The last ‘sworn virgins’ of Albania - BBC News
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- Опубликовано: 11 мар 2023
- The Balkan ‘burrnesha’ tradition is a centuries old practice in which women swear an oath of celibacy and choose to live their lives as men.
These women are known as the burrneshat, or ‘sworn virgins’.
The practice historically allowed women to shed their traditional gender role, to enjoy many of the same freedoms as men, in return for their chastity.
Today, only a handful of sworn virgins are left in the world.
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#Albania #Women #BBCNews
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The BBC actually managed to do an honest documentary about Albania that doesn’t talk about mafia or immigration 😂
Exactly! We just return from Albania. It is a real gem, and very good, friendly, kind, helpful, decent people make this country so special at first place.
According to old/ ancient albanian customs only male members of family had the right to inherit the name and the properties of the family , "burrnesha" its not exactly translated as "virgin woman" used to be a girl of a family which was left without a male as headfamily mostly due to widespread blood feud rivaries which might long for generations , had to declare herself as a "man" , wear clothes of man , behave like man , carry weapons as a man , associate with man , and never get married , so her family name and properties weren't transferred to other clan's members , this custom survives in northern albania to these days with few "burrnesha " alive , hope this comment helped somehow the public!
Thanks for explanation.
Fascinating.. well done!
When I was little, I lived in northwestern Albania, in Muriqan, my village.
Oh, how I remember it so vividly. The school was only big enough for 9 classes or so, since it was 2005. Parents trusted kids, we behaved a lot, and we adopted some dogs, and overall always had great times. No pollution, fresh water, it was great.
I'm just glad to see how Albania has grown, and I'm really happy.
slightly jealous as an albanian who grew up in england :(
what a fascinating story
Guys you really need to get a hold of your bots in the comments because it's impossible to have a conversation when every other comment is a bot saying thank you have a nice day
Nice to meet you. Confirmed.
My gratitude , Thank you : )😀
Thank you, have a nasty day
Albania is like going in times of yllirian a place full of sun great expectation after visiting Albania ! People are lovely 🎉
❤
I'm regular, whatever that means, guy, but this little piece got my feminine side churning.
Well done, and thank you! Brava.
They’re translating it wrong. Burrnesh doesn’t mean sworn virgin.
There is no exact translation to English but the closest would be “strong women”. This is not a literal translation!
I have the utmost respect for people who stand up against wildly accepted injustices.
They are very brave people.
Extremely well produced and presented.
I love how Lali turned the challenge into an opportunity and enjoyed it both as a woman and man in terms of freedom.
It must have been so hard for women those days when those sworn virgins were young.
nice to meet you
Have a great day!
Many thanks!
Yes,I can do that.
Confirmed!
This is a wonderful video. Now I'd like to know more about the village process that allowed them to take on this status, and also how far back this tradition goes - those elements were left rather vague in the video. Glad someone is documenting this.
nice to meet you
Have a great day!
Many thanks!
Yes,I can do that.
Confirmed!
I like this video if there is one thins shows us it's that we as humans have evolved for more equal rights but also showing that you are allowed to still believe and invest in your traditions
I'd rather not invest so much in our bloody traditions
The worst translation of Burrnesh is sworn virgin.
A beautiful vid
Mind-provoking brief introduction of the Albanian old tradition. Regardless of what reasons they opted for becoming sworn virgins and individual choices, they are respectful people. Happiness can be obtained through socialization. I ponder if Burneshat is a symbol of clasping people and snatching their freedom. They aren't hermits and they aren't required for seclusion.
What a great story to tell. Im more educated now for sure.
Confirmed!
Yes,I confirm.
It was nice to deal with you
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“Burr” in Albanian Lea gauge is called man. Burrnesh mean a woman to be considered as a man between other man’s and to have their privileges in that area. Burrnesh does not translate sworn virgin or it doesn’t not have same meaning. To be burrnesh or woman considered same as a man on the community did not come as a easy choice it was more often for the woman’s wich there was no man to represent a family tree because of wars or blood feuds
Wow I had no idea
Time to update and let women live their life the way they want without renuncing to other rights!
