Berisha (tribe)

For other uses, see Berisha.
Albanian bajraks (1918). Berisha is numbered 16.

Berisha is an Albanian tribe and village (Berishë) in the region of Pukë in northern Albania.[1] Berishas were initially Christians, but many of them converted to Islam. Numerous members of Berisha tribe migrated to Kosovo.

History

Despite oral tradition, the first historical record of Berisha was during the 15th century during Albanian-Ottoman wars. Dhimiter and Nikolle Berisha were in charge of border army in the region of Dibra, 1455, after defection of Moisi Golemi. Marin Barleti mentioned the tribe as an old and reputable one. Nikolle Berisha is mentioned again during the battle of Vaikal were he was captured and executed.[2]

The first person who lived in Berishë was, Kojel Lekë Pogu (Kojel Lekë Pog Murr Dedi). Kojel Pogu had two sons, Prend and Gjon. Prendi remained in Berishë and had four sons called Desk, Doçe, Tetë and Maro. Gjoni moved to Tropojë where the Berisha's were the first to live in.[3] All of the Berisha at this stage were Catholic, until many migrated to Kosovo. It is recorded that there are 21 generations from the Berisha and Hoti tribes, two of the oldest Albanian tribes.[4]

Historian Oliver Schmitt noted that in 1465, the Berisha territory had a population of 12,000.[5]

Edith Durham recorded at the beginning of 20th century that members of Berisha and Merturi tribe claimed they were the oldest highlands tribe,[6] which is accepted as accurate.[7] According to tradition, the tribe descends from Grča Nenadin, an ancestor of the Kuči,[8] who are one of the Serb highlander tribes of Montenegro. There are members of the Berisha tribe who confirm that the tribe descend from Kuči and that they were Orthodox Christians before, while others claim that only a part of the tribe descend from Kuči.[9] The Berisha and Kuči do not marry each other.[10] The members of the Berisha tribe and the Vušović family from Velika (in Montenegro) are taken as being part of the same tribe.[11][12] According to some stories the Arrnji tribe in Luma is an offshoot of the Berisha.[13]

Durham also published an opinion of Franz Nopcsa who stated that the Berisha tribe occupied a much bigger territory but were driven from its major part by the Thaçi tribe.[14]

In 1917 this tribe had a population of about 1,700 people.[15] In the 1920s, the whole Berisha tribe, under the leadership of Azem Galica, revolted against the authorities of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.[16]

Migration to Kosovo

Many members of the Berisha tribe migrated to Kosovo, mostly to the region of Đakovica, and converted to Islam. According to British intelligence report, the reason for this migration was the small size of the territory this tribe controlled.[17] The feast of the Catholic Berisha who lived in villages around Peć was the Assumption of Mary (to which they refer to as Zoja e Berishes, or Zoja e Alshiqes, because the Alshiqi are the most numerous).[18] The family name Berisha is derived from the name of the tribe and is particularly common among Albanians in Kosovo.[15] In 1890 Islamized Berisha and Krasniqi in Kosovo allied against Albanian-speaking Catholics from Fandis and attacked their villages – they burned and plundered houses of Fandis, sparing only those of their Muslim lords.[19]

Families

Albania

Families of the Berisha tribe still live in Berishë today, but many moved to other areas of Albania, including Shkodër, Lezhë, Tropojë and Tiranë. Catholic Berisha's celebrate the night of Assumption of Mary also known as in Albanian, Nata e Zojës Berishë which is held on 14 August.

Kosovo

Many Islamized Serbian families in Kosovo entered the fis of Berisha.[21][22] Romani families in Podrima and in the Đakovica srez are under the fis of Berisha, as they are the most powerful in that region,[23] while Magjupi are under Berisha or Gashi.[24]

Montenegro

Genetics

Almost all members of Berisha tribe tested so far belong to the E-V13 Y-DNA.[28]Today, the highest concentrations of E-V13 in Europe can be found in Kosovo with about 45 %. E-V13 varies in other Balkan regions between 5 and 25 %.

Notable people

By birth
By descent

See also

References

  1. http://puka.shqiperia.com/index/artikull/artID/405/titulli/Berisha-e-Pukes-neper-shekuj
  2. Marin Barletius "Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarvm principis"
  3. http://www.nikaj-merturi.com/merturi.html
  4. http://puka.shqiperia.com/index/artikull/artID/405/titulli/Berisha-e-Pukes-neper-shekuj
  5. http://puka.shqiperia.com/index/artikull/artID/405/titulli/Berisha-e-Pukes-neper-shekuj
  6. Edith Durham (1987). High Albania. LO Beacon Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-8070-7035-2. Retrieved 12 May 2013. The people of Berisha and Merturi (the tribe on the other side of the Drin) claim to be the oldest tribes of the mountains
  7. I. M. Lewis (1970). History and social anthropology. Taylor & Francis. p. 254. GGKEY:NAZBRW74E6J. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  8. Konstantin Jireček (1923). Istorija Srba. Izdavačka knjižarnica G. Kona. p. 58. Retrieved 17 May 2013. По предању, родоначелник Куча био је Грча Ненадин, од чијих пет синова, Петра, Ђурђа, Тиха, Леша и Мара потичу њихова братства. Праотац Кастрата је Крсто, а Шаљана Шако; обојица су тобоже били браћа нареченог Грчина, док би Берише били потомци баш самога Грче.
  9. Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine. Balkanološki institut (1959). Djela. p. 96. Retrieved 17 May 2013. Има Бериша који веле да су старином из Куча и да су били православни. Друти веле да је само један Део Бериша од Куча,
  10. Etnografski institut (Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti) (1958). Glasnik Etnografskog instituta. p. 96. Retrieved 17 May 2013. Бериши и Кучи не орођавају се међусобом.
  11. Никола Чупић (1898). Годишњица Николе Чупића. Штампа Државне штампарије Краљевине Југославије. p. 127. Retrieved 18 May 2013. Исто се тако држе за једно племе Берише с Вушовићима из Велике.
  12. Brastvo 30. Društvo sv. Save. 1939. p. 129. Тако, за једно се племе држе Берише и Вушовићи из Велике.
  13. Sir John Linton Myres; Harold St. John Loyd Winterbotham; F. Longland (1945). Albania. Naval Intelligence Division. p. 156. Retrieved 18 May 2013. ARRNJI, a tribe or clan in the Arrn district of Luma, said to be an offshoot of Berisha
  14. Mary Edith Durham (1928). Some tribal origins, laws and customs of the Balkans. George Allen & Unwin. p. 27. Retrieved 12 May 2013. The Berisha people state that they have always been in their present homeland. They formerly, says Nopcsa, occupied more, but were driven from Ibalja by the Thachi.
  15. 1 2 Elsie 2010, p. 48.
  16. Dragi Maliković (2005). Kačački pokret na Kosovu i Metohiji: 1918–1924. Institut za srpsku kulturu. p. 140. Retrieved 12 May 2013. цело албанско племе Бериша било устало против југословенских државних органа под вођством Азема Бејте
  17. Miranda Vickers (1998). Between Serb and Albanian: a history of Kosovo. Hurst & Co. p. 50. Retrieved 12 May 2013. The same British intelligence report cited above states that the small size of the district belonging to the Berisha tribe 'caused many to emigrate, particularly in the direction of Djakovica to the North-West, where they occupy many villages.
  18. Bulletin of the Ethnographical Institute 4–6. Naučno delo. 1957. p. 366. У овим селима Берише славе "Велику Госпу", коју зову "Zoja e Berishes", или "Zoja e Alshiqes" (пошто су Алшићи најбројније Берише)
  19. Hannes Grandits; Nathalie Clayer; Robert Pichler (15 May 2011), Conflicting Loyalties in the Balkans: The Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire and Nation-Building, I.B.Tauris, p. 200, ISBN 978-1-84885-477-2
  20. Milutin R. Đuričić (1979). Čuvari bese. Srpska akademija nauka i umjetnosti. p. 79. Окружни суд у Пећи осуди два сина А. Берише из Трстеника за убиство. Цело братство Бериша у Трстенику (махала од 8 кућа), бојећи се освете, било је у кућном притвору и очекивало најезду фиса ...
  21. Balcanica 7–8. Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti, Balkanolos̆ki Institut. 1976. p. 324. Предак рода Жарк у Бичевцу се по поисламл>иван>у осло- нио не на CBoje сел>ане веЬ на арбанашке родове у суседним селима Раки и Дубрави и ступио у н>ихов фис (Берише) [...] ушли су у Берише, фис
  22. Serbian ethnographic series. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. 1965. p. 148. Поисламл>ени и поарбанашени српски род ]е Клопан (4 к.). Ушао ]е у Берише, фис
  23. Etnografski institut 1967, p. 85, "У Подрими и у Ђаковичком срезу Цигани се издају већином за Берише, јер је тај фис ...".
  24. Etnografski institut 1967, p. 94, "Сви су Мађупи и издају се већином за Берише и Гашане. Две породице веле да су Битичи.".
  25. Etnografski institut 1967, pp. 104-105, "Берииши-Алшићи (4 дом.) су дошли право из Алшића, неки пре 50, неки пре 35 година.".
  26. Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine. Balkanološki institut (1959). Djela. p. 44. католици: родови Алшићи у Дољу (1 к)
  27. Etnografski institut 1967, p. 104.
  28. https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/albanian-bloodlines/about/results
  29. http://www.thealbanian.co.uk/134225.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. http://forumipukjan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/ndoc-mark-deda-dhe-veprimtaria-e-tij.html
  31. http://puka.shqiperia.com/index/artikull/artID/405/titulli/Berisha-e-Pukes-neper-shekuj. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. . The Albanian http://www.thealbanian.co.uk/134225.html. Pra 4 nga politikanët më të rëndësishëm jeni nga një zonë? Nga një zonë, por Ramizi nuk është Berishë, është nga Fshati Kasaj …Hasani dhe Jahjaga janë Berishë. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. http://www.kosovalive360.com/ramush-haradinaj-u-nderua-me-cmimin-qytetar-nderi-i-pukes.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Sources

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