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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.[1][2] The Gashi tribe is known to follow the Kanuni i Malësisë së Madhe, a variant of the Kanun.[3] They were known among the mountain tribes for their wisdom.[4]
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:
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]
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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 chieftain of the Gashi tribe, acting as their leader in the Gjakova region during the early 20th century and participating in many uprisings against the Ottoman Empire.[24][25]
During the Albanian uprising of 1912, the Gashi tribe joined the Krasniqi tribe (at this time 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 ensued, resulting in a heavy defeat for the Ottoman Turks. The rebels obtained much of the Ottoman ammunition, arms, machine guns and cannons. There were many casualties for the Turks; hundreds of casualties and prisoners of war. The Ottoman prisoners were disarmed and released, and were deceivingly told by their captors that the uprising was an attempt to free Albanian and Anatolian peasants from oppression - surprised and in belief of the falsehoods they were told, they had virtually demoralised 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.
According to legend, there are two villages (Luzha and Botusha) in the Highlands of Gjakova where the Albanian population of the older Gashi tribe of the 17th century continues to live. Due to their constant resistance against Ottoman rule, the Gashi tribe were repeatedly punished via military expeditions, which led to the departure of the population from their initial settlements and a gradual conversion to Islam in the years 1690-1743. Luzha's current inhabitants remember their ancestors up to 15 generations, of which the first 3-4 have Catholic names, while the rest are Muslim.[27] Even in Botusha and Deçan, about 10-11 generations with Muslim names are remembered, while the previous generations with Catholic names.[28] Both Luzha and Botusha are mentioned by Catholic priests who visited some villages beyond the Diocese of Pult in 1693-1694. In 1697, Luzha itself is mentioned as a village of 12 Catholic homes, and as a seed in the tribe of the Gashi.[29] With the gradual abandonment of the old village of Gash, a large part of the inhabitants moved to different parts of Kosovo, while a part managed to stay in the Gjakova Highlands within the villages of Luzhë and Botushë.
The Bardhi/Bardhaj who populated the area between the Gashi River and the Tropoja River are considered to be the descendants of an Albanian called Bardh Aga, who had three sons - Brahim, Ali and Memi Bardhi. These three brothers - who according to generational calculations may have lived about 400 years ago - were Muslims. In a report of 1698, the Bardhaj are already mentioned as a tribe and distributed amongst 68 households in 4 villages on the Valbona river. They consisted of many Catholic women, but the men were all Muslim.[30] They were initially a distinct tribe separate from the Gashi tribe, both in name and religion (as the Gashi were still mainly Catholic at this time). There are several different legends about their origin, but the one collected by Rrok Zojzi is one of the main theories; this legend states that Bardh Aga came from Kuçi, an originally-Albanian tribe in Montenegro who have since been assimilated by the Slavs, and another one states that the Bardhi came from Kosovo. Bardh Aga was said to have settled with his sons in the area of Gosturan, which is where the Bardhi/Bardhajt still live today.[31]
The Shipshani are a component of the Gashi tribe that live in the area between the Tropoja River and the Morina Pass. According to legend, the Shipshani are descendants of the Albanian Kall Kamberi, who had 3 sons - Gegë, Buçë and Papë Kalla - who lived about 14-15 generations ago.[32] The geographical origin of the three brothers is not completely certain, but it is known that Gegaj, Buçaj and Papaj are settlements of the Shipshani, and that the first two generations of the tribe were of the Catholic faith. Based on the calculation of generations, it can be assumed that the spread of the Shipshani in today's territory began in the 17th century.
Another mention from the oral tradition is that Kall Kamberi worked for the Zaim of the Gashi—in this case, Ali Bardhi (son of Bardhi). Kall Kamberi, now widowed, married Ali Bardhi's daughter. Since Shipshan was part of Ali Bardhi's Zeamet of Altun-ili, he sent the couple there to live.
The ancestral lineage of the old Gashi tribe is identified as J2b-L283>Y126399>Y252971, whereas the newer Bardhaj and Shipshani branches are under E-V13>PH2180.
Through a wgs test of a member of the Gashi tribe from the village of Bajçinë in Llap, a distinct branch of the old Gashi also known as Gashi i Gurit in Kosovo was discovered. The result from Llap forms a new branch with a family from the village of Luzhë in Tropojë.[33]
Historical records from the 17th century indicate that most residents of the Gashi village in Pult were forcibly resettled by the Ottomans in Llap as a punishment for their anti-Ottoman stance during the Austro-Turkish War of 1683-1699.[34] Shortly after this population displacement, the old Gashi village remained completely abandoned; however, some families that managed to escape deportation formed the village of Luzhë on the other side of the Valbona River. The rest mostly left Llap and spread throughout Kosovo.[35]
Genetic linkage confirms the common origin of the Gashi brotherhood of Bajçinë and the brotherhoods of Luzhë from the old Gashi village. The newly emerged branch on the YFull tree is approximately 650 years old,[36] while many others with STR tests almost certainly belong to this lineage too.[37] The Gashi tribe also shares a common ancestor with the Krasniqi and Nikaj tribes around 1200 CE,[38] indicating their presence in the Tropojë region in the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, up to now, all families from Bardhet and Shipshan brotherhoods are under E-V13>PH2180.[39]
J-L283 is a Paleo-Balkan lineage which has been found in samples throughout the region from coastal Dalmatia (Bronze Age) to eastern Dardania (Roman era) as well as in Iron Age Daunians (Italy).[40] It represents 14-18% of Albanian lineages. The oldest J-L283 sample in northern Albania is found in MBA Shkrel as early as the 19th century BCE. In northern Albania, IA Çinamak (Kukës County), half of the men carried J-L283.[41]
E-V13, the most common European sub-clade of E1b1b1a (E-M78) represents about 1/3 of all Albanian men and peaks in Kosovo (~40%). The current distribution of this lineage might be the result of several demographic expansions from the Balkans, such as that associated with the Balkan Bronze Age, and more recently, during the Roman era with the so-called "rise of Illyrian soldiery".[42][43][44][45][46]
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".[47] 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.[48]
Gashi tribe was in conflict with Shala tribe until they made peace in August 1879, based on sultan's order.[49] The Gashi tribe regarded themselves as related to the Krasniqi in the sense that they both came from the west, and Baron Nopcsa recorded that the Gashi were originally related to the Toplana.[6]