Andon Zako Çajupi (27 March 186611 July 1930) was an Albanian lawyer, playwright, poet and rilindas.

Biography

He was born in the village of Sheper, Upper Zagoria,

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, on 27 March 1866. Çajupi's father, Harito Zako, was a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

merchant, with a business extending throughout the then-

and also into

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and other parts of western Europe. Çajupi's elementary education was undertaken at the nearest Greek elementary school. In 1882, he moved to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, where he studied French for five years at ''Sainte Catherine des Lazaristes''. During his time in Alexandria, Çajupi met several western European lawyers representing businesses in Egypt. These meetings convinced him to study law in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and in 1887, Çajupi arrived in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, where he studied law for five years. While studying law in Switzerland, he met his future wife, Eugenia. The couple had a son, Stefan. After graduating, Çajupi practiced law in Geneva for three years. Eugenia died in 1892, and this tragedy forced Çajupi to leave Switzerland and return to Albania. After his return in 1894, Çajupi found employment representing a German company in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. Çajupi came to spend most of life residing in Egypt. During his Egyptian career, Çajupi defended a French company against the interests of the Egyptian government and the German law firm employing him, a move which caused him to terminate his employment with the firm but ultimately proved fruitless as he lost the case. Due to his family's wealth, however, this did not cause him serious difficulties, and he withdrew to his villa at Heliopolis near Cairo. During this time, Çajupi met many Albanian businesspeople and joined the Albanian

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

movement in Egypt where he played an active role in agitating for

n independence from the Ottoman Empire. Records from 1902 show that he was an active member of the Albanian Fraternity of Egypt, ''Vëllazëria e Egjiptit''. Çajupi's financial support and professional expertise were both required in his role promoting Albanian independence. Following the declaration of Albanian independence, Çajupi organized a party in his home.

Literary work

While participating in the Albanian nationalist movement (especially between 1898 and 1912), Çajupi expressed his patriotic beliefs in the form of poetry and prose, with his poetry taking its cue from Tosk Albanian. The nationalist and patriotic messages of his poems made them extremely popular among Albanian adults and children, and led to Çajupi being revered as the most important Albanian poet after Naim Frashëri, a position he still holds in the modern state. Çajupi in 1898 also got involved in the Albanian alphabet question and wrote a series of articles in the periodical ''

'' where he advocated for adoption of a Latin script and objected to a Greek or Ottoman Turkish script for writing Albanian. In 1902, Çajupi published in Cairo an anthology, ''Baba-Tomorri'' ("Father Tomorr"), named after the Albanian mythological character. The volume contains nationalist themes, and it is divided into three sections: "Fatherland", "Love", and "True and False Tales". Çajupi also wrote plays and novels, with his work on Skanderbeg entitled ''Burr' i dheut'' ("The earthly hero") being published in 1907. Additionally, Çajupi wrote a comedy titled ''Pas vdekjes'' ("After the death") in 1910. Çajupi's most popular comedy is the posthumously-published '' Katërmbëdhjetë vjeç dhëndër'' ("A bridegroom at fourteen"). The four-act comedy is an attack on the traditional custom of arranged marriages. Çajupi's dramas and comedies are well known in Albania and are frequently performed. The poet died at his home in Heliopolis,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, on 11 July 1930. His remains were transferred to Albania in 1958.

Legacy

A school in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and a high school in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

have been named after Çajupi. Also Korçë city's theater bears his name.

In Literature

Agim Shehu, a well known Albanian writer, has recreated in a short story the memory of Çajupi's love for the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

young girl Eugenie, who later would become his wife.Bulo, Jorgo (May 2009
ÇAJUPI YNË
''Gazeta Zagoria'', issue 119, pp. 5–6.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cajupi, Andon Zako 1866 births 1930 deaths Poets from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Albanian poets Albanian dramatists and playwrights Lawyers from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Egyptian lawyers Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Expatriates in Egypt People from Libohovë Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Albanian translators Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire