The Kelmendi tribe is one of the oldest and largest Albanian tribes, both in terms of territory and population. During the first centuries of the Ottoman period, the Kelmendi gained great military and political importance, often holding a dominant position in much of the regions around the Albanian Alps.1.
The distribution of this tribe encompasses vast areas that today are found in four countries. The historical base of the tribe is located in the northern part of the Greater Highlands in Albania, where the Kelmendi had three initial bajraks – Selca, Vukli and Nikçi – and a fourth bajrak – Boga – which joined the first three during the 19th century. From this region, the Kelmendi spread in several directions: to the Gucia valley, (Vuthaj, Martinaj, etc.), and from there, to Çerem and Valbona of the Gjakova Highlands; to the Rugova mountains and further to Llap and other areas of Kosovo up to the Sandžak of Niš2; to Peshter of the Sandžak of Novi Pazar3; to the north-western coastal lowlands, mainly near Lezha, and to many other Albanian areas.
Kelmendi tribe in history and oral tradition
The various oral traditions, collected by Bogdani, Hecquardi up to Nopcsa and Durham at the beginning of the 20th century, adhere to a rough form: the first of the tribe, Kelmendi, had several sons, and each of them started a family, and later, a separate brotherhood; these brotherhoods developed until the form of the villages we know today. From an ethnographic point of view, Zojzi estimates that the Kelmendi, like the other mountain tribes around the Albanian Alps, have origins from the northernmost regions.
In addition to oral traditions and tradition, there is also abundant historical data about Kelmendi. In the Ottoman register of 1497, translated by S. Pulaha, two villages are mentioned in the Kelmendi district: Selçisha, with the hamlet of Liçen, and Içpaja with the hamlets of Gjonović, Lešović, Murić and Kolemad9. There, several individuals are also mentioned who may have been the founders of the main branch of the tribe: Vukza, son of Kelmendi, Vladi, son of Kelmendi, and Gjoni, son of Kelmendi (Klemendit), in Selçiša; Vuku, son of Kelmendi, in Içpajë-Djonović; Deda, son of Kelmendi, and Stepani, son of Kelmendi in Içpajë-Muriq.
Based on the analysis of the 1497 and 1582 registers, Pulaha concludes that permanent settlement and the formation of territorial tribes were in progress in 1497, and were fully completed by the end of the 16th century. The decline in population during this century, according to Pulaha, suggests that the Kelmendi herding brothers may have left the villages of Muriq and Kolemad, towards areas that are now in Montenegro, such as Muriqani or Goljemad.
DNA Results
As of July 2025, we have 34 Kelmend members in the Roots Project. According to the knowledge of each, none is more closely related than three generations to the other testees. Of these, 16 are from the part of Malësia e Madhe that was included in the four aforementioned bajrakëts, while 18 are from other areas, but which preserve the tradition of Kelmend tribal affiliation in their families. Of all these results, 6 are from tests with maximum resolution, which allows us to build the genealogical tree of the main trunk of Kelmend:
Conclusions
– As can be easily seen from the table, the Kelmend tribe is a fairly homogeneous tribe in paternal lineage. The vast majority of those tested (~85%) belong to a single lineage: E-V13>CTS9320>FT17132>BY92885. Only 5 out of 34 results do not belong to this trunk. Even the Pepushaj brotherhood, who are said to be ana3, are also of this lineage. In the Bosnian DNA Project11 there are other Kelmends tested, most also in the E-V13>BY62310 branch, and a small number of results under J2b-L283>Y23094 and R1b-BY611>Z2705.
– The Kelmends are descended from ancient Balkan peoples. E-V13>CTS9320>FT17132, as a sub-branch of E-V13>CTS9320, is related to a large number of other lineages found in Albanians, as well as to results from Antiquity, including one near Niš. Within E-V13>FT17132, the closest connections of the Kelmendi trunk are with one tested in Puka and with a group of families in Ferizaj who are related to the Krasniqe clan. While the most distant connections are with a family from Librazhd and several families of Vlach origin from the Kolonja and Korça areas. So far, this is the oldest branch with Albanian results under E-V13: its age is about 2200 years according to YFull (in FTDNA it may be a little older), so it touches the pre-Roman period. As an area of initial origin, the likelihood is that it is related to the western and central Balkans.
—–Among other lineages:
—–R1b-M269>BY611>Z2705>Y32147, the result of a person from Shkodra who is traditionally descended from Nikçi. This branch is found in relatively high density in the Highlands, especially in families from the Anase, so even without similar results from Kelmendi, it is possible that the tradition is correct, or perhaps the lineage is related to an area close to Kelmendi. In the Bosnian DNA Project there are several members of this branch who are thought to have descended from Kelmendi (Muriqi), about 1000-1100 years away from the person from Shkodra. This lineage also has origins in ancient Paleo-Balkan peoples.
—–J2b-L283>Y23094, mentioned above, also has origins in the Illyrian tribes of the western Balkans and has a high density and diversity in the Highlands.
