The Mataruge (alternatively, Mataruga or Motoruga) were a medieval Albanian tribe which originally lived in Old Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia. Their name is attested in historical record for the first time in 1222 in the Pelješac peninsula of Dalmatia. Throughout the 20th century, they were considered to have stopped existing as a separate community during the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 15th century. Modern research in the Ottoman archives showed that they had dispersed throughout the western Balkans following Ottoman conquest and formed settlements in other areas. By 1477, a part of them lived in the kaza of Prijepolje, where they formed their own distinct community (nahiye) with 10 villages (katund). One of their leaders appears in the defter to have been a Vojko Arbanash.[1] Other Mataruga communities had moved in central Croatia and Bosnia.[2] Over time they became culturally integrated in the surrounding communities of their new homelands. Families who trace their origin to the tribe are found today in all countries of the western Balkans.
Etymology
Various etymological derivations about the name of the tribe have been proposed which involve Albanian, Latin, Celtic or a combination of those languages.[1] One these links the name to a term which referred to a type of spear which was introduced by the Celts in the Balkans.[3] Like other communities in the western Balkans they were sometimes grouped socially with the Vlachs, a term which came to refer to the social status of pastoral semi-nomadic communities.[4][5][6][7]
Other
In folk, oral stories they have also been linked to other tribes like the Španje and the Kriči.[8][9] These communities seem to have also migrated along with Mataruge from Old Herzegovina to Croatia after in the wake of the Ottoman conquest.[2] Mataruge were frequently mentioned in historical documents of 14th and 15th century as a pasture society, with some of the most prominent of them being organizers of caravans for transport of salt and other goods from the seaside into mainlands.[10]
In the region of Grahovo, (Old Herzegovina) the Mataruge were mentioned between 1318 and 1398.[12]The tribe Riđani and other brotherhoods extensively tried to emigrate towards the fertile lands of the Grahovo field, However they faced resistance from the Mataruge natives which inhabited the area.[13] The Mataruge frequently attacked Travelers and Settlers along the Grahovo-Risan route.[14]
^Naučno društvo Bosne i Hercegovine (1965). Centar za balkanološka ispitivanja. p. 145. "su »nesumnjivo nasleđena od starih plemena ilirsko-romanskih starose- delaca Vlaha ili Arbanasa, kao npr. današnja plemena Kuci, možda Bratonožići, Sotondći, Paštrovići i dr., i negdašnja imena Mataguži, Ma-taruge, Bukumiri i dr.«224. [are »"no doubt inherited from ancient Illyrian tribes-the Roman old dwellers- part Vlach or Albanians, for example. Today's tribe Kuci, perhaps Bratonožići, Sotondći, Paštrovići etc., and former names Mataguži, Ma- taruge, Bukumiri and others. «224.]"
^Radovi odjeljenje društvenih nauka (1983). Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine. p. 95. "Pojedine istaknute družine su, po etničkom poreklu svog jezgra i, nesumnjivo, pretežnog dela svog sastava, bile arbanaske (Tuzi, Hoti, Mataguži, Pamalioti, Tronsi (Trompsi), Krampsi, Mogulsi, Bitidosi i drugi), a Arbanasi su, bar u staroj srpskoj državi, imali isti, ili približno isti, društveni položaj kakv su imali i Vlasi. [Some prominent families were, by ethnicity of its core and, undoubtedly, the substantial part of their composition, were Albanian (Tuzi, Hoti, Mataguži, Pamalioti, Tronsi (Trompsi), Krampsi, Mogulsi, Bitidosi i drugi) and Albanian, at least in the old Serbian state would have the same, or nearly the same, the social position they were at and with Vlachs too.]"
^Mulić, Jusuf (2005). "O nekim posebnostima vezanim za postupak prihataanja Islama u Bosni i netačnostima koje mu se pripisuju." Anali Gazi Husrev-begove biblioteke. 23-24: 184. "U popisima, Arbanasi su iskazivani zajedno s Vlasima. To otežava uvid u moguće razlike kod prihvatanja islama od strane Vlaha i Arbanasa. Jedino se kod plemena za koja se izrijekom zna da su arbanaška, mogla utvrditi pojavnost u prihvatanju islama (Bjelopavlići, Burmazi, Grude, Hoti, Klimente/Koeljmend, Kuči, Macure, Maine, Malonšići/Malonze, Mataruge/Mataronge i Škrijelji). [In the lists, Albanians are reported together with Vlachs. This makes studying the possible differences in the acceptance of Islam by Vlachs and Albanians. Only with the tribes that are specifically known to be Albanian, could establish the occurrence of the acceptance of Islam (Bjelopavlići, Burmazi, Grude, Hoti, Klimenta / Koeljmend, Maine, Macura, Maine, Malonšići/Malonzo, Mataruge/Mataronge and Škrijelj).]"
^Bulajić 1987, p. 18Poslije njegove pogibije, žena sa četiri sina bicži u Grahovsko polje, gdje je, navodno, živjelo pleme Mataruge (u dokumentima se pominje 1318—1389, a u popisu Hercegovačkog Sandžaka 1477. godine Turci navode podatke o njihovom spajanju sa Vlasima). Mataruge im ne dozvoljavaju da se nasele u polju. [After his death, a woman with four sons fled to the Grahovo field, where, allegedly, lived the tribe Mataruge (in documents it is mentioned 1318-1389, and in the census of the Herzegovinian Sanjak in 1477 Turks cite data on their connection with the Vlachs). The Mataruge do not allow them to settle in the field.]
