Qeleshe

The qeleshe, plis, qylaf^[1] or kësul is a white brimless felt skull cap traditionally worn by Albanians. It has spread throughout Albanian-inhabited territories, and is today part of the traditional costume of the Albanians. The height and shape of the cap varies region to region.

Etymology

In Albanian: def. sin. qeleshja or plisi, indef. pl. qeleshe or plisa, def. pl. qeleshet or plisat.

The word qeleshe comes from the

There are many ways to make the plis but it is always hand made. The most common way, in Kosovo, is using soap on the wool. In the bazaar of Krujë, it is constructed by first getting a small chunk of wool that is placed on a table. Then, an instrument similar to a bow is used to beat the wool by hammering the string with a stone or a sturdy piece of wood. The wool is beaten and pressed until the wool strands become knotted around each other. Finally, it is washed, and shrinks.

It is then pressed by a flat wooden instrument on top of it, multiple times, until the wool becomes completely flat and smooth. Then, it is sealed in a flattener for 24 hours and soaked in hot water and salt. The hat is made by two finished, flattened and pressed wool. The corners are removed to form a round shape. Afterwards, soap is added as a glue substitution to finely keep the fibres smooth while both pieces of wool are rubbed together. Then it is washed and beaten to strengthen the fabric, and placed on a wooden model. The shape of the plis is determined by the wooden model on which it is left to dry, and then rubbed with soap again to fix the shape. The wool will be smoothened with a razor. Lastly, a wooden instrument is firmly rubbed on the plis.^[5][6][7]

History

The Albanian plis/qeleshe has been handed down from Illyrian times.^[8][9][10]

The Illyrian hemispherical cap dates from the Iron Age, found both in men's and women's graves, hence it can be assumed that it was worn both by men and women. A monument from Illyrian times that was found in Zenica shows a calotte-shaped cap, very similar to the plis. The Albanian/Illyrian cap has been classified in a broader and general Mediterranean framework, relying on illustrations on situlae and girdle plates from the later Iron Age in Northern Italy and the Southern Alps. They also feature figures with hemispherical headgear with a small spike. The wearers of such caps are depicted carrying agricultural tools which leads to consider them as country people.^[11] Furthermore, in monuments from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD from Bosnia, Illyrians under Roman rule are depicted with similar cap shapes.^[12] Such caps are absent in the eastern half of the Balkans, in the Pannonian-Carpathian region and in eastern Europe.^[12]

The 1542 Latin dictionary De re vestiaria libellus, ex Bayfio excerptus equated an Albanian hat with a

In the 18-19 century, the plis became popularly depicted in painting depicting

During the 19-20 century,

The cap is part of the traditional costume of the Albanian highlanders[17]^[18] and is considered as a national symbol among a large number of Albanian communities.^[19] During the Ottoman period, the hat as a white colored fez cap was the characteristic Albanian national headgear, in particular of Muslim Albanians.^[1][20]

In the northern Albanian highlands, the shape is

The town of

• 
  Hemispherical type qeleshe or plis.
• 
  Flat-topped fez type qeleshe.
• 
  Hemispherical, oval and flat topped shapes of qeleshe.
• 
  A felt-maker.
• 
  Moisi Golemi, engraving by Johann Theodor de Bry, 1596.
• 
  Albanian music trio with hemispherical type qeleshe, Has District.
• 
  Iso-polyphony ensemble Grupi Argjiro wearing tall qeleshes with a small protrusion on the top, Gjirokastër
• 
  Albanian singers with flat-topped type qeleshe, Skrapar.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qeleshe.

• Culture of Albania
• List of hats and headgear
• Pileus
• Labbadeh, similar headdress of Lebanese origin
• Opinga
• Traditional clothing of Kosovo

References