Albanian tribes in the context of "Mazaraki"

The Kir (Albanian: Kir or Kiri) is a river in northern Albania that first flows south-southwest and then southwest out of the North Albanian Alps and enters a distributary of the Drin just below Shkodër.

In the upper reaches the river cuts the "Canyon of the Kir" with dramatic cliffs.The Albanian tribe or fis of Kiri inhabited this area. Just outside Shkodër, in Mes, the old stone Mes Bridge crosses the Kir.

Lekë III Dukagjini (died after 1481), commonly known as Lekë Dukagjini, was a 15th-century Albanian nobleman who ruled the Principality of Dukagjini from 1446 until the Ottoman conquest in 1479. A member of the Dukagjini family, he was a contemporary of Skanderbeg and participated in the Albanian resistance against the Ottoman Empire. Dukagjini is best known for the Code of Lekë Dukagjini, a code of customary law that bears his name and governed the tribes of northern Albania for centuries.

Albanian culture or the culture of Albanians (Albanian: kultura shqiptare [kultuˈɾa ʃcipˈtaɾɛ]) is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of ethnic Albanians, which implies not just Albanians of the country of Albania but also Albanians of Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro, where ethnic Albanians are a native population. Albanian culture has been considerably shaped by the geography and history of Albania, Kosovo, parts of Montenegro, parts of North Macedonia, and parts of Northern Greece, traditional homeland of Albanians. It evolved since ancient times in the western Balkans, with its peculiar language, pagan beliefs and practices, way of life and traditions. Albanian culture has also been influenced by the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans.

The name 'Albanian' derived from the Illyrian tribe of the Albanoi and their capital in Albanopolis that was noted by Ptolemy in ancient times. Previously, Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni and referred to themselves as Arbëreshë or Arbëneshë until the sixteenth century as the toponym Shqipëria or Shqypnia and the endonym Shqiptarë or Shqyptarë gradually replaced Arbëria and Arbëresh. The terms Shqipëria and Shqiptarë are popularly interpreted respectively as the "Land of Eagles" and "Children of Eagles" / "Eagle-Men".

The Illyrians (Illyrioi; Latin: Illyrii) were a conglomeration of Indo-European peoples and tribes in the Balkan Peninsula, Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Illyrian language and practiced a multitude of common religious and cultural practices. Many Illyrian groups formed a distinct tribal mode of social organisation, which survived much later in the form of the Albanian tribal system.

In late Iron Age and early classical antiquity, the first polities of the area would be created by tribal groupings, including the Taulantii and Dardani. The most powerful Illyrian states of the area, the Ardiaean kingdom, emerged in the 3rd century BC during the rule of Agron and Teuta. The Illyrians came into conflict with Roman Republic and were defeated in the Illyrian Wars, which were followed by many revolts. The largest and last of them was the Great Illyrian Revolt (6-9 BC). The beginning of the integration of the region of Illyria in the Roman world followed the revolt and saw many Illyrians rise through the ranks of the Roman society and the Roman army in particular which produced several emperors of Illyrian origin.

Pjetër Losha was an Albanian clan leader in medieval Epirus. He belonged to the Losha fis (clan or tribe) and was the leader of a combined force of his own clan and the fis of Mazaraki and Malakasi. In 1360, he became Despot of Arta, Rogoi and the area of Amphilochia. He died in 1374 and was succeeded by his close ally, Gjin Bua Shpata. The Chronicle of the Tocco is an important primary source for his life and the Albanians in medieval Epirus in general.

Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among Albanians, and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior – where Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, Muslim and Marxist beliefs that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force. The Albanian traditional customary law (Kanun) has held a sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the Albanian tribes. Indeed, the Kanun contains several customary concepts that clearly have their origins in pagan beliefs, including in particular the ancestor worship, animism and totemism, which have been preserved since pre-Christian times. Albanian traditions have been orally transmitted – through memory systems that have survived intact into modern times – down the generations and are still very much alive in the mountainous regions of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and western North Macedonia, as well as among the Arbëreshë in Italy, the Arvanites in Greece and the Arbanasi in Croatia.

The old beliefs in sun and moon, light and darkness, sky and earth, fire and hearth, water and springs, death and rebirth, birds and serpents, mountains, stones and caves, sacrifice, and fate are some of the pagan beliefs among Albanians. The Fire (Zjarri) rituals and the Sun (Dielli) and Moon (Hëna) worship are the earliest attested cults of the Albanians. The Sun holds the primary role in Albanian pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths, and legends; Albanian major traditional festivities and calendar rites are based on the Sun, worshiped as the god of light, sky and weather, giver of life, health and energy, and all-seeing eye; the sunrise is honored as it is believed to give energy and health to the body. The Moon is worshiped as a goddess, with her cyclical phases regulating many aspects of Albanian life, defining agricultural and livestock activities, various crafts, and human body. The morning and evening star Venus is personified with Prende, associated with dawn, beauty, love, fertility, health, and the protection of women. The cult of the Earth (Dheu) and that of the Sky (Qielli) have a special place. The Fire – Zjarri, evidently also called with the theonym Enji – is deified in Albanian tradition as releaser of light and heat with the power to ward off darkness and evil, affect cosmic phenomena and give strength to the Sun, and as sustainer of the continuity between life and afterlife and between the generations, ensuring the survival of the lineage (fis or farë). To spit into Fire is taboo. The divine power of Fire is used for the hearth and the rituals, including calendar fires, sacrificial offerings, divination, purification, and protection from big storms and other potentially harmful events. Fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun, the cult of the hearth (vatër) and the ancestor, and the cult of fertility in agriculture and animal husbandry. Ritual calendar fires are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life. Besa is a common practice in Albanian culture, consisting of an oath (be) solemnly taken by sun, by moon, by sky, by earth, by fire, by stone and thunderstone, by mountain, by water, and by snake, which are all considered sacred objects. Associated with human life, bees are highly revered by Albanians. The eagle is the animal totem of all Albanians, associated with the Sky, freedom and heroism. A widespread folk symbol is the serpent (Gjarpër, Vitore, etc.), a totem of the Albanians associated with earth, water, sun, hearth and ancestor cults, as well as destiny, good fortune and fertility. The sun, the moon, the star, the eagle (bird), the serpent, and the bee, often appear in Albanian legends and folk art.

Lurë is a former municipality in the Dibër County, northeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Dibër. Its administrator is Leonard Rajta. The population at the 2011 census was 1,096. The region of Lurë is inhabited by the Albanian Lura tribe.

Old Lurë (Albanian: Lurë e vjetër), Lurë Plain (Albanian: Fushe Lurë) and Borie Lurë, are the three neighborhoods of Lurë. More villages are in the municipality of Lurë such as Krej Lurë, Pregj Lurë, Arrmall, Vlashe and Gur Lure. With an area of 1,280 hectares, the Lurë National Park is situated in the eastern side of the mountain massive of "Kunora e Lures". Its 14 icy lakes offer picturesque and attractive environments at an altitude of 1.350-1.720 m. Among the many lakes the one that stand out are the Big Lake (32 hectares), the Lake of Pines (13 hectares), the Black Lake (8 hectares) and the Lake of Flowers (4 hectares), and The Grand Lake (Albanian: Liqeni i Madh). In winter these lakes freeze.