Xhani 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 ...

(''fis'') and ethnographic region located on the western side of the upper

Kir river The Kir ( sq, Kir or ''Kiri'') is a river in northern Albania that first flows south-southwest and then southwest out of the North Albanian Alps and enters a distributary of the Drin just below Shkodër. In the upper reaches the river cuts the ...

in the wider region of Pulti, northern

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 ...

Name

Xhani derives its name from the anthroponym ''

Iohannes Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

'' and is attested in various forms such as: ''Xhaj'', ''Xhovani'', ''Gjani'', ''Joani'', ''Ghoanni'', ''Giovagni'', ''Gioagni'', ''Huan'', and ''Zuanni''. Italian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

serving in the region also Italianized the tribal name as ''Giovanni''.

Geography

Xhani is situated on the eastern banks of the upper Kir river in the mountains of Pulti. It borders the tribal territories of Plani to the north, Kiri to the east,

Suma Suma may refer to: Places * Suma, Azerbaijan, a village * Suma, East Azerbaijan, a village in Iran * Sowmaeh, Ardabil, also known as Şūmā, a village in Iran * Suma-ku, Kobe, one of nine wards of Kobe City in Japan ** Suma Station, a railway ...

to the south, and

Rrjolli The Rrjolli is a historical Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region in Malësia of north Albania. The tribal region is centred along the banks of the Rrjoll river that stems from Mount Bishkaz and empties into Lake Shkodër. The Rrjolli tribe is not a ...

to the west. The main settlement is that of Xhan.

Origin

It is believed that the Xhani were among the ''anas'' (indigenous) ''fise'' of the Shkreli tribal territory, and that they were driven out of their native lands following the expansion of the Shkreli across the valley of the Përroi i Thatë. The modern settlement of Xhaj in

Shkrel Shkrel is a former municipality in the Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Malësi e Madhe. The population at the 2011 census was 3,520.

, between Ducaj and Makaj, is connected to the Xhani.

Giuseppe Valentini Giuseppe Valentini (14 December 1681 – November 1753), nicknamed ''Straccioncino'' (Little Ragamuffin), was an Italian violinist, painter, poet, and composer, though he is known chiefly as a composer of inventive instrumental music. He studied ...

further elaborates that 30 families of the Xhani are descended from a widow who was married in Shkreli but had returned to her birthplace with her children following her husband's death.

History

Xhani (''Huan'' or ''Xhovan'') is recorded in the Ottoman ''

defter A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Description The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...

'' of 1485 for the

Sanjak of Scutari The Sanjak of Scutari or Sanjak of Shkodra ( sq, Sanxhaku i Shkodrës; sr, Скадарски санџак; tr, İskenderiye Sancağı or ''İşkodra Sancağı'') was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Otto ...

as a settlement in the

ziamet Ziamet was a form of land tenure in the Ottoman Empire, consisting in grant of lands or revenues by the Ottoman Sultan to an individual in compensation for their services, especially military services. The ziamet system was introduced by Osman I, wh ...

of Mehmet Bey in the

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

of Petrishpan-ili. The village had a total of seven households which were represented by the following household heads: ''Gjergji'', son of ''

Prekali Prekali was an Albanian tribe of the Middle Ages. Their origin was probably in the Dukagjin highlands of northern Albania. Since the 16th century, the Prekali tribe gradually became part of other communities in that region. History Prekali wa ...

''; ''Marini'', son of ''Prekali''; ''Gjergji'', son of ''Mlusha''; ''Isfani'', son of ''Nui''; ''Dimeniku'', son of ''Kalshi''; ''Kola'', son of ''Prekali''; and ''Martini'', son of ''Sunja''. The Xhani are subsequently recorded in later documents, such as in the relation of 1671 by

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Stefano Gaspari (''Shtjefën Gaspari'') which reports that Xhani had 22 houses and 80 inhabitants, as well as a well-built

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

dedicated to

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

. In the report of the French consul Hyacinthe Hecquard (1814–1866), Xhani had 115 houses and 662 inhabitants. However, later in 1918, according to statistics compiled by the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

authorities, Xhani had a reduction in population as only 62 houses and 435 inhabitants are recorded.

Religion

Around two-thirds (~66%) of Xhani is Catholic while the remainder is

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. The Catholics of the tribe venerate Saint Nicholas as their

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

References

{{reflist Tribes of Albania