Ethnicity Albanian | Place of origin Berishë, Pukë | |
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Earlier spellings Kojel Deti (Kojel Pog Murr Deti) Connected families Piperi, Asqur, Alshiqi, Dodo, Gec, Mertur, Livosh, Kuqi, Buzë, Madhja | ||
Berisha is a tribe and is located in the region of Pukë in northern Albania. It is one of seven tribes of the Pukë highland and one of twelve tribes of the Kanuni I Lekë Dukagjinit. Berisha is a Catholic tribe, they were initially Christians, but many of them converted to Islam. Numerous members of Berisha tribe migrated to Kosovo and other areas of Albania.
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History
The name of Berisha tribe was recorded in 1691 as Berisa.
Edith Durham recorded at the beginning of 20th century that members of Berisha and Merturi tribe claimed they were the oldest highlands tribe, which is accepted as accurate. According to tradition, the tribe descends from a Kol Poga, an ancestor of the Kuči, who are one of the Serb highlander tribes of Montenegro. There are members of the Berisha tribe who confirm that the tribe descend from Kuči and that they were Orthodox Christians before, while others claim that only a part of the tribe descend from Kuči, but genetic studies prove that Berisha has typical Albanian YDNA for example nearly all of the tribe is E-V13 which is the most common Albanian YDNA this could confirm that Berisha descends from an Albanian this could also mean that Kuci descends from an Albanian as well since Kuci descends from Berisha e Kuqe. The Berisha and Kuči do not marry each other. The members of the Berisha tribe and the Vušović family from Velika (in Montenegro) are taken as being part of the same tribe. According to some stories the Arrnji tribe in Luma is an offshoot of the Berisha.
In the fifteenth century the Berisha were in conflict with the Turks, and in particular, with the Kabashi tribe, the Turks were able to conquer virtually all of Berisha territory, with exception of the church of Berisha. Some of the population was then exiled to the coast and other sent abroad to a place called Mahmur Dedi.
In the 18th century the berisha tribe was in a conflict with Mahmut Bey Begolli, he is said to have burnt the whole Berisha to ashes. He also seized the bell of the church of Berisha and took it as a booty and took many Berisha women and children as his prisoners. For these deeds, he was murdered by Osman Deda of Berisha and Gjonush Pali from Shllaku, both of whom were subsenquently executed.
Durham also published an opinion of Franz Nopcsa who stated that the Berisha tribe occupied a much bigger territory but were driven from its major part by the Thaçi tribe.
In 1917 this tribe had a population of about 1,700 people. In the 1920s, the whole Berisha tribe, under the leadership of Azem Galica, revolted against the authorities of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Migration to Kosovo
Many members of the Berisha tribe migrated to Kosovo, mostly to the region of Gjakova, and converted to Islam. According to British intelligence report, the reason for this migration was the small size of the territory this tribe controlled. The feast of the Catholic Berisha who lived in villages around Peć was the Assumption of Mary (to which they refer to as Zoja e Berishes, or Zoja e Alshiqes, because the Alshiqi are the most numerous). The family name Berisha is derived from the name of the tribe and is particularly common among Albanians in Kosovo. In 1890 Islamized Berisha and Krasniqi in Kosovo allied against Albanian-speaking Catholics from Fandis and attacked their villages – they burned and plundered houses of Fandis, sparing only those of their Muslim lords.
Kosovo
Many Islamized Serbian families in Kosovo entered the fis of Berisha. Romani families in Podrima and in the Đakovica srez are under the fis of Berisha, as they are the most powerful in that region, while Magjupi are under Berisha or Gashi.