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92-734: Trieshi is a historical Albanian tribe ( fis ) and region (in Montenegrin known as Atdhetaret) in Montenegro above the right bank of the Cem river near the Albanian border in Tuzi Municipality . It is part of the region of Malësia . Trieshi lies in the municipality of Tuzi on the Albania-Montenegro border as the Cem crosses into Montenegro after Grabom along the river's right bank. It has

184-475: 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,

276-515: A katun (semi-nomadic pastoral community). The settlement of Bankeq also appears in the aforementioned Ottoman defter with 11 households. The appearance of this settlement suggests that the Bankeqi had started to become territorialized and settled in this region of eastern Montenegro following the Ottoman occupation, gradually abandoning their previous semi-nomadic pastoralist way of life. A common trend for

368-400: 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

460-484: A common culture , often common patrilineal kinship ties and shared social ties . The fis ( Albanian definite form : fisi ; commonly translated as "tribe", also as "clan" or "kin" community) stands at the center of Albanian organization based on kinship relations, a concept that can be found among southern Albanians also with the term farë ( Albanian definite form : fara ). Inherited from ancient Illyrian social structures, Albanian tribal society emerged in

552-595: 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

644-452: 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

736-505: 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

828-500: 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

920-702: 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

1012-453: 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

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1104-871: 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

1196-406: A school teacher. The church of Triesh ( kisha e Trieshit ) at that period has a register since 1753, the earliest confirmed date of the building's use. The information about the parish of Trieshi in 1745 is also the earliest exact information on the population figures of the tribe. It had 84 households with 580 Catholic believers. The funerary customs of Trieshi as those of Malësia in general include

1288-461: 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,

1380-802: A total of 148 villages. Marino Bizzi , the Archbishop of Bar (Antivari), in his 1610 report stated that name of the sanjakbey of Sanjak of Scutari was Ali Pasha. In the period between 1757 and 1831, the Sanjak of Scutari was elevated to the Pashalik of Scutari , a semi-autonomous pashalik under the Ottoman empire created by the Albanian Bushati family . Its territory encompassed parts of modern-day northern Albania and Montenegro, with its center in city of Shkodër . The weakening of Ottoman central authority and

1472-492: A total territory of about 30 km and all of its settlements are in mountainous terrain with little arable land. The settlements of Trieshi are: Nikmarash, Rudinë, Muzheçk, Budëz, Poprat, Stjepoh, Delaj, Bëkaj, Llopar, Cem i Trieshit. In terms of historical territory, Trieshi borders Hoti to the south-west, Kelmendi to the east, Gruda to the west and Koja e Kuçit to the north. Oral traditions and fragmentary stories were collected and interpreted by writers who travelled in

1564-530: 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

1656-414: 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

1748-470: Is the founder of Trieshi and brother of Lazër Keqi , founder of Hoti . Another part of the tribe, Delaj descends from Bitdosi ( Bitidossi ), another medieval Albanian tribe in the region. Bekaj is recorded as coming in as a result of blood feud from Rijeka Crnojevića , in the early Ottoman times better known as Rijeka Ivan Beka'. Edith Durham in High Albania (1908) recorded another story, which placed

1840-458: 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

1932-658: The First Balkan War . In 1914 the territory of Sanjak of Scutari became a part of the Principality of Albania , established on the basis of the peace contract signed during the London Conference in 1913. With short interruptions, the territory of northern Albania, including what would become the Sanjak of Scutari, remained under the rule of the Serbian feudal lords of the state of Duklja and Raška for centuries. After

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2024-566: The Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1861–62) , Kuči, Piperi and other groups attacked Trieshi and Koja e Kuçit , but that attack was repulsed. As well as fighting with the Ottoman Empire, Triesh also warred with the neighboring Hoti tribe after they made advancements to gain Trieshjan land. In 1849, Hoti had 400 warriors while Triesh only had 80, but ultimately army size would not equate to success. Over time, there were several skirmishes and by

2116-476: 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

2208-679: The Rumelia Eyalet . In 1867, the Sanjak of Scutari merged with the Sanjak of Üsküb ( Skopje ), forming the Scutari Vilayet . The vilayet was subsequently divided into three sanjaks: İșkodra (Scutari), Prizren and Dibra . In 1877, the Sanjak of Prizren was transferred to the Kosovo Vilayet , and the Sanjak of Dibra was transferred to the Monastir Vilayet . Following the territorial transfers,

