Reçi is a historical

Albanian tribe The Albanian tribes ( sq, fiset shqiptare) form a historical mode of social organization (''farefisní'') in Albania and the southwestern Balkans characterized by a common culture, often common patrilineal kinship ties tracing back to one progeni ...

. It is located in the ethnographic region of

Malësia Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia ( sq, Malësia, cnr, / ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision ...

northern Albania. The historical heartland of the tribe is the village of

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, foot ...

, but place names linked to them also appear on settlements such as Reč in

Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coast ...

where a part of them also lived. 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 along the Lake Skadar 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,

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. In the 1416-17 Venetian Cadastre of the area we find several names linked to the tribe. Among them we have ''Aleks, Gjin, Gjergj, Sardë'' and ''Sergj Reçi'', all of whom landowners in the village of Reç itself, along with a villager named ''Soma Reçi''. In the village of Valm we find the names of ''Tanush Reçi'' as well as the brothers ''Andre'' and ''Bitër Reçi''. In the village of Trush i Madh the names of ''Bitër'' and ''Lukë Reçi'', the village of Gur i Zi records ''Lazër'' and ''Martin Reçi'' and the villages of Balldren, Belan and Samrisht record the names of ''Bitër, Mark'' and ''Nikollë Reçi'' respectively. The 1485 Ottoman Defter of Shkodër mentions the village of ''Reçi'' as part of the timar of ''Gazi Shuxhau''. The village had 8 families and 2 bachelors living in it. The names of the heads of the households were ''Nika, Kola, Leka, Stepan, Gjergj'' and ''Vuk Reçi'', the families of ''Nika'' and ''Dejan Stepani'' as well as those of ''Ukça Grada'' and ''Gjergj Nika''. During this time, the Reçi had moved to

from the lowlands near Buna where the village Reč is today. Traditionally the villagers of Reçi are known for their rich history in

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

cultivation, with the village frequently being referred to as ''Gështenja e Alpeve'' (Chestnut of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

). According to local legend, the oldest chestnuts planted in the village are around 250 years old. The ''Chestnuts of Reçi'' are a protected area listed as a Category III Natural Monument by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), having been declared so in 1974. It encompasses much of the heavily wooded and hilly area traditionally inhabited by the tribe. Reçi historically has been religiously mixed with a majority Muslim and a minority Roman Catholic population.

References

{{reflist Tribes of Albania Malësia