according to the generation they belong. The oldest dress in male traditional costume, the middle aged in pantaloon and add to their locally considered male cloths typical objects like men sunglasses, leather belts, men wrist watches etc (Young 2001: 92).

Biologically a woman, living as a man

“In order to cross the boundary from a woman’s world to a male domain, it is necessary to change sex socially: this is done by dressing as a man and socially engaging in activities limited to men” (Young 2001: 57). In the press and literature ‘sworn virgins’ are known as women who dress like men, seek to be treated and are treated like men. Sometimes their appearance is so much malish that it is hard to say if they are women. Durham says that one of these virgins served in the Turkish army and no one could understand she was a woman (Durham, 1928: 193). Young says also when coming across a sworn virgin (holding the malish name ‘Sokol’) in traditional male costume, she could not recognize her as being a woman (Young 2001: 86). For a sworn virgin, it is essential to adopt a man’s role, whereas a sworn virgin never aspires for a modification of her body. As Hérault puts it, socialization in the gender she is claiming for is even more important then the ritual of making an oath (which sometimes completely lacks, or in most of the cases is not determined with exactitude how it should be done). They are men in all things they do: They dress in a male way, they keep short hair, they smoke, they own arms, they protect and revenge, they participate in the councils of chiefs of families, they travel in freedom alone or accompanied with other men, they eat together with the men, they can ask for shelter alongside the road, realize the works in agriculture; they can inherit the house from the father and they manage the household up to their death, and last but not least, they have the duty to marry/wed their sisters. These activities constitute masculinity and make them ‘men’ in the eyes of the surrounding community. In this field, the way of dressing constitutes a central feature of gender identity (Young 2001: 97-110).

Meanwhile it is reported that they are not treated always in the same manner the real men are treated. There are a lot of ambiguities and contradictions. Denomination is not always that of a male. Usually a sworn virgin changes the name she had as woman in its male version (like for example ‘Shkurte’ – a woman’s name - into ‘Shkurtan’ – a man’s name), and usually she is called with this name. But when she is not present, people use ‘he’ as well as ‘she’ to refer to her (Young 2001: 71-90). In any case, in vendetta they were not preferred victims, as one was still aware that ‘he’ was actually a biological ‘she’: It was considered shameful for a real man to take revenge on a sworn virgin, whereas ‘she’ could do it without a problem. Also, although according to Kanun they were allowed to attend councils of men, they were not allowed to take part in the discussions and in taking decisions. In many cases however, this rule was not respected, and they could discuss on the same level as the real men.

Photo: Thethi, Albania - Pashke Sokol Ndocaj at the village bar where she drinks with the men. Since the death of her father and brothers, Pashke has lived as a man in the ancient traditions of Avowed Virgins of Albania.
Courtesy of Stuart Freedman // www.stuartfreedman.com

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Het volledige artikel is te lezen in Donau 2010/01.