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Just like on the Island of Tinos Aegean (Dubisch 1991: 42) in Dhërmi/Drimades too the men
control and perform the key rituals such as the liturgy, baptism and marriage. Thus all those
who perform their part in the church are men. From the priests to the economist who besides
his assistance to the priest collects money for candles, the Psalm singers and the priest’s
assistant who collects and cuts prosfora or kollyva. While male activities are performed in
front of the audience (i.e. church visitors) female activities usually stay behind.
1.7.5. Religion and Locality
Similarly to language religion is also important constitutive agent of local people’s
“Greekness”. Common to other people originating from the Himarë/Himara area the locals of
Dhërmi/Drimades declare themselves as hristiani, the followers of Christian Orthodox
Church. Along with the rise of migrations of people originating from central and northern
Albania that began after 1990, the religious picture of Dhërmi/Drimades has also changed. In
contrast to the local inhabitants, most of those who moved to Dhërmi/Drimades perceive
themselves as being Muslims while some declare to be atheists. Those who declare
themselves as Muslims only rarely participate in the religious feasts and many of them have
never been in a mosque. Because of the generalised contempt of the locals, who often refer to
them with pejorative connotations such as Turkos or Musliman, it seems that their Islamic
religion remains somehow concealed. Numerous people who denominate themselves as
Muslims have realised that their religious faith is “closing their doors to Greece and
elsewhere”. Therefore, some recent settlers, who had Islamic names, took up Christian names
in order to raise their chances of migrating to Greece or Italy. They did this also because they
wanted to be accepted by the locals of Dhërmi/Drimades. Many of those who got
Christianised take part in the church services on important religious feasts. The local opinion
about the converts’ behaviour varies: some of them find their new Christian practices positive,
while others see in their conversion to Christianity only a confirmation that “the Muslims are
people without besa 42 and pride”.
42 Martin Berishaj defines besa in his work The Hidden Word of Besa, where he discusses the Kanun of Leke
Dukagjini, as an “ethical moral category, the basic value of the Albanian common law. Besa used to function as
a mediator of social relations in the Albanian traditional society” (Berishaj 2004: 15). Berisha relates it to
keeping of one’s promise, dignity and pride, and keeping of faith in the extended family. According to my
conversations with the locals besa was a synonym for pride and faith.
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