Morina tribe (Albanian: fisi Morinë or fisi Marin) is a small tribe and historical region of the

Highlands of Gjakova The Highlands of Gjakova or Gjakova Highlands (), known colloquially as ''Tropoja'', refers to the mountainous ethnographic region in the eastern Albanian Alps that sits between north-eastern Albania and western Kosovo, serving as the historical ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. The border post between Albania and Kosovo called Qafë Morinë (Morina Pass) lies on Morina territory, however the Morina have settled various parts of Kosovo, in particular

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

, Dardana and

Gjilan Gjilan ( sq-definite, Gjilani) or Gnjilane ( sr-Cyrl, Гњилане) is the third most populous city in Kosovo and it serves as both a municipality and the administrative center of the District of Gjilan, Gjilan District. According to the 2024 ...

Etymology

According to an article by Nikoll Kimza in 1937, published in the

Hylli i Dritës ''Hylli i Dritës'' () is an Albanian periodical first published in 1913 by Gjergj Fishta, one of the most notable writers and poets of Albanian literature. It is regarded as one of the most important Albanian magazines of the early 20th century. ...

, called "Hetime mí vjetersín e rrjedhen e Derës Gjomarkaj e të Mirditës", the Morina tribe was also called Marin which leads to believe that the name comes from the same Albanian first name "

Marin (name) Marin or Marín is a common French language, French, Northern Italy, Northern Italian and Venetian language, Venetian given name or surname. It is a variant of the Latin language, Latin name ''Marinus (given name), Marinus''. Given name * Marin ...

" of Latin origin meaning "marine; of or pertaining to the sea".

Geography

Morina tribal territory bordered the traditional tribal lands of

Gashi (tribe) Gashi is an Albanian language, Albanian surname and the name of one of the major Tribes of Albania, historical tribes of northern Albania. It is a historical tribal region situated in the Highlands of Gjakova. The Gashi tribe is known to follow ...

to the west, Bytyçi to the southwest and Has (municipality) to the south. There are two villages named Morina on the Kosovo-Albanian border.

History

Origins

The Morinas were a tribe in the sense of a fis, i.e. a community that is aware of common blood ties and of common history reaching back to one male ancestor. According to oral tradition, they seem to trace a common origin with the

Mirdita Mirdita is a region of northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name. Etymology The name Mirdita derives from a legendary ancestor named Mir Diti from whom the tribe claims descent. Other a ...

tribe. The

ns,

Shala (tribe) Shala is a Tribes of Albania, historical tribe and region of northern Albania in the valley of the river Shalë (river), Shalë, in the Dukagjin highlands. At the end of the 19th century the tribe was Catholic and had c. 3,000 members and 700 hou ...

and

Shoshi (region) Shoshi is a historical Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region of northern Albania in the lower Shala valley. Shoshi is first recorded as a small settlement in 1485. The fis itself traces its origin to the brothers Gjol and Pep Suma. The community ...

trace their origin to the Pashtrik mountain on the Kosovo-Albanian border, not far from Morina territory which leads to assume that while the Mirditans left their original home, the smaller Morinas stayed closer.

Middle Ages

During the 15th century

Morinë Morinë is a settlement in eastern Albania, on the border with Kosovo. The Kosovo side of the border is Vërmica. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Kukës. Morinë is an important stop on the highway that conn ...

is mentioned as a village. All of Morina's inhabitants had Albanian anthroponomy, indicating that Christian Albanians inhabited the village and its surroundings.

Balkan war

During the battle of Lumë in 1912, among the first battles on the border of

Luma (region) Lumë ( sq-definite, Luma) is a region that extends itself in northeastern Albania and southwest Kosovo whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe (''fis'') of the same name. It includes the village with the same name, Lumë ...

took place in the Albanian village of

Kosovo war

During the Kosovo War, several tens of thousands of Albanian refugees crossed the border in

every day. At the time,

was the only border crossing between

and

. On 13 June 1999,

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

troops crossed the border near

from

after

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

agreed on a withdrawal of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n troops from

. Furthermore, the Kosovar village of

Morina ''Morina'' is a genus flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae. It includes 14 species native to Eurasia, ranging from southeastern Europe through Western and Central Asia to the Himalayas, China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. It is named in hon ...

, near

was a stronghold for local

Kosovo Liberation Army The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA; , UÇK) was an Albanians, ethnic Albanian separatist militia that sought the separation of Kosovo, the vast majority of which is inhabited by Albanians, from the Republic of Serbia (1992–2006), Republic of R ...

soldiers and multiple battles were fought there.

Religion

The Morinas were originally

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

before mostly converting to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in the later

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

period due to social and economic reasons. In light of their connection to the

ns there is also evidence for influence by

Orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

in earlier times.

Notable people

* Fitim Morina, Icelandic footballer * Geldona Morina, Kosovar footballer * Ismail Morina, Kosovar footballer * Mario Morina, Albanian footballer

Sources

{{reflist Tribes of Albania