Fustanella

File:Cham Albanian in Konispol 1938.JPG

Cham Albanian wearing fustanella in Konispol in 1938

Fustanella (for spelling in various languages, see chart below) is a traditional skirt-like garment worn by men in the Balkans. In modern times, the fustanella is part of traditional Albanian and Greek dresses, worn mainly by ceremonial Greek military units and Albanian folk dancers.

History

Albanians warriors wearing traditional fustanella from southern Albania 1906 by Edith Durham.

Byzantine iconography depicts Akritan troops wearing a kilt resembling the fustanella.

Fustanella is thought to have been originally a southern Albanian outfit of Tosks, which was introduced in Greece, during the Ottoman Occupation.

The use of the garment was probably spread by klephtic bands via Epirus into Greece during the 18th and 19th centuries. Similar garments exist as part of the folk costume as far north as Romania and as far east as Syria, with nationalists on every side claiming the garment to be an indigenous creation. Similarities to historical garments in literature and on art objects make these claims difficult to prove or disprove.

File:Albanian Fest.jpg

"Albanian fest" 1856, by Jean-Léon Gérôme.

One claim of an ancient link to the modern fustanella involves an ancient statue dated from the 3rd century BCE in Kerameikon (a part of Athens to the northwest of the Acropolis). Another one was found in the outskirts of the ancient Greek colony of Epidamnus in Illyria(modern Durrës, Albania). The region surrounding Epidamnus was inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of the Taulanti. . Yet another claim involves the statue carved in a niche in the Cave of Archedemos the Nympholept, near Mount Hymettus in Athens, which statue wears a fustanella-like garment and has been dated to c. 500 BCE. Archedemos, although living in Athens, came from the Spartan colony of Thera. This is why he carved himself wearing the Dorian tunic. The origin of the Dorians is most likely to be found in the ancient Illyrian-Epirote regions. The Dorian tunic was also a garment of Kouretes. Another object which is related to the fustanella was found in Albania in the modern Korçë region, which was inhabited by Illyrian tribes.

Evolution

Fustanella as worn by an officer of the Greek Presidential Guard, Athens

The garment is made from long strips of linen sewn together to make a pleated skirt. Some Greeks, such as general Theodoros Kolokotronis had almost four hundred pleats in their garments, one for each year of Turkish rule over Greece. The style evolved over time. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the skirts hung below the knees, and the hem of the garment was gathered together with garters and tucked into the boots to create a "bloused" effect. Later, during the Bavarian regency, the skirts were shortened to create a sort of billowy pantaloon that stopped above the knee; this garment was worn with hose, and either buskins or decorative clogs. This is the costume worn by the modern Greek Evzones, the Presidential Guard.

File:Calusar.jpg

Romanian Căluşari dancer from Arad, in a traditional Romanian costume, early 20th century. The fustanella-type garment is similar to the costumes of the Aromanians.

While the image of warriors with frilly skirts tucked into their boots may seem impractical to a contemporary audience, it should be noted that modern paratroopers use a similar method to blouse their trousers over their jumpboots. Lace was commonly worn on military uniforms in the west until well into the 19th century, and gold braid and other adornments still serve as markers of high rank in formal military uniforms. Fustanella were very labor-intensive and thus costly, which made them a status garment that advertised the wealth and importance of the wearer. Western observers of the Greek War of Independence noted the great pride which the klephts and armatoloi took in their foustanella, and how they competed to outdo each other in the sumptuousness of their costume.

Etymology

The word derives from Italian fustagno 'fustian' + -ella (diminutive), the fabric from which the earliest kilts were made. This in turn derives from Medieval Latin fūstāneum, perhaps a diminutive form of fustis, "wooden baton". Other authors consider this a calque of Greek xylino lit. 'wooden' i.e. 'cotton'; others speculate that it is derived from Fostat, a suburb of Cairo where cloth was manufactured. The Greek plural is foustanelles (φουστανέλλες) but as with the (semi-correct) foustanellas, it is rarely employed by native English speakers.

Name in various languages

File:Ethnic Macedonian Dance 1.JPG

Ethnic Macedonians wearing traditional costumes with fustanella.

Native terms for "skirt" and "dress" included for comparison:

Language	Kilt/short skirt	Skirt	Dress
Albanian	fustanellë/fustanella		fustan
Aromanian	fustanelã	fustã	fustanã
Bulgarian	фустанела (fustanela)	фуста (fusta)
Greek	φουστανέλλα (foustanélla)	φούστα (foústa)	φουστάνι (foustáni)
Italian	fustanella	gonna
Macedonian	фустанела (fustanela)	фустан (fustan)
Megleno-Romanian	fustan		fustan
Romanian	fustanelă	fustă
Turkish			fistan

External links

• Albanian Folk Costumes
• The Fustanella in Greece