Mataguzi (alternatively, ''Matagushi'' or ''Mataguzhi'', sr-Cyrl, Матагужи, sr-Lat, Mataguži) was an Albanian tribe in the Middle Ages in southern Montenegro, on the northern shores of

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

. Their area of settlement included the modern village of Mataguži which takes its name from the tribe.

History

They appear in historical record for the first time in 1330 in the Dečani chrysobulls as part of the Albanian (''arbanas'') ''katun'' (pastoral community) of Llesh Tuzi, in an area stretching southwards from modern

Tuzi Municipality Tuzi Municipality ( Montenegrin: Opština Tuzi / Општина Тузи; Albanian: Komuna e Tuzit) is one of the 24 Municipalities of Montenegro. The municipal seat is the town of Tuzi. The municipality is located about 10 km south of the ca ...

along the

to a village near modern

Koplik Koplik (also known as Koplik i Poshtëm) is a town and former municipality in the northwestern tip of Albania. At the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision, and the seat of the municipality Malësi e Madhe. It was the seat of the ...

. This katund included many communities that later formed their own separate communities: Matagushi and his brothers,

Reç Reç (also known as Reç i Poshtëm) is a settlement in the former Shkrel municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Malësi e Madhe. Notable people *Bekim Balaj ...

i and his sons,

Bushati The Bushati family ( sq, Bushatllinjtë) was a prominent Ottoman Albanian family that ruled the Pashalik of Scutari from 1757 to 1831. Origins They are descendants of the medieval Bushati tribe, a pastoralist tribe (''fis'') in northern Albani ...

and his sons, Pjetër Suma (ancestor of Gruda) and Pjetër Kuçi, first known ancestor of Kuči. About a century later, the Mataguzi were nominally vassals of

Balša III Balša III ( sr-cyr, Балша III) or Balsha III ( sq, Balsha III) (1387 – 28 April 1421, in Belgrade) was the fifth and last ruler of Zeta from the Balšić noble family, from April 1403 to April 1421. He was the son of Đurađ II and Jelena L ...

. Their lands bordered those of Hoti with whom they were in dispute over pasture lands in the 1410s. Balša passed judgment against Hoti in the dispute with the Mataguzi, but despite his support to them, Hoti took over the disputed lands. Mataguzi retaliated by killing four Hoti tribesmen. As Balša III again sided with Mataguži and did not call for punishment for the killings, Hoti switched fealty to Venice in return for their support in 1416. People from this tribe appear twice in the Venetian cadaster of Scutari in 1416-7. One ''Lazër Matagulshi'' lived in the village of Grizhë, south of

and an ''Andrea Matagulshi'' lived south of

Gjadër Gjadër is a settlement in the Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality of Lezhë. It is known for the former military air base made famous during the Cold War. History Accordin ...

in the village of Kakarriq. In 1455, they appear as one of the communities that swore fealty to Venice in an assembly on the island of

Vranjina Vranjina ( cnr, Врањина) is a settlement, island, and a hill in Lake Skadar, in the Montenegrin municipality of Podgorica. Until the first half of the 18th century, Vranjina like other islands of Skadar lake, was one of the hills in the Ze ...

. The assembly was organized by Venetian vassal

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-cyr, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (Стефаница; 1426–1465) was the Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, which at that t ...

to whom their settlement, the modern village of Mataguzi paid taxes. The subject of the assembly was the re-affirmation of allegiance to Venice in the face of Ottoman expansion. The Mataguzi were a Christian Orthodox community. In 1468, their leaders donated to the

Vranjina Monastery The Vranjina Monastery ( sr, Манастир Врањина, Manastir Vranjina), also known as the Vranina Monastery or St. Nicholas' Monastery, is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on the south-east part of Vranjina island on Skadar Lake in Monteneg ...

a land area between Rijeka Plavnica and Karabež on the shores of Lake Skadar. The village of Mataguži is named after them. As the lake expanded and land was lost to the increasing level of water they had to relocate to the modern settlement. Today, the families of the Grbavčević brotherhood (''bratstvo'') in the village may be descended from them.

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mataguzi Tribes of Montenegro Tribes of Albania