The legend of
Rozafat Castle, now the ruins of a no doubt originally Illyrian fortification
soaring above the town of Shkodra in northern Albania, involves one of the
grimmest motifs of Balkan legendry, that of immurement. The story of a woman
being walled in during the construction of a bridge or castle in order to
stabilise the foundations is widespread in oral literature in Albania, the
Balkans and elsewhere. Variants in Albania are also told of the castle of Turra
south of Kavaja, of the castle of Petro Petroshi in Lleshan south of Elbasan,
and of the fortress of Elbasan itself. The earliest version outside Albania may
be that of the Bridge of Adana in southern Turkey, which was constructed in
527-565 A.D. The best known variant in the Balkans itself is that of the Bridge
of Arta in northern Greece, which was constructed in 1602-1606. Other variants
are known to the Romanians in the legend of the Monastery of Argesh, the
Bulgarians in the legend of the Bridge of Struma, also called Kadin Most, the
Bosnians in the legends of Teshanj Castle and the Bridge of Mostar, and the
Serbs, who indeed have a Serbian variant for the legend of Rozafat Castle,
"Grad gradili na Skadar," recorded by Vuk Karadzic (1787-1864). Also
related are the Hungarian ballad of the castle of Deva and the German legend of
the castle of Henneberg. The Albanian version of the legend of Rozafat Castle
was first recorded by Thimi Mitko (1820-1890) in his folklore collection
'Albanike melissa / Belietta sskiypetare' (The Albanian Bee) in 1878. The
immurement legend is based no doubt upon a Balkan reality. Even at the
beginning of the twentieth century, animals such as sheep, goats and chickens
were still being sacrificed on such occasions in Albania and their remains were
immured in the foundations of bridges and other buildings. The practice is
still widely encountered today. Here is a prose summary of the Rozafat legend.
Fog lay over the
Buna for three days and three nights, blanketing the river completely. When
three days and three nights had passed, a strong wind began to blow,
dissipating the mists and making Mount Valdanuz visible once again. Up on the
mountain there were three brothers at work building a castle. The foundations
they built during the daytime always collapsed at night, so that they could
never finish the castle. One day, an old man came by and greeted the three
brothers, saying, "I wish you success in your work!" "We wish
you success, too, old man, though we ourselves are not doing very well. Day
after day, we work and build and, at night, the foundations collapse. Do you
know what we can do to make the walls stay put?" "Yes, I do,"
replied the old man, "but it would be a shame if I told you."
"Let the shame be ours, because we are the ones who want to build the
castle." The old man reflected for a while and then asked, "Are you
married? Do you all have wives?" "Yes, we are married," they
replied, "Each of us has a wife. But tell us what to do to build the
castle." "If you really want to finish the castle, you must swear
never to tell your wives what I am going to tell you now. The wife who brings
you your food tomorrow must be buried alive in the wall of the castle. Only
then will the foundations stay put and last forever." Thus spoke the old
man and departed. But alas, the eldest brother broke his promise and revealed
to his wife at home everything that had happened and told her not to approach
the place where the castle was being built. The second brother broke his
promise, too, and told his wife everything. Only the youngest brother kept his
word and said nothing to his wife at home.
The next morning,
the brothers rose early and went off to work. Their axes resounded, rocks were
crushed, the walls rose and their hearts beat faster and faster... At home the
mother of the three brothers knew nothing of their plot. She said to the wife
of the eldest brother, "The men need bread and water and their flask of
wine, daughter in law." She replied, "I'm sorry, dear mother, but I
really cannot go today. I am ill." The mother then asked the second wife,
who answered, "My word, dear mother, I cannot go either, for I must visit
my parents today." The mother then turned to the youngest wife, saying,
"My dear daughter in law, the men need bread and water and their flask of
wine." She got up and said, "I would willingly go, mother, but I have
my young son here and am afraid he will need weaning and will cry."
"You go ahead," said the other two daughters in law, "we shall
look after the boy. He won't cry."
So the youngest and best wife stood up,
fetched the bread and water and the flask of wine, kissed her son good bye on
both cheeks and set off. She climbed up Mount Valdanuz and approached the place
where the three workers were busy. "I wish you success in your work,
gentlemen!" But what was wrong? The axes stopped resounding, their hearts
beat faster and faster, and their faces turned pale. When the youngest brother
saw his wife coming, he hurled his axe into the valley and cursed the rocks and
walls. "What is the matter, my lord," his wife asked, "why are
you cursing the rocks and walls?" Her older brothers in law smiled grimly
and the oldest one declared, "You were born under an unlucky star, sister
in law, for we have sworn to bury you alive in the wall of the castle."
"Then may it
be so, brothers in law," replied the young woman. "I have but one
request to make. When you wall me in, leave a hole for my right eye, for my
right hand, for my right foot and for my right breast. I have a small son. When
he starts to cry, I will cheer him up with my right eye, I will comfort him
with my right hand, I will rock him with my right foot and I will wean him with
my right breast. Let my breast turn to stone and may the castle flourish. May
my son become a great hero, the ruler of the world!"
They then seized
the poor young woman and walled her into the foundations of the castle. This
time the walls did not collapse, but stayed put to rise higher and higher. Even
today, at the foot of the castle, the stones are still damp and mildewed from
the tears of the mother weeping for her son.
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