Vusanje

Vuthaj (Vusanje)
Vuthaj
Вусање
Town
Vuthaj (Vusanje)
Location of Vusanje in Montenegro
Coordinates: 42°31′46″N 19°50′25″E / 42.52944°N 19.84028°E / 42.52944; 19.84028Coordinates: 42°31′46″N 19°50′25″E / 42.52944°N 19.84028°E / 42.52944; 19.84028
Country  Montenegro
Municipality Plav Municipality
Population (2003)
 • Total 866
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code +382 51
Vehicle registration GS
Climate Cfb

Vusanje (Albanian: Vuthaj, Serbian Cyrillic: Вусање) is a small town in Montenegro, located southwest of the town of Plav. According to the 2003 census, the town had a population of 866.

Geography

Vusanje is located within the Plavë municipality, below the town of Guci Gusinje. It is located in the geographical region of Alpet Shqipetare (Albanian Alps), in the basin of the Lim river.[1] There is a notable waterfall, Gerla, and two water sourses Syri i Skafkaçit and Krojet e Ali Pash Gucisë, in the area.

History

The village was settled by ancestors of the Kelmendi region of Albania, by Gjon Bala and Nick Bala family. Until 1912, the town was part of Albania. The town was separated from the homeland by the European powers in the 1913 London conference and given to Montenegro. The village is made up of two settlements, Katundi i siper (upper village) and katundi i ulet (lower village). Also there is a hamlet called Zarunic. Post 1913, the village was subjected to repression and discrimination from the Montenegrin and Yugoslavian governments. The result was the expulsion of the 90% of the population to the USA, mostly in the New York area. The remaining population is now 100 % Albanian. It has also called 'Vusenje and Vušanje. The resident inhabitants call it Vuthaj.

There is an old cemetery in the village, called "the Catholic cemetery".[2]

Culture

There are two mosques in the village (1990).[3]

Anthropology

The village is Albanian-inhabited, one of three Kelmendi settlements along with Martinaj Martinovići and NokshiqNovšići, in the Upper Polimlje region (1958).[1] The majority of families hail from the nearby village Vukël in Kelmend across the border in Albania. The Albanians are native inhabitants in this region.

Families

  • Gjonbalaj and Đonbalić (Albanian: Gjonbalaj)
  • Ulaj and Uljević (Albanian: Uljaj)
  • Ahmetaj and Ahmetović (Albanian: Ahmetaj)
  • Vučetaj and Vučetović (Albanian: Vuçetaj)
  • Čeljaj and Čelić(Albanian: Çelaj)
  • Brunçaj, Bruçaj,
  • Kukaj
  • Dedushaj


During SFR Yugoslavia, families had Serbian(ized) surnames.[4]

Demographics

There is a high demographic vitality in Vusanje in relation to the other villages in the municipality.[5] The village is inhabited exclusively by Albanians,[6] Muslims by religion (2011 census).[7]

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1948 781—    
1953 859+10.0%
1961 935+8.8%
1971 1,103+18.0%
1981 1,399+26.8%
1991 1,103−21.2%
2003 866−21.5%
2011 648−25.2%
Source:

Notable people

• Shaban Brunçaj, Lawyer, politician. Secretary of Kosova Parliament for many years in the 1970s and 1980s. He led and wrote many legislative laws for the rights of Kosova people. He was a member and drafted the declaration of Independence of the Kosova Republic in July 2 1990. Worked with the provisional government, parallel state of Kosova during the 1990s until the Serbian military invaded and expelled half of the population, including his family. He passed away in 2018 in New Jersey, USA.

  • Mimoza Ahmeti, Poet
  • Metë Brunçaj, Engineer, inventor with US patents, activist for Kosove Independence
  • Isa Qosja, Albanian film director
  • Rexhep Qosja (born 1936), Albanian writer and literary critic.
  • Sadri Gjonbalaj, Retired Albanian-American soccer player
  • Ahmet Mustaf Celaj, Business man, Hard-Worker,Zoti e Shpis
  • Idriz Xh. Ulaj, Linguist, poet, newspaper editor, traditional oral history enthusiast and collector
  • Zenun Çelaj, Journalist, newspaper editor, linguist, former political prisoner of the Serbian regime
  • Lirak Çelaj, Actor, former member of KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army), politician
  • Arianit Çelaj, Former child actor in Yugoslavia, software engineer for British TV platform YouView
  • Gazmend Haxhi Gjonbalaj, Director of Research and Development, Bloomberg L.P, New York, USA
  • Ahmet Ulaj, Ulaj Family, Successful business family in the USA and the Balkans
  • Jusuf Ulaj, Doctor, Neuropsychiatric Specialist and Psychotherapist in Prishtina, Kosova
  • Naser Ulaj, Professor, Director of the Albanian language and culture association in Zürich, Switzerland
  • Jusuf Dedushaj, Doctor, Medical Professor
  • Imer Alia Ahmetaj, Albanian intellectual, activist for Albanian educational rights in Montenegro, distinguished teacher of Plav-Guci region, former political prisoner
  • Binak Ulaj, Linguist, professor, former director of "Xhevdet Doda", one of the most prominent high schools in the Balkans, former political prisoner of the Serbian regime
  • Halil Ahmetaj, Doctor
  • Bukurije Gjonbalaj, Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo in Italy
  • Brahim M.Ahmetaj, Professor
  • Donat Qosja, Actor
  • Ali Qosja, Lawyer
  • Enver Dedushaj, Politician in the municipality of Guci (Gusinje)
  • Rexhë Meta Ulaj (1906-1985), Albanian intellectual and patriot, distinguieshed alumni and scholar of Cambridge University, former prisoner of the Albanian Communist regime. He was sentenced with death penalty, but his sentence was later reduced to 27 years due to external interventions of the United States of America and the Great Britain
  • Tale Ulaj Ahmetaj, first Albanian woman in Plave-Guci region to attend university
  • Sulejman Çelaj, Medical Doctor, MD. Cardiologist, Director - Division of Cardiology at St. Barnabas Hospital in New York
  • Çel Sh. Çelaj, Successful businessman in New York, NY
  • Afrim Gjonbalaj, Journalist
  • Dritan Gjonbalaj, General Director at Civil Aviation of Kosovo
  • Enver Ulaj, Journalist
  • Jeton Idriz Dedushaj, Albanian martyr, KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army)
  • Rrustem Xh. Ulaj, Musician, Albanian traditional folklore
  • Mustafë Qosja, Director of the Albanian School in New York, NY
  • Ragip Goçaj, Politician at the municipality of Guci (Gusinje)
  • Serena Bruçaj, Miss New York 2016

References

  1. 1 2 Barjaktarović 1958, p. 217.
  2. ↑ Barjaktarović 1958, p. 219.
  3. ↑ Madžida Bećirbegović (1990), Džamije sa drvenom munarom u Bosni i Hercegovini, Veselin Masleša, p. 192, U okolini Gusinja, u selu Vusanje postoje dvije džamije sa drvenom munarom
  4. ↑ Vojska. 8. Vojnoizdavački i novinski centar. 1999. p. 48.
  5. ↑ Marko Knežević. "Проблеми привредног развоја општине Плав као узрок депопулације насеља". Velika.
  6. ↑ "Table N1. Population by etnicity by settlement". Census 2011 data - Settlements. MONSTAT.
  7. ↑ "Table N3. Population by religion by settlements". Census 2011 data - Settlements. MONSTAT.

Sources

  • Barjaktarović, Mirko (1958). O grobljima i grobovima u gornjem polimlju. Bulletin du Musée ethnographique de Beograd. Muzej. pp. 217–219.
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