Celebrating Sultan Nevruz: Between Theological Debate and Multi-Framed Practice in Contemporary Albania

Abstract

Abstract This work analyses the historical developments and the acculturation of Sultan nevruz’s rite in post-socialist Albania. The general aim of this work is to examine the intertwining of social and cultural transformations with different religious discourses (native/foreign or Bektashi/sunni legacies) in Albanian society, which is shaped by communist patterns (nationalistic and secularistic heritage) and by post-socialist transformation (pluralisation). Firstly, it analyses public narratives and counter-narratives that Bektashi and other authorities produce about nevruz merging positivistic science, nationalistic rhetoric and ʿAlī’s venerations; finally, the paper focuses on worship diversification and subjectivities by believers that could build their own individual religiosity embodying, recreating or reworking the discourses of “correctness” framed by Islamic authorities.