Code of Lekë Dukagjini

The Code of Lekë Dukagjini (Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit, also known as the Code of the Mountains (Kanuni i Maleve) is one of the variants of the Albanian customary law transmitted orally. Believed to be much older, it was initially codified by the 15th century Albanian Prince of Dukagjini, Lekë. It was only written and published by the Ottoman administration in the first half of the 19th century in Ottoman Turkish in an attempt to stop the blood feuds. It was then compiled by the Catholic clergy at the turn of the 20th century. The collections of the clergy were published in the Albanian language in the periodical magazines as Albania and Hylli i Dritës. The first complete codification of the usual subject saw its first publication in 1933 in Shkodër, a posthumous work of Shtjefën Gjeçovi (killed in 1929) who collected it mainly in the villages of Mirdita and its surroundings.



Overview
The Kanun of Lek Dukagjini was named after Lekë Dukagjini (1410–1481), a medieval prince of Dukagjini who ruled in northern Albania and codified the customary laws of the highlands. The code was written down in the 19th century by Shtjefën Gjeçovi and partially published in Hylli i Dritës magazine in 1913. The full version appeared only in 1933 after Gjeçovi's death in 1929.

The text of the Kanun, often contested and with many different interpretations that significantly evolved since the 15th century, was only codified by Dukagjini, not created.

The Kanun is divided into twelve sections, and Gjeçovi's version has 1262 articles regulating all aspects of the mountainous life: economic organisation of the household, hospitality, brotherhood, clan, boundaries, work, marriage, land, and so on. The Besa (personal honor, compare with Latin fides) and nderi (family honor, Latin honor) are of prime importance throughout the code as the cornerstone of personal and social conduct. The Kanun applies to both Christian and Muslim Albanians.

Some of the Kanun's most controversial rules (in particular book 10, section 3) specify how murder is to be handled, which in the past (and sometimes still now) would lead to blood feuds lasting until all men of the two involved families were killed. In situations of murder, tribal law stipulates the principle of koka për kokë (head for a head) where the relatives of the victim are obliged to seek gjakmarrja (blood vengeance). Regarded simply as producers of offspring, women are referred to in a discriminatory manner and not considered worthy targets as such. In some parts of the country, the Kanun resembles the Italian vendetta.

These rules resurfaced in the 1990s in Northern Albania, as people had no faith in the powerless local government and police. Some organizations try to mediate between feuding families and get them to "pardon the blood" (Falja e Gjakut), but often the only resort is for adult men to stay in their homes permanently, as they are considered a refuge, or flee the country. Tribal laws also held that thieves would need to pay fines for the relative amount that was stolen.

Albanian tribes from the Dibër valley known as the "Tigers of Dibra" governed themselves according to the Law of Skanderbeg.

The Albanian Bytyqi, Gashi,  Gruda, Trieshi, Hoti,  Kastrati,  Kelmendi,  Krasniqi, Shkrel, and Kuçi tribes are known to follow the Kanuni i Malësisë së Madhë, a variant of the Kanun. Its implementation extends from these tribal regions around Shkodër to the Highlands of Gjakova.

Former communist leader of Albania Enver Hoxha effectively stopped the practice of Kanun with hard repression and a strong state police. After the fall of communism some communities tried to rediscover the old traditions, but some of their parts have been lost, leading to fears of misinterpretation. In 2014, there were still Albanian families involved in blood feuds.

The Kanun contains several customary concepts that have their origins in paganism, including veneration of the dead, animism, and totemism, which date back long before the period of Lekë Dukagjini.

Comparing the Kanun with the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Japanese scholar Kazuhiko Yamamoto has concluded that the basic ethical concepts of the stateless social structure of the Homeric Age — 'faith', 'honor', 'blood', 'revenge', 'food', and 'guest' — are the same customary concepts of the Albanian tribal society.

British anthropologist and writer Edith Durham has suggested that the Kanun likely dates back to the Bronze Age. Other scholars have suggested that it retains elements from Indo-European prehistoric eras. Others further have conjectured that it may derive from ancient Illyrian tribal laws.