Posted on 04/23/2005 11:23:12 AM PDT by Doctor13
KOSOVO and Albania’s centuries-old code of honour has been modernised to try to reduce the number of men killed or forced into hiding by blood feuds and vendettas.
About 5,000 people met this month at a clan gathering in northern Albania where they decided that in a case of murder, only the actual killer, rather than his extended family, can be targeted in a revenge blood feud.
The traditional Albanian code of honour is known as the "Kanun of Leke Dukagjini", after a 15th-century guide to social behaviour written by a medieval leader.
The Kanun, or code, essentially demands blood for blood and an eye for an eye, and places the responsibility for safeguarding a family’s honour, or "bese", on its male members.
Not just vendettas, but everything from land tenure, to bee-keeping to the role of women in society is covered by the Kanun, available in a coffee-table version for €35 at Dukagjini booksellers in central Pristina.
Gjelosh Palaj, an Albanian man who lost three children in revenge attacks last year, said: "The new code clearly states that no-one but the murderer should pay for the crime."
Ramush Haradinaj, Kosovo’s ethnic-Albanian former prime minister, who has pleaded not guilty to war crimes charges at the United Nations’ tribunal in the Hague, was allowed home to Kosovo last week to attend the funeral of his youngest brother, Enver, murdered in a machine-gun attack in western Kosovo.
Under the dictats of the Kanun, the Haradinaj family is now "in blood" with the killer, whoever police investigations prove him to be.
One recent estimate said that 650 families in Albania and Kosovo had been forced to go undergound because of outstanding vendettas against them.
Under the old rulings every male member of an extended family that had an outstanding blood feud against them could be legitimately targeted the moment they stepped out of their homes.
The Kanun makes ample provision for such instances in which menfolk are incapable of working the land: the women do it for them, mostly at night.
Under the old traditions of the Kanun, all male members of a family with the same name as the murderer can be targeted by the vendetta, while the family of the murderer were obliged to shelter him, thus confronting the investigating police officers with a wall of silence.
The new code says that a murderer should not be helped to hide, and that the children of families that harbour murderers will not be accepted in marriage by other families.
Women have a particularly hard time under the Kanun. Page 38 states that "a woman is known as a sack, made to endure". Any husband who "beats his wife bloody" has only to explain himself to her family.
Gee whiz--if us Wisconsin farmers had had a deal like this 45 years ago, I might still be one--
Duh! What a concept! Regular bunch of social Einsteins.
Imagine what you woulda had to put up with if you even *thought* about askin for that. You might have been able to get her to do it, but I think you would be wishing you'd have more time to spend with the cows.
The Scotsman is always worth checking.
They manage to do some original reporting.
I spent a lot of time in the Albanian populated areas and have never been treated so hospitably & courteously in my life--but I was also never more concentrated on minding my behavior to ensure I did not give occasion for offense!
Does anyone remember that one? There were others also, and remember that happend right here!
Even if the daughter or sister is raped, it is blamed on the girl so she is the one who is punished.
Does anyone remember that one? There were others also, and remember that happend right here!
Even if the daughter or sister is raped, it is blamed on the girl so she is the one who is punished.
I mean, it's lovely that we bombed the descendents of the men who rescued our downed WWII pilots, on behalf of Muslim whackos who are nationally obsessed with honor killings, who yearn for us to go back to the 7th century, and finally convert or kill our kids!
Good thing we helped out those Ethnic Albanians! I felt so American when we did that!
"The Kanun, or code, essentially demands blood for blood and an eye for an eye, and places the responsibility for safeguarding a family’s honour, or "bese", on its male members."
No this is nothing to do with "an eye for an eye" quite the opposite this scripture limits revenge to like for like. You cannot go around killing extended family members as the "Kanum" recommended. Looks like they are now catching up with the Old Testament in limiting culpability to just the killer.
The Albanian code of Lek Dukagjini is not the same; in fact it expressly prohibits the killing of females (although a husband beating his wife is no problem!) There is no such thing as honor killings of females--the females have no "honor" in the code so an injury or insult to one clan can only be recompensed with the blood from another male. That is why when a clan is "in blood", the females work the fields and do the shopping and so on--there is no danger to them. Edith Durham in her books about Albania describes how females walked untouched thru the middle of firefights between opposing clans.
Of historical interest, Duke John (Dukagjini), who reputedly wrote the code, was a Christian Albanian who fought alongside Skanderbeg--the Albanian national hero--against the Ottomans. His domain was in the remote northern Albanian mountains, to include portions of what is now Kosovo. The code was intended to instill some law in areas where there was none.
The Albanian code of Lek Dukagjini is not the same; in fact it expressly prohibits the killing of females (although a husband beating his wife is no problem!) There is no such thing as honor killings of females--the females have no "honor" in the code so an injury or insult to one clan can only be recompensed with the blood from another male. That is why when a clan is "in blood", the females work the fields and do the shopping and so on--there is no danger to them. Edith Durham in her books about Albania describes how females walked untouched thru the middle of firefights between opposing clans.
Of historical interest, Duke John (Dukagjini), who reputedly wrote the code, was a Christian Albanian who fought alongside Skanderbeg--the Albanian national hero--against the Ottomans. His domain was in the remote northern Albanian mountains, to include portions of what is now Kosovo. The code was intended to instill some law in areas where there was none.
To set the historical record straight, Dukagjini--the author of the code--was Christian, a Catholic who was one of the leaders in the Albanian resistance against the Ottoman invasion.
They had, but the Albanians under their national hero Skanderbeg and in that tough terrain held out well into the 15th Century. Lek Dukagjini was a contemporary of Skanderbeg's who brought his forces to fight alongside Skanderbeg. Skanderbeg also had the advantage of the Adriatic coastline so the Venetians with the prodding of the Pope could support him.
The 1389 Battle of Kosovo Polje is probably the most famous Balkans battle against the Ottomans, but there is an intriguing historical "what if" in the lesser known second battle of Kosovo in 1448. A large army of Hungarians, Serbs and Germans under the Romanian Hunyadi confronted an Ottoman army in Kosovo once again. Skanderbeg with five years experience in fighting the Ottomans was enroute to help, but encountered the remnants of Hunyadi's routed army only 20 miles from the battlefield. "If" they had linked up earlier, they would have had a decisive advantage over the Ottomans and history may have turned out differently. Instead, by the end of the century, the entire Balkans area was under the control of the Turks.
They had, but the Albanians under their national hero Skanderbeg and in that tough terrain held out well into the 15th Century. Lek Dukagjini was a contemporary of Skanderbeg's who brought his forces to fight alongside Skanderbeg. Skanderbeg also had the advantage of the Adriatic coastline so the Venetians with the prodding of the Pope could support him.
The 1389 Battle of Kosovo Polje is probably the most famous Balkans battle against the Ottomans, but there is an intriguing historical "what if" in the lesser known second battle of Kosovo in 1448. A large army of Hungarians, Serbs and Germans under the Romanian Hunyadi confronted an Ottoman army in Kosovo once again. Skanderbeg with five years experience in fighting the Ottomans was enroute to help, but encountered the remnants of Hunyadi's routed army only 20 miles from the battlefield. "If" they had linked up earlier, they would have had a decisive advantage over the Ottomans and history may have turned out differently. Instead, by the end of the century, the entire Balkans area was under the control of the Turks.
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