The clan of Dushmani was one of the northern Albanian tribes, living in North Albania up to 20th century.
, the person who visited them in the beginning of 20th century described them as one of the most wilder tribes among Albanians.
Origins
The term Dushmani may have been recorded in the sixth century by the early
Byzantine geographer and scholar Procopius of Caesarea (ca. 500– ca. 565) as Dousmanes who uses this name to refer to a Thracian-
Illyrian castle restored by the Emperor
Justinian. It occurs with more certainty a millennium later in an
Ottoman document as Düşman in 1581, and as Dusimani on the maps of the Venetian cartographer Francesco Maria Coronelli in 1688 and 1691. One is reminded of the
Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
(originally ''
Persian'') oriental term dushman ‘enemy, foe’, but there does not seem to be any etymological relationship to the word here. Dushmani also occurs as a family name. Edith Durham records a document from 1403 which mentions ‘Goranimus, Damianus and Nenada, brothers Dusmani, Lords of Polati Minor’ who offered themselves as subjects of Venice and swore fidelity on condition that
Republic of Venice guarantee them possession of their lands.
Ethnography
According to Durham, Dushmani consisted in two groups, Dushmani and Temali. They were part of the district of Postripa which consisted of Mazreku, Drishti, Shlaku, and Dushmani. Ecclesiastically the tribe was wholly Christian they were included in the diocese of Pulati. Their name derived from
Pal Dushmani, a 15th century Albanian lord and member of the
Dushmani family. In the beginning of 20th century the group of Dushmani consisted in 160 houses.
Traditions and customs
The social life of Dushmani was organized following strictly the
Code of Lekë Dukagjini
The Code of Lekë Dukagjini ( sq, Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit, or also known as the Code of the Mountains ( sq, Kanuni i Maleve) is one of the variants of the Albanian customary law transmitted orally. Believed to be much older, it was initially cod ...
. According to Durham ''"Dushmani believes in Lek Dukaghin as the One-that-must-be-obeyed, and that he ordered blood-vengeance. The teaching of Christ, the laws of the Church, fall on deaf ears when the law of Lek runs counter to them.."''. The
blood vengeance was widespread among Dushmani. At the time of
Edith Durham's visit, around forty houses were in blood within the tribe only, while for external bloods, they were countless.
The men of the tribe had the custom of tattooing a tiny cross upon the breast or upper arm, in case that if being found dead in a strange place, they would be certain of Christian burial.
Pagan beliefs were still active and many of the grave-slabs in Dushmani churchyard were rudely scored with mysterious patterns in which the sun and crescent moon almost invariably occurred.
Dialect
The peculiarities of
Dushmani dialect were analyzed by linguist
Waclaw Cimochowski, in his work "Le dialecte de Dushmani" (Poznan 1951).
[Le dialecte de Dushmani: description de l'un des parlers de l'Albanie du nord Volume 14, Issue 1 of Prace, Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciółl Nauk Komisja Filologiczna Prace Komisji Filologicznej Volume 14 of Prace Komisji Filologicznej - Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk Author Wacław Cimochowski Publisher Nakładem poznańskiego towarzystwa pszyjaciół nauk z zasiłkiem ministerstwa szkół wyższych i nauki, 1951]
References
{{reflist
Tribes of Albania
Albanian Roman Catholics