Gosh this is the world we live in To have human rights women have to become men
They become men because they chose liberties to leave their life as they want & not as you put it. No one forces women to become a man. They are pretty like nuns
There is a reason there's only 12 left and they're all old. Don't let logic get in the way of your opinions though
Cos now women have more rights than in the past ! Thats why! :D
This is wrong we have women calling burrnesh old Illiryan word which women is strong like a men and men respect her but I think only Albanians have strong women others are weak like women
Hmmm, surprised?! 🤔 Your best women are trannies! 😂😂😂
Saddly Lali Rakipi hahe died from covid and we respected Lali to much in Durres. I hope Lali is near God bcs she had a beatiful soul
It's amazing that the BBC is actually capable of some honest journalism.
We still call brave women Burnesha
(has nothing to do with virginity or whatsoever).
🦅🇽🇰❤️🇦🇱 Rrnofshi sa malet Burnesha ✋️
Nah bruh i got competition 😭
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Have a great day!
Many thanks!
Yes,I can do that.
Confirmed!
We don’t really have to wonder if today they would make the same choice… their are only 12 left and soon none. Obvious they wouldn’t.
No now they have choices, in that time for woman's who wanted to do what they want was the only choice. We still call the woman's with strong personality a Burrnesha
Lovely story, lovely women!
but are you biologist ?
It's really sad that people are forced into living different lives just so that they can be seen as human. I'm so sick of men. I'm glad feminism is rising up all around the world. It's way beyond time that women get the same treatment that men get. Women are humans who deserve rights and freedom and love.
I honestly cannot tell if this is satire 😂
Confirmed!
@@Mr_Rabbit it's not, you can go read a book about the oppression of females around the world if you would like to understand what you're here laughing about. We're literally commenting under a video where women are forced to live as men so that they can be seen as human.
Yes,I am still interested.
Yes,I confirm.
Πολύ ωραίο βίντεο!!!Να είστε πάντα καλά με υγεία!!!+++☦️🛐🇬🇷🌹🤍🙋💒👋👍
My best wishes to you
Where can I sign up.
I am not sure if "sworn virgins" encompasses the correct translation of the word "burrnesha" in English. OF course, that is not a wrong translation but somehow it captures only some superficial parts of the psycho-social catharsis these women went through in their lives, surely not even an Albanologue could create a perfect translation but the issue I have with "sworn virgins" is that it somehow still retains a feministic sense in regard to the transformation, the sexual aspect is only a small part of it that is why the "virginity", sworn or otherwise, is to me irrelevant here, you can be a sworn virgin and still be a woman in the social connotation of the word (because biologically speaking they are and will always be women of course), if I would have to invent a word in English (as there is no current literal translation in the English language) that would be something akin to "manwoman", although I fear that in the English-speaking world it might be mistaken for some kind of transgender-related expression (which it's not), but as a native Albanian speaker but also an English speaker since early childhood, that would be to me a better translation than the "sworn virgin".
Burre = Man, the (e) at the end falls during the connection with "nesha" which is the appendix for the "woman" part of the entire expression. Burrnesha - Manwomen.
They became men, they dressed as men, they lived as men, they were fiercer than men, they could kill men in the ways men killed, and they sacrificed their feminism for the possibility to live in a harsh world where women could not survive as such by themselves, but it goes beyond even this, it takes a meaning that is connected to honor, it is as though they did not just become men, they became men of honor. They had to be honored as men of honor would have had to have been honored.
I'm sure I am going into a linguistical rabbit hole here, but being an Albanian myself and knowing what it means, I struggle to find a better word or expression that could relate that human concept to the rest of the world. I live in a part of Albania (Tirana) where this social catharsis was unknown as this happened mostly in the North (but not only) where the concept of honor and that of "kanun" existed as legal constructions in relations between individuals, and it still does in some parts.