2300-559: The timar system of land ownership brought anarchy to the West Balkans region of Ottoman Empire. In the late 18th century, two centers of power emerged in this region: Shkodër, under the Bushati family ; and Janina , under Ali Pasha of Tepelenë . Both regions cooperated with and defied the Sublime Porte as their interests required. Before 1867, Shkodër (İşkodra) was a sanjak within

2392-431: 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

2484-404: The Albanian tribes. Bankeq is recorded again in the following Ottoman defter of 1582 where mixed Albanian-Slavic anthroponyms now dominated over typical Albanian personal names, an indication of increasing Slavic influence in the greater region. Over half of the brotherhoods of Trieshi trace their ancestry back to the Bankeqi. Trieshi is remembered for its resistance to Ottoman incursions in

2576-674: 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

2668-548: 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

2760-508: 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

2852-630: 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

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2944-453: 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

3036-515: The Sanjak of Scutari as a unique administrative unit ( vilayet ) with certain degree of autonomy. The census of 1582—1583 registered the " vilayet of the Black Mountain " (vilayet-i Kara Dağ) as separate administrative unit within Sanjak of Scutari. The vilayet consisted of the following nahiyah and villages: Grbavci with 13 villages, Župa 11, Malonšići 7, Plješivci 14, Cetinje 16, Rijeka 31, Crmnica 11, Paštrovići 36 and Grbalj 9 villages;

3128-600: The Sanjak of Scutari was organized in 1485. It was the third Ottoman census which was organized on the territory within modern Republic of Albania . The first census was organized in 1431 on the territory of Sanjak of Albania . The 1485 census shows that Sanjak of Scutari consisted of four kazas : İşkodra (Shkodër) , Depedöğen (Podgorica) , İpek (Peć) , and Bihor . The kazas were divided into smaller administrative units, nahiyah . The census organized in period 1582—1583 shows that there were many nahiyah within Sanjak of Scutari with following number of villages: There

3220-645: The Sanjak of Scutari was subsequently divided into two sanjaks: Sanjak of Scutari and Sanjak of Draç ( Durrës ). Following the invasion of Montenegrin forces during the Montenegrin-Ottoman War between 1876 and 1878, ownership of the cities of Bar , Podgorica , and Ulcinj was transferred from the Sanjak of Scutari to the Principality of Montenegro . In 1900, the Vilayet of Scutari was disestablished, demerging into two separate sanjaks: Sanjak of Scutari and Sanjak of Durrës . In 1912 and beginning of 1913 it

3312-869: The Scutari in 1496, Firuz Bey had intention to annex Zeta to Ottoman Empire. Đurađ Crnojević who controlled neighboring Principality of Zeta maintained frequent correspondence with other Christian feudal states with intention to establish an anti-Ottoman coalition. When his brother, Stefan , betrayed him to Ottomans in 1496, Đurađ proposed to accept the suzerainty of Ottoman Empire if Firuz Bey accept to recognize him as governor in Zeta. Firuz Bey refused this proposal and invited Đurađ to either come to Scutari to clarify his anti-Ottoman activities or to flee Zeta. When Firuz Bey attacked Zeta with strong forces in 1496 Đurađ decided to flee to Venice. In 1497 Firuz Bey captured Grbalj and put Zeta under his effective military control, although it

3404-477: The Shala, Shoshi, Toplana, Nikaj; and Mirdita, which was also a large powerful tribe that could mobilise 5,000 irregular troops. The government estimated the military strength of Malisors 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. Ottoman control over the highland areas of İşkodra sanjak

3496-543: The Trieshi had good relations with Kuči tribe and the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty , the rulers of Montenegro. Robert Elsie recounts a story about Trieshi men going to Cetinje in order to bring the vladika the heads of Ottomans that they had cut off in battles in return for rewards and gifts. This had changed by the 19th century with the creation of Montenegro and its southwards expansion against Catholic Albanian communities. In

3588-532: 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

3680-412: 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,

3772-480: 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

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3864-411: 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

