Dukagjin

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Dukagjin is a mountainous region in northern Albania, east of Shkodra and north of the Drin.[1] It is roughly equivalent to the northern half of the Shkodër District, with some minor parts in Malësi e Madhe District. It is also a traditional clan region, including the six bajraks: Shala, Shoshi, Kiri, Gjaj, Plani and Toplan.[2]

Contents

Geography and Anthropology [edit]

Albanian bajraks (1918).

Dukagjin is a mountainous region in northern Albania, east of Shkodra and north of the Drin,[1] including parts of western and central Prokletije mountain range within the Albanian border (Northern Mountain Range), roughly centered in the northern half of the Shkodër District (some minor parts are located in Malësi e Madhe District). The highest point is Maja Jezerce (2694 m).

The toponym "Dukagjin" is said to derive from duka (duke) and Gjin (John) - "Duke John", but it may possibly be a folk etymology.[1] It may also be referred to as the Dukagjini mountains.

To the west lies the Malësia tribal region, which includes the clans of Hoti, Kastrati, Kelmend and Skrijelj.[3]

The Dukagjin region is inhabited by the clan of the six bajraks.[2][4] In 1918, the following settlements were part of each tribe, respectively:

All six tribes today belong to the Roman Catholic faith. They speak the Northwestern Gheg dialect of Albanian.

The Shala and Shoshi tribes are closely associated, have the same occupations and characteristics, and are sometimes called one bajrak.[4]

Lekë Dukagjini's Kanun, a set of customary laws, are still today applied in the following regions of Albania: Lezha mountains, Mirditë, Shala-Shoshë and Nikaj-Merturi.[5]

The Gjâma e burrave, or "Men's Lament" is a death rite performed only by men and for men only, maintained exclusively by the Catholic Albanians in the highlands of Dukagjin, in Iballë and Đakovica (in Kosovo[a]).[6]

History [edit]

Middle Ages [edit]

Further information: Albania in the Middle Ages and Serbia in the Middle Ages

High Middle Ages [edit]

Baleč and its surroundings were part of the Byzantine Theme of Dyrrhachium until the Serbian ruler Stefan Vojislav (1018–1043) conquered the region and gave Baleč the status of seat of the župa (county) of Barezi as part of Duklja.[7] By the time of the reign of Constantine Bodin (1081–1101), all of northern Albania (north of Drin), and also some fortresses to the south of the Drin, were part of Vojislavljević's realm.[8]

Pilot (Pult), including Dagno, was a county of Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja (1166-1196).[9] The important Via de Zenta, a trade route connecting the Adriatic with Nemanjić' Serbia (see Serbian Grand Principality, Kingdom, Empire). It started from the mouth of the Bojana, the Skadar port, (alternatively Bar then Cetinje) along the Drin Valley to Prizren, then to Lipljan, then through Novo Brdo to Vranje and Niš. The Republic of Venice and Ragusa used the road for trade with Serbia and Bulgaria. The road ended its use with the conquering of this part of Serbia by the Ottoman Empire.

Situated further to the south was Arbanon (Serbian: Raban).

Late Middle Ages [edit]

With the crowning of Stephen Uroš III Dečanski of Serbia, Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Young King of Zeta. Žarko held Lower Zeta during the reign of Emperor Dušan the Mighty. In 1360, Balša I and his sons are mentioned as "lords of Skadar", thus, Žarko may have either lost the rule or died.[10] On 18 September 1385, Balša II was killed by the Ottomans at the Battle of Savra, and he was succeeded by his nephew Đurađ II Balšić who inherited the parts of Zeta and northern Albania, including the cities of Skadar, Drivast and Lješ, as per the Balšićs' traditional rule of seniority.

