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80-560: Prekali was an Albanian tribe of the Middle Ages. Their origin was probably in the Dukagjin highlands of northern Albania . Since the 16th century, the Prekali tribe gradually became part of other communities in that region. Prekali was a community based on kinship ties that can be traced back to one progenitor. In that sense, it was a bashkësi (union of brotherhoods), but not a fis , as for

160-475: A fis . The Malësors lived in three geographical regions within northern Albania. Malësia e Madhe (great highlands) contained five large tribes, four of which ( Hoti , Kelmendi , Shkreli , Kastrati ) having a Catholic majority and Muslim minority and with Gruda evenly split between both religions. Within Malësia e Madhe there were seven small additional tribes. During times of war and mobilisation of troops,

240-480: A besa and agreed to cease blood feuding and accept state judicial outcomes for victims and perpetrators. Albanian writer Ismail Kadare considers gjakmarrja to be not an exclusively Albanian phenomenon, but one historically characteristic of the Balkans as a whole. His 1980 novel Broken April ( Albanian : Prilli i Thyer ) explores the social effects of an ancestral blood feud between two landowning families, in

320-400: A century. During that time the tribal system was almost eradicated by the communists. After the collapse of communism in the early 1990s, northern Albania underwent demographic changes in tribal areas, sometimes becoming depopulated. Much of the population seeking a better life, moved either abroad or to Albanian cities such as Tiranë, Durrës or Shkodër; populations historically stemming from

400-595: A common ancestor, while the tribe, fara or gjeri , is much smaller than a northern Albanian fis . The members of a fara have a common ancestor who is the eponymos founder of the village. The political organization is communal; every neighbourhood sends a representing elder ( plak ) to the governing council of the village ( pleqësi ), who elect the head of the village ( kryeplak ). The Albanian term farë ( definite form : fara ) means "seed" and "progeny". In northern Albania it had no legal use, whereas in southern Albania, fara

480-452: A danger to the empire compared to previous uprisings. The Albanian revolt of 1911 was begun during March by Catholic Albanian tribesmen after they returned from exile in Montenegro. The Ottoman government sent 8,000 troops to quell the uprising and ordered that tribal chieftains stand trial for leading the rebellion. During the revolt, Terenzio Tocci , an Italo-Albanian lawyer gathered

560-505: A different content depending on the region. No uniform or standard classification exists as societal structure showed variance even within the same general area. The term fis is the central concept of Albanian tribal structure. The fis is a community whose members are linked to each other as kin through the same patrilineal ancestry and live in the same territory. It has been translated in English as tribe or clan . Thus, fis refers both to

640-500: A distinction in the region of possessing a legendary rock associated with Lekë Dukagjini . The Mirdita region was also a large powerful devoutly Catholic tribe with 2,500 households and five bajraktars that could mobilize 5,000 irregular troops. A general assembly of the Mirdita often met in Orosh to deliberate on important issues relating to the tribe. The position of hereditary prince of

720-702: A fifteenth century warrior who fought the Ottomans. Disputes would be solved through tribal law within the framework of vendetta or blood feuding; the activity was widespread among the Malisors. In situations of murder, tribal law stipulated the principle of koka për kokë (a head for a head) where relatives of the victim are obliged to seek gjakmarrja (blood vengeance). Nineteen percent of male deaths in İşkodra vilayet and 600 fatalities per year in Western Kosovo were from murders caused by vendetta and blood feuding during

800-453: A part of them settled in new territory and formed a new fis that may or may not have held the same name as the parental group. The concept of farefisni refers to the bonds between all communities that stem from the same fis . Farë literally means seed . Among southern Albanians, it is sometimes used as a synonym for fis , which in turn is used in the meaning of fis i vogël . The term bajrak refers to an Ottoman military institution of

880-871: A rebellion in mid-April 1877 against government control and the Ottoman Empire sent troops to put it down. Montenegro attempted to gain support among the Malisors even though it lacked religious or ethnic links with the Albanian tribesmen. During the Eastern Crisis and subsequent border negotiations in April 1880, Italy suggested that the Ottoman Empire give Montenegro the Tuz district, containing mainly Catholic Gruda and Hoti populations, which would have split between them both countries. With Hoti this would have caused tensions and instability because of their traditionally having precedence over

