I will talk a bit about a sacred tradition which is known as “Besa” and it is also known as the Albanian code of honor.
Besa is a divine or sacred tradition which was practiced among the Albanians and the Illyrians for thousands of years.
Besa functioned as a constitution which was upheld above any tradition or costumery law in the Albanian culture.
In and of itself, Besa is a sacred institution with merciful inspiration which gave leeway to the protection of life, before the harming it. Besa is honor and honor is Besa.
It is a crown and a shrine which governed Albanian society for thousands of years and its effects are felt even in today’s modern society.
1. Besa is an oath or a word of honor which one takes or invokes to perform an action or a deed within a stated or assumed amount of time or until it is fulfilled.
2. Besa is a pledge of honor which functioned as a moral absolute in the Albanian culture. Honor is larger than life in the Albanian society, therefore, one who took this pledge, would usually do the impossible to fulfill it, even if it meant to put his own life at risk or his own family’s life at risk. This is not an overstatement or a metaphor by any means. There are thousands of recorded historical accounts where Albanian men or Albanian families put themselves at risk in order for them to protect people who were being persecuted or people who needed protection.
3. In practice, Besa was used for the protection of any guest. To be able to host and to be an honorable host, it is a privilege given by God in the Albanian society and culture, for which Albanians even have a saying, which says, “The home of the Albanian belongs to God and to the guest.” Regarding the honoring and the protection of the guest, the Albanian honor code functions very similarly to the code of honor of the samurais in Japan. It is interesting how two almost identical traditions were developed in two parts of the world which are so far in distance from one-another. Perhaps there are unknown connections in the unknown mists of history which researchers haven’t discovered yet.
4. In many occasions, the extent of Besa went even to hosting and giving protection to a declared enemy, and there are countless of occasions where someone under Besa has given protection, in their own home, even to someone who was in a blood feud with their own family. The guarantee of Besa was absolute even in the worst-case scenario. This is an indication of a society which functioned with a degree of very high and very sacred honor as a tradition which was practiced in daily life both as a verbal and a legal binding.
5. Besa is a guarantee for life and a guarantee of safety! Historically, in the Albanian tribal society, Besa was a guarantee to grant safe passage to a traveler, or to guarantee temporary safety to a friend or to an enemy, as long as the enemy was accompanied by someone who would grant them their word of honor. This would render the one under the protection of Besa untouchable for the duration of the time of the agreed invocation of the oath.
6. Besa is an unbreakable promise. When Albanians lived under tribal laws, verbal agreements were honored without documents. Under Besa, business transactions or oaths were fulfilled with honor and with a handshake.
7. It has been said that Besa may be as old as the dawn of humanity. It is in fact, an inherent human value which lives in the essence of the human soul. Consciously or unconsciously, honor is practiced in many native traditions around the world but the Albanians and a few other cultures raised it up and made it a guide and a way of livelihood which is practiced as a sacred and a divine tradition.
Some Linguistic Meanings of Besa.
Besa is a very simple word in the Albanian language which has encrypted in it many meanings that function simultaneously as a divine decree rendered by an oath of honor, which comes into effect by the deeds required to fulfill it.
The direct and closest translation for it in English, would simply mean “an oath” but decrypting the infused meanings in the word “Besa”, is a journey in and of itself. So, if you are curious to know more, come with me in this little journey and let’s unpack some of the linguistic gems hidden in this living treasure, which was delivered from antiquity, through time, to the living Albanian tradition, so that at least we may explore some of its essence.
Besa is also a synonym to the word “nder” in the Albanian language which means “honor” in English. Therefore, besa means “honor”.
The root for the word “besa” is the word “be” which means “oath” in the Albanian language.
The word “be” is also the root for the word “bej” in the Albanian language, which means “to do” or “to make” in English. So, linguistically Besa is not only an oath of honor taken, but it is an oath of action as well. It is important to notice that the historical practices of Besa are in harmony with the linguistic developments of the words describing it. This shows that the tradition and the language, both developed domestically within the same culture.
The word “besa” is also the root for the word “besim” which means both “trust” and “faith” in English and it is a compound word, which is made from the words “bes” meaning “oath”, and “im” meaning “mine”. Therefore, the meanings of “trust” and “faith” in the Albanian language are not only bound to the direct translation of the word “besim” but they also mean “an oath of mine”, which is an oath of action, which is trust and which is faith.
Linguistically, it is easily noticeable that this tradition evolved as a natural domestic natural expression in the Albanian culture, where it can be seen that the practical part of the tradition has evolved in a parallel manner with the linguistic part of it, as a result of the necessity of the expression of certain deeds or acts within a society and culture.
The Albanian language and culture are both very old; and sometimes, the studying of them is like a small journey through time, where history seems to be recorded in the development of the language itself.
This is only one of the few unique beauties of the ancient Albanian language.
The Oath of Man and the Oath of God
Besa in the Albanian tradition is also known as:
1. “Besa e Burrit.”, which means, “The oath of man.”
2. “Besa e te parit.”, which literally means, “The oath of the first one.”, and some say that it may refer to the first of mankind, which in other traditions would be known as Adam, the first human.
3. And “Besa e Zotit.”, which means both, “The oath of God.”, and, “The oath to God.”, as a two-way oath between God and man.
Do you think that “Besa” is really a tradition which may have emerged with the beginning of humanity and as a testament from God and as a testament to God?
Follow my channel as we map a little portion of the human journey while exploring in depth stories, words and meanings from one of the oldest living nations.
As a Conclusion
“Besa” is a sacred tradition in the Albanian culture, which means “an oath of honor”. It is also an oath of honor which is required to be followed by actions or deeds, both practically and linguistically. This oath of honor or this judicial act is also an act of faith and an act of full trust made with faith in God, thus, the Albanian saying, “The home of the Albanian belongs to God and to the guest,” is brought to life wholeheartedly as a historical tradition, as a sacred way of living, as a living tradition, as a verbal expression and as an oath taken with faith in God.
When two or more Albanians would come to an agreement on a matter, they would usually shake hands and say the saying, “Besa, Bese!”, which translates into the following meanings simultaneously and interactively, where one could not be separate from the other, “The oath is an oath!”, or “The honor is honor!”, or “The faith is faith!”, or “The trust is trust!”
So, it is with this amount of faith that an agreement to any deal which was made between two people would take place in tribal Albania. And it is with this amount of trust and faith that “Besa” was practiced in the Albanian society through thousands of years.
Thank you all for coming with me in this little journey! I hope you have enjoyed my video and I wish you all the best!
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