Neighborly relations in Kosovo and Metohija between the two world wars - examples of family cooperatives (porodične zadruge)

In Kosovo and Metohija, the patriarchal way of life prevailed between the two world wars, so the population was organized into the traditional tribes, fis, and family cooperatives. These communities represented economic and social units in which each member had a specific role, among other things, in preserving and nurturing traditions and customs. In Metohija, Albanian family cooperatives had up to 80 or even more members. There were also dual-faith cooperatives (Catholic and Islamic) in which special attention was paid to customs and religious obligations. The members of the family cooperative formed one blood community, kindred ( fis), and members did not marry each other as