The Tribes of Albania: History, Society and Culture

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Northern Albania and Montenegro are the only regions in Europe to have retained a true tribal society up to the mid-twentieth century. This book provides the first scholarly investigation of this tribal society, a pioneer work that offers a detailed survey of all the major Albanian-speaking tribes in Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. Robert Elsie provides comprehensive material on the 69 different tribes, including data on their locations, religious affiliations, tribal structures and relations, population statistics, tribal folklore, legends and history. Also included are excerpts from the works of prominent nineteenth and early-twentieth century writers, such as Edith Durham and Johann Georg von Hahn, who travelled through the tribal regions, as well as short biographies on prominent figures linked to the tribes. As the first book of its kind, The Tribes of Albania will be of interest to scholars and students of the Balkans, of southeastern European anthropology, ethnography and history.

Reviews

A remarkable, insightful and sorely needed addition to the field of ethnic studies in general and the oft-neglected field of Albanian studies. * Forum of EthnoGeoPolitics *

Author Bio

Robert Elsie is a writer, translator, interpreter and specialist in Albanian studies. He has written over fifty books on Albania including Albanian Literature: A Short Introduction and A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History (both I.B.Tauris).