by Gjon Necaj. Translation Petrit Latifi

Abstract

This study explores Eposi i Kreshnikëve (The Epic of the Kreshniks) through the life, memory, and cultural legacy of Mirash Gjoni and the wider rhapsodic tradition of the Nikaj–Mërtur region in northern Albania. Drawing on personal recollection, ethnographic evidence, and folkloric scholarship, the text examines how epic song, landscape, and communal life are inseparably intertwined. Particular attention is given to the role of lahuta players and rhapsodists—especially figures such as Sokol Martini—in preserving and transmitting heroic narratives across generations. The epic is analyzed as both an objective heroic narrative and a deeply lyrical expression of human emotion, identity, and resistance. The study concludes by addressing the decline of population in Nikaj–Mërtur and the urgent need to preserve this endangered oral heritage.

“Mirash Gjoni, Eposi i Kreshnikëve”

I remember that in my early childhood, when I was not yet sitting on the school benches, my mother, a daughter of the Dukagjin tribe, on the long winter nights, sang lullabies of the Kreshniks, what impressed me was her abstraction, twisting the words and names with a single chord as if she were an opera artist.

Among them, the most mentioned were Gjeto Basho Muja, Ajkuna, Omeri, Balozi i detit, these collected by Mirash Gjoni – Curraj Eper by B.Palaj and D.Kurti, and the verses at the end that ended with oi oi oiiiiiiiii. And perhaps these childhood experiences that are never forgotten, were the origins of my poetic exploration.

These inspirations that have followed me all my life, stemmed from the heretical magic of the environment where my ancestors lived and grew up, precisely in the wild mountains of northern Albania, whose beauty enchanted anyone who visited those undiscovered places.

And perhaps it was here, very late, that a magical erudite, Edith Durham, discovered the virtues and character of these highlanders similar to the Kreshniks of the epic. The region of Nikaj Merturi is surrounded on all sides by high peaks, beautiful alpine mountains and steep rocks, which with their views often create mythological figures.

Anyone who visits this region for the first time, but has also read the Kreshnik epic before, will immediately believe that this was the place where the Kreshniks lived. However, the people of Nikajmertur were born and raised with the songs of the kreshniks, just as the songs of the kreshniks were born and raised in Nikaj Mertur.

We find this fact attested by great scholars of folklore such as Kieut, 1737, Ami Bue, 1836, G. Majer, 1896, M. Lamberc, G.J. Merturi, Sh. Gjecovit, B. Palaj, D. Kurti, M. Sirdani, L. Nosi, etc., and even the best scholar of this epic Qamil Haxhihasani.

The house that did not have a lute, was made with a lute, the mountaineer who did not know the songs, learned them along with the lute because he was convinced that the songs of the kreshniks manify a man, make him brave, give him the heart to endure bullets, blood, and wars where men were consumed.

The epic of the Cretans reflects life in the form of broad, “objective” pictures. The broad breath is present in every one of its elements: in the Homeric battles and duels, in the greatness of the heroes and the world that surrounds them, in the lofty dimensions and shocking betrayals, in the deep feelings and thoughts (Muji, for example, when one thinks “looks at the grass where it is growing”), in the length of the poems (on average they come out with 200, but also with 500, even with 1000 verses), in the length of the verses (the white ten-syllable is more liked – a verse with wide expressive possibilities), etc

But we put the objective epithet in quotation marks, because the rhapsody pretends to only show objectively how the events happened, while in fact it maintains a certain attitude, even if it leaves it implicit.
At the same time, in the epic are present, we would say, in large numbers, also the details, situations, treatments, characters of a lyrical reference: the love between brothers and friends, the pain of losing a loved one, the joy of friendly meetings, the brilliant colors of a landscape, the portrait of a maiden.

An example of expressive lyricism is, for example, the poignant lament of Ajkune, the wife of the hero, over the lifeless body of her only son, Omer.
Let it be noted that here too everything is refracted through the epic prism, it preserves epic proportions – the deep pain of the mother, her powerful curse, the pity of the elements of nature and the beasts of the mountain:

Only after you have taken the road, / The stars have taken their place to feel it! / When she came out among the Yellow Valleys, / Then mother cursed the tavern: / – May the light burn out on you, oh tavern, / Because you did not bring us a word that night, / In the Yellow Valleys, I will soon leave, / Together with the boy, I will enter a grave!… When she went to the boy’s grave, / She saw a three-hundred-year-old man; / There was a row – a row, / A more beautiful one is being laid on the grave. / I am resting on the beech branch, / Tears are falling on the boy’s grave. The mountain birds have left their kangen, / They have left their kangen for me to see! / – But don’t you know who has come, / That you don’t get up to forgive me, / My mother’s best mother – oh? / Amanet, my mother, / Come out of this dark prison once, / Talk to the mother who raised you: / You have never let me wait so long! . . . / My mother’s Omer mother – oh! / Do you want to bring Gjog with you? / Come out once to play, / Fall among the stones to refresh yourself, / Search the peaks with the fairies, / Because your mother will guard your grave, / My mother’s best mother – oh!… Nikaj Merturi had song as a companion of life.