It is a harsh environment, if I would have to compare it to some other parts of the world with a similar social environment, would probably be the Scottish Highlands, that harshness is something that only those who have lived deep in the mountains know.
It's awful that they had to undertake such a restrictive oath regarding what they could and couldn't do with their own bodies. Something that prohibited such an important part of intimacy with other human beings in order to gain freedom and avoid servitude. It always amazes me that being born female has historically equaled punishment one way or another and typically still does. I appreciate that one of the sworn virgins said she could do the work of 10 men. I've found that women in men's traditional vocational roles tend to be far more productive. Men have an over-inflated sense of worth that leads to laziness.
i think bbc english is very good for improving ones english
This is definitely a twisted story that shows the representation is not entirely accurate. Women in Albanian tradition took the role of a man for many reasons and this tradition goes back millennia. One reason is if the men died in war or there were no males in the family anymore. One of the girls decided to act like a man and represent the family. It was not oppression of women that made these women want to take male roles in the family. Women in general had very little rights just like everywhere else in a patriarchal society until the 20th century. Moreover, during blood feuds, women took male roles since Kanun protected them from harm. Another reason is if they were not fit to be married such as having disabilities or difficulties to create a family or raise one. We are talking here about survival and building the next generation. Why would Albanian men allow women among them as an equal if the women were oppressed? And burrnesh could simply mean Manlike and not sworn virgins. A lot of mistakes here from BBC.
Krejt e vërtetë, nuk mund të shkruhej më bukur!
What does sworn virgin mean ?i know what burrnesh mean a brave women strong like a men wrong translate I think
Jordan Peterson fans have competition
nice to meet you
Have a great day!
Confirmed!
Yes,I am still interested.
It was nice to deal with you
We are always with neutral and intellectual media.
I just started making RUclips videos. Does anyone have advice on how I can improve?
Yeah, spend more time making videos urself, and less time making comments on other's videos!
Actually, watched some of ur recent vids, well done for trying. I just get jaded with scammers and bots on utube comments! It's funny, I was reading a book "Blood, metal, and dust" just last night, and was wondering how it is like in Iraq now! My dad had a "dad" joke, he said, "I was in Baghdad when u were in ur dad's bag"! He was literally in Baghdad when I was in his bag as he was a power grid engineer and wemt there several time in 76-79!
I wonder, did this tradition take place only in non-muslim families or muslims also had it?
Jim'll Fix It!
🤣😂🤣😂💯🤡
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nice to meet you
Yes,I can do that.
Good intention documentary but wrong approach, with misleading title-translation.
The primary intetion is not sexuality but rights.
The primary intention is not celibacy, but having the same rights as a man by becoming a man, let’s say a natural trans. U are a biological woman, but act and dress as a man to take care of the family matters because they don’t have a male heir, and as a woman u could be in danger or expected to be married. But when u took an oath to become a man or better say a manly woman hence “ burrneshe” ( burre -mean, the neshe- woman adjective), as a “man of the house” recognized by the law kanun-the unofficial but very much bindin law).
Here is the best way to beat the licence fee:-
1.Stop your licence for a month or two.
2.Start your license after that period.
3. Watch all the programs you have missed on iplayer.
4. Repeat the above if you must.
A lot of people struggle to understand the sworn virgin concept.
In ancient Albanian village each fis had the right of one representative in the village council. The representatives could only be man.
Fis is a very large family all having the same last name.
When all the men of one fis died (war or disease) by law/custom the family stopped to exist. All the women children had to be distributed to other families. The only condition for the family (fis) to exist was for them to have a representative in the village council which was mandatory. So the only way for that to happen was for a women of the family to swear not to marry and stay will men all the time and participate in the village council.
So it is a very ancient form of democracy. Mandatory representation in village council for each family. Even the families without biological males had a voice.
The concept is still alive today. The US senate today has two representatives from each state regardless of the states population.
This fascinated me honestly, cause all i thought Burrneshë meant was a brave woman, but now I see it’s so much deeper than that.
