The Sopa or Sopi tribe is a historical
Albanian tribe (''fis'') originating from the
Sharr Mountains of today's
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. Members of the tribe can be found in many Albanian-inhabited regions of Kosovo and North Macedonia, specifically in and around
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
.
Origins
The Sopa tribe is of Albanian ancestry and are considered to have their origins in the Sharr mountains; the ''Kokaj'' are one of the branches of the tribe. There is also a claim that the Sopa descend from the
Thaçi tribe of
Pukë
Pukë ( sq-definite, Puka) is a town and municipality in northern Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gjegjan, Pukë, Qelëz, Qerret and Rrapë, that became municipal units. The ...
.
The root of the tribe's name can possibly be derived from ‘''sop,-i''’, which translates to ‘''hummock''’ in English, but can also mean ‘''wedge/spearhead''’ or the end of a mill race where the water comes out with force and into the mill wheel. German Albanologist Johann Georg von Hahn translates their name as 'hay'.
Distribution
Many of the tribe's members can be found in the territories around the
Sharr Mountains, in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. Branches of the Sopa tribe were present in
Leskovac
Leskovac (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Лесковац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Jablanica District in Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. According to the 202 ...
, and they predominated in the Moravica Valley.
See also
*
Tribes of Albania
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 progen ...
References
Sources
*{{cite web, last=Ramadani, first=Nijazi, year=1909, title=Imazhi i Ngrirë, publisher=SHB “RRJEDHA”, location=Gjilan, url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikibooks/sq/6/63/Index-karadaku41-51.pdf
Tribes of Albania