The wedding, the feast, the shepherd, the rich and the poor, the rhapsodist and the lute player, all have sung and fallen in love with the song, the fiddle, the lute and the çiftelin. There, in those distant lands, the great and the small have sung.

There folk music springs pure and crystal clear like pure water of the mountain stones. There, among those white-capped ridges, where the beauty of nature, the visual appearance of the bride in the snow, the frosty nights with snow and murlan, grew old in the friends’ room with folk games, with the lute, fiddle and çiftel, there was born, grew and took its course the song of this people that the heart sang and the soul felt.

The rhapsodes of the epic of the Kreshniks who lived here a century ago, about 125 years ago, are part of the annals of the immortal interpreters of the lute and our Kreshnik rhapsodes.

There, an army of old lahutars and rhapsodists have sung like zanat and shtojzovallet, such as Mirash Gjoni, Mëhill Preka, Lekë Curri, Dedë Sokol Vukaj, Zef Avdia, Gjok Pali (Curraj Epër), Mitër Kola (Lekbibaj), Mark Ndou, Mark Mitri (Lekbibaj), Dedë Zefi, Lulash Zefi, Shan Zefi (Curraj), Ndue Delia (Tetaj), Mark Deda, Dedë Sokoli, Kolë Thiri (Shëngjergj). Pal Kola Bushat, Nikë Çuni (Btoshë), Pal Progni, Ndue Gjeloshi (Salcë), Prelë Qerimi (Palç), Prënd Kukeli (Mserr), Dedë Rrustemi (Mulaj), Kacol Nika, Mark Gjoni, Gjon Uka (Rajë) etc.

Sokol Martini and his descendants

Sokol Martini of Brisë was the master of the lute in Nikaj-Mërtur and one of the most prominent interpreters of this instrument that sings to the old dough of the manhood of the mountains, the magic of the generous customs of Albanianism.

Sokol Martini was born on the eve of the last century in Brisë of Mërtur, in that dry, rocky village poor in land and rich in pastures, where the melancholic sound of the fiddle sounds and echoes among the shepherds along with the rustling of beech leaves.

He was born and raised in an environment of myths and legends, he learned from the elderly thousands of verses of the Albanian rhapsody, which he gave life to with his sweet voice in tune with the sounds that the bow of the Albanian lute emitted longingly.

Sokol Martini was the most popular singer in Nikaj-Mërtur, always present at weddings, celebrations and parties in the mountain huts. Where the men sat cross-legged and wisely discussed, Sokol was always there, to whom the first in line would address: “Take that lute, Sokol Martini, because all this circle wants to hear the song of the men of the weather.

Take that lute and let your heart sing, because there are 100-hour nights, we don’t get bored listening to its sound!” Sokol Martini, as he was wont to do, would fondle his lute with all his love, slowly tickle its bow and begin the song, sometimes with elegiac notes, sometimes with enthusiastic and proud sounds, while the men with long mustaches and white hoods smoked and meditated with feeling the softening of the spiritual forms that emanated from the singing of the magnificent legends of “Mujt e Halilit”, “Gjergj Elez Alisë”, “Martesa e Gjeto Basho Mujt”, “Rozafati”, “Ago Ymeri”, “Halil Garria”, “Martesa e Plakut Qefanik” etc.

Sokol Martini was not only a well-crafted singer but also an actor who gave all the necessary drama to the rhapsody during its interpretation. The well-known Sokol Martini managed to perform the miracle of the time and memorize over 3000 rhapsody verses that were sung with the lute.

According to the memories of his contemporaries, Sokol was a middle-aged man with a curly mustache, dark-skinned and elegantly dressed. His mouth was full of good humor but slow in speech. Gray hair, wrinkles on his forehead, a sweet smile, the lute resting on his lap, his fingers sliding effortlessly over the strings, and the song, full of longing, gushed from his pure soul like a lily on a lawn.

He amazed 200-300 men at weddings and celebrations with his speech. In Sokol Martini, the lute had found a virtuoso player with a noble appearance, a singer with a special gift and vocals, and the rhapsody of the mountains had found a legendary interpreter with an extraordinary memory.

Sokol Martini loved the song, so he spent the bullets of his pistols on the most famous men of Nikaj-Mërtur, Shala, Shoshi, Berisha, Iballa when they tried to celebrate and rejoice, say his admirers.

Sokol Martini, together with Mëhill Preka of the Currajve të Epër, would surprise Father Benardin Palaj, who would emphasize that every time I asked him to dictate a rhapsody again, they did not deviate, nor did they say a single phrase, from the previous command.

This fact should also be emphasized, that when they take the lute in hand, they have an interesting audience, at that time their vivid imagination weaves rhapsodies much more beautifully than they dictate.

