Gashi (tribe)

Gashi is one of the most widespread Albanian tribes in northern Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Their tribal territory corresponds to the District of Tropoja and District of Gjakova in Albania and Kosovo respectively; it extends from the east of the town of Bajram Curri to villages such as Botushë and Koshare in Kosovo. Their tribal region is based on the valleys of the Llugaj and Bushtrica rivers, bordering the Krasniqi to the west, the Bytyçi to the south over the Luzha Pass (Qafa e Luzhës), and the Morina (tribe) to the southeast. The Gashi tribe also held summer pasturelands to the north of the mountain east of Vuthaj.[5]

The Gashi are centred in the historical region of the Highlands of Gjakova (Albanian: Malësia e Gjakovës), which spans the District of Tropojë in Albania and the Gjakova Municipality in Kosovo. They are thought to be related to the Toplana.[6] According to tradition, recorded by Baron Nopcsa in 1907, the ancestor of Shllaku was named "Can Gabeti", one of four brothers (the others were the founder of the Gashi, Toplana and Megulla).[7] The four brothers lived in the Shllaku region where they divided up their possessions. The Gashi and Toplana eventually moved eastwards, with the Gashi first settling in Serma between the Nikaj and Leshnica rivers. Their settlement in Serma was short-lived, and they moved to their current location at around 1660 after Catholic members of the tribe killed 2 imams. Begolli Bey of Peja had his troops surround the tribe and force them to move to a new region (the Highlands of Gjakova) where the native population called Anas lived.[6] The title 'Anas' is used in several Albanian tribal historiographies, as it is an Albanian term that refers to the indigenous peoples of a region. Anas does not refer to Slavic populations.[8] Gabeti, said to have been an Orthodox Christian from Montenegro, came across the original native population who were the ancestors of the Kolë Pep Fura family and whose last male descendant died about 1900.[9] Baron Nopsca believes that the Gashi separated from the Toplana and Shllaku tribes at around 1524 or possibly somewhat earlier, probably as a result of the first Ottoman war in Albania.[10] 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.[11]

Nonetheless, the Gashi are thought to have been the first tribe in the region of Tropoja, i.e. before the Krasniqja. Historical reference is made to another ancestral father of the Gashi called Leka, the son of Pjetër Spani, who lived in the settlement of Selimaj (Gegëhysen) in the second half of the fifteenth century.[10] What is clear, however, is that the Gashi were traditionally composed of 3 main brotherhoods or smaller tribes:

• The Luzha, mainly inhabitants of Botushë and Luzha who hail from the original Gashi of Pult that date back to the 16th century.
• The Bardhi/Bardhaj, who settled the Gjakova Highlands in the early 17th century at the latest.
• The Shipshani, who settled the Gjakova highlands from the beginning of the 17th century.

According to local legend, the Gashi tribe took its current form when the Aga of the Gashi in Botushë united the Luzha with the bajrak of Bardhi and Shipshan as a protective measure against the surrounding tribes who were bigger in number.[12]

Gashi as a patronym is attested in the Ottoman defter of 1485 in the settlement of Bazari Lepoviça in the nahiye of Petrishpan-ili. The settlement had thirty households; amongst them were: Mrija, son of Gashi and Nikolla, son of Gashi.[13] The first mention of Gashi tribe in historical documents is believed to be in the reports of Don Vincenti and Benedetto Orsini in the years 1628-1629, where it is stated: ″The region of Pult among the mountains above Shkodër, stretching in length from Mount Bishkazi in the west to Mount Gashi in the east″.[14] Robert Elsie emphasized that the Gashi were the first northern Albanian tribe that lived in the region of Tropojë.[1]

The Gashi tribe and their origins were documented during a visit from Frang Bardhi to the villages of Pult in 1638; Bardhi recorded the village of Gash as one of the largest villages in Pult, with 97 houses and 866 Christian inhabitants. He stated that every household belonged to the Gashi, and that 95 people held the surname of Gashi, all belonging to three brothers who were all alive and knew their descendants up to the fourth generation. He also described the Gashis as being tall, strong-bodied and handsome, as well as quite wealthy and proud. They had a leader named Mengu Kola, who had welcomed him into his home with great honor.[15]

The Gashi tribe were continuously documented throughout the 17th century, when Gashi was the centre of the Diocese of Pult. Reports indicated that the Gashi and Krasniqja tribes were in frequent conflicts with one another until 1680, when Pjetër Bogdani managed to reconcile 24 blood feuds between the two tribes.[16] In 1689, Gashi tribal leaders wrote a letter to the Vatican, asking for greater clerical and material support. This letter is one of the oldest documents in the Albanian language.[17]

Letter from the Elders of Gashi (1689)

During the Austro-Turkish War of 1683-1699, the Gashi and the other Catholic tribes of the area supported the Austrians, and were therefore punished by the Ottomans after the defeat of the Austrians.[18] In the years 1690-1693, the village of Gash was burned down by the Pasha of Peja and its population was expelled to the Llap region in Kosovo.[19] Nonetheless, some families either returned to their original territories or escaped persecution, as in 1693-1697, the Gash villages of Luzhë and Botushë appear in documents.[20] In 1716, the Gashi tribe, along with the Kelmendi, Pult, Shala and Mirdita tribal regions, were targeted by a punitive operation carried out by Tahir Pasha of Dukagjin.