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960-529: A retribalization of social relations. In this period, the village Prekal appears which still exists today on the banks of the river Kir in the municipal unit of Postribë . Of the five brotherhoods of this village, the Lekçaj (also known as Ulqaj) are descendants of the Prekali founders. The other four descend from Shoshi , which is about 20km north of Prekal. Albanian tribes Inherited from ancient Illyrian social structures, Albanian tribal society emerged in

1040-511: A threat to their tribal way of living and left it to their bajraktars to deal with the Ottoman political system. Officials of the Late Ottoman period noted that Malisors preferred that their children learn the use of a weapon and refused to send them to government schools that taught Turkish, which was viewed as a form of state control. Most Albanian Malisors were illiterate. In southern Albania,

1120-530: A tribal system among southern Albanians, which was regulated by the Code of Zuli ( Kanuni i Papa Zhulit/Zulit or Kanuni i Idriz Sulit ). In Kurvelesh the names of the villages were built as collective pluralia to designate the tribal settlements. For instance, Lazarat is a toponym that refers to the 'descendants of Lazar'. The northern Albanian tribes are fiercely proud of the fact that they have never been completely conquered by external powers, in particular by

1200-468: A tribe to be a fis it has to have exclusive communal property rights in a given territory, which is part of their hereditary community. Their name comes from the Albanian personal name Preka . In the cadaster of Venetian Shkodra , there were two villages named Prekal on the modern Albania-Montenegro border and most of their inhabitants held the patronymic Prekali, an indication that the villages were communal settlements of this tribe. The village of Gaduçi

1280-420: Is an essential component to Albanian culture because it is the core of social respectability. Honor is held in very high regard because it carries over generations. Legacies and history are carried in the family names of Albanians and must be held in high priority, even at the cost of one's life. Therefore, when a personal attack of a formidable magnitude is unleashed on a member of any family, an equal punishment

1360-414: Is so closely related to "old age", that "to arbitrate" ( me pleknue ) and ( plekní ) means both "seniority" and "arbitration". The fis is divided into a group of several closely related houses ( mehala ) and a main house ( shpi ). The head of mehala is the krye (lit. "head", pl. krenë or krenët ), while the head of the house is the zoti i shpis ("the lord of

1440-526: Is the social obligation to kill an offender or a member of their family in order to salvage one's honor. This practice is generally seen as in line with the social code known as the Canon of Lekë Dukagjini ( Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit ) or simply the Kanun (consisting of 12 books and 1,262 articles ). The code was originally a "a non-religious code that was used by Muslims and Christians alike." Protecting one's honor

1520-486: Is to be expected by the laws of the Kanun. Some of the actions that initiate gjakmarrja include "killing a guest while he was under the protection of the owner of the house, violation of private house, failure to pay a debt, kidnapping or the seduction or rape of a woman." This often extends many generations if the debt is not paid. Those who choose not to pay with the lives of their family members live in shame and seclusion for

1600-458: The krenë (chieftains) of the vëllazni , respectively. Unlike the northern Albanian tribes, the lineage groups of southern Albanians did not inhabit a closed region, but constituted ethnographic islands located on mountains surrounded by a farming environment. One of the centres of these lineage societies was based in Labëria in the central mountains of southern Albania. A second centre

1680-476: The Ottoman Empire . This fact is considered as orthodox on a heritage and historical level by the tribes. In the 18th century the Ottomans instituted the system of bajrak military organization in northern Albania and Kosovo. From the Ottoman perspective, the institution of the bajrak had multiple benefits. Although it recognized a semi-autonomous status in communities like Hoti, it could also be used to stabilize

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1760-431: The 17th century. In international bibliography of the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was often mistakenly equated with the fis as both would sometimes cover the same geographical area. The result of this mistake was the portrayal of bajrak administrative divisions and other regions as fis in early anthropological accounts of Albania, although there were bajraks in which only a small part or none at all constituted

1840-486: The Albanian tribal system where Kosovar Malisors settled disputes among themselves through their mountain law and 600 Albanians died per year from blood feuding. Sultan Abdul Hamid II , Ottoman officials posted to Albanian populated lands, and some Albanians strongly disapproved of blood feuding, viewing it as inhumane, uncivilised and an unnecessary waste of life that created social disruption, lawlessness and economic dislocation. In 1881 local notables and officials from