I'm shocked, she's a beauty !
We humans have weird traditions.. she has to be celibate to be seen as a man, only to have same rights as a man.. what does celibacy have to do with it..?
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Sexist men think that women who have sex are tarnished and useless. It's a trope found all over the world. Like in the USA where I live, men who have sex are called "stallions" but women who have sex are called "sluts." Along the same lines, in many countries if a woman gets assaulted, she's the one that gets punished not the man that did it to her. It's not logical, it's just men trying to be powerful over others.
Have a great day!
Many thanks!
Yes,I can do that.
They just like me fr
If their speaking Albanian it’s sounds so Celtic based - ie Welsh …
Celts and Illyrians lived close in ancient times.Some historians have written that Albanians can also come from Celtic tribes, or there was an exchange of cultures with them...
My gratitude , Thank you : )😀
Its a north albanian dialect gheg
Wonder why alba Scotland and fustanella costumes and bagpipes is not a coincidence is facts celt move to britain
It is interesting and fascinating to hear that someone thought Albanian sounds Welsh or Celtic like. As a Welsh speaker, it didn't even occur to me. There again I suppose it wouldn`t. I remember when I first came to Japan 32 years ago and my first impressions were how harsh the language sounded and so full of consonants. Once I'd learnt the language, it is impossible to hear it that way. Especially as Japanese is now my daily language and other than reading, writing and listening, having a conversation in English is rare as the home language is Japanese.
PLEASE DONT USE GENDERED PRONOUNS!!!!
All of the men on the boats are North And Pakistani. They are not refugees or assylum seekers they are economic migrants.
Ha?? 🙄🤔
It's 2023... why is this "tradition" still needed?
Well it's a decision to keep this tradition alive 🤷🏻
better hold our tradition than lgbt
It is not needed. This is all in the past. Women in Albania are as free to do whatever they wish as they are in the U.S. Times have changed.
Such a good documentary well done to this journalist.burrnesh defines all strong and independent women in Albania, any women who can speak up its smart and brake we call it burrnesh , Albania went throw a hard times in centris wars and all that , women didt have access not bc of the men stopped them but there wasn’t right conditions for them , kanuni i lek dukagjinit had very stick laws that were written on this book that women were very protected even if you compare with the laws now days …..
Truly trying my very best to avoid sexist, misogynistic comments based solely on superficial looks and the fact that nobody would swipe right for them. Damn, I failed!! 😢
thank you. We really need to see living desirable acutely nubile females for the concern of "virginity" to matter. If "virginity" is not the actual topic, they should kindly remove the word from the headline. Lets see what life is like for attractive teen females in Albania....oh, the same as all such creatures in eastern Europe.
Jai modi
These people were already calling themselves incels before it was mainstream
Incel means lnvoluntarily Celibate
These women Chose to be in order to have rights.
My gratitude , Thank you : )😀
😁😄😆😅🤣
The burrneshat… Lovely.
Lol.
Well look at em, not hard to keep that promise. Its like the people at pro choice rallies, not one of em is going to get nailed by anyone, but swear they need a choice.
Do You guys know what bbc stand for?
British bullshiting cooperation
Yes, it's the British Broadcasting Corporation
@@onlyme219 no what does it stand for 😉
@@aeris...5389 Girl do you know you're on RUclips and not YouP*rn? We know what you're getting at and it's childish and pointless and it's making you look really goofy in a bad way
Yes,I am still interested.
I'm a virgin since birth
Confirmed!
From Albania ? Not a chance they are. 😆😗 Gary linker looks like one thou.
I want to know if they, you know pleasure themselves, nothing wrong with it, I do it twice a week 👍
That's a very private thing. Stop wondering if other people do that. It's creepy. Also it wouldn't change a thing whether you learn that they do or don't. Stop being weird
It was nice to deal with you
@@stickibug Oh, sorry for asking a question, snowflake
no they don't!
they make a kind of oath, a very ancient ritual, that the Albanian highlanders believe that if they break it, evil will follow them for many generations.
