Albanian Xhubleta (Jublet) becomes part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage and that means it has an outstanding universal value and meets at least one out of ten selection criteria given by the convention.
But what’s so special about the Albanian traditional clothing?
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. The 4,000-year-old tradition of producing traditional jublet with all its parameters stopped in the 50s or 60s. It took 6 to 8 months to produce a jublet.
This decision paves the way for the process of acceptance into Unesco of other national properties which also have an urgent need to be considered equally important and to be protected by the convention.
