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Toplana is a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and ethnographic region located on the northern banks of the River Drin in northern Albania.
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Toplana is a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and ethnographic region located on the northern banks of the River Drin in northern Albania.
The etymology of Toplana is unclear and a matter of contestation. One theory maintains that the toponym is ultimately derived from Proto-Slavic *toplъ ("warm") and may be in reference to warm mineral springs or lakes. However, this seems unlikely given the region's colder climate and lack of such warm bodies of water. The other and more plausible theory argues that the toponym is a compound of Albanian të or tu (both roughly meaning "to" or "at") + planë which is derived from Latin planus ("flat" or "plain") and is found across northern Albania (e.g., the nearby region of Plani). This is further supported by the fact that the form Tplan is attested and used. [1] The micro-toponym Qafë Planës is found in Toplana. [2]
Toplana is situated on the northern banks of the River Drin in the easternmost section of the former Shkodër District and its main settlements are Serme and Toplane. It borders the historical tribal territories of the Shoshi to the west, Mërturi to the north-east, Berisha to the south-east on the other side of the Drin, and the Dushmani to the south-west. [3]
In 1907, Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás recorded an oral tradition of the Toplana which maintained that they were descended from the younger brother of Can Gabeti who was the forefather of the nearby Shllaku. As such they were also related to a part of the Gashi tribe from the Gjakova Highlands (Albanian: Malësia e Gjakovës), who were descended from another unnamed brother of Can Gabeti. However, the alleged connection with Toplana and Shllaku is not supported by genetic results, which indicate that the Toplana and Shllaku are related to one another but do not have blood ties with the Gashi [4] . It is claimed that the brothers arrived from the tribal territory occupied by the Vasojevići in the highlands of north-eastern Montenegro; tradition holds that they were pushed out of the region following the arrival and expansion of the aforementioned tribe. The Toplana could trace their ancestry 13 generations back and thus Nopcsa argued that their forefather left Shllaku in ca. 1524 or earlier. The anas (indigenous) population was driven out and reduced to a single settlement called Gjuraj. Nopcsa also reported that, during the eighteenth century, a branch of the Toplana under a certain Pep Marku migrated from their native homeland to the village of Iballë and expelled the local Gruda fis to Koprat. [5]
On the other hand, Giuseppe Valentini maintained that only a part of the Toplana stemmed from the territory of Vasojevići and that, according to his estimations, their ancestors had arrived by ca. 1450. According to him, the majority of Toplana traces its patrilineal ancestry back to the Bardhajfis who had also arrived earlier from Montenegro, as well as to other patrilineages or brotherhoods who had arrived from outside of Toplana. Valentini also tells that a branch of the Toplana under Frrok Kola had migrated from Koprati to Iballë in the year 1600. The Toplana and Shllaku do not intermarry due to shared patrilineal kinship. [6]
The related Koprati fis, which is mentioned in the legends of the Toplana, was among the anas of the Shala Valley that were expelled by the expanding Shala tribe. [7] Valentini also considers them to be from the Bardhaj. [8]
Toplana appears in the Ottoman defter of 1485 for the Sanjak of Scutari as an abandoned settlement in the nahiyah of Petrishpan-ili. [9] It subsequently appears in various maps and sources from the seventeenth century, such as in a relation of 1671-2 by Catholic bishop Stefano Gaspari (Shtjefën Gaspari) which records Toplana as having 22 houses and 120 inhabitants. It further informs that the tribe had five churches: that of Saint George, the church of the Assumption of the Virgin, the church of Saint Nicholas, the church of Saint Catherine , and the church of Saint Veneranda. Gaspari also mentions how the Eucharist was not in use and how the locals had no vestments. In the report of the French consul Hyacinthe Hecquard (1814–1866), Toplana had 53, and it is estimated that the population may have been around 400 people during the late nineteenth century. In 1918, Austro-Hungarian authorities recorded that Toplana had 52 households and 254 inhabitants. [10]
Both Nopcsa and Edith Durham noted that the Toplana were an extremely wild tribe and that their annual death-rate from gunshot wounds was around double that of the other Albanian tribes. According to Nopcsa's statistics compiled between 1894 and 1904, the Toplana had the highest percentage of violent deaths, at a percentage of 42.3%. [10] George Gawrych notes that this was due to the extreme prevalence of blood feuds (gjakmarrje) among the tribesmen. [11]
The people of Toplana are Catholics and venerate Saint George as their patron saint. They celebrate his feast day on 22–3 April, and marks the beginning of summer. [12]
Among the brotherhoods and families of the Toplana are the: Ndrepepaj, Lekaj, Geraj, Bicaj, Malutaj, Gjoklekaj, Gjomicaj, Mertiaj, Kolicaj, and Prezhmeshaj. [12]
Mirdita is a region of northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name.
