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166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
"What face should [the Albanian] show to the world? Shall he disfigure himself, changing his features to suit the masks of the age, seeking thus to assure his survival, or shall he keep his countenance inchanged ... (...) Albania aims to keep its eternal image. That's the main thing, to my mind. She will keep her face not by retreting from the world like a wild animal at bay, but by joining the world."
Ghosts of the Tale
In a trembling voice, one of the mourners sang of Doruntine鈥檚 marriage and of her departure for a distant land. A second, her voice more tremulous still, lamented the nine boys who, so soon after the wedding, had fallen in battle against the plague-ridden army. The third took up the theme and sang of the grief of the mother left alone.
鈥淭he question is this: in these new conditions of the worsening of the general atmosphere in the world, in this time of crime and hateful treachery that could be called unbelief, who should the Albanian be? What face shall he show the world? Shall he espouse evil or stand against it? Shall he disfigure himself, changing his features to suit the masks of the age, seeking thus to assure his survival, or shall he keep his countenance unchanged鈥� I am a servant of the state and have little interest in the personal aspects of Kostandin鈥檚 journey, if in fact there are any. Each of us, commoners and lords alike, be we Caesar or Christ, is the shroud of unfathomable mysteries. But, functionary that I am, I have spoken of the general point, the one that concerns Albania. Albania鈥檚 time of trial is near, the hour of choice between these two faces. And if the people of Albania, deep within themselves, have begun to fashion institutions as sublime as the besa, that shows us that Albania is making the right choice. Albania aims to keep its eternal image.鈥�
鈥淎 legend is being born right before our eyes,鈥� Stres said, handing him the sheaf of reports with their underlined passages. 鈥淛ust look at this. Until two days ago, the songs gave little detail, but since last night, and especially today, they have taken shape as a well-defined fable.鈥�
鈥淓ach of us has a part in that journey, for it is here among us that Kostandin鈥檚 besa germinated, and that is what brought Doruntine back. Therefore, to be more exact I would have to say that it was all of us 鈥� you, me, our dead lying there in the graveyard close by the church 鈥� who, through Kostandin, brought Doruntine back.鈥�
Every day brought new chapters to the story of Doruntine, or else erased parts of it. Only the mourners remained steadfast in their ritual.
A curse be on thee, Kostandin!
Do you recall the solemn promise you made?
Or has your besa rotted with you in the grave?
The struggle between Catholicism and Orthodoxy since time immemorial had greatly weakened religion in the Albanian principalities. The region lay just on the border between the two religions and, for various reasons, essentially political and economic, the principalities leaned now towards one, now towards the other. Half of them were now Catholic, but that state of affairs was by no means permanent, and each of the two churches hoped to win spheres of influence from the other.