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Surely there are more important things to be reporting on than this
Ye like the Albanian people traffickers and criminals crossing the channel
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There’s always more important things going on in the world. It’s a documentary not a news report.
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- It’s a shame the BBC does not address other forms of bias - such as excluding republicans from royal stories and politians from non-London based UK parties from the “national” news!
Cry more..
People that have been taken over by confirmation bias often aren't aware of what has happened to them.
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Really? This is news? Wtf
I think journalist the BBC genuinely don't seeing themselves as biased but they constantly choose stories like this to to confirm their beliefs and convert people to their way of thinking. Can't you just do the news?
What converting is this? This is an old tradition of another country..
My point is there is no balance. They were quite happily run a story to reinforce their beliefs in toxic masculinity but they wouldn't run a campaign about discrimination against men in Ukraine for example.
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@@sebastianguerre6868 "reinforce their beliefs about toxic masculinity" you mean to tell me you think that all of human history is just a belief harbored by the journalists that work at the BBC? Go read a book, dude. Men have not had to fight for rights ever due to their gender or s*x. Countless women have literally d*ed trying to be seen as human and we still aren't seen as human in most places in the world.
I don’t see this short documentary as an attempt to “convert” anyone. It’s a report, with personal interviews, on the facts of a centuries-old acceptable tradition/custom in an ancient country that is disappearing. One, of which, I had no idea existed and I am grateful to the BBC for educating me. Good job!
Hahahaha. Sworn lesbians.
When the Taliban fighters show up they’re on for a fkn treat
In America, we call these people woke.
The one..... here’s a picture of republicans.. your IQ is showing 💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩
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I think u mean transgender, but just because someone is trans doesn't mean they're "woke".
@@seanluzdeluna8153 Fair point, but many woke people who is political usually doesn't know what sex is like either
Yes,I can do that.
Lesbians … there shortened it for you
Albania belongs to Serbia 🇷🇸🇷🇺☺️
pilli satom belongs to the world
Unicorns aren't real 🦄
Serbia are refugees from lendina of serb in Belarus Poland come to illyricum in byzantine time they stay for good payed tax change religion from dordolec to orthodox. Is like albania claiming alba Scotland and celtic Welsh and Ireland 😂 learn history stop being idiot😂
Ukraine will win the war against Russian barbarians
Your mum is mine
There a lot of this woman in Albanian don’t know why tho
The West can't define a woman anymore.
I doubt they are the last, I’m sure they have some Andrew Tate fanboys in that country somewhere
Now we have LGBTQ+SV (Sworn Virgins)
They are virgin so they are not lesbian
i think is more like the old version of trans
@@MT-xf5rqNo, it is not. The Burrnesha use female pronouns when referring to themselves.
Northern Albania has always been more conservative and patriarchal, so the only way for a woman to gain financial and social liberty (especially if they were the only surviving members of a family), was to become a sworn virgin. Calling a woman a "Burrnesha" in Albanian, is a compliment, meaning that a woman is indipendent and strong willed.
A bunch of dudes on the internet?
Lmfao. Volcels
🤣😂🤣🎭🎭🤡they MEN bones 🦴 don’t lie 💯👀
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Many thanks!
But if they've been doing this for over a century then how was this women and her peers born? 🤣🤣. This is just a stupid religious way of saying they are trans. But putting a spin on it.
Their mothers probably lived horribly oppressed lives so that they could give birth to these people and you're here laughing at them?
No, they simply did not want to get married and traditions and mentality made them go this way.
It was nice to deal with you
so they lesbians and trans
They are virgin you idiot how can they be lesbian or trans 😏
A sworn Virgin is like a nun who worship jesus christ and build a paradise for this land.
>>>>>>>>
Increase Your Satisfaction
By Understanding Your Existence … sea rch EXISTNC
We still call brave women Burnesha
(has nothing to do with virginity or whatsoever).
🦅🇽🇰❤️🇦🇱 Rrnofshi sa malet Burnesha ✋️