Tringë Smajl Martini Ivezaj (1870 – 2 November 1917), known simply as Tringe Smajli, and as Yanitza outside Albania, was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

guerrilla fighter who fought against the

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 ...

in the

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

region. She was the daughter of

Smajl Martini Smajl Martini Ivezaj (born ca. 1850, Gruda (tribe), Grudë, Ottoman Albania - dead 1889 Diyarbakır) was an Albanian bajraktar from the Grudë, Albania, Grude tribe who led the Albanian forces against the ottomans and montenegrins. He led his fo ...

, a Catholic clan leader of the Grudë tribe of Malësia.

Family

She was born in 1880. Her father Smajl Martini was an Albanian clan leader of the Grudë tribe (located in southeastern

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

). Her signature shows up in the protest-petitions of northern Albanian tribes sent to European ambassadors and counsels accredited in the

, i.e. the one of May 9, 1878 sent to French Ambassador in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, or the one of June 15, 1878. The petitions expressed the dismay and disapproval of the Albanian tribes to the decisions of the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was signed at San Ste ...

and

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

, which had granted much of the Scutari Vilayet to the

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro () was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a Kingdom of Montenegro, kingdom by Nikola I of Montenegro, Nikola I, who then became King of M ...

. He became very active during the

League of Prizren The League of Prizren (), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation (), was an Albanian political organization that was officially founded on June 10, 1878 in the old town of Prizren in the Kosovo Vilayet of th ...

, joining the rebels until the organization's end; he was later arrested in 1886, and imprisoned in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, from where he never returned. In addition, Smajl's two sons, Gjon and Zef, Tringe's brothers, also joined the League and were killed in battle in 1883.

Biography

At the time of her brothers' deaths, Tringe sworn that she would stay at her family home and that she would never get married or leave the house. She kept living and acting as a woman, and she kept wearing the Albanian traditional women costume, as seen on all of her pictures. Tringe joined the rebels and distinguished herself in the

Battle of Deçiq The Battle of Deçiq (; Serbian language, Serbian: / Битка код Дечића) was a battle between Albanian tribesmen and Ottoman forces during the Albanian revolt of 1911, Malësori uprising of 1911. It was a turning point for Albania, A ...

. She participated in the Gërçe Memorandum, on June 23, 1911. Her rebel activity continued after the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six da ...

(28 November 1912). She never married and never had children, as she had earlier taken the vow. She died on November 2, 1917, and was buried at the family burial grounds in the Gruda mountains within the village of Kshevë, in today's

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. Two years later, the Montenegrin army (part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

) destroyed her grave while raiding the area.

Legacy

Her heroism made her famous and was recorded in epic songs of Montenegrins and Albanians. The folkloric version of her heroism tells a slightly different chain of events: Smajl Martini, the clan leader was kidnapped in 1911 in Vranje by the Ottomans, and his body was never recovered, forcing Tringe to occupy her father's place. Since the Malissori uprising of 1911 was backed up by King Nikola Petrović, the epic song excluded the real story of her father death, hiding any reminiscence of the

period, which would bring back territorial disputes between Albanians and the

Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...

. Ironically, the conflict between Albanians and Montenegro would be repeated shortly after. In 1911, the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

described Tringe Smajli as the "Albanian

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

", based on the Montenegrin version of the story which was heard somewhere in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

by the Times correspondent. It describes Tringe as "a beautiful young woman" in addition to her heroism. Her legend lives on throughout the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

as one of the most heroic women warriors in the history of the region. Several streets in Kosovo and Albania are named after her and she is regarded a

People's Hero of Albania People's, branded as ''People's ViennaLine'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austro-Swiss airline headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. ...

References

Bibliography

Martini, Luigj, 2005 ''Prek Cali, Kelmendi Dhe Kelmendasit''
Publisher: Camaj-Pipaj
Uli, Prenk, 1969 ''Tringa of Gruda: biography of Tringe Smajli''
()

OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...

24539756 Publisher: Shtëpia Botuese "Naim Frashëri", Tirana {{DEFAULTSORT:Tringe Smajli 1880 births 1917 deaths Albanian women in warfare Albanian rebels from the Ottoman Empire Albanian Roman Catholics Malsorë Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Women in war 1900–1945 Albanians in Montenegro People from Scutari vilayet 19th-century Albanian people 19th-century Albanian women 20th-century Albanian people