Code of Lekë Dukagjini

The Code of Lekë Dukagjini (Albanian: Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit, also known as the Code of the Mountains (Kanuni i Maleve) is one of the variants of the Albanian customary law transmitted orally. Believed to be much older,^[1][2] it was initially codified by the 15th century Albanian Prince of Dukagjini, Lekë.^[3] It was only written and published by the Ottoman administration in the first half of the 19th century in Ottoman Turkish in an attempt to stop the blood feuds.^[4] It was then compiled by the Catholic clergy at the turn of the 20th century.^[5] The collections of the clergy were published in the Albanian language in the periodical magazines as Albania and Hylli i Dritës. The first complete codification of the usual subject saw its first publication in 1933 in Shkodër, a posthumous work of Shtjefën Gjeçovi (killed in 1929) who collected it mainly in the villages of Mirdita and its surroundings.^[6][7]

The Code of Lekë Dukagjini

Overview

The Kanun of Lek Dukagjini was named after Lekë Dukagjini (1410–1481), a medieval prince of Dukagjini who ruled in northern Albania and codified the customary laws of the highlands.^[8] The code was written down in the 19th century by Shtjefën Gjeçovi and partially published in Hylli i Dritës magazine in 1913.^[9] The full version appeared only in 1933 after Gjeçovi's death in 1926.^[9]

The text of the Kanun, often contested and with many different interpretations that significantly evolved since the 15th century, was only codified by Dukagjini, not created.^[10]

The Kanun is divided into twelve sections,^[11] and Gjeçovi's version has 1262 articles regulating all aspects of the mountainous life: economic organisation of the household, hospitality, brotherhood, clan, boundaries, work, marriage, land, and so on.^[9] The Besa (personal honour, compare with Latin fides) and nderi (family honour, Latin honor) are of prime importance throughout the code as the cornerstone of personal and social conduct.^[9][12] The Kanun applies to both Christian and Muslim Albanians.^[9]

Some of the Kanun's most controversial rules (in particular book 10, section 3) specify how murder is to be handled, which in the past (and sometimes still now) would lead to blood feuds lasting until all men of the two involved families were killed.^[13] In situations of murder, tribal law stipulates the principle of koka për kokë (head for a head) where the relatives of the victim are obliged to seek gjakmarrja (blood vengeance).^[8] Regarded simply as producers of offspring, women are referred to in a discriminatory manner and not considered worthy targets as such.^[13] In some parts of the country, the Kanun resembles the Italian vendetta.^[14]

These rules resurfaced in the 1990s in Northern Albania, as people had no faith in the powerless local government and police. Some organizations try to mediate between feuding families and get them to "pardon the blood" (Falja e Gjakut), but often the only resort is for adult men to stay in their homes permanently, as they are considered a refuge, or flee the country. Tribal laws also held that thieves would need to pay fines for the relative amount that was stolen.^[8]

Albanian tribes from the Dibër valley known as the "Tigers of Dibra" governed themselves according to the Law of Skanderbeg.^[15]

The Albanian Bytyqi, Gashi, Gruda, Trieshi, Hoti, Kastrati, Kelmendi, Krasniqi, Shkrel, and Kuçi tribes are known to follow the Kanuni i Malësisë së Madhë, a variant of the Kanun. Its implementation extends from these tribal regions around Shkodër to the Highlands of Gjakova.^[16]

Former communist leader of Albania Enver Hoxha effectively stopped the practice of Kanun with hard repression and a strong state police. After the fall of communism some communities tried to rediscover the old traditions, but some of their parts have been lost, leading to fears of misinterpretation. In 2014, there were still Albanian families involved in blood feuds.^{[13][17][18][19][20]}

The Kanun contains several customary concepts that have their origins in paganism, including veneration of the dead, animism, and totemism, which date back long before the period of Lekë Dukagjini.^[21][22][23]

Comparing the Kanun with the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Japanese scholar Kazuhiko Yamamoto has concluded that the basic ethical concepts of the stateless social structure of the Homeric Age — 'faith', 'honor', 'blood', 'revenge', 'food', and 'guest' — are the same customary concepts of the Albanian tribal society.^[24][25]

British anthropologist and writer Edith Durham has suggested that the Kanun likely dates back to the Bronze Age.^[26] Other scholars have suggested that it retains elements from Indo-European prehistoric eras.^[27] Others further have conjectured that it may derive from ancient Illyrian tribal laws.^[28]