1920-482: The Albanians . There has been a revival of instances of gjakmarrja in remote parts of Albania (such as the north) and Kosovo due to the lack of state control since the collapse of communism . The Albanian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights considers one reason for the pervasiveness of blood feuds to be the malfunction of the country's judiciary . Many Albanians see the courts as corrupt or ineffective, and prefer

2000-639: The Council of Ministers allowed them to continue their work in the provinces until May 1909. After the Young Turk Revolution and subsequent restoration of the Ottoman constitution , the Shala , Kastrati , Shoshi and Hoti tribes made a besa (pledge) to support the document and to stop blood feuding with other tribes until 6 November 1908. As of 1940, about 600 blood feuds reportedly existed against King Zog I of

2080-674: The Gjakovë highlands contained eight tribes that were mainly Muslim; in the Luma area near Prizren there were five tribes, mostly Muslim. Other important tribal groupings further south include the highlanders of the Dibra region known as the "Tigers of Dibra". Among the many religiously mixed Catholic-Muslim tribes and one Muslim-Orthodox clan, Ottoman officials noted that tribal loyalties superseded religious affiliations. In Catholic households there were instances of Christians who possessed four wives, marrying

2160-548: The Hoti, Gruda, Shkreli, Kelmendi and Kastrati tribes. In later negotiations with the Ottomans, an amnesty was granted to the tribesmen with promises by the government to: build roads and schools in tribal areas, pay wages of teachers, limit military service to the Istanbul and Shkodër areas, grant the right to carry weapons in the countryside but not in urban areas, appoint bajraktar relatives to certain administrative positions and compensate

2240-508: The Malisors returning from Montenegro with money and food. The final agreement was signed in Podgorica by both the Ottomans and Malisors during August 1912. The highlanders had managed to thwart the centralist tendencies of the Young Turk government. The last tribal system of Europe in northern Albania stayed intact until 1944 when Albanian communists seized power, ruling the country for half

2320-630: The Mirditë chieftains on 26/27 April 1911 in Orosh and proclaimed the independence of Albania, raised the flag of Albania and declared a provisional government. After Ottoman troops entered the area to put down the rebellion, Tocci fled the empire abandoning his activities. On 23 June 1911 Albanian Malisors and other revolutionaries gathered in Montenegro and drafted the Greçë Memorandum demanding Albanian sociopolitical and linguistic rights with signatories from

2400-453: The Ottoman state. Through a series of conflicts and renegotiation a state of balance was found between Ottoman centralization and tribal autonomy. Hence, the Ottoman era is marked by both continual conflict and the formalization of socio-economic status within Ottoman administration. Members of the tribes of northern Albania believe that their history is based on the notions of resistance and isolationism. Some scholars connect this belief with

2480-516: The Young Turk Revolution and subsequent restoration of the Ottoman constitution , the Hoti, Shala, Shoshi, and Kastati tribes made a besa (pledge) to support it and stop blood feuding with other tribes until November 6, 1908. However, Albanian tribes that showed enthusiasm had little knowledge of what the constitution would do for them. During the Albanian revolt of 1910, Malisors such as the Shala tribe fought against Ottoman troops that were sent to quell

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2560-468: The activity was widespread among the Malsors. In situations of murder tribal law stipulated the principle of koka për kokë ("head for a head") where relatives of the victim are obliged to seek gjakmarrja . Nineteen percent of male deaths in İşkodra vilayet were caused by murders due to vendetta and blood feuding during the late Ottoman period. At the same time Western Kosovo was also an area dominated by

2640-412: The area of Gegënia an importance within the empire that differed from Toskëria. Still many Ottoman officers thought that Ghegs, in particular the highlanders, were a liability instead of an asset. They were commonly referred to as a "wild" ( Turkish : vahşi ) and backward people living poverty and ignorance for 500 years, and hostile to civilisation and progress. In areas of Albania were Malisors lived,

2720-534: The areas of Debar, Pristina, Elbasan, Mati, Ohrid and Tetovo petitioned the state for the prevention of blood feuds. To resolve disputes and clamp down on the practice the Ottoman state addressed the problem directly by sending Blood Feud Reconciliation Commissions ( musalaha-ı dem komisyonları ) that produced results with limited success. In the late Ottoman period, due to the influence of Catholic Franciscan priests some changes to blood feuding practices occurred among Albanian highlanders such as guilt being restricted to

