A Tradition of Honor, Hospitality and Blood Feuds: Exploring the Kanun Customary Law in Contemporary Albania. Mirjona SADIKU e-mail: [email protected] Abstract The following paper explores the contemporary Albanian society, as a reality which is at a crossroads between modernity and tradition, where old values and new ambitions live side by side. To elaborate on this, the research refers to the code of customary law presented in the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, an ancient statute at the basis of Albanian culture. The Kanun is analyzed both as a code of customary law and as a frame of reference for social behavior that constitutes Albanian identity. The code represents the body of traditional law and has been orally transmitted from generation to generation, existing in an unwritten version throughout centuries and governing the most important aspects of the social structures. The Kanun represents the oldest Albanian jurisdictional system. This research is relevant from both a sociological and juridical point of view. The study examines the role played by the ancient customs in the current reality, such as the private justice practice based on the blood feuds' tradition. Although many prescripts contained in the Kanun might appear today as obsolete and archaic, blood feuds are still present and represent a social wound in the current dynamic of Albanian society. The analysis follows a deductive approach, specifically focusing on the pillars of Lekë Dukagjini's Kanun: the word of honor, hospitality and blood revenge. Key words: Albania; Customary Law; Tradition; Honor; Hospitality; Blood feuds. Mirjona SADIKU Introduction The Kanun subject has attracted the attention of numerous travelers who visited Albania in the 20th century (E. Cozzi 1910, E. Durham 1909, M. Hasluck 1954, F. Nopcsa 1925) and subsequently it has also captured the interest of various historians (W. Kamsi 2008, Xh. Meçi 2002) and several albanologists (M. Camaj 1989, E. Koliqi 1944, M. Shufflay 1913, G. Valentini 1943). The code of Lekë Dukagjini dates back to the 15th century and it has circulated in the oral version for generations. For almost five centuries the Kanun had not been recorded in a written version. There were no written transcriptions of the Kanun until 1913 when the Franciscan priest Shjefën Konstantin Geçovi (1873-1929), a Kosovo-Albanian writer, started to assemble and write down the oral traditions, collecting them through the stories and the memories of the northern Albanian tribes. Only in 1933 was the complete version of Kanun published for the first time. Until then it was circulated as folk lore, narrated through the memory of the elder members of the family and from father to son. Both native and foreign scholars consider the code to be a fundamental contribution to the treasury of the Albanian culture. The Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini1 constitutes a centuries-old code of behavior, regulating both individual and collective conduct. Deeply interwoven in the events of Albanian history,2 The Kanun's provisions ''have forged the existential principles among the northern Albanians,''3 1 The Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini developed in the geographical zone of Dukagjin, a mountainous region in the Eastern part of Shkodër. It embraces nearby areas such as Lezhë, Miriditë, Shalë, Shosh, Nikaj and the western plain of current Kosovo. The codification of the tribal law is attributed to Lekë Dukagjini (1410-1481), a prince and chieftain from a noble tribe, who ruled north Albania during the fifteenth century. See Elsie Robert, Historical dictionary of Albania, Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 2 The survival of the Kanun during the Ottoman occupation expresses the perseverance of self-rule among the northern clans, free from the control of the invaders and from the externally imposed restraints on their social organization. 3 Northern Albania is a highly mountainous region, bordering on the Adriatic only for a restricted seaside area and characterized by plentiful abysses. The tribal life of the population was based on three fundamental components: family, brotherhood and the clan or the fis. This kind of 94 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 3, June 2014, 93-115 A Tradition of Honor, Hospitality and Blood Feuds: Exploring the… determining all the dispositions and the essential values in the organization of tribal life.4 The code has been generally accepted for many centuries as a self-adjusting rule applied in the administration of the highland communities. Emerging as a primary source of the country's customary law, the dominant element of Gheg subculture5 has ''emblematically influenced the entire sphere of Albanian ideas, beliefs, customs and ethics.''6 Nowadays, although the Kanun is illegal, its conservative principles, such as the blood revenge and distorted private justice, are still influential in the northern Albanian regions.7 1. The Content of the Kanun: a Statute of Twelve Books The Kanun consists in a real statute regulating various aspects of social life. The code is divided into twelve books and further subdivided into 12638paragraphs, devoted to: a) the church; b) the family; c) marriage; d) house, livestock, and property; e) work; f) transfer of organizational structure persisted in the region, until it was dismantled by the communist regime. See Yamamoto Kazuhiko, The Ethical Structure of the Kanun and its Cultural Implications, New York: Melosi Design, 2005, 16. 