Triesh is one of the seven Albanian tribes of Malësi e Madhe. Today, around 400 descendants of the tribe live in the small but active tribal sub-region. Trieshi, as well as Hot

Hot, Albania

Hot is a settlement in the Kastrat Municipality, Malësi e Madhe District, Shkodër County, northern Albania. It has a population of 1,473....

, derive from a single ancestor named Keq Preka. The founder of half the Trieshi tribe was Ban Keqi; the other half of the Trieshi tribe was said to have settled in the land 100 years before the arrival of Ban.

There are currently over 500 households worldwide that originate from the Trieshi tribe. Trieshi consists ten villages: Rudinë, Nikmarashi, Muzheçku, Budzë, Poprat, Stjepohi, Benkaj, Delaj, Cemi i Trieshit, and part of Koritë. The people of Trieshi are called "Trieshjan" (males) and "Trieshjane" (females) who are entirely Roman Catholic along with the majority of Malësia

Malësia

Malësia or Malësia e Madhe, is a historical geographical region in northern Albania and eastern Montenegro. It consists of an area of land that stretches from the southeast of Podgorica to northern shores of Lake Scutari, and includes much of the Malësi e Madhe District of Albania...

. The Trieshjan's were never suppressed by the Ottomans and never paid any taxes to the Turks.

Trieshi contributed several notable singers such as Nikollë Nikprelaj

Nikollë Nikprelaj

Nikollë Nikprelaj is an Albanian singer from Triesh, in Malësia . Nikprelaj began his professional career in his late teens. He is now the lead singer for the Albanian folk group "Besa Trieshit", which has won first place in concerts and festivals within Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania...

 and Malësori

Malësori

Malësor Prenkoçaj , better known by his stage name Malësori, is a famous Albanian singer from Malesi e Madhe.-Career:Born and raised in Podgorica, Montenegro to Albanian parents from Triesh, Malesi e Madhe....

. Today, many people from Trieshi have migrated to the United States, but those who still live back home are inhabiting the town of Tuzi

Tuzi

Tuzi is a town in the Podgorica municipality, Montenegro, located along a main road between the city of Podgorica and the Albanian border crossing, just a few kilometers north of Lake Skadar. The exact location of Tuzi is...

 or the capital city of Podgorica

Podgorica

Podgorica , is the capital and largest city of Montenegro.Podgorica's favourable position at the confluence of the Ribnica and Morača rivers and the meeting point of the fertile Zeta Plain and Bjelopavlići Valley has encouraged settlement...

, Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

.

Highlander Uprising - Battle of Lemaja

Trieshi was known for starting the Albanian Highlander Uprising (Kryengritja e Malesis) against the Ottomans in 1907 at the Battle of Lemaja. This battle was fought at the Cemi River located in Triesh. According to the locals, the only thing separating the two forces was a bridge over Cemi. 150 Trieshjan participated in that battle, where Maluk Vata Gjurashaj was the soldier to start the battle by shooting his rifle first. The result to this battle proved victorious for the Albanians and later lead to other battles in Malesia, for example the Battle of Deciq

Battle of Deçiq

The Battle of Deçiq marked the beginning of the turning point for Albanian liberty. It was in this battle that the Flag of Albania was raised for the first time after 442 years of Ottoman occupation...

 of 1911.

Surnames (fis) of Triesh

Arapaj, Gjurashaj, Gjuravçaj, Margilaj, Cacaj, Gjeloshaj, Gjonaj, Gjokaj, Gegaj, Gjonlekaj, Dukaj, Dedivanaj, Ujkaj (bajraktart), Nikprelaj, Micakaj, Gashaj, Palushaj, Prenkoçaj, Lekoçaj, Memçaj, Hasanaj, Lucaj, Curanaj (migrated to Guci), Vataj (migrated to Kosove).

Current population

• Delaj - 65
• Budza (Budzë) - 37
• Stjepohi - 59
• Muzheçku - 15
• Bënkaj - 7
• Nikmaraši (Nikmarashi) - 13
• Rudina - 30
• Poprat - 72