In Venetian documents, Lekë Dushmani and his relative Damian are mentioned as lords of Pult in 1446.[11] In March 2, 1444 Dushmani became a founding member of the League of Lezhë.[12]

Modern [edit]

Visiting Theth in the early 20th century, the traveller Edith Durham said:

I think no place where human beings live has given me such an impression of majestic isolation from all the world.[13]

Edith Durham described Theth as a "bariak" of some 180 houses and also observed that it was almost free from the tradition of blood feud (known in the Albanian language as Gjakmarrja) which so blighted other parts of the Albanian highlands.[13]

In the First Balkan War, the Dukagjin region was occupied by the Principality of Montenegro. After the Treaty of London in May, 1913, the Great Powers recognized the independence of the Principality of Albania and appointed German Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich as monarch. The Dukagjin region was subsequently included into Albania.

See also [edit]

Annotations [edit]

  1. ^ a b Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo's independence has been recognised by 99 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Elsie 2010, p. 85:"another region called Dukagjin in northern Albania. There, the term Dukagjin refers to the mountainous region of the Shosh and Shala tribes to the east of Shkodra and north of the Drin River."
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Enke 1955, p. 129: "In den Bergen des Dukagjin: in Shala, Shoshi, Kir, Gjaj, Plan und Toplan."
  3. ^ Istorijski glasnik. Naučna knjiga. 1960. p. 189. Retrieved 9 May 2013. "У "брђане" у Малесији спадају...." 
  4. ^ a b Naval Intelligence Division 1945: "Shala and Shoshi are closely associated, have the same occupations and characteristics, and are sometimes called one bajrak. Shala is also declared part of the Dukagjin 'clan of the six bajraks'"
  5. ^ Islam Qerimi, Vjollca Salihu 2011, Some Aspects of Research on Social Organization and ..., p. 5
  6. ^ Gjovalin Shkurtaj, Etnografi e të folurit të shqipes: (përmbledhje studimesh socio dhe etnolinguistike). Shtëpia Botuese e Librit Universitar, 2004. p. 42
  7. ^ Živković 2006, p. 105: "Među župama koje su pomenute kao sastavni delovi dukljanske države u trenutku smrti Stefana Vojislava, samo jedna nije bila deo Duklje (Zete) u prethodnom spisku župa koji donosi Pop Dukljanin, a koji bi se mogao opredeliti u polovinu X veka. U pitanju je župa Bareci koja je obuhvatala područje istočno od Skadra. Tako bi se moglo reći da je Stefan Vojislav izvršio prilično skromno teritorijalno proširewe svoje zemlje na račun dračkog temata"
  8. ^ Bogdanović 1990, p. 36: "У доба највеће проширености дукљанске српске државе под Бодином (1081-1116) њеним границама је била обухваћена читава данашња северна Албанија, ...северно од Дрима, али и пространа облас јужно од Дрима укључујући све мале градове у скадарским жупама (Балеч, Дриваст, Сард, Дањ, Сапа, Шаст, Св. Срђ и Влах"
  9. ^ Fajfrić 2000, ch. 9. Nemanja ustupa presto sinu Stefanu: "Nemanjina država je obuhvatala ... Na jugu ... Gornji i Donji Pilot na putu od Prizrena u Skadar."
  10. ^ Andrija Veselinović Radoš Ljušić, „Srpske dinastije“ , Novi Sad, 2001. ISBN 86-83639-01-0
  11. ^ Acta Albaniae Veneta saeculorum XIV et XV.. Typis Josephi Tosini. 1967. p. 319. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
  12. ^ Noli, Fan (1947). George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1468). International Universities Press. p. 36. Retrieved 27 November 2011. 
  13. ^ a b Edith Durham, High Albania (London, Edward Arnold, 1909; republished by the Echo Library, 2009), at page 82

Sources [edit]

  • Fajfrić, Željko (2000) [1998], Sveta loza Stefana Nemanje (in Serbian), Belgrade: "Tehnologije, izdavastvo, agencija Janus", "Rastko" 
  • Naval Intelligence Division, Sir John Linton Myres, Harold St. John Loyd Winterbotham, F. Longland (1945). Albania. Great Britain. 

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