Šušanj, Shushan, Shushanj, Sussanj or Sussani was the name of a village in modern day southern Montenegro, back then Albanian territory, inhabited by Catholic Albanians. We also find information on the Catholic Albanians of Mišic (Mishiq), Gjurman, Papani, Miljevic, Zagradje, Zankoc, Brkani, Sotomori, Spica, Brza, and Magjari.
In the publication “Petermanns Mitteilungen, Globus 1879, Lyon Public Library, J. Perthes, 1870” we can read the following about Sušana:
“A mule track running from Uglica to Sušana, traversing the area from northwest to southeast and continuing to Antivari, is the main road; apart from this, there are mostly only footpaths. The waterways are streams with a steep gradient and deep, steep banks. The population, estimated at 1700, is predominantly Albanian but also speaks Serbian and Albanian.
There are 120 Greek Catholic families in the villages. Mišic, Gjurman, and Papani; 246 Catholic families in the villages of Miljevic, Zagradje, Zankoc, Brkani, Sotomori, Spica, Brza, Magjari, and Sušana. The houses in these villages, mostly built of rubble stone, single-story, and roofed with tiles, are widely spaced, giving the villages a large expanse even though they consist of only a few houses.
Among the fortified points are Nehaj, a small, old mountain fortress situated on a 200-meter-high, craggy rock accessible only from one side, from which the road to Spica and the coastline can be controlled; and the newly built Tabia sea fort on Golo Brdo, which controls the Spica roadstead”.
Susanni is mentioned in the catalogue of Parish registers in 1610-1831:
“In the catalogue of Parish registers, 1610-1831 from the Archdiocese of Antivari, the villages are mentioned: “in the vicinity of Sussani …” includes villages … in the vicinity of Zubçi, Sussani, Spizza, Brisca, Lastva”.
An Austrian coastal survey titled “Statistische monatschrift Volume , Austria. K.K. Statistische Zentralkommission” from 1879 stated the following:
“It is therefore urgently necessary that the expedition currently surveying the Montenegrin borders against Herzegovina also soon carry out an accurate geodetic survey of the Spizza area. The population is only known approximately: in the first three villages mentioned, Mišiće, Gjúrmani, and Papani, there are said to be 120 families; in the remaining seven villages, 176 families; and the inhabitants of Sušanj are estimated at approximately 70 families. Assuming an average family size of four to five people, the total population of the Spizza area is estimated at 1650 inhabitants.
The population is of Albanian nationality and speaks both Slavic, Serbian and Albanian. According to their religious affiliation, the inhabitants of Mišiće, Gjurmani, and Papani belong to the Greek Orthodox faith, while those of the other villages are Catholic. The former are sometimes described as quarrelsome, whereas the Catholic population is considered peaceful, friendly, industrious, and hardworking”.
References
Petermanns Mitteilungen, Globus 1879, Lyon Public Library, J. Perthes, 1870.
Statistische monatschrift Volym 5 by Austria. K.K. Statistische Zentralkommission, 1879. https://www.google.se/books/edition/Statistische_monatschrift/sbtMAAAAYAAJ?hl=sv&gbpv=0
Balkan Academia 