tribe. A single case of homicide often leads to a series of
similar crimes or to protracted warfare between neighbouring
families and communities; the murderer, as a rule, takes
refuge in the mountains from the avenger of blood, or remains
for years shut up in his house. It is estimated that in
consequence of these feuds scarcely 75% of the population in
certain mountainous districts die a natural death. A truce
(bessa, literally ``faith,'' ``pledge''), either temporary or
permanent, is sometimes arranged by mediation, or among the
Ghegs, by the intervention of the clergy; a general bessa
has occasionally been proclaimed by special irade of the
sultan, the restoration of peace being celebrated with elaborate
ceremonies. So stringent are the obligations of hospitality
that a household is bound to exact reparation for any injury
done to a guest as though he were a member of the family. No
traveller can venture into the mountain districts without the
bessa of one of the inhabitants; once this has been obtained
he will be hospitably welcomed. In some districts there is
a fixed price of blood; at Argyrokastro, for instance, the
compensation paid by the homicide to the relatives of his
victim is 1200 piastres (about L. 10), at Khimara 2000 piastres;
once the debt has been acquitted amicable relations are
restored. Notwithstanding their complete subjection, women
are treated with a certain respect, and are often employed
as intermediaries in the settlement of feuds; a woman may
traverse a hostile district without fear of injury, and her
bessa will protect the traveller or the stranger. Women
accompany their male relatives to the battle-field for the
purpose of tending the wounded and carrying away the dead.
The bride brings no dowry to her husband; she is purchased
at a stipulated price, and earnest-money is paid at the
betrothal, which usually takes place while the contracting
parties are still children. It is customary for young men
who are attached to each other to swear eternal brotherhood
(compare the Slavonic pobratimstvo); the contract is
regarded as sacred, and no instance has been known of its
violation. The costume of the Tosks differs from that of
the Ghegs; its distinctive feature is the white plaited
linen fustanella or petticoat, which has been adopted by the
Greeks; the Ghegs wear trews of white or crimson native cloth
adorned with black braid, and a short, close-fitting jacket,
which in the case of wealthy persons is embellished with gold
lace. The fez is worn by both races, and in the northern
highlands yataghans and firearms are almost invariably carried.
The costume of the Mirdite and Mat tribes is peculiar. It
consists of a white felt cap, a long white tunic bound with
a red girdle, white linen trousers and opinki, or sandals.
Tribal System.---The tribal organization in northern Albania
is an interesting survival of the earliest form of social
combination; it may be compared in many respects with that which
existed in the Scottish highlands in the time of the Stuart
kings. The practical autonomy which the Gheg mountaineers
enjoy has been won by a prolonged and successful resistance
to Turkish domination; as a rule they pay no taxes, they are
exempt from the conscription, they know nothing of the Ottoman
law, and the few Turkish officials established amongst them
possess no real authority. Their only obligation to the
Turkish government is to furnish a contingent in time of
war; the only law they recognize is either traditional custom
(adet) or the unwritten Hanun-i Leks Dukajinit, a civil
and criminal code, so called from its author, Leka Dukajini,
who is supposed to have lived in the 13th or 14th century.
The tribe or mal (``mountain'') is often composed of several
clans (phis-i, pharea) or baryaks (literally ``standards'')
each under a chief or baryaktar (standard-bearer), who is,
strictly speaking, a military leader; there are in each clan
a certain number of elders or voivodes (Albanian kru-y'e,
pl. krenic-te) who form a council and, like the baryaktar,
hold their oflice by hereditary right; they preside over
the assemblies of the tribesmen, which exercise the supreme
legislative power. The clan is generally subdivided into
smaller communities (mahale), each administered by a local
notable or jobar. The jobars superintend the execution of
the laws, collect fines and administer capital punishment;
they are in contact with the buluk-bashi, or resident
representative of the tribe at Scutari, who forms the only
link between the mountaineers and the Turkish government.
