Kuči (tribe)

Kuči (Cyrillic: Кучи, Albanian: Kuçi; pronounced [kût͡ʃi]^[a]) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanian origin and a region in central and eastern Montenegro (Brda region), north-east of Podgorica, extending along the border with Albania. Processes of Slavicisation during the Ottoman era and onwards facilitated ethno-linguistic shifts within much of the community. As such, people from the Kuči today largely identify themselves as Montenegrins and Serbs, with a minority still identifying as Albanians. In other areas such as the Sandžak, many Muslim descendants of the Kuči today identify as Bosniaks.

The Kuči first appear in historical records in 1330 as a brotherhood from an Albanian katun under the jurisdiction of the Dečani Monastery. The region itself is first mentioned in 1485 as a nahiyah of the Sandjak of Shkodra. Over time, several waves of settlers came to populate the region and form the historical community of Kuči. The region is known for its resistance against Ottoman rule and its key role in the creation of modern Montenegro. Until the 17th century, the Kuči region was equally Orthodox and Catholic. Today, it is mostly Orthodox except for the Catholic community of Koja. Muslim converts appear since 1485. In the 17th and 18th centuries, both voluntarily and non-voluntarily many people from the pleme began to settle in the Plav-Gusinje, Rožaje and the wider Sandžak region. Many of their descendants identify as Muslim Bosniaks.

The history of the people of Kuči represents the diversity of the area and its location at the crossroads between different cultures and religions. Marko Miljanov (1833-1901), a national hero of Montenegro who led the tribe in the Montenegrin-Ottomans Wars in 1861–62 and 1876–78, Jakup Ferri (1832-1879), a national hero of Albania who fought against Miljanov's annexation of his home territory Plav to Montenegro and Muamer Zukorlić, a modern Bosniak politician in the Sandžak were all from Kuči.