[Alb-Educ] Arvanites

[Mithat Gashi]

(This Book Review originally appeared in the August/1995 issue of LIRIA)  
Book Review 
ARVANITET 
By Irakli Kocollari 
Published in the Albanian language by Albinform, Tirane, Albania.  
(May be purchased from Rexh Xhakli, 3235 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10468.
$10) 
Reviewed by Dr. Arben Kallamata  
1992 Neiman Fellow at Harvard University and 1994 Fulbright Scholar at
Boston University 
Albania is a nation rich in history but, regrettably, not in historians.
Over the last two centuries, Albanians under the Ottoman Empire were
forced to maintain a low profile while a more modern Albanian culture was
beginning to take shape. The role of Albanian historian was first assumed
by writers, patriots, and important nationalistic figures such as Naim
Frasheri and Fan Noli who each wrote versions of the history of
Skanderbeg, Albania's 14th century folkhero, to revive the patriotic
spirit in Albanians and to remind the world of just how much Western
civilization owed to that small nation. It was only in the past five
decades that certain attempts were undertaken to develop an historical
synthesis of Albania but even these activities were greatly controlled by
the rigid isolationist policy of the former communist government. 
It is only now, at the end of the 20th Century, that Albanian historians
are free to fill the void, to accomplish a duty to the motherland by
providing the world with the truth about Albania's culture, history, and
development. The 1994 book, Arvanitet, by Irakli Kocollari about the
Albanians of Greece, is an attempt to objectively condense and present in
concise form a vast array of documents, citations, travelers' diaries,
previous historical research, archives, etc. that deal with this
considerable portion of the Albanian nation (about 3 million according to
a Greek publication cited by Kocollari: Ethnos, I kathadhos qe o robs tu
sti dhiamorsfosi tu eleneki kratu, P. 14, V. Rafailidhis, May 5, 1986). In
an attempt to delineate their history in Greece, Kocollari endeavors to
provide answers to a range of questions such as: why are the Albanians
living in these parts? How came they there? What was the reaction of the
Greeks to the Albanians? What happened to the Albanians during the course
of centuries, and how were they able to survive assimilation for such a
long period of time? 
To answer these and other questions, Kocollari has researched and made use
of a very rich and extensive bibliography where one can quickly perceive
the paucity of Albanian historiography - out of 55 authors and
publications listed and quoted by the author, only 8 are Albanian, the
rest are Latin, British, German, and, mainly, Greek. I believe this has
produced a two-sided effect: One side, the positive one, clearly shows
that everything written in the book about the Arvanits (Albanians) of
Greece cannot really be disputed since the evidence is abundantly and
undeniably supported by the large number of cited Greek authors,
historians, archeologists, and scientists. This is especially critical
when describing a large Albanian population and its important contribution
to the history of Greece. Evidence is provided that Greece, through the
Arvanits, was able to throw off the Ottoman yoke because most of the
distinguished figures of the Greek Revolution were Albanians: Marko
Bo‡ari, Foto Xhavella, €elo Picari, Zylftar Poda, Karaiskaj, Kollokotroni,
Shahin Qafezezi, Gjon Leka, Rrapo Hekali, Tafil Buzi, Hodo Leka, and,
especially, the well-known woman who is considered one of the most
outstanding heroes of Greek history, Laskarina Bubulina. These represent
only a few names out of a long list of brave Albanian men and women who
left their deep marks in Greek history. 
However, there is another side to this saga derived by seeing Albanians
through the eyes of foreigners and that is the author's overemphasis of
Albanians as superb fighting machines at the expense of their other noble
qualities. It certainly cannot be denied that Albanians have always
distinguished themselves as a brave and courageous race and as a people
forced by history to preserve their fighting spirit and to keep their arms
handy for their own self-preservation.  
However, there are other important Albanian qualities that Ko‡ollari
should have stressed in the book: Albanians boast not only of their
reputations as fighters, they also boast of their culture, epos, legends,
costumes, music, laws, art, architecture, writers, and civilization.
Albanians are proud to have given to the world names like Jan Kukuzeli and
Nikete Dardani both of whom set the foundations of the most cultivated
Christian religious music. In point of fact, Kukezeli composed the "Te
Deum" (God, We Love You) perhaps the oldest known written religious music
sung by church choirs all over the world. Albanians are also proud that
they produced extraordinary artists and painters such as Onufri,
Selenicasi, and Zografi whose mural paintings and frescoes adorn
monasteries and churches all over the Byzantine Empire -- Constantinople,
Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, and Albania. And that they've produced
architects such as Sinan who designed the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, and
Karl Von Gega , who designed the famous Semmering railway system in
Austria and Germany that became the model for all of Europe. Yet, of the
230 pages of Arvanitet, Kocollari devotes only a few pages to non-military
aspects of the Arvanits, and only one chapter, the last one, is dedicated
exclusively to their Albanian culture. That is much too little for that
portion of Greece's population that gave so much to the Greek nation. One
of the rare examples that Ko‡allari does cite is the opening of the first
Greek school in Greece in 1821.  
Referencing a Greek scientist, A. Vakalopullos, as well as an authentic
document signed by graduating students of that Greek School, Ko‡ollari
presents the astonishing evidence that of the 8 students in the first
class, either 4 or 5 were Albanians: "Among the eight names...there are
the names of four Albanians and, maybe, even of a fifth one, about whom we
are not quite so sure - Kostandin Apostoli from Permeti, Jani Anastasi
from Kelcyra, Jani Athanasi from Vithkuqi, Vasil Xhelio, the Fratarian,
Jani Zoi from Zagoria (we are not able to certify if it is Zagoria of
Gjirokastra or Zagoria of Janina)." pp.172-173.  
In all other aspects, however, I believe that Ko‡ollari's Arvanitet is an
important contribution to the general body of knowledge about the
Albanians of Greece. It is well-written in clear and simple language, and
the author avoids the danger of falling victim to a chauvinism and
nationalism faced by anyone who undertakes the responsibility of writing
about minorities in the Balkans. The book displays an admirable
objectivity and carefully cites Greek authors and scientists as sources
for every "delicate" moment. It also advances the concept that the two
nations of the Greeks and the Albanians have almost always lived together
in peace that they understood and respected each other, and that they
believe that both give-and-take are needed to become truly good neighbors.
There is no need to create artificial conflicts between Greeks and
Albanians, as certain politicians on both sides have done, and that, in
the end, both nations will surely find a way to live together in peace.