Bosniaks in the Kosovan settlement of Donje Ljubinje regard wedding ceremonies as works of art.
Donje Ljubinje is a 3,000-person ethnically Bosniak village in the Shar Mountains on the border between Kosovo and North Macedonia.
You will be amazed if you attend a typical traditional wedding in Donje Ljubinje, which is near Prizren. During a wedding, local ladies assist the bride in getting dressed in traditional wedding attire.
Women from Donje Ljubinje dance to the traditional wedding ceremony.
Traditional weddings in the Kosovo village of Donje Ljubinje are a source of great pride for the people because they highlight their hometown’s distinct identity. These sumptuous traditions, which date back a thousand years, are especially well-known for the exquisite face painting that protects the bride from poor marriage luck.
Nonetheless, the lovely essence of the culture and this long-standing habit are at risk of extinction.
The face paints are painstakingly done to keep bad luck from disrupting the wedding. A well-known person in the neighbourhood, famed for her abilities in legendary face art, begins the process of painting the bride’s face.
It is said that there is just one woman who does the makeup, but the number of people who want a traditional wedding is decreasing yearly.
The younger generations do not appear to be interested in learning how to apply these intricate embellishments, which will assist preserve the community’s intangible legacy. As a result, Sefitagic is one of the last characters in Hamlet to do so.
A bride is dressed in traditional clothes from head to toe, and her face is painted white with intricate crimson, blue, gold, and silver dots and sprays.
An elder woman paints the bride’s face during the ceremonial show while loud drum music plays. During the two hours it takes to paint her face, the bride cannot open her eyes, speak to anyone, eat, or drink.
after killing a big bull, chefs prepared a feast for their visitors.
Donje Ljubinje’s population, roughly 3,000 people 20 years ago, has reduced by half due to emigration. The busiest months for weddings are July and August, when many people with ties to the town return, and there is a wedding every day, frequently twice a day.
These face paints applied to the bride are significant. The red circles indicate fertility, the three golden circles represent life stages, and the red and blue spots ensure the bride has a happy and healthy family.
Another highlight of the wedding is that it is a two-day festival of song and dance that continues a long-standing tradition and showcases a bride gorgeous in traditional clothes.
Donje Ljubinje’s economic future is bleak. The village’s centuries-old wedding traditions are in danger of extinction because nearly two-thirds of its people are currently obliged to seek work elsewhere in Europe. Traditional weddings in communities are becoming increasingly infrequent, as are extravagant facial adornments, which may soon be regarded as obsolete.