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Kelmendi (tribe)

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This article is about the clan region. For the municipality in Albania, see Kelmend.
Catholic church in Nikç, municipality of Kelmend

Kelmend, or Kelmendi mountains (Albanian: Malet e Kelmendit, [Клименти, Klimenti] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a region and clan in the mountainous borderlands of Albania and Montenegro, of the wider Malësia-region.[1] Part of the region lies within the Kelmend municipality, and is composed of a Roman Catholic majority and Muslim minority. The Kelmendi speak a subdialect of Gheg Albanian as the other northern Albanian clans.

Families hailing from Kelmend can also be found in Plav, Montenegro and Rugova, Kosovo[a] where they are Muslim. The name is derived from Saint Clement, the patron saint of the region.

History

Johann Georg von Hahn, one of the founders of Albanology placed the settlement of Kelmendi's first patriarch in Bestana, southern Kelmend. The foundations of the settlements, where the Kelmendi are found in modern times has been attributed to his seven sons.[2] The Kelmendi tribe is first mentioned in Latin documents of 1485 as Celmente.[3] The Kelmendi recognized the Ottoman rule in 1497 and gained the status of derbend and became the guards of the roads leading to Plav and Shkodër-Đakovica route.[4] Marino Bizzi, the Archbishop of Bar mentions them in 1610 as "popoli quasi tutti latini, e di lingua Albanese e Dalmata" (almost all are Catholics, speaking Albanian and Slavic).[5] Bizzi reported in 1613 an incident that involved the Kelmendi-Ottoman conflict. An Ottoman commander, Arslan Pasha, raided the villages of the Kelmendi and started taking prisoners until an agreement was reached with the Kelmendi clans. According to the agreement, the Kelmendi would surrender fifteen of their members as slaves, and pay a tribute of 1,000 ducats to the Ottomans. However, as Arslan Pasha waited for the payment of the tribute, the Kelmendi ambushed part of his troops and killed about thirty cavalrymen. After this incident the Ottoman troops retreated to Herceg Novi (Castelnuovo).[6]

In 1614 along with the Kuči, Piperi and Bjelopavlići[7][8] they sent a letter to the Kings of Spain and France claiming that they were independent from the Ottoman rule and did not pay tribute to the empire.[4] In 1651, they aided the army of Ali-paša Čengić, which attacked Kotor; the army raided and destroyed many monasteries in the region. In 1685, they helped the Sanjak Bey of Skadar, Sulejman Bushati, ancestor of Kara Mahmud Bushati to defeat the Montenegrin forces at the Battle on the Vrtijelica, in which Bajo Pivljanin died. Again, in 1692, they aided him capturing Cetinje after defeating the Montenegrins and their Venetian allies. Giorgio Stampaneo, abbot of Mirdita reported in 1685 that the city of Peć paid an annual tribute of 3,000 reali to the Kelmendi.[9]

In 1689 the Kelmendi volunteered in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire during the Kosovo campaign. Initially they were serving Sulejman Pasha, the mutasarrif of Shkodër, but after negotiations with a Venetian official, they abandoned the Ottoman ranks.[10]

A year later, c. 2,500 people from the Selcë region settled in Pešter, after the defeat and subsequent withdrawal of the Imperial army and their surrounding by the Ottoman army.[3] Some of them returned to their home region after 1706. In the 18th century, the Hoti and Kelmendi clans assisted the Kuči and Vasojevići ones in the battles against the Ottoman Turks. After that unsuccessful war, a part of the Kelmendi clans fled their lands.[11] After the defeat in 1737, under Archbishop Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta, a significant number of Serbs and Kelmendis retreated into the north, Habsburg territory.[12] Around 1,600 of them settled in the villages of Nikinci and Hrtkovci, where they later adopted a Croat identity.[13] On May 26, 1913 130 leaders of Gruda, Hoti, Kelmendi, Kastrati and Shkreli sent a petition to Cecil Burney in Shkodër against the incorporation of their territories into Montenegro.[14]

Folklore

During Easter processions in Selcë and Vukël the kore, a child-eating demon, was burnt symbolically.[15] In Christmas time alms were placed upon ancestors' graves. As in other northern Albanian clans the Kanun (customary law) that is applied in Kelmend is that of The Mountains (Albanian: Kanuni i Maleve). According to Franz Baron Nopcsa's researches the Kelmendi were the most numerous and notable of the northern Albanian clans.[4]