3956-484: The border remained vague until the end of WW. Some of the Trieshi then fled to nearby Gruda whereas a part remained in Montenegro. An agreement was reached around 1900 and they returned to their villages. As of 2018, Triesh is part of Tuzi Municipality . The ruins of its oldest church are in Budëz, but by the 17th century it was in ruins. Pjetër Bogdani writes in 1672 that the parish had no priest and needed missionaries and

4048-431: 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

4140-618: The brotherhood of Delaj springs. In the Dečani chrysobulls of 1330, the micro-toponym Bьnьkekjeve glade ("Bankeqi's hut") is attested in the region of eastern Montenegro bordering modern Vermosh in Kelmend, north-western Albania. This is the first recorded mention of the Albanian Bankeqi (from the founder Ban Keqi , also mentioned in oral tradition) which, at this point, had yet to become fully territorialized and appears to have been organized as

4232-425: 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

4324-451: 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

4416-569: 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

4508-494: 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

4600-451: 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

4692-640: 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

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4784-474: The end of the conflict, Hoti had sustained severe casualties while Triesh had lost not nearly as many men. In the end, Hoti offered Triesh a golden saddle, as a sign of surrender and a peace offering. The Trieshjant refused the offering, but did not continue their war with Hoti. The area of Trieshi and Koja e Kuçit were formally ceded by the Ottomans to Montenegro in 1878 at a time of the Congress of Berlin , but

4876-509: 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

4968-568: The fall of the Serbian Empire in the mid-14th century, local nobility came to prominence, such as the Balšić noble family . At the end of the 14th century the city came under the control of the Republic of Venice and after Ottoman Empire acquired Shkodra from Venice after the siege of Shkodra in 1478–9, it became the centre of Sanjak of Scutari. Since he was appointed on the position of sanjakbey of

5060-469: 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

5152-701: 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". Sanjak of Scutari The Sanjak of Scutari or Sanjak of Shkodra ( Albanian : Sanxhaku i Shkodrës ; Serbian : Скадарски санџак ; Turkish : İskenderiye Sancağı or İşkodra Sancağı )

5244-473: The historical Piperi region. His sons, the brothers Lazër Keqi (ancestor of Hoti ), Ban Keqi (ancestor of Trieshi), Merkota Keqi, Kaster Keqi and Vas Keqi (ancestor of Vasojevići ) had to abandon the village after committing murder against the locals, but Keq and his younger son Piper Keqi remained there and Piper Keqi became the direct ancestor of the Piperi tribe. In the story, Ban Keqi settled in

5336-450: 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

5428-517: 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,

5520-457: 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

5612-553: The lamentation ( gjamë ) of the deceased in a collective manner by a group of men ( gjamatarë ). The noted families of Triesh as recorded by Emile Wiet, the French consul in Shkodër in 1866 Tribes of Albania The Albanian tribes ( Albanian : fiset shqiptare ) form a historical mode of social organization ( farefisní ) in Albania and the southwestern Balkans characterized by

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5704-561: 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

5796-509: 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

5888-449: 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

5980-650: The original location of Bekaj in Koplik . In oral tradition, Bumçe, the wife of the progenitor of Kelmendi came from the Bekaj brotherhood. Other brotherhoods ( Anas ) that were already settled in Trieshi at the time of its formation descended from tribes that now are further south in Shkodër County like Plani and Xhani/Xhaj. Thus, within Trieshi, brotherhoods that didn't have the same patrilineal ancestry could intermarry, but they didn't intermarry with tribes with which they shared

6072-402: 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

6164-613: 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

6256-408: The region in the 19th century about the early history of Trieshi. In the 20th century, an interdisciplinary approach of comparative anthropology in the context of recorded historical material has yielded more historically-grounded accounts. Trieshi is not a fis (tribe) of the same patrilineal ancestry. More than half of Trieshi claims direct patrilineal descent from Ban Keqi , who in oral tradition

6348-493: The region, in particular in 1717 when they killed 62 Ottoman soldiers. After their defeat, Ottoman forces were forced to retreat from the region until 1862. The Ottoman battle left Triesh with a disdain for their Muslim neighbors. As stated by Robert Elsie , a well known Albanoligist , the Trieshjan would constantly perturb the towns of Podgorica and Guci , and due to their "warlike nature" would lie in wait to ambush and kill Muslim caravans. Based on tactical reasons, at this time

