Face paint and folklore transform Chicago bride for traditional wedding in Kosovo

Record ID: 1684340

  • Title: Face paint and folklore transform Chicago bride for traditional wedding in Kosovo
  • Date: 9th August 2022
  • Summary: DONJE LJUBINJE, KOSOVO (AUGUST 5, 2022) (REUTERS) BRIDE-TO-BE, MELISSA GUERRERO, COMING DOWNSTAIRS TO GET READY FOR THE WEDDING CEREMONY GUERRERO LYING DOWN ON THE COUCH LOCAL RESIDENT, AZIZA SEFITAGIC, PAINTING GUERRERO'S FACE RELATIVE OF GUERRERO FILMING ON HER PHONE VARIOUS OF SEFITAGIC PAINTING GUERRERO'S FACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRIDE-TO-BE, MELISSA GUERRERO, SAYING
  • Embargoed: 23rd August 2022 15:18
  • Keywords: Gorani minority Kosovo marriage customs traditional ceremony
  • Location: DONJE LJUBINJE, KOSOVO
  • City: DONJE LJUBINJE, KOSOVO
  • Country: Kosovo
  • Topics: Europe,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA004743309082022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Mexican-American Melissa Guerrero was so dazzled when she attended a traditional wedding on her first visit to the Kosovo village of Donje Ljubinje to meet the family of her high school sweetheart, she dreamt of marrying in the same way.
    Last week Guerrero, a 30-year-old graphic designer who grew up in Chicago after her family moved to the U.S., realised that dream.
    Dressed head to toe in traditional costume, her face painted white with elaborate sprays and dots of red, blue, gold, and silver, she married Melsid Redzepi, who is from a Bosnian family in Kosovo.
    "To be here and to be doing this with him, it's like a dream come true. And it's so very special, it's very unique", Guerrero said.
    For Bosniaks in Donje Ljubinje in southern Kosovo, a wedding ceremony is an art form.
    Maintaining a centuries-old tradition, The two-day event is a festival of music and dance to showcase a bride resplendent in traditional Bosniak costume.
    The process of painting the bride's face takes around two hours, during which she cannot open her eyes, speak, or eat and drink.
    The markings date back more than 2,000 years, according to Xhavit Rexhepi, a former biology professor who has written a book on local traditions in the area.
    "Every line and every colour has its own symbolism", Rexhepi said, from happiness to love or harmony.
    Donje Ljubinje's population has halved from about 3,000 inhabitants 20 years ago as many emigrated abroad.
    July and August are the busiest months for weddings as many people with links to the village return to visit then and there is a wedding every day, sometimes twice a day.
    “Once you are born here you cannot get out of it,” said Melsid, the groom. He and Guerrero met on her first day of school in the sixth grade and began dating at the end of high school.
    However, there are fewer and fewer people every year who want this kind of traditional wedding and there is only one woman left in her late 60s who does the makeup.
    Similar face paintings and costumes, which are pagan in origin, can be found in other communities in countries such as Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey.
    (Production: Fatos Bytyci, Lewis Macdonald)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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