Anthroponymy

The region consists of six primary villages: Boga, Nikç, Selcë, Tamarë, Vermosh and Vukël, all part of the Kelmend Municipality. Their clan neighbours are the Kuči and Hoti, to the west, and the Vasojevići to the north. The following lists are of families in the Kelmend region by village of origin (they may live in more than one village):

Montenegro

Plav-Gusinje
  • Ahmetaj (Ahmetović), in Vusanje. They descend from a certain Ahmet Nikaj, son of Nika Nrrelaj and grandson of Nrrel Balaj, and are originally from Vukël in northern Albania.
  • Bacaj (Bacović)
  • Balaj (Balić), in Grnčar. Immigrated to Plav-Gusinje in 1698 from the village of Vukël (or Selcë?) in northern Albania and converted to Islam the same year. The clan's closest relatives are the Balidemajt/Balidemići. Legend has it that the Balaj, Balidemaj and Vukel clans descended from three brothers. However, a member of the Vukel clan married a member of the Balić clan, later resulting in severed relations with the Vukel clan.
  • Balidemaj (Bal(j)idemaj/Balidemić), in Martinovići. This branch of the clan remained Catholic for three generations, until Martin's great-grandson converted to Islam, taking the name Omer. Since then, the family was known as Omeraj/Omerović. Until recently was the family's name changed to Balidemaj, named after Bali Dema, an army commander in the Battle of Nokshiq. The clan's closest relatives are the Balajt/Balići. Legend has it that the Balaj, Balidemaj and Vukel clans descended from three brothers.
  • Bruçaj (Bručaj/Bručević), they are descendants of a Catholic Albanian named Bruç Nrrelaj, son of Nrrel Balaj, and are originally from Vukël in northern Albania.
  • Cakaj (Cakić)
  • Canaj (Canović), in the villages of Bogajići, Višnjevo and Đurička Rijeka. Immigrated to Plav-Gusinje in 1698 from the village of Vukël in northern Albania and converted to Islam the same year.
  • Çelaj (Čeljaj/Čelić), in the villages of Vusanje and Vojno Selo. Claims descendance from Nrrel Balaj. The Nikça/Nikča family are part of the Çelaj.
  • Dedushaj (Dedušaj/Dedušević), in Vusanje. They are descendants of a Catholic Albanian named Ded (Dedush) Balaj, son of Nrrel Balaj, and are originally from Vukel in northern Albania.
  • Hakaj (Hakanjin), in Hakanje.
  • Hasilović, in Bogajiće.
  • Goçaj (Gočević), in Vusanje.
  • Gjonbalaj (Đonbaljaj/Đonbalić; also Đombal(j)aj/Đombalić), in Vusanje, with relatives in Vojno Selo. Their ancestor, a Catholic Albanian named Gjon Balaj, immigrated with his sons: Bala, Aslan, Tuça and Hasan; along with his brother, Nrrel, and his children: Nika, Ded (Dedush), Stanisha, Bruç and Vuk from the village of Vukël in northern Albania to the village of Vusanje/Vuthaj in the late-17th century. Upon arriving, Gjon and his descendants settled in the village Vusanje/Vuthaj and converted to Islam and were known as the Gjonbalaj. Relatives include Ahmetajt/Ahmetovići, Bruçajt/Bručevići, Çelajt/Čelići, Goçaj/Gočević, Lekajt/Lekovići, Selimajt/Selimovići, Qosajt/Ćosovići, Ulajt/Uljevići, Vuçetajt/Vučetovići.
  • Kukaj (Kukić), in Vusanje
  • Lecaj (Ljecaj), in Martinovići. They are originally from Vukël in northern Albania.
  • Lekaj (Leković), in Gornja Ržanica and Vojno Selo. They are originally from Vukël in northern Albania. They are descendants of a certain Lekë Pretashi Nikaj.
  • Martini (Martinović), in Martinovići. The eponymous founder, a Catholic Albanian named Martin, immigrated to the village of Trepča[disambiguation needed] in the late 17th century from Selcë.
    • Hasangjekaj (Hasanđekaj/Hasanđekić), in Martinovići. They descend from a Hasan Gjekaj from Vukël, a Muslim of the Martini clan.
    • Prelvukaj (Preljvukaj/Preljvukić), in Martinovići. They descend from a Prelë Vuka from Vukël, of the Martini clan.
  • Musaj (Musić), Immigrated to Plav-Gusinje in 1698 from village Vukël in northern Albania and converted to Islam the same year.
  • Novaj (Novović)
  • Pepaj (Pepić), in Pepići
  • Rekaj (Reković), in Bogajići, immigrated to Plav-Gusinje circa 1858.
  • Rugova, in Višnjevo with relatives in Vojno Selo and Babino Polje. They descend from a Kelmend clan of Rugova in Kosovo.
  • Qosaj/Qosja (Ćosaj/Ćosović), in Vusanje. They are descendants of a certain Qosa Stanishaj, son of Stanisha Nrrelaj and are originally from Vukël in northern Albania.
  • Selimaj (Selimović),
  • Smajić, in Novšići.
  • Ulaj (Uljaj/Uljević), in Vusanje. They are originally from Vukël in northern Albania. They are descendants of a certain Ulë Nikaj, son of Nika Nrrelaj. Possibly moved to the Koja e kucit area.
  • Vukel (Vukelj), in Dolja. They immigrated to Gusinje in 1675 from the village of Vukël in northern Albania. A certain bey from the Šabanagić clan gave the clan the village of Doli.
  • Vuçetaj (Vučetaj/Vučetović), in Vusanje. They are originally from Vukël in northern Albania. They are descendants of a certain Vuçetë Nikaj, son of Nika Nrrelaj.

