ALBANIA 



148 



ALBANIA 



.d. One of the customs which 

 iortant part in the life of tin- 

 Albanians is the blood-feud, or blood-ven- 

 geance. When a man is killed it is the duty 

 of his family to avenge him by the death of 

 the murderer or one of his male relatives, so 

 a feud involves not only individuals but also 

 families. The murderer usually takes refuge 

 in the mountains from the avenger of blood 

 or remains for years shut up in his house. In 

 the opinion of an Albanian, blood can only be 



with blood. The blood-vengeance is 

 not a lawless impulse of savages, but a social 

 obligation which is subjected to as strict a 

 code of laws as the laws of the duel, for in- 

 stance. A feud only ends with the death of 

 murderer; but sometimes peace is made 

 by the payment of a certain sum to the fam- 

 ily of the murdered man. Women are never 

 involved in a blood fend; in fact, the avenger 

 must not kill his victim when the latter is 

 accompanied by a woman or a child. 

 Marriage. Marriage is always arranged by 



rs of the young people. The betrothal 

 takes place when the children are quite young. 

 Albanian wife is always bought, and the 

 r of the boy pays part of the purchase 

 money at the time the arrangement has been 

 concluded. The balance is paid on the wed- 

 ding day. The young girl may refuse to 

 marry the man selected for her, but in that 

 case she must take a solemn oath to remain 

 !e all her life. The young man is obliged 

 to marry the girl to whom he is betrothed, 

 otherwise he starts a blood-feud with her 

 family. 



History. This region, known in ancient 

 - as Illyria, was conquered by the Romans 

 during the second century before our era. 

 During the Middle Ages it was invaded by 

 various Slav peoples, who settled here. When 

 the Turks began the conquest of the Balkan 

 Peninsula the Albanians fought heroically for 

 their independence.' Under their celebrated 

 leader, George Castriota or Scanderbeg, the 



I fought the Turks successfully from 

 1444 to 1456. But after his death the Turks 

 conquered the country in 1478 and made it a 

 Turkish province. Many Albanians then em- 

 brace,! Mohammedanism. 



The country was almost independent from 

 1807 to 1822, when it was under the rule of 

 Ali Pasha of Tepelen, surnamed the Lion of 

 Janina, who is mentioned in Lord Byron's 

 poems. In 1880 the Albanians tried to gain 

 their independence, but were unsuccessful. 



Outline and Questions on 

 Albania 



I. I. oration 



II. SIse 



(1) Comparative 



(2) Absolute 



( 3 ) Population 



III. Surface Features 



(1) Mountains 



(2) Rivers 



IV. The People 



(1) Distinguishing characteristics 



(2) Language 



(3) Religion 



( 4 ) Education 



(5) Interesting customs 



(a) Tribal organization 



(b) Blood-feud 



(c) Marriage 



V. History 



(1) Subjection to Turkey 



(2) Attempts at independence 



(3) Independence recognized by Great 

 Powers 



Questions 



What are the religions of the people? 



In what part of the country is Italy 

 especially interested? 



Is it easy to travel in Albania? 



What Albanian has figured in Amer- 

 ican literature? 



What sort of language have the 

 people? 



What is the state of education? 



What are the strange marriage cus- 

 toms of this land? 



Who is Prince William of Wied? 



What famous Italian statesman was 

 an Albanian? 



When was the independence of Al- 

 bania proclaimed? 



What was this region called when it 

 was a part of the Roman Empire? 



What ancient system of organization 

 have the Albanians been the only peo- 

 ple in Europe to preserve? 