See also

• Lekë Dukagjini
• Shtjefën Gjeçovi
• Kanuns of Albania

References

1. Rushani 1997, pp. 137–140.
2. Elezi, Ismet. "Zhvillimi historik i Kanunit të Labërisë, in Mbledhja e Normave të Kanunit të Labërisë". kanunilaberise.tripod.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 12 November 2021.
3. Anna Di Lellio (2006). The case for Kosova. London: Anthem Press. ISBN 0-85728-712-5. OCLC 930994209.
4. * . shkoder.net. Archived from the original on 2014-10-22.
5. Kraja, Mehmet, ed. (2018). "Fjalori Enciklopedik i Kosovës". (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Kosova) (in Albanian). Vol. 1. Prishtinë: Akademia e Shkencave dhe e Arteve e Kosovës. p. 752-753. ISBN 9789951615846. OCLC 1080379844.
6. Lafe, Emil, ed. (2009). Fjalor Enciklopedik Shqiptar [Encyclopedic Dictionary of Albania] (in Albanian). Vol. 2. Tiranë: Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë. pp. 1108–1109. ISBN 9789995610272. OCLC 426069353.
7. Trnavci, Professor Genc. (PDF). www.design.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~hoken/Kazuhiko/2008Customarylaw.pdf. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-15.
8. Gawrych 2006, p. 30.
9. Cook, Bernard (2001). Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Garland Publishing. ISBN 0-8153-4057-5.
10. Anna Di Lellio (2006). The case for Kosova. London: Anthem Press. ISBN 0-85728-712-5. OCLC 930994209.
11. Religion and Society in Present-Day Albania by Antonia Young
12. Gawrych 2006, p. 115.
13. "'We'll Get You': An Albanian Boy's Life Ruined by Blood Feuds". Spiegel Online. Spiegel Online GmbH. June 6, 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
14. Angélique Kourounis; Thomas Iacobi; Jean Christophe Georgoustsos; Nikos Arapoglou (17 November 2012). "Reportage : Albanie, la Bible contre la vendetta" (video). Faut pas croire (in French). Geneva, Switzerland: Radio télévision suisse. Retrieved 25 January 2013. Des jeunes catholiques, soutenus par une religieuse, ont brisé la loi du silence pour combattre le « kanun », un code d'honneur ancestral qui justifie la vengeance et le meurtre.
15. Gawrych 2006, p. 36
16. Sellers, Mortimer; Tomaszewski, Tadeusz (23 July 2010). The Rule of Law in Comparative Perspective. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 210. ISBN 9789048137497.
17. Country Policy and Information Note Albania: Blood feuds, Section 5.1.1, 29 January 2020
18. Cedoca, COI Focus, Section 4.2, 29 June 2017
19. Letter from British Embassy, Tirana, to COIS, 17 February 2016
20. Albanian Daily News, ‘Blood Feuds, Man Killed in Mamurras,’ 6 September 2018
21. Yamamoto 2005, p. 164.
22. Studime Historike (in Albanian). Vol. 9. Tiranë: Akademia e Shkencave e RPSH., Instituti i Historisë. 1972. pp. 107–110.
23. Trnavci 2010, p. 205.
24. Yamamoto 2002.
25. Cullhaj 2016, pp. 222–223.
26. Arsovska 2006, p. 10: "Edith Durham, a famous British writer suggests that the Kanun perhaps dates back to the Bronze Age culture."
27. Cancik & Schneider 2002, p. 92
28. Gjeçovi & Fox 1989, p. xvi

Works cited

• Arsovska, Jana (2006). "Gender based subordination and trafficking of women". Kolor. Journal on moving communities - 2006 - Vol. 6 - N.1. Garant. ISBN 978-90-441-2008-0.
• Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (2002). Brill's New Pauly Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Classical Tradition. Brill. ISBN 90-04-14221-5.
• Cullhaj, Florian (2016). Democratization from Within: Political Culture and the Consolidation of Democracy in Post-Communist Albania. Edizioni Nuova Cultura. pp. 222–223. ISBN 978-88-6812-825-8.
• Gawrych, George (2006). The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874–1913. London: IB Tauris. p. 36. ISBN 9781845112875.
• Gjeçovi, Shtjefën; Fox, Leonard, eds. (1989). Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit [The Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini]. Translated by Fox, Leonard. Gjonlekaj Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-9622141-0-3.
• Rushani, Mirie (1997). La vendetta ed il perdono nella tradizione consuetudinaria albanese (in Italian). Religioni e Società. pp. 137–152.
• Trnavci, Genc (2010). "The Interaction of Customary Law with the Modern Rule of Law in Albania and Kosova". In Sellers, Mortimer; Tomaszewski, Tadeusz (eds.). The Rule of Law in Comparative Perspective. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice. Vol. 3. Springer Verlag. pp. 201–215. ISBN 978-90-481-3748-0.
• Yamamoto, Kazuhiko (2002). "The Ethical Structure of Homeric Society". Collegium Antropologicum. 26 (2): 695–709. PMID 12528301.
• Yamamoto, Kazuhiko (2005). The ethical structure of Kanun and its cultural implications. Melosi Design. ISBN 9780972992398.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit.

• Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit - Wikisource (in Albanian)
• Elsie, Robert (2001). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-2214-5.