Notable People

See also

Notes

a.   ^ Template:Kosovo-note

References

  1. ^ Mal meaning "mountain", the region in Montenegro is part of brda, meaning "hill"
  2. ^ Santayana, Manuel Pardo de; Pieroni, Andrea; Puri, Rajindra K. (2010-05-01). Ethnobotany in the new Europe: people, health, and wild plant resources. Berghahn Books. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-84545-456-2. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b Elsie, Robert; Mathie-Heck, Janice (2005). The highland lute: (Lahuta e Malcís) : the Albanian national epic. I.B.Tauris. p. 432. ISBN 978-1-84511-118-2. Retrieved 17 November 2011. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b c Malcolm, Noel (2001). The Kelmendi: Notes on the Early History of a Catholic Albanian Clan. Südost Forschungen. Vol. 59–60. S. Hirzel. pp. 149–62. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  5. ^ Jugoslawien, Peter Bartl, [1] p. 146
  6. ^ Elsie, Robert (2003). Early Albania: a reader of historical texts, 11th-17th centuries. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 159. ISBN 978-3-447-04783-8. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  7. ^ Lambertz, Maximilian (1959). Wissenschaftliche Tätigkeit in Albanien 1957 und 1958. Südost-Forschungen. S. Hirzel. p. 408. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  8. ^ Kulišić, Špiro (1980). O etnogenezi Crnogoraca (in Montenegrin). Pobjeda. p. 41. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  9. ^ Bartl, Peter (2007). Albania sacra: geistliche Visitationsberichte aus Albanien. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 139. ISBN 978-3-447-05506-2. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  10. ^ Malcolm, Noel (1998). Kosovo: a short history. Macmillan. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-333-66612-8. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  11. ^ Mita Kostić, "Ustanak Srba i Arbanasa u staroj Srbiji protivu Turaka 1737-1739. i seoba u Ugarsku", Glasnik Skopskog naučnog društva 7-8, Skoplje 1929, pp. 225, 230, 234
  12. ^ Albanische Geschichte: Stand und Perspektiven der Forschung, p. 239 Template:De icon
  13. ^ Borislav Jankulov, Pregled kolonizacije Vojvodine u XVIII i XIX veku, Novi Sad - Pančevo, 2003, page 61.
  14. ^ Pearson, Owen (2004). Albania in the twentieth century: a history. I.B.Tauris. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-84511-013-0. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  15. ^ Elsie, Robert (2001). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology and folk culture. C. Hurst. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-85065-570-1. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  16. ^ Bunjaj, Nikë (2000). Nora e Kelmendit. Botimet Toena. ISBN 99927-1-294-5. OL4014711M.
  17. ^ Institut za historiju radničkog pokreta Hrvatske, "Magazine of contemporary history, vol 19", 1987, pp. 165-168
  18. ^ The New York Times, November 1, 1987, Late City Final Edition (p. 14) -"In Yugoslavia, Rising Ethnic Strife Brings Fears of Worse Civil Conflict" By David Binder
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