4 Villari defines the highland tribes as a small aristocratic republic, ruled by the chief or voivoda and the bajraktar with the support of the elderly council. See Villari Salvatore, Le consuetudini giuridiche dell'Albania nel Kanun di Lek Dukagjin, Roma: Società editrice del libro italiano, 1940, 18. 5 Albanians are divided in two different ethnic groups: the Ghegs and the Tosks, characterized by a distinguishable dialect and a diverse collective organization. This division is essentially related to geographical obstructions such as the Shkumbi river. The tribal and mountainous Ghegs are located to the north from it, while the Tosks live in the flatland areas to the south of the river's and support themselves mainly through agricultural activities. See Vickers Miranda, The Albanians: a modern history, London: LB.Tauris & Co Ltd, 1999, 5. 6 Ivi. 7 This area includes some contemporary villages in Dukagjin, Malesi e Madhe,Mirditë, Shalë, Shosh and Nikaj. 8 The Kanun consists actually in 1262 articles, since article 1181 is the same as 1801. See Yamamoto Kazuhiko, op.cit., p. 16. Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 3, June 2014, 93-115 95 Mirjona SADIKU property; g) the spoken word; h) honor; i) damages; j) the law regarding crimes; k) judicial law; and l) exemptions and the exceptions. The first 8 articles and 17 paragraphs are devoted to the church, in relation to the regulation of the cemeteries, the properties and possessions of the church, the priest, the servants and the workers of the church. The code opens with the description of church's privileges, its rights and immunity. According to the Kanun, ''the church makes smoke in the parish''9, ''the church is not fined' and 'it can not be distained''.10The church is subject to the Head of the Faith but not to customary law. Particular attention is paid to the rights and duties of the priest, who is not subject to blood feud. The second book is devoted to family and its construction. The section delineates the rights, obligations and duties of both the head of the house and of the mistress. The code describes an extremely authoritarian family structure, ruled by the oldest members, usually the father or in his absence by the first male son. The unit includes all people living under the same roof, which consists of the brotherhoods (vllazni), kinship groups (gjini), clans (fis), and banners (flamur). The membership includes all children, even those who are married, and its components are linked with mutual obligations. The relationship of the family with the village and the banner is considered by the Kanun as well. The family structure described by the code is highly authoritarian and patriarchal. The spirit of community affiliation is extremely well developed, to the extent that the individual identifies with the group and any violation of the established rules is perceived as hurtful to the honor of the community. Marriage is examined in the third book, including such topics as the matchmaker, the betrothal, the wedding, the law concerning the husband, the family, inheritance, and bequests. In the tribal organization of marriage, the spouse is always chosen by the parents. In this sense, Durham pointed out: ''Most of the children are betrothed in infancy or in early childhood, some even before birth. A man, as soon as a son is born to him, seeks a suitable family with which to be allied, and should there 9 Fox Leonard, The code of Lekë Dukagjini, New York: Gjonlekaj Publishing Company, 1989, 2. 10 Ivi. 96 Balkan Social Science Review, Vol. 3, June 2014, 93-115 A Tradition of Honor, Hospitality and Blood Feuds: Exploring the… be no daughter available, bespeaks the next one born. He often pays down part of the price as soon as she is born, and the balance later when she is handed over.''11 The role attributed to women is also covered. Under the provision of the Kanun, the woman is considered as ''a shakull (sack) for carrying things''. According to Hasluck's interpretation, the woman ''was in her husband's house to bear his children. It was also understood, however, that she must take an active part in the work of both the farm and the house.''12 Albanian women found themselves in a subordinate position and were expected to be extremely compliant towards authoritarian fathers and brothers (if not married), or husbands after marriage. Customary law states that the husband was the head of the wife and might punish her for misconduct.