One of his former students, the famous rhapsodist of Nikaj Mërtur, Mark Mitri, once said, remembering Sokol Martin, that Sokol was a prominent and unique folk rhapsodist of our rhapsods, where he knew how to vibrate his voice with ease, and he was so skilled that he never tired of singing thousands of verses all night long, which no one else could remember so accurately.

Sokol was not a song writer, but the best interpreter and connoisseur of our rhapsods. The best songs I have sung with the lute I learned from him. When I was young I did not get to spend enough time with him, but later, when Sokol la, I realized that Sokol Martini’s first place in the Nikaj-Mërtur lute group was irreplaceable.

Every village in Nikaj-Mërtur had its own singers who were proud of them, while all of them together gave Nikaj-Mërtur the leading place in the regions of our Alps.

In the 60s of the last century, and onwards, the song with çifteli took a new impetus, overcoming the provincial borders of the region in question. Subsequently, a younger generation would stand out, where Ndoc Marku and Pjetër Ymeri stand out, as well as the most formed singers with çifteli, where the fylltars Lazër Mitri, Dedë Ymeri (Lekbibaj), Beqë Çuni, Mark Gjoni, Martin Prendi and Simon Gjoni (Rajë) stand out.

The rhapsodists, instrumentalists and dancers of Nikaj-Mërturi would not be missing in any of the National Folklore Festivals, and have even held the highest awards and trophies such as Syk Papleka, Gëzim Nika, Zef Beka, etc.

Syk Papleka, the son of Mark Mitri, was the most talented rhapsodist in the new generation of the eighties, a giant on stage, with a wonderful timbre and vocals with a high artistic range, an interpreter of the pearls of epic and lyric poetry of the Dukagjin and Tropoja regions, winner at the Gjirokastra Folklore Festival in 1982 with the song “Ka pa andërr Sulttan Murati” sung together with Zef Beka and Xhevahire Malaj.

On the path of song, women like Shkurte Marku (Mserr), Bore Papleka, Dila Geci (Palç), the talented dancer Raja Bubë Dedë Mici, one of the most prominent interpreters of the Tropojan dance, participating in several national festivals, also walk confidently.

The rich tradition of Sokol Martin and his contemporaries was continued, enriched and raised to the highest artistic levels by a whole constellation from the depths of the epic of the Kreshniks, by Nikaj Merturi.

Conclusion

Our research and explorations for Nikaj Mertur in whose territory history, the epic of the Kreshniks and the incomparable human dimension have coexisted with the most precious virtues of its human race for centuries under the constant pressure of various bloody evasions to overthrow not only their race, but the customs and perhaps even life in these regions of northern Albania.

A special characteristic of the Nikaj-Mertur region is that the inhabitants of these parts not only preserve the centuries-old traditions of their ancestors, but also cultivate them in their descendants and in the darkest times of numerous invasions, they weave songs, odes and rhapsody and the wonderful aeds of the region are preserved intact to this day.

The songs, poems and rhapsody of the Kreshniks made them personify themselves with Gjeto Basho Muji, Halili, Gjergj Elez Aline, Ajkunen, Omer, showing unparalleled heroism and virtues throughout the history of their existence. Therefore, it is no coincidence that such songwriters as Sokol Martini, Mehill Preka, Mark Mitri, Prend Kukeli, etc., have connected and sung to the Kreshniks.

Nowadays, the region of Nikaj Mertur has unfortunately been decimated by its inhabitants and with 9000 inhabitants that it had in the early nineties of the last century, currently very few inhabitants live there, creating pity for Curraj e Eper, where right there is the cradle of the Kreshniks with a homer like Mirash Gjoni, or even Brisa and Sokol Martini who live only a few houses, and many other villages with characteristic towers.

In our research of these times, we have ascertained and reached the conclusion that although in the 60s of the last century, with Zihni Sakon, Qemal Hazhihasan, and others, expeditions have been created and hundreds and thousands of verses of the Kreshniks have been documented, still various variants exist, although now a little later, since the rhapsodes who sang them and possessed them have passed away, such as Mark Mitri, Zef Doda, and many others that we have met over the years, who have given us their verses that they sang.

Now, Nikaj Merturi’s rhapsodes are rarely interpreted by virtuosos Sokol Martini, Mhill Preka, and Mark Mitri, although they have inherited their interpreter.

We think that singer-songwriter Gjoke Mulaj or some new singers from the Nikaj Mertur region can adopt the tradition of this area, continuing in the hole left by Sokol Martini, Mhill Preka, Mark Mitri, Dede Sokoli, Prend Kukeli, and many, many others.

References

Oral conversation with Zef Doden, Mark Mitri, etc.
(in the photo the lute player, Sokol Martini of Brisës)

Visaret e Kombit 1 and 2

Research papers on the epic of the Kreshniks by Prof. Dr. Zymer Neziri, Prishtina.

“Sokol Martini”, Monograph by Anton Papleka.

Paper on the raposdet of Nikaj Mertur by Prele Milani, researcher.

On the epic of the Kreshniks in Nikaj Mertur, research material.