He communicates to the tribesmen the orders of the vali,
which must be framed in accordance with their customs and
institutions. The tribes of northern Albania, or Ghegeria,
may be classified in seven groups as follows:----(1) The
Mirdites, who inhabit the alpine region around Orosh to the
south-east of Scutari--the most important of all in respect
of numbers (about 17,000) and political independence. A Roman
Catholic tribe, occupying an inaccessible district, they have
hitherto defeated every effort of the Turks to encroach on their
autonomy. Their hereditary chiefs, or capidans, belong to
the family known as Dera e Jon Markut (the house of John
Marco), which has ruled for 200 years and is supposed to be
descended from Scanderbeg. In 1868 the reigning chief, Bib
Doda, died, and his son and successor Prenk was detained as
a hostage by the Turks. The Mirdites consequently refused
to contribute their customary contingent to the Turkish army,
and eventually Prenk was restored. His ambiguous conduct,
however, led to the despatch of two expeditions against the
Mirdites and the devastation of their territory. In 1880
Prenk was kidnapped by the Turkish authorities and exiled to
Anatolia; another member of the ruling family was appointed
kaimakam, but the Mirdites refused to obey him, and their
district has ever since been in a state of anarchy. No Moslem
is allowed to remain in Mirdite territory. (2) The Mi-shkodrak
(Upper Scutari) group or confederation, also known as the
Malsia-Madhe (Great Highlands), is composed of the Klement,
Grud-a, Hot, Kastrat and Shkrel tribes, which occupy the
mountainous district north-east of Scutari. OWing to the
proximity of the capital this group is comparatively subject
to the Turkish power, and pays a small annual tribute; the
chiefs, who assess and collect the tribute, form a kind of
administrative council; the confederation has also an official
representative council at Scutari, called the Jibal, under
the presidency of a Serkarde or Moslem official. (3) The
Dukajin, whose territory lies between that of the last-named
group and the district of Jakova, include the Pulati, Shalla,
Shoshi and other tribes; they are more independent and more
savage than the Mi-shkodrak, and have never paid tribute from
time immemorial. (4) The Puka group, known as ``the Seven
Baryaks of Puka,'' dwell on the south side of the river Drin;
theyare nominally administered by a Turkish kaimakam, who is
a mere spectator of their proceedings. (5) The Malsia Jakovs,
a group of two Catholic and three Moslem tribes, extend in
the direction of Jakova, where they maintain an official
representative; they are entirely exempt from taxation. (6,7)
The Malsia-Lezhs, who occupy the Alessio highlands, and the
Malsia Krues, who inhabit the region north of Krola, live in a
state of extreme poverty and pay no tribute; the Malsia Krues
are much addicted to brigandage. To these seven groups, which
are included under the general appellation of Malissori,
or ``highlanders,'' may be added the Malsia of IAbra, who
extend to the west and north of that town, and form a large
separate group; they are notorious for their fierce lawless
character, and maintain themselves by plundering the Bulgarian
peasants in their neighbourhood. In general the attitude of the
Albanians in the north-eastern districts towards the Slavonic
peasantry may be compared with that of the Kurds towards the
Armenians. In the region east of Kroia the Mat tribe,
which occupies the upper valley of the Matra, presents an
entirely different organization; their district is governed
by four wealthy families, possessing hereditary rank and
influence. Towards the south the tribal organization becomes
looser and is gradually supplanted by a kind of feudal system;
among the powerful aristocratic houses may be mentioned the
Vliores at Avlona, who are stated to own over 150 sq. m. of
land, and the Toptans at Tirana. The principal landowners,
who reside in fortified houses, are all Moslems; their estates
are cultivated on the metayer system. Since the time
of Ali Pasha, who broke the power of the local chieftains,
southern Albania has been subject to the central Turkish
power; before that period the mountaineers of Suh and Khimara
enjoyed an independence similar to that of the Gheg tribes.
Religions.---The great majority of the Albanians, probably
more than three-fifths, are Moslems. The conversion of the
Christian population to Islam appears to have taken place
during the 16th and 17th centuries. Like the Cretan Moslems
and the Bulgarian Pomaks, the Albanian Mahommedans retain
many Christian traditions and customs; it is said that many
thousands of them secretly adhere to their original faith. In
the vilayet of Scutari they form about 55% of the population;
central Albania is almost entirely Moslem; in southern Albania,
however, there is a considerable Christian population, whose
limits practically coincide with those of the Greek-speaking
districts. Of the Christian population (about 600,000), some
110,000 are Roman Catholic Ghegs, some 90,000 are Orthodox
Tosks, and some 400,000 are Orthodox Slavs, Greeks and
Vlachs. The Roman Catholic Ghegs appear to have abandoned
the Eastern for the Western Church in the middle of the 13th
century. Their bishops and priests, who Wear the moustache
in deference to popular prejudice, are typical specimens
of the church militant. Some of the Gheg tribes, such as
the Puka, Malsia Jakovs and Malsia Krues, are partly Roman
Catholic, partly Moslem; among fellowtribesmen the difference
of religion counts for little. The Mirdites are exclusively
Roman Catholic, the Mat-i exclusively Moslem. At the head of
the Roman Catholic hierarchy are the archbishops of Scutari
(with three suffragans), Prizren and Durazzo; the mitred abbot
of St Alexander is the spiritual chief of the Mirdites. The
Orthodox Church has metropolitans at Prizren, Durazzo, Berat,
Iannina and Kortcha; the Bulgarian exarchate maintains a
bishop at Dibra. Of the Albanians in Sicily the great majority
(44791) remain faithful to the Greek Church; in Italy 116,482
follow the Latin ritual, and 38,192 the Greek. All
the Albanians in Greece belong to the Orthodox Church.
Education.---Education is almost non-existent, and the vast
majority of the populati(m, both Christian and Moslem, are totally
illiterate. Instruction in the Albanian language is prohibited
by the Turkish government for political reasons; a singleexception
has been made in the caseof an American school for girls at
Kortcha. There are Turkish primary and secondary schools in some
of the towns; in the village mosques instruction in the Koran
is given by the imams, but neither reading nor writing is
taught. The aristocratic Moslem families send their sons
to be educated in Constantinople or Vienna. At Scutari a
college and a seminary are maintained by the Jesuits, with the
aid of the Austrian government; the Franciscans have several
primary schools, and three lay schools are supported by the
