Recent from talks
Krasniqi
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Krasniqi
42°11′N 20°18′E / 42.183°N 20.300°E
Krasniqi is a historical Albanian tribe and region in the Accursed Mountains in northeastern Albania, bordering Kosovo. The region lies within the Tropoje District and is part of a wider area between Albania and Kosovo that is historically known as Gjakova highlands (Highlands of Gjakova). Krasniqi stretches from the Valbona river in the north to Lake Fierza in the south and includes the town Bajram Curri. Members of the Krasniqi tribe are also found in Kosovo and North Macedonia.
The region is called Krasniqe (Krasniqja in definite Albanian) and its people are called Krasniqë. The Krasniqi region is situated in the District of Tropoja and stretches from the Montenegrin border in the north to Lake Fierza in the south, from the Mërturi region in the west to the District of Has in the east, and includes most of the upper Valbona valley. It borders on the traditional tribal regions of Bugjoni to the south, Gashi to the northeast, Nikaj-Mërtur to the west, and Bytyçi to the east. The main settlements of the region are the town of Bajram Curri, Bujan, Shoshan, Kocanaj, Dragobia, Bradoshnicë, Degë, Llugaj, Murataj, Margegaj, Lëkurtaj, Bunjaj.
Krasniqi has its roots in the highlands of Gjakova, but over the centuries has spread to neighbouring areas. Thus, today many descendants of the Krasniqi fis are found within present-day Kosovo, especially in the western part (to the east of Krasniqi itself), having settled there since late 17th century. On the Kumanovo side of the Skopska Crna Gora, descendants of the Krasniqi fis were recorded in the villages of Gošince, Slupčane, Alaševce (in Lipkovo) and Ruđince (in Staro Nagoričane) in 1965. A group of them migrated to Istanbul.
Oral traditions and fragmentary stories were collected and interpreted by writers who travelled in the region in the 19th century about the early history of Krasniqi. Johann Georg von Hahn recorded the first oral tradition about Krasniqi's origins from a Catholic priest named Gabriel in Shkodra in 1850. According to this account, the first direct male ancestor of the Krasniqi was Kastër Keqi, son of a Catholic Albanian named Keq who fleeing from Ottoman conquest settled in the Slavic-speaking area that would become the historical Piperi tribal region in what is now Montenegro. His sons, the brothers Lazër Keqi (ancestor of Hoti, Ban Keqi (ancestor of Triepshi), Merkota Keqi (ancestor of Mrkojevići) and Vas Keqi (ancestor of Vasojevići) had to abandon the village after committing murder against the locals, but Keq and his younger son Piper Keqi remained there and Piper Keqi became the direct ancestor of the Piperi tribe. The name of the first ancestor, Keq, which means bad in Albanian, is given in Malësia to only children or to children from families with very few children (due to infant mortality). In those families, an "ugly" name (i çudun) was given as a spoken talisman to protect the child from the "evil eye. The name Kastër has also been recorded as Krasno, Kras or Krasto.
Edith Durham recorded a similar story from Marash Uci, elder of Hoti. According the story, the ancestors of the Krasniqi are said to have stemmed from Bosnia and migrated through Montenegro to the area of Reç, north of Shkodra. Then, sometime after 1600, they moved inland to the area of Dushaj i Epërm, east of Fierza, in what is broadly their present region. Here they took over land that had been settled by the Gashi and gradually drove the latter tribe eastwards. In the process of establishing themselves as a tribal unit, they also drove the Thaçi westwards across the Drin River. The reference to Bosnia might actually refer to the region of Plav (eastern Montenegro), where the mountains of Hoti (malet e Hotit) are located.
The name Kastër and its variants correspond to a settlement that appears in the Decani chrysobulls of 1330 as Krastavljane and in the defter of the sanjak of Scutari in 1485 as Hrasto. This toponym's etymology probably comes from the Slavic word hrasto (oak). It had ten households and its head household was that of Petri, son of Gjonima. One of the household heads, Nika Gjergj Bushati was related to the Bushati fis. Villages that later were part of Krasniqi that appear in the defter of 1485 are Shoshan (20 households) and Dragobia (six households). These villages were not part of the same community or the same administrative unit as other tribes of northern Albania and Montenegro like Hoti or Piperi which were in the process of their final formation at that time.
Most Krasniqi form a fis (tribe) in the sense that they are patrilineally descended from the same male progenitor. Most brotherhoods of Krasniqi come from Kolë Mekshi who lived in the mid 16th century. After 1550, he and his brother Nikë Mekshi are acknowledged as the first, historical, direct ancestors of the Krasniqi and Nikaj tribes. To Kolë Mekshi trace their descend the Kolmekshaj brotherhoods and their branches. They form the population of Shoshan and Dragobia. They also founded Bradoshnicë, Degë, Kocanaj, Murataj and Margegaj.