6440-583: 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

6532-481: 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

6624-531: The same direct ancestor. For example, more than half of Trieshi didn't intermarry with Hoti. Johann Georg von Hahn recorded one of the first oral traditions about Trieshi from a Catholic priest named Gabriel in Shkodra in 1850. According to it the first direct male ancestor of the Triepshi was Ban Keq , son of a Catholic Albanian, Keq who fleeing from Ottoman conquest settled in a Slavic-speaking area that would become

6716-561: The same region - that would become Trieshi - with his brother Lazër, who later moved southwards and founded Hoti. Thus, Ban Keqi became the first direct male ancestor of Trieshi. The patronymic surname of Keq is recorded in differing accounts as Preka , Ponti and Panta . The name of the first ancestor, Keq , which means bad in Albanian, is given in Malësia to only children or to children from families with very few children (due to infant mortality). In those families, an "ugly" name ( i çudun )

6808-461: 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

6900-570: 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

6992-571: 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,

7084-405: 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

7176-452: 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

7268-453: 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

7360-485: 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

7452-414: Was a total of 148 villages belonging to the Montenegrin subdivision. The 1582—1583 census shows 857 villages and several towns including Shkodër (İşkodra), Peć (İpek), Podgorica (Depedöğen), Bar (Bar) and Ulcinj (Ülgün). According to Russian consulate Ivan Yastrebov's estimations, there were 80.000 Catholic males, 20.000 Orthodox males, and 9.500 Muslim males. The majority of the population spoke

7544-544: Was a total of 709 villages in the Sanjak of Scutari. Additionally, a smaller part of Ottoman census from 1582 to 1583 dealt with Montenegro (Vilâyet-i Karaca-dağ) as separate administrative unit within Sanjak of Scutari. This part consisted of following nahiyah and villages: Grbavci with 13 villages, Župa with 11 villages, Malonšići with 7 villages, Plješivci with 14 villages, Cetinje with 16 villages, Rijeka with 31 villages, Cernica (Crmnica) with 11 villages, Paštrovići with 36 villages, Grbalj with 9 villages. There

7636-480: 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

7728-513: 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

7820-402: 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

7912-508: Was given as a spoken talisman to protect the child from the " evil eye . Bitidosi (spelled in Venetian archives as Bisdos, Butadossi, Bitidossi, Busadossa) is recorded in 1335 and its leader Paulus Busadosa is recorded. In 1415, they appear in a union with the Hoti and Tuzi tribes ( Осti, Tusi et Bitidossi ). In the defter of the Sanjak of Scutari , in the nahiya of Kuči in 1485, the settlement of Bitidosi appears with 11 households from which

8004-436: Was limited. In the 1880s, from an Albanian point of view the sanjak of İşkodra belonged to the region of Gegënia . Based on the people names registered in the census, it may be concluded that population of Sanjak of Scutari was mainly composed of Albanians and Serbs ( Orthodox , Catholic and Muslim). There was also certain number of Vlachs , Turks and other people present, mainly in towns. The first Ottoman census of

8096-652: Was occupied by members of Balkan League during the First Balkan War . In 1914 the territory of Sanjak of Scutari became a part of Principality of Albania , established on the basis of peace contract signed during London Conference in 1913. The majority religious population in İşkodra sanjak were Catholics. The Albanian Malisors (highlanders) lived in three geographical regions within İşkodra sanjak. Malesia e Madhe (great highlands) with its religiously mixed Catholic-Muslim five large tribes (Hoti, Kelmendi, Shkreli, Kastrati and Gruda) and seven small tribes; Malesia e Vogel (small highlands) with seven Catholic tribes such as

8188-502: Was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire . It was established after the Ottoman Empire acquired Shkodra after the siege of Shkodra in 1478–9. It was part of the Eyalet of Rumelia until 1867, when it became a part, together with the Sanjak of Skopje , of the newly established Scutari Vilayet . In 1912 and the beginning of 1913 it was occupied by members of the Balkan League during

8280-418: Was still part of the Zeta governed by Stefan II Crnojević. In 1499 Firuz Bey formally annexed Zeta to the territory of his Sanjak of Scutari, and Zeta lost its status as an independent state. In 1514, this territory was separated from the Sanjak of Scutari and established as a separate sanjak , under the rule of Skenderbeg Crnojević . When he died in 1528, the Sanjak of Montenegro was reincorporated into

8372-502: 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

8464-488: 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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