2800-433: The bajraktar (chieftain) of Hoti was recognised by the Ottoman government as leader of all forces of the Malësia e Madhe tribes, having collectively some 6,200 rifles. Malësia e Vogël (small highlands) contained seven Catholic tribes such as the Shala with four bajaraktars, Shoshi , Toplana , and Nikaj containing some 1,250 households with a collective strength of 2,500 men that could be mobilised for war. Shoshi had

2880-411: The beginning of the 19th century). Pouqueville in particular reported that each village (Alb. katun ) and each town was some kind of autonomous republic composed of farë brotherhoods. In other accounts he mentioned the 'great farë ' tribes, each having their polemarchs . These chiefs had boluk-bashis (platoon commanders), analogus to the northern fis , the bajraktarë and

2960-431: The borderlands; in their new capacity, these communities would defend the borders of the empire as their own territory. Furthermore, in times of rebellion the Ottomans could use the office of head bajraktar to divide and conquer the tribes by handing out privileges to a select few. On the other hand, autonomy of the borderlands was a source of conflict as the tribes tried to increase their autonomy and minimize involvement of

3040-514: The cities of Tiranë and Durrës are least affected. In Tiranë blood feuds arrived to the capital city with the migration of people from the north and north-eastern regions. Families engaged in blood feuds mainly live in poverty due to isolation and inability to access better living conditions. Ismet Elezi, a professor of law at the University of Tirana , believes that in spite of the Kanun's endorsement of blood vengeance, there are strict rules on how

3120-425: The concept of "negotiated peripherality"; throughout history the territory that northern Albanian tribes occupy has been contested and is peripheral. Northern Albanian tribes often exploited their position and negotiated their peripherality in profitable ways, which also affected their national program; its significance and challenges are different from those in southern Albania. Such peripheral territories are zones of

3200-451: The death penalty. Ali Pasha also reached an agreement with the Kurveleshi population not to trespass their territories, which at that time were larger than the area they inhabit today. Continualy since the 18th century, blood feuds and their consequences in Labëria have been limited principally by the councils of elders. The mountain region of Kurveleshi represents the last example of

3280-569: The descendants no longer consider themselves Albanian (i.e. Kuči, Mahine etc.). Malësia e Madhe , in the Northern Albanian Alps between Albania and Montenegro, historically has been the land of ten bigger and three smaller tribal regions. Two of them, Suma and Tuzi, came together to form Gruda in the 15th to 16th century. The people of this area are commonly called "highlanders" ( Albanian : malësorë ). The Dukagjin Highlands includes

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3360-494: The dynamic creation of culture, where it is possible to manipulate regional and national histories to the advantage of certain individuals and groups. Malisor society used tribal law and participated in the custom of bloodfeuding. Ottoman control mainly existed in the few urban centres and valleys of northern Albania but was minimal or almost non-existent in the mountains, where Malisors lived an autonomous existence according to kanun (tribal law) of Lek Dukagjini. Western Kosovo

3440-416: The early 15th century. For example, in the 1416-17 cadaster one of them Petro Prekali appears as ducal citizen of Balec . Others in the cadaster appear as pronoiars recognized by Venice in villages of the area. Many others lived in villages throughout the region south of Shkodra . The Ottoman conquest of the country stopped this feudalization process and as many in northern Albania, their community underwent

3520-451: The early Middle Ages as the dominant form of social organization among Albanians. The development of feudalism came to both antagonize it, and slowly integrate aspects of it in Albanian feudal society, as most noble families themselves came from these tribes and depended on their support. This process stopped after the Ottoman conquest of Albania and the Balkans in the late 15th century and

3600-640: The empire only posted Ottoman officers who had prior experience in other tribal regions of the state like Kurdistan or Yemen that could bridge cultural divides with Gheg tribesmen. Under Sultan Abdul Hamid II , Ottoman officials were posted to Albanian populated lands. Some Albanians strongly disproved of blood feuding, seeing it as inhumane and uncivilised, and an unnecessary waste of life that created social disruption, lawlessness and economic dislocation. To resolve this problem, Ottoman officials formed Blood Feud Reconciliation Commissions (musalaha-ı dem komisyonları) that produced results with limited success. In