In May 1845, following Reşid Pasha's outlawing of the right to bear arms, the Gashi tribe, along with 2,000 people from the Gjakova region as well as the Gjakova Highlander tribes of Krasniqi and Bytyçi, rose in revolt. The rebels, numbering to about 8,000 men, drove the Ottoman garrison out of Gjakova.[21] The Ottomans suppressed the rebellion, but did not succeed in establishing effective control of the region.[22] In 1862, the Ottomans sent Maxharr Pasha with 12 divisions to implement the Tanzimat Reforms in the Highlands of Gjakova. Under the leadership of Mic Sokoli and Binak Alia, the Gashi, Krasniqi, Bytyçi and Nikaj-Mertur tribes organized a resistance near Bujan. The rebels were reinforced by the forces of Shala, led by Mark Lula. After heavy fighting, they managed to defeat the Ottoman force and expel them from the highlands.[23] The Gashi tribe, led by Ali Ibra and Haxhi Brahimi, participated in the Battle of Nokshiq in Montenegro, in which the Albanian League of Prizren defeated a numerically superior Montenegrin force.

Sulejman Aga Batusha of Botushë was a chief of the Gashi tribe and was their leader in the Gjakova region during the early 20th century, participating in many uprisings against the Ottoman Empire.[24][25]

During the Albanian uprising of 1912, the Gashi tribe joined the Krasniqi tribe (led by Bajram Curri) as well as the Hasi and Bytyqi tribes in the battle of Prush Pass, near the Has region, where the Ottomans had left a garrison of four battalions. A bloody battle ensured, resulting in a heavy defeat for the Ottoman Turks, which left the rebels with much ammunition, arms, machine guns and cannons. There were many casualties for the Turks; hundreds of dead, wounded and prisoners of war. The prisoners of war were disarmed and released, and were told that the uprising was an attempt to free Albanian and Anatolian peasants from oppression in order to deceive them - they were surprised and had believed what they were told, and had virtually demoralised the Gjakova's entire garrison upon their return to the town. This battle improved the morale of the Albanians in their movement for independence.[26]

The Gashi were traditionally composed of three brotherhoods in the Highlands of Gjakova - the Luzha, Bardhi/Bardhajt and the Shipshani; the Luzha were not blood-related to the Bardhi and Shipshani upon their initial formation as the Gashi tribe.

Map of tribes of northern Albania in 1918, Gashi covering section 25

Apart from their nucleus in Highlands of Gjakova, brotherhoods and families stemming from the Gashi tribe are found in traditionally Albanian-inhabited territories in Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia and northern Albania. The Gashi tribe is present in every province of Kosovo. Some families identify as Gash i Gurit, while others identify as Gash. Many of the Gashi family in Kosovo preserve memories and origins from the Gjakova Highlands, such as in the villages of Carrabreg, Dobërdol in Besiana, Kryshec, Llapashticë e Eperme, Llapashticë e Poshtme, Llausha, Lubovec, Mramor in Prishtina, Radishevë etc. Among the oldest data on the presence of the Gashi in Kosovo is the aforementioned report from 1697, which states: “The village of Gashi with 120 houses, which were evicted from Pasha of Peja, are now located in the area of Kosovo, in a place called Llap, who are living there for 8 years, which are without priests and have begun to become Turkish (Muslim) and schismatic due to the lack of Catholic priests".[33] Nonetheless, many other Gashi families in Kosovo do not have a tradition of descent from the Highlands of Gjakova. In some cases, families have forgotten their origins over the centuries, but in many cases, Albanian families who have historically inhabited Kosovo prior to the arrival of the Gashi tribe and joined them thereafter mistakenly claim descent from the tribe. Therefore, the Gashi tribal affiliation of Albanian families in Kosovo is not necessarily related to origins in northern Albania and could very well be local Albanian families that may in fact originate in Kosovo.[34]

• Vjosa Osmani, current President of Kosovo[36]
• Shote Galica, guerilla fighter
• Sulejman Aga Batusha, resistance fighter and revolutionary leader of the Albanian National Awakening
• Sylejman Selimi, commander of KLA, politician
• Jashar Salihu, Hero of Kosovo recipient, Albanian diplomat, activist and general
• Ibrahim Gashi, Kosovar Albanian academic and philosopher
• Shkelzen Gashi, professional footballer
• Gashi, Albanian-American rapper