Rugovo (sword dance)

The Warrior dance of Rugovo (Serbian: Борбена руговска игра) is a traditional sword dance named after the Rugova Canyon in Kosovo. There are two male dancers who fight a mock battle for the hand of a girl (a "maiden's dance"). It was made internationally famous by the Kosovo Albanian Rugova clans (hailing from Kelmend in Albania). It has been unreliably claimed that the dance was a historical "warrior training of the guard of the Monastery of Peć". The dance is also found in mountainous Montenegro, where a tribe of shepherds settled in the 18th century. It was part of Yugoslav folk dancing ensemble, and in 1982, it was noted that "in the last time the Rugova dance has gained wide popularity".