Hub AI
Krasniqi AI simulator
(@Krasniqi_simulator)
Krasniqi
42°11′N 20°18′E / 42.183°N 20.300°E
Krasniqi is a historical Albanian tribe and region in the Accursed Mountains in northeastern Albania, bordering Kosovo. The region lies within the Tropoje District and is part of a wider area between Albania and Kosovo that is historically known as Gjakova highlands (Highlands of Gjakova). Krasniqi stretches from the Valbona river in the north to Lake Fierza in the south and includes the town Bajram Curri. Members of the Krasniqi tribe are also found in Kosovo and North Macedonia.
The region is called Krasniqe (Krasniqja in definite Albanian) and its people are called Krasniqë. The Krasniqi region is situated in the District of Tropoja and stretches from the Montenegrin border in the north to Lake Fierza in the south, from the Mërturi region in the west to the District of Has in the east, and includes most of the upper Valbona valley. It borders on the traditional tribal regions of Bugjoni to the south, Gashi to the northeast, Nikaj-Mërtur to the west, and Bytyçi to the east. The main settlements of the region are the town of Bajram Curri, Bujan, Shoshan, Kocanaj, Dragobia, Bradoshnicë, Degë, Llugaj, Murataj, Margegaj, Lëkurtaj, Bunjaj.
Krasniqi has its roots in the highlands of Gjakova, but over the centuries has spread to neighbouring areas. Thus, today many descendants of the Krasniqi fis are found within present-day Kosovo, especially in the western part (to the east of Krasniqi itself), having settled there since late 17th century. On the Kumanovo side of the Skopska Crna Gora, descendants of the Krasniqi fis were recorded in the villages of Gošince, Slupčane, Alaševce (in Lipkovo) and Ruđince (in Staro Nagoričane) in 1965. A group of them migrated to Istanbul.
Oral traditions and fragmentary stories were collected and interpreted by writers who travelled in the region in the 19th century about the early history of Krasniqi. Johann Georg von Hahn recorded the first oral tradition about Krasniqi's origins from a Catholic priest named Gabriel in Shkodra in 1850. According to this account, the first direct male ancestor of the Krasniqi was Kastër Keqi, son of a Catholic Albanian named Keq who fleeing from Ottoman conquest settled in the Slavic-speaking area that would become the historical Piperi tribal region in what is now Montenegro. His sons, the brothers Lazër Keqi (ancestor of Hoti, Ban Keqi (ancestor of Triepshi), Merkota Keqi (ancestor of Mrkojevići) and Vas Keqi (ancestor of Vasojevići) had to abandon the village after committing murder against the locals, but Keq and his younger son Piper Keqi remained there and Piper Keqi became the direct ancestor of the Piperi tribe. The name of the first ancestor, Keq, which means bad in Albanian, is given in Malësia to only children or to children from families with very few children (due to infant mortality). In those families, an "ugly" name (i çudun) was given as a spoken talisman to protect the child from the "evil eye. The name Kastër has also been recorded as Krasno, Kras or Krasto.
Edith Durham recorded a similar story from Marash Uci, elder of Hoti. According the story, the ancestors of the Krasniqi are said to have stemmed from Bosnia and migrated through Montenegro to the area of Reç, north of Shkodra. Then, sometime after 1600, they moved inland to the area of Dushaj i Epërm, east of Fierza, in what is broadly their present region. Here they took over land that had been settled by the Gashi and gradually drove the latter tribe eastwards. In the process of establishing themselves as a tribal unit, they also drove the Thaçi westwards across the Drin River. The reference to Bosnia might actually refer to the region of Plav (eastern Montenegro), where the mountains of Hoti (malet e Hotit) are located.
The name Kastër and its variants correspond to a settlement that appears in the Decani chrysobulls of 1330 as Krastavljane and in the defter of the sanjak of Scutari in 1485 as Hrasto. This toponym's etymology probably comes from the Slavic word hrasto (oak). It had ten households and its head household was that of Petri, son of Gjonima. One of the household heads, Nika Gjergj Bushati was related to the Bushati fis. Villages that later were part of Krasniqi that appear in the defter of 1485 are Shoshan (20 households) and Dragobia (six households). These villages were not part of the same community or the same administrative unit as other tribes of northern Albania and Montenegro like Hoti or Piperi which were in the process of their final formation at that time.
Most Krasniqi form a fis (tribe) in the sense that they are patrilineally descended from the same male progenitor. Most brotherhoods of Krasniqi come from Kolë Mekshi who lived in the mid 16th century. After 1550, he and his brother Nikë Mekshi are acknowledged as the first, historical, direct ancestors of the Krasniqi and Nikaj tribes. To Kolë Mekshi trace their descend the Kolmekshaj brotherhoods and their branches. They form the population of Shoshan and Dragobia. They also founded Bradoshnicë, Degë, Kocanaj, Murataj and Margegaj.
Recent media