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– It is possible that the majority of the tribe, the brotherhoods under E-V13>CTS9320>FT17132>BY92885, have distant origins from the northernmost regions of the Balkans, but there is no evidence that this movement has occurred in the last 1000 years. The closest results to the Kelmendese E-V13>FT17132>BY92885 come from present-day Albanian territories, so the movements from the Roman period to the present day are likely to have been concentrated in the northern part of Albanian territories.
– Despite some different results, the tradition that the different brotherhoods of the tribe have a common origin seems generally correct. It is not possible to say with certainty, without results from some untested fraternities, how many families in Selce, Nikce and Vukel belong to other branches, but the results so far show convincingly that the vast majority are of the same genealogical trunk.
– According to the detailed results, it appears that the connections between the Kelmend families reach back about 700-800 years. In the Ottoman register of 1491, individuals appear in Kelmend marked “son of Kelmend”, which can be interpreted as evidence that a person named Kelmend may have been the first of the tribe a little earlier in the 15th century, but this possibility does not match the genetic ancestor of the Kelmends around the 13th-14th century. Perhaps the personal name Kelmend may have been used in the tribe continuously without necessarily being the founder of the tribe, or perhaps this Kelmend of the 15th century may have given the tribal name not only to his descendants, but also to some other close brotherhoods.
– The oral tradition of the origin of the village of Valbonë shows that the first of the village was a Kelmend who settled from Vuthaj in Valbonë. Even some brotherhoods in the village of Vuthaj that have been tested have resulted in the main trunk of the tribe. So, the results confirm the blood connection between Valbonë, Vuthaj and the Kelmends in Malësia e Madhe.
– Among the Kelmendi outside the Greater Highlands, although E-V13>FT17132>BY92885 remains dominant, a slightly higher diversity is observed. This may be due to two phenomena. First, families with different origins may have joined the tribe in the regions where it migrated. Second, as Pulaha suggests, the Kelmendi tribe itself may have been more heterogeneous in the early period of its territorialization10, until one brotherhood dominated the rest of the families, displacing the latter. This dynamic of gradual homogenization until the territory matched the spread of the tribal nucleus is also observed in other tribes. The fact that in the Bosniak Project there are members of the Muriqi brotherhood with this result, while a family living today in the Muriq neighborhood tested E-V13>FT17132>BY92885 may be a case of replacement of a smaller brotherhood by families of the main trunk. However, to speak with more certainty, at least some results from the Muriq neighborhood are needed.
– Boga, as a special bajrak until the 19th century, has constantly aroused interest and debates about the connection with Kelmendi. Some traditions also present Boga as a descendant of another brother of the ancestors of Selca, Vuli and Nikçit, but both Nopcsa6 and Malcolmi1 have assumed that the tradition has been altered to justify the political union of Boga with Kelmendi. The results show that, regardless of whether the tradition has been changed or not, there is a blood relationship between Kelmendi and Boga. Also, the tradition recorded by Mark Krasniqi12 on the descent of the village of Bogë in Rugova from Boga in Malësia e Madhe may find genetic support in the closeness between members from both villages. With 4 results from this village and 1 from Boga in Rugova, we can say with certainty that the majority of Bogë is related to the rest of Kelmendi. The exception in Bogë is a result of haplogroup J2b-L283, close to the Hoti tribe.
– Several families on the Hoti side are also part of the main Kelmendi branch and must have descended from this tribe, which reinforces the long presence of both sides in the Malësia e Madhe area.
– In the northeastern part of Kosovo and in Medvegja there is a large number of Kelmendi brothers, who are mentioned in that area by Hahn in the mid-19th century. The members tested in these areas come from the villages of Brainë, Orllanë & Ballofc in Podujevë, from Tërpeza e Medvegjës, from Vushtrri. So far, all of these belong to the main paternal line, therefore in line with the Kelmendasi in Malësia and in Peshter. While one Kelmendasi family from Obiliq belongs to haplogroup J2b-L283, probably another rarer line from Kelmend in Malësia.
As we emphasized above, there are still many unknowns to be further illuminated through the expansion and deepening of the sample. We invite all Kelmendas who have completed Y chromosome tests to join the Roots project, and those who have not yet been tested to take a test and become a member, so that we can learn as much as possible about the origins of this tribe.
(Last updated: 07.2025)
Sources:
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1Malcolm, N. (2020). Rebels, Believers, Survivors: Studies in the History of the Albanians. Oxford University Press, USA. H
2Hahn, G.H. (1858). Travels in Dardanian Albania. Retrieved November 1st, 2020 from http://www.albanianhistory.net/1858_Hahn/index.html.
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4Malcolm, N. (2000). The Kelmendi: Notes on the Early History of a Catholic Albanian Clan. Südost-Forschungen, (59-60), 149-163.
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11Bosnjacki DNK Projekat. https://bosnjackidnk.com/baza-bez-markera/
12Krasniqi, M. (1978). Vendbanimet e Rugovës.