Kelmendi is a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and region in Malësia and eastern Montenegro. It is located in the upper valley of the Cem river and its tributaries in the Accursed Mountains range of the Dinaric Alps. The Vermosh river springs in the village of the same, which is Albania's northernmost village. Vermosh pours into Lake Plav.
Dukagjin Highlands is a mountainous region in northern Albania, east of Shkodra and north of the Drin. It is roughly equivalent to the northern half of the Shkodër District, with some minor parts in Malësi e Madhe District.
The Kabashi are an Albanian tribe, or fis, from the Pukë region. It is considered part of the "seven tribes of Puka" that inhabit the region. Durham said of them: "Puka group ... sometimes reckoned a large tribe of seven bairaks. Sometimes as a group of tribes".
The Albanian tribes form a historical mode of social organization (farefisní) in Albania and the southwestern Balkans characterized by a common culture, often common patrilineal kinship ties tracing back to one progenitor and shared social ties. The fis 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.
Shllak, is a region of Northern Albania, east of Shkodër whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name. Members of Shllaku tribe are Catholics. The region corresponds to today's Shllak Municipality near Shkodër.
The Nikaj are an historical Albanian tribe (fis) and region in the Highlands of Gjakova of north Albania. The Nikaj tribe is a traditional fis in the sense of being a community that claims paternal descent from one common ancestor, consisting of a single bajrak during the time of the Ottoman Empire. The Nikaj are directly related to the Krasniqi tribe. Today, the Nikaj are usually grouped along with the Mërturi tribe as Nikaj-Mërturi.
Gashi is an Albanian surname and the name of one of the major historical tribes of northern Albania. It is a historical tribal region situated in the Highlands of Gjakova. The Gashi tribe is known to follow the Kanuni i Malësisë së Madhë, a variant of the Kanun. They were known among the mountain tribes for their wisdom.
Lohja is a historical Albanian tribe located in a small area of the same name in Malësia, northern Albania.
Bukumiri was an Albanian tribe (fis) that lived in present-day central and south-eastern Montenegro. They were semi-nomadic pastoralists whose social organization was based on kinship around brotherhoods of common patrilineal ancestry. Over time they began to settle permanently and in the 15th and 16th centuries they formed their own settlements mostly in Montenegro, but a few branches also in northern Albania. In later years, branches of Bukumiri are also found in Sandžak and Kosovo.
Mazreku is an Albanian tribe or fis from the Dukagjin highlands. Historically they were one of the most widespread tribes, and placenames related to them are found throughout Albania: examples include Mazrek of Shkodër, or Mazrek in Tiranë.
The Rrjolli is a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and region in Malësia of north Albania. The tribal region is centred along the banks of the Rrjoll river that stems from Mount Bishkaz and empties into Lake Shkodër. The Rrjolli tribe is not a traditional fis in the sense of a community that claims paternal descent from one common ancestor; rather, it is polyphyletic. During the Ottoman period it formed a single bajrak.
The Plani are a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and region in Pult of north Albania. The Plani tribe is not a traditional fis in the sense of a community that claims paternal descent from one common ancestor; rather, it is polyphyletic. During the Ottoman period it formed a single bajrak.
Kiri is a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and ethnographic region located on the eastern side of the upper Kir river in the wider region of Pulti, northern Albania.
Boga is a region and former bajrak of the Kelmendi, a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and ethnographic region located in Malësia, northern Albania.
Xhani is a historical Albanian tribe (fis) and ethnographic region located on the western side of the upper Kir river in the wider region of Pulti, northern Albania.
The Mërturi are an historical Albanian tribe (fis) and region in the Highlands of Gjakova of north Albania. The Mërturi tribe is a traditional fis in the sense of being a community that claims paternal descent from one common ancestor, consisting of a single bajrak during the time of the Ottoman Empire. The Mërturi are directly related to the Berisha tribe. Today, the Mërturi are usually grouped along with the Nikaj tribe as Nikaj-Mërturi.