Krasniqe

Valbona

Krasniqe is a mountainous region (krahinë) of the Prokletije range in northeastern Albania, bordering Kosovo,^[1] and a historical northern Albanian tribe, also called Krasniqi. The region lies within the Tropojë District, and stretches from the Valbonë river in the north to Lake Fierza in the south, and includes Bajram Curri. The Krasniqi tribe was widespread into Kosovo.

Geography

The Krasniqi region is situated in the District of Tropoja north of the Drin River, from Fierza east to the District of Has, and north to the Montenegrin border, including most of the upper Valbona valley.

It borders on the traditional tribal regions of Nikaj-Mërtur to the west, Bugjoni to the south, Bytyçi to the east, and Gashi to the northeast.

History

Albanian bayraks as of 1918. Krasniqe covers section 33 of the map.

The name, of Slavic origin, was recorded in 1634 as Crastenigeia.^[2]

There exist differing views on the origin of the tribe.

• According to Robert Elsie, the tribe was originally Albanian and Roman Catholic, and had converted into Islam during the Ottoman period.^[2]

• According to Serbian sources the tribe was originally Serbian (Slavic), Orthodox, and had by 1692, during Ottoman atrocities, converted into Islam, after which it became Albanianized.^[3][4] In Serbian, the tribe is known as Krasnići (Краснићи) and Krastenići (Крастенићи).

It is a historical bajrak, which together with Gashi, Bytyqi, Nikaj-Mërtur and Berisha constituted the Malësia e Gjakovës ("Mountains of Gjakova").^[5] In a narrower sense, the Gjakova highlands include the Krasniqi, Bytyqi and Gashi.^[6] In Albanian ethnographical studies, the Gjakova Highlands include Krasniqe, Gashi, Bytyqi, and Berisha.^[7]

Beside the historical habitat, most of the Krasniqi fis (clan) are located in Kosovo, especially in the western part, having settled there since 18th century.^[8]

Ethnography

The region is inhabited by Muslims; the tribe converted from Christianity into Islam in the Ottoman period.

The tribe's (historical) patron saint is St. George,^[9] whom they still revere after Islamization.^[10]

According to mythology, the Krasniqi descend from a Kraso, a brother to the founders of the Serb (Slavic) tribes of Vasojevići, Piperi, Ozrinići and the Albanian tribe of Hoti, respectively.^[11] The Krasniqi revere their mythological kinship especially to the Vasojevići,^[12] an Orthodox Serb tribe in eastern Montenegro.

Genetics

The majority of the Krasniqi members belong to the J2b2 M-241 Y-DNA haplogroup, with a minority belonging to the E-V13 Y-DNA.^[13] Both haplogroups are associated with a neolithic balkans and are two most common Y-DNA haplogroups among Albanians and parts of Greece. J2b seems to have a stronger association with the Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures of Southeast Europe. It is particularly common in the Balkans, Central Europe and Italy, which is roughly the extent of the European Copper Age culture. Its maximum frequency is achieved around Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Northwest Greece - the part of the Balkans which best resisted the Slavic invasions in the Early Middle Ages. ^[14] Slavic origin of Krasniqi tribe according to genetic studies is ruled out.

Krasniqi in the Republic of Macedonia

On the Kumanovo Black Mountain, Albanians of the Krasniqi fis were present in the villages of Gošince, Slupčane, Alaševce (in Lipkovo) and Ruđince (in Staro Nagoričane), according to a 1965 journal.^[15]

Notable people

• Bajram Curri, with family roots from Nikaj tribe, Albanian revivalist, born in Krasniqe
• Rexhep Krasniqi, Albanian MP, Minister of Education, and anti-communist
• Binak Alia, from Mulosmanaj clan of Krasniqi, guerrilla fighter of the Albanian Revolt of 1845 and League of Prizren

See also

• List of Albanian tribes
• Krasniqi, surname

References

1. Arshi Pipa (1978), Albanian folk verse: structure and genre, Volumes 17-19, Trofenik, p. 126
2. Robert Elsie (2010), Historical Dictionary of Albania (PDF), Historical Dictionaries of Europe 75 (2 ed.), Scarecrow Press, p. 248, ISBN 978-0810861886
3. Никола Чупић (1907). Годишњица Николе Чупића 26. Штампа Државне штампарије Краљевине Југославије. p. 187.
4. Kosto Kulišić (1912). Put rusa Aleks. Bašmakova preko Crne Gore i kroz zemlje Gega. Štamparija deoničarskog društva branika. p. 36.
5. La Ricerca folklorica. Grafo edizioni. 1998. p. 64. Krasniqe, Gashi, Bytyci, Ni- kaj-Merturi, Berisha, dans la Montagne de Gjakova
6. Great Britain. Foreign Office. Historical Section (1920). Albania. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 15.
7. Kultura popullore. Akademia e Shkencave e RSH, Instituti i Kulturës Popullore. 1992. p. 34. Nga pikëpamja etnografike, Malësia e Gjakovës përbëhet nga Bytyçi, Gashi, Krasniqja dhe Berisha
8. Karl Kaser (2012), Household and Family in the Balkans: Two Decades of Historical Family Research at University of Graz, Studies on South East Europe 13, LIT Verlag, p. 124, ISBN 978-3643504067
9. Mitološki zbornik 12. Centar za mitološki studije Srbije. 2004. p. 41.
10. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti (1957). Posebna izdanja 270. p. 24. Исламизо- вани Арбанаси Краснићи и сада поштују св.
11. Vasa Čubrilović (1983). Odabrani istorijski radovi. Narodna knjiga. p. 380.
12. Henry Baerlein (1922). A Difficult Frontier (Yugoslavs and Albanians). L. Parsons. p. 71.
13. https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/albanian-bloodlines/about/results
14. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml#J2b
15. Naučno društvo Bosne i Hercegovine: Odjeljenje istorisko-filoloških nauka 26. 1965. p. 199. Arbanasa fisa Krasnića ima u selima: Gošnicu, Slupćanu, Alaševcu, Ruđincu.