Thethi, 30 September 2012

Theth remains remote. It is most easily accessible by a 25 km unmade road from the village of Boga which is impassible during the winter months and is not generally suitable at any time of the year for motor vehicles without off-road capabilities.

The mountain village of Thethi (or Theth when in a sentence with a preposition as in "to", "in" or "from Theth") lies in the valley of the Lumi i Shalës, the Shala river in the Malësia e Madhe mountains in the north of Albania. The "Accursed Mountains" as they are sometimes called, tower high above the Shala Valley, with snow clinging to their summits even in midsummer. Here is one of Europe's most remote areas where the age-old traditions of the Kanun, the code of 15th-century prince Leka Dukagjini still survives.

Surrounded by high peaks and dominated by the immense vertical rock wall of mesmerising Mt. Arapit (the Matterhorn of Albania), traditional wooden-roofed farmsteads are scattered throughout the valley.

Theth boasts one of the very few remaining "lock-in towers", an historical form of protection for families that were "in blood". The Lock-in tower has been restored. Theth's "Kulla e ngujemit", the lock-in tower is where the men of a feuding family could take refuge for months or even years. It could easily be defended with its high walls and only slits for windows. The men would survive on livestock kept on the ground floor and food brought by the family's women, who were never targeted. Although those kullas are no longer used, the tribal culture associated with them still lingers, in spite of the four decades of harsh communist rule when the regime tried to stamp out tribal practices.

In the Kanun law "besa", something akin to word of honor or sacred promise was absolutely paramount and violations could lead to reprisals and blood feuds that could last for generations.

When the murderers were sitting in the lock-in tower they could enjoy this nice view.

Blood feuds were virtually extinguished during the communist times, however, the lawlessness of the 1990's saw a rather sharp rise in the number of killings. The New York Times has a series of articles about the Kanun, Lekë Dukagjini, and the blood feuds.

Although the Kanun (traditional Albanian law) remains influential, Theth has not suffered from the recent (post-Communist) reappearance of the blood feud which has troubled other areas of Northern Albania.

The famous Grunas waterfall in the valley

Lumi i Shalës, the Shala river

' There is now a school in the village where youngsters are learning English. This is a part of the Balkans Peace Park Project which is creating a trans-national, cross-border park in the adjoining mountain areas of Kosovo, Montenegro and northern Albania as a symbol of peace and cooperation. The three children in our host family were very good in English.

Our hostess is working with the maize harvest while her husband is smoking cigarettes