3680-509: The exiled member of the tribe would be burned. Disarmament was regarded as the most embarrassing verdict. The Law of Lek Dukagjini (kanun) was named after a medieval prince Lekë Dukagjini from the fifteenth century who ruled in northern Albania and codified the customary laws of the highlands. Albanian tribes from the Dibra region governed themselves according to the Law of Skanderbeg (kanun), named after

3760-469: The first spouse in a church and the other three in the presence of an imam, while among Muslim households the Islamic tradition of circumcision was ignored. Among Gheg Malësors of the highlands, the fis is headed by the oldest male ( kryeplak ) and forms the basic unit of tribal society. The governing councils consist of elders ( pleqt , singular: plak ). The idea of law administration

3840-652: The following tribes: There are six tribes of the Gjakova Highlands ( Albanian : Malësia e Gjakovës ) also known as Malësia e Vogël ("Lesser Malësia"): The "seven tribes of Puka" ( Albanian : shtatë bajrakët e Pukës ), inhabit the Puka region. Durham said of them: "Puka group ... sometimes reckoned a large tribe of seven bairaks. Sometimes as a group of tribes". Gjakmarrja In traditional Albanian culture , Gjakmarrja ( English : "blood-taking", i.e. " blood feud ") or hakmarrja ("revenge")

3920-497: The highlands of north Albania in the 1930s. The New York Times , reviewing it, wrote: " Broken April is written with masterly simplicity in a bardic style, as if the author is saying: Sit quietly and let me recite a terrible story about a blood feud and the inevitability of death by gunfire in my country. You know it must happen because that is the way life is lived in these mountains. Insults must be avenged; family honor must be upheld...." A 2001 Brazilian film adaptation of

4000-450: The house"). A house may be composed of two or three other houses with property in common under one zot . A political and territorial unit consisting of several clans was the bajrak (standard or banner). The leader of a bajrak , whose position was hereditary, was referred to as bajraktar (standard bearer). Several bajraks composed a tribe, which was led by a man from a notable family, while major issues were decided by

4080-517: The kin community that live in its traditional territory, while fis i vogël refers to the immediate family members and their cousins ( kushëri ). In this sense, it is sometimes used synonymously with vëllazëri or vllazni in Geg Albanian. This term refers to all families that trace their origin to the same patrilineal ancestor. Related families ( familje ) are referred to as of one bark /pl. barqe (literally, belly ). As some tribes grew in number,

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4160-457: The kinship ties that bind the community and the territorialization of that community in a region exclusively used in a communal manner by the members of the fis . In contrast, bashkësi (literally, association ) refers to a community of the same ancestry that has not been established territorially in a given area that is its traditional home region. It is further divided into fis i madh and fis i vogël . Fis i madh refers to all members of

4240-464: The lands north-east of Shkodër and Drisht . The village of Gur i Zi in which the tribe held property in 1416, appears as also having the name Prekal in 1485, an indication of their settlement there. A century later, in the defter of 1582, their village near the plains of the Buna river appears under two names Shul Prekala or Gjergj Bardhi. A branch of Prekali was on the process of becoming a feudal family in

4320-561: The late Ottoman period, due to the influence of Catholic Franciscan priests, some reduction of blood feuding among Albanian highlanders was achieved. For instance, guilt was restricted to the offender or their household and one tribe accepted the razing of the offender's home as compensation for the offense. Ottoman officials viewed the violence committed by Malisors in the 1880s-1890s as a tribal problem not related to nationalism or religion. They also noted that Albanian tribesmen who identified with Islam did so in name only and lacked knowledge of

4400-559: The late Ottoman period. Besa is a word in the Albanian language meaning "pledge of honor", "to keep the promise". Besa is an important institution within the tribal society of the Albanian Malisors, and is one of the moral principles of the Kanun . Albanian tribes swore oaths to jointly fight against the government and in this respect the besa served to uphold tribal autonomy. The besa

4480-403: The most particular elements of the Albanian tribal structure is its dependence on the Kanun , a code of Albanian oral customary laws . Most tribes engaged in warfare against external forces like the Ottoman Empire. Some also engaged in limited inter-tribal struggle for the control of resources. Until the early years of the 20th century, Albanian tribal society remained largely intact until

4560-575: The novel titled Behind the Sun ( Portuguese : Abril Despedaçado ) transferred the action from rural Albania to the 1910 Brazilian badlands, but left the themes otherwise untouched. It was made by filmmaker Walter Salles , starred Rodrigo Santoro , and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film . The American-Albanian film The Forgiveness of Blood also deals with

4640-624: The offender or their household and even one tribe accepting the razing of the offender's home as compensation for the offense. In the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 the new Young Turk government established the Commissions for the Reconciliation of Blood Feuds that focused on the regions of İpek (Pejë), Prizren and Tepedelen ( Tepelenë ). The commissions sentenced Albanians who had participated in blood feud killing and

4720-402: The other four tribes during peace and war. The tribes affected by the negotiations swore a besa (pledge) to resist any reduction of their lands and sent telegrams to surrounding regions asking for military assistance. During the late Ottoman period Ghegs often lacked education and integration within the Ottoman system, even though they had autonomy and military capabilities. Those factors gave

4800-463: The perceived self-government offered by adherence to the Kanun, alongside state law. An Albanian study of 2018 on blood feuds that included data from police records noted that there are 704 families affected with 591 in Albania and 113 having left the country. Six Albanian districts, Kukës, Shkodër, Lezhë, Tiranë and Durrës, are affected by the practice. Shkodër and Lezhë districts are most affected and

4880-663: The period of the Ottoman dominion. Afterwards, these lineage segments increasingly became the basic political, economic, religious, and predatory units of social organization. According to Pouqueville these forms of social organizations disappeared with the dominion of the Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha , and definitely ended in 1813. In the Pashalik of Yanina , in addition to the Sharia for Muslims and Canon for Christians, Ali Pasha enforced his own laws, allowing only in rare cases

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4960-448: The practice may be carried out. For instance, revenge killings of women (including male-role-filling sworn virgins ), children, and elderly persons are banned. Others believe that the Kanun itself emphasises reconciliation and the peacemaking process, and that selective interpretation of its rules is responsible for the current bloodshed. For instance, in recent years, there are more and more reports of women and children being subjected to

5040-546: The reconciliation campaign ended at least 1,200 deadly blood feuds, and in 1993 not a single homicide occurred in Kosovo. Albanian were also absolved of "keeping besa" to non-Albanians. In Montenegro , an event "Beslidhja e Malësisë" (Pledge of Malësia) took place in Tuzi (28 June 1970) in the presence of Catholic and Muslim clergy. Families and other extended kin in the Malesia region made

5120-466: The religion. In the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 the new Young Turk government established the Commissions for Reconciliation of Blood Feuds that focused on regions such as İpek (Pejë) and Prizren. The commissions sentenced Albanians who had participated in blood feud killing. The Council of Ministers allowed the Commission to continue their work in the provinces until May 1909. After

5200-429: The rest of their lives, imprisoned in their homes. Ottoman control mainly existed in the few urban centres and valleys of northern Albania and was minimal and almost non-existent in the mountains, where Malsors (Albanian highlanders) lived an autonomous existence according to the Kanun (tribal law) of Lek Dukagjini. Disputes would be solved through tribal law within the framework of vendetta or blood feuding and

5280-481: The rise to power of the communist regime in 1944, and is considered to be the only example of a tribal social system with tribal chiefs and councils, blood feuds and oral customary laws , to survive in Europe until the middle of the 20th century. Fundamental terms that define Albanian tribal structure are shared by all regions. Some terms may be used interchangeably with the same semantic content and other terms have

5360-573: The same redemption murders. These forgotten rules breed misinterpretation of the Kanun and encourage the mindless killings of family members. In Kosovo , most cases of Gjakmarrja were reconciled in the early 1990s in the course of a large-scale reconciliation movement to end blood feuds led by Anton Çetta . when political leaders sought to establish unity among Albanian seeking independence from Serbia and Yugoslavia. The largest reconciliation gathering took place at Verrat e Llukës on 1 May 1990, which had between 100,000 and 500,000 participants. By 1992

5440-461: The social system is based on the house ( shpi or shtëpi ) and the fis , which consists of a patrilineal kinship group and an exogamous unit composed of members with some property in common. The patrilineal kinship ties are defined by the concept of "blood" ( gjak ) including moral and physical characteristics that are shared by all the members of a fis . The fis generally consists of three or four generations sharing

5520-570: The tribe assembly whose members of the tribe were male. The Ottomans implemented the bayraktar system within northern Albanian tribes, and granted some privileges to the bayraktars (banner chieftains) in exchange for their obligation to mobilize local fighters to support military actions of the Ottoman forces . Those privileges entitled Albanian tribesmen to pay no taxes and to be excluded from military conscription in return for commitment to military service as irregular troops; however few served in that capacity. Malisors viewed Ottoman officials as

5600-571: The tribe with the title Prenk Pasha (Prince Lord) was held by the Gjonmarkaj family. Apart from this princely family, the Franciscan Abbot held some influence among the Mirdita tribesmen. The government estimated the military strength of Malësors in İşkodra sanjak as numbering over 30,000 tribesmen and Ottoman officials were of the view that the highlanders could defeat Montenegro on their own with limited state assistance. In Western Kosovo,

5680-405: The tribes have become scattered. Locals that remained in northern Albanian areas have maintained an awareness of their tribal identity. The following is a list of historical Albanian tribes and tribal regions. Some of the tribes are considered extinct because no collective memory of descent has survived (i.e. Mataruga, Rogami etc.) while others became slavicised very early on and the majority of

5760-452: The uprising and disarm the population by collecting guns and replacing the Law of Lek with state courts and laws. Malisors planned further resistance and Albanian tribes living near the border fled into Montenegro while negotiating terms with the Ottomans for their return. The Ottoman military commander Mahmud Shevket concluded that the Bajraktars had become Albanian nationalists and posed

5840-453: The usage of local Albanian tribal customary laws . After annexing Suli and Himara into his semi-independent state in 1798, he tried to organize the judiciary in every city and province according to the principle of social equality, enforcing his laws for the entire population, Muslims and Christians. To limit blood feud killings, Ali Pasha replaced blood feuds (Alb. gjakmarrje ) with other punishments such as blood payment or expulsion or

5920-485: The will to enforce them dissipated. In times of revolt against the Ottomans, the besa functioned as a link among different groups and tribes. Besa is an important part of personal and familial standing and is often used as an example of " Albanianism ". Someone who breaks his besa may even be banished from his community. During the Great Eastern Crisis , Prenk Bib Doda, hereditary chieftain of Mirdita initiated

6000-480: Was also an area where Ottoman rule among highlanders was minimal to non-existent and government officials would ally themselves with local power holders to exert any form of authority. Western Kosovo was dominated by the Albanian tribal system where Kosovar Malisors settled disputes among themselves through mountain law. In a period without stable state control, it was the tribe who tried its members. The usual punishments were fines , exile or disarmament. The house of

6080-530: Was also mostly inhabited by this tribe. Prekali nën shkallë, headed by pronoiar Jonema Prekali was near the Buna river between the villages of Pentari and Luarzë. Prekali in the mountains ( Prekali në mal ) headed by Andrea Prekali was on the right bank of the river. Gaduçi headed by Gjin Prekali was near Velipoja in the settlement of Malkolaj. In the defter of the Sanjak of Scutari in 1485 Prekali appears spread throughout

6160-513: Was based in Himara in southwest Albania. A third centre was based in the Suli region , located far south in the middle of a Greek population. The tendency to build segmentary lineage organizations of these mountain communities increased with the degree of their isolation, causing the loss of the tribal organization of the Albanian highlanders in southern Albania and northern Greece since the 15th century, during

6240-402: Was followed by a process of strengthening of the tribe ( fis ) as a means of organization against Ottoman centralization particularly in the mountains of northern Albania and adjacent areas of Montenegro . It also remained in a less developed system in southern Albania where large feudal estates and later trade and urban centres began to develop at the expense of tribal organization. One of

6320-502: Was used legally instead of the term fis of the northerners until the beginning of the 19th century, to mean a politically autonomous tribe and a 'brotherhood' ( Gheg Alb. vëllazni ; Tosk Alb. vëllazëri ; or Alb. bark , "belly"). Attestations of these forms of social organization among southern Albanians are reported by Leake and Pouqueville when describing the traditional organization of Suli (between 1660 and 1803), Epirus , and of southern Albania in general (until

6400-488: Was used to regulate tribal affairs both between and within tribes. The Ottoman government used the besa as a way to co-opt Albanian tribes into supporting state policies or to seal agreements. During the Ottoman period, the besa would be cited in government reports of Albanian unrest, especially in the tribes. The besa formed a central place within Albanian society in order to generate military and political power. Besas held Albanians together, united them and would wane when

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