The Ghegs (also spelled Gegs; ) are one of the two main dialectal subgroups of Albanians, alongside the Tosks. These groups are distinguished by their linguistic characteristics.
The Ghegs live in Albania (north of the Shkumbin river), Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro. The Ghegs speak Gheg Albanian, one of the two main dialects of Albanian language. The social organization of the Ghegs was traditionally tribal, with several distinct tribal groups of Ghegs.
The Ottoman Empire annexed and ruled the Tosk-inhabited south at the beginning of the 15th century, while the territory populated by Ghegs remained out of the reach of the regular Ottoman civil administration until the beginning of the 20th century. As a consequence, the Ghegs evolved isolated from the Tosks. Similarly, the Islamization of the Ghegs was incomplete, with a large area of northwestern Albania remaining Catholic. The Ottomans never completely subdued the northern Albanian tribes of Ghegs because they were more useful to them as a stable source of mercenaries. Instead, they implemented the bayraktar system, and granted some privileges to the bayraktars (banner chiefs) in exchange for their obligation to mobilize local fighters to support military actions of the Ottoman forces.
Terminology Proper Gegnia (the land of the Gegë) is located in the area between the river up to the border between Mati District and Mirdita District, where Leknia begins. Leknia itself is bordered to the north by Malësia. None of these regions overlap with one another and each has its own self-identification. This is reflected in the fact that only the people of proper Gegnia call themselves Gegë, while moving northwards it is not a form of regional self-identification. For example, the people of the Dukagjin highlands when asked about their regional appellation would reply na nuk jemi gegë, gegët janë përtej maleve (we are not Gheghs, the Ghegs live beyond the mountains).
The popular perception in non-Albanian literature of all northern Albanians as Ghegs is a product of identifying major dialect groups with all corresponding regional groupings. Likewise, only the people of certain regions in southern Albania identify as Tosks.
Etymology The etymology of the term Gheg is not completely clear. According to the writer Arshi Pipa, the term Gegë was initially used for confessional denotation, being used in pre-Ottoman Albania by its Orthodox population when referring to their Catholic neighbors.
Territory
In Albania, Ghegs predominantly live north of the Shkumbin river and in areas of the mountainous north. (from the non-Albanian perspective) This region is widely referred to by Albanians as Gegënia or Gegnia and as Gegëria.
The Ottoman Turkish term, used during the times when Albania and the wider area was included in the empire, was Gegalık, meaning land of the Ghegs. During the late Ottoman period apart from the term Arnavudluk (Albania) being used for Albanian regions, the designation Gegalık was also used in documents by Ottomans. Gegëni or Gegalık encompassed the İșkodra, Kosovo, and a small area of the Monastir vilayets. In the 1880s, Albanians defined the wider region of Gegalık (Ghegland) as encompassing the Ottoman administrative units of İșkodra (Shkodër) and Duraç (Durrës) sanjaks that composed İșkodra vilayet (province), the sanjaks of Yenipazar (Novi Pazar), İpek (Pejë), Priștine (Prishtinë), Prizren, Üsküp (Skopje) of Kosovo vilayet and the sanjak of Dibra (Debar) in Monastir vilayet.
Little more than half of ethnic Albanians from Albania are Ghegs. Except for a Tosk population in north-western Greece and around lake Prespa as well as southern North Macedonia, the ethnic Albanians in the Balkans who live in Kosovo, North Macedonia (mostly) and Montenegro are Ghegs.
Language
The Ghegs speak Gheg Albanian, one of the two main Albanian dialects. The Albanian communist regime based the standard Albanian language mostly on Tosk Albanian. This practice has been criticized, notably by Arshi Pipa, who claimed that this decision deprived the Albanian language of its richness at the expense of the Ghegs, and referred to the literary Albanian language as a "monstrosity" produced by the Tosk communist leadership which conquered anti-Communist north Albania militarily, and imposed their Tosk Albanian dialect on the Ghegs. Although Albanian writers in former Yugoslavia were almost all Ghegs, they chose to write in Tosk for political reasons. This change of literary language has significant political and cultural consequences because the language is the main criterion for Albanian self-identification.
Social organization The social organization of the Ghegs was traditionally tribal. The Ghegs of Northern Albania are one of only two tribal societies which survived in Europe until the middle of the 20th century (the other being the Montenegrin highlanders in Montenegro and southern Serbia). The tribal organization was based on the clan system of loyalties, and the dispersed settlement pattern of separate, scattered, mostly fortified homesteads. There are several distinct tribal groups of Ghegs which include Mirëdita, Kelmendi, Palabardhi, Kuqi, Vasajt, Hoti, Kastrati, Berisha, Krasniqi and Shala. Other important tribal groupings include the highlanders of the Dibra region known as the "Tigers of Dibra". Western Kosovo during the late Ottoman period was dominated by the Albanian tribal system, while parts of Albanian society within wider Kosovo were also part of the urban-professional and landowning classes of major towns.
The Ghegs, particularly those who lived in the north-eastern area, were the most faithful supporters of the set of traditional laws (Kanun), traditional hospitality, and blood feud. Among Gheg Malësors (highlanders) the fis (clan) was headed by the oldest male and formed the basic unit of tribal society. A political and territorial equivalent consisting of several clans was the bajrak (standard). The leader of a bajrak, whose position was hereditary, was referred to as bajraktar (standard bearer). Several bajraks composed a tribe, which was led by a man from a notable family, while major issues were decided by the tribe assembly whose members were male members of the tribe.
The organization of once predominantly herder Gheg tribes was traditionally based on patrilineality (a system in which an individual belongs to his or her father's lineage), and on exogamy (a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group). The land belongs to the clan, and families are traditionally extended, consisting of smaller families of many brothers who all live in one extended ménage (. Gheg Albanian: shpi). Girls were married without their consent, while bride stealing still existed to some extent until the early 20th century. Marriage was basically an economic and political deal arranged among the members of the tribe, while those who got married had no say in the matter. Sworn virginity was occasionally practised among the Ghegs. Child betrothal was also practised by the Ghegs, sometimes even before birth.
Religion Christianity in Albania was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome until the eighth century. Then, dioceses in Albania were transferred to the patriarchate of Constantinople. In 1054 after the schism, the north became identified with the Roman Catholic Church. Since that time all churches north of the Shkumbin river were Catholic and under the jurisdiction of the Pope. Various reasons have been put forward for the spread of Catholicism among northern Albanians. Traditional affiliation with the Latin rite and Catholic missions in central Albania in the 12th century fortified the Catholic Church against Orthodoxy, while local leaders found an ally in Catholicism against Slavic Orthodox states.
During the Ottoman period in the history of Albania (1385–1912), the majority of Albanians converted to Islam. Today, the majority of Ghegs are Sunni Muslims, with a large minority being Catholic. Catholic Albanians are most heavily concentrated in northwestern Albania and the Malësia region of southeastern Montenegro, in both of which they form of a majority of population, while they have a thinner distribution in central Albania and northeastern Albania and Kosovo. There are also Ghegs who practice Orthodox Christianity, mainly living in the southwest of the Gheg-speaking region, especially Durrës (where they formed 36% of the population in 1918) and Elbasan (where they formed 17% of the population in 1918).Gruber, Siegfried. Regional variation in marriage patterns in Albania at the beginning of the 20th century . Social Science History Association Annual Meeting St. Louis, October 24–27, 2002. Data ultimately from the 1918 Albanian census. Urban city data displayed on this map here: http://www-gewi.uni-graz.at/seiner/density.html . Orthodox Ghegs were traditionally also heavily concentrated in the region of Upper Reka (Reka e Epërme) in North Macedonia. There are also some groups of Ghegs who practice Bektashism, living in areas such as Kruja and Bulqiza. Additionally, as is the case with all Albanians as a legacy of the Enver Hoxha regime, many people don't identify with any faith, and a large number of people do not usually attend the services of any religion."Instantanés d’Albaníe, un autre regard sur les Balkans" (2005), Etudiants en Tourisme et Actions Patrimoniales. (Plus de 72% irréligieux ou non pratiquants.) - Zuckerman, Phil. "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns ", chapter in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, ed. by Michael Martin, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK (2005) - http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html O'Brien, Joanne and Martin Palmer (1993). The State of Religion Atlas. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster ("Over 50% of Albanians claim 'no religious alliance.'") - http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994); pg. 581-584. Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs" (Nonreligious 74.00%) - http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html
Culture
After the Tanzimat reforms in the second half of the 19th century, aiming to gain influence over Catholic Albanians, Austria-Hungary, with Ottoman approval, opened and financed many schools in the Albanian language, and Franciscan seminaries and hospitals, and trained native clergy, which all resulted in the development of literature in the Albanian language. The culture of the Ghegs blossomed at the beginning of 20th century. Gjergj Fishta and the Scutarine Catholic School of Letters led by Fishta significantly contributed to this blossoming. The Ghegs are known for their epic poetry.
The revival of Catholicism among Albanians gave a new and important impulse to the rise of Gheg culture.
Physical anthropology Gheg Albanian men are immense tall, these individuals normally stand 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) on average, as seen in most regions in Kosovo, characterized by long limbs, a strong skeletal framework, and well-developed musculature, resulting in a generally spare and lean build. The face is thin and bony, of moderate dimensions, yet set within a distinctly hyperbrachycephalic cranial structure, producing a short and broad head that is often flattened posteriorly. Facial features include a long, narrow, aquiline nose. Facial hair is typically well developed, with mustache and beard present and varying in color. Skin tone is light, eye color is mixed, and body hair is only moderately developed.
According to Pettifer & Vickers in 2007, "Ghegs speak a slightly different dialect of the language, and are often taller and thinner than Tosks, but these traditional differences (often exaggerated in vulgar anthropology) have been much diminished by population movement in the post-communist period."
History Pre-Ottoman and Ottoman period