quorum of ten or more men is needed. During the ritual, the men strike their chests and scratch their faces, repeating: O i mjeri unë për ty o biri/nipi/miku jem, (Oh poor me, o my son/nephew/friend), depending on the deceased. Gjâma served the unique purpose of expressing one's grief, but at the same time, to spread the bad news in adjacent regions for others to come and visit the deceased's family. The practice was strictly forbidden during the Communist regime. It was revived after 1990. The origin of the Gjâma is connected to the death of Skanderbeg in 1468. The assumption of the connection between the Gjâma and Skanderbeg's death is based on Marin Barleti's remarks that Lekë Dukagjini had pulled out his hair and his beard as a sign of deep sorrow for his leader's death. The tradition has survived in the Malësia region. Albanian Catholics practiced the Gjâma more often than Albanian Muslims in the Malësia region. According to the Muslim faith, crying for the dead is prohibited to men. Today Albanian Catholics of Montenegro no longer perform the Gjâma and hire instead professional mourners called Gjâmatarë, from Northern Albania. The vajtim is well known in the Albanian mythology. One of the most beautiful parts of the Kreshniks' cycle is Vajtimi i Ajkunës, (). See also Albanian folklore Music of Albania References Albanian culture Social philosophy Death customs Acknowledgements of death