Written by Petrit Latifi

Albanian shepherdism or Albanian shepherds (Alb. bahriët shqiptare) was the practice of nomadism and pastoralist lifestyle among the shepherds of Albanian inhabited territories who herded goats and sheep in the highlands. The shepherd culture is an indigenous Albanian characteristic deriving from the illyrian time period when the tribes did not submit to a centralised power but remained semi-nomadic pastoralists.[1] The Illyrians also breeder animals which is believed to have led to the modern day Illyrian Shepherd dog.[2]

History

Before the Greek colonisation the Illyrians were nomadic pastoralists with wealth tied to their herd. The illyrians were transhumant pastoralists meaning they would live on the coastlines in the winter and return to the mountains in the winter.[3] In 1308, an anonymous source mentions Albanian nomads living in tents in the regions of Erzen, Mat, Shkumbin, and Apsus.[4] In 1337, Andronikos III Palaelogus subjugated the Albanian nomads of Kanina with the help of an Ottoman army.[5] The Albanian shepherds, also known as nomads, were reported by John VI Cantacuzene (1347-1355) to be “wild and unruly”.[6] During the first half of the 13th century, Albanian nomads are reported to live in Serbian lands north of Lake Shkodër.[7]

References

1. ^ Shea, John (2008) (på engelska). Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation. McFarland. Sid. 47. ISBN 978-0-7864-3767-2. Läst 15 december 2019.
2. ^ Milan B. UROŠEVIĆ1, Milivoje M. UROŠEVIĆ1, Darko DROBNJAK1, Petar STOJIĆ2,. Craniological parameters of Yugoslav shepherd dog sharplanina* Yugoslav çoban köpeği sharplanina’nın kronolojik parametreleri (MEDITERRANEAN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES (2017) 30(3): 269-274 DOI: 10.29136/mediterranean.360006). Läst 15 december 2019.
3. ^ Wright, Jennifer. GREEK COLONIAL EXPANSION: IMPACTS ON ILLYRIAN PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES (Department of Anthropology). Läst 15 december 2019.
4. ^ Pipa, Arshi (1978) (på engelska). Albanian literature: social perspectives. R. Trofenik. Sid. 54. ISBN 978-3-87828-106-1. Läst 14 december 2019.
5. ^ Islam in the Balkans. Läst 14 december 2019.
6. ^ Elsie, Robert (2003) (på engelska). Early Albania: A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-04783-8. Läst 14 december 2019.
7. ^ Stevenson, Francis (2018) (på engelska). A History of Montenegro. Ozymandias Press. ISBN 978-1-5312-8983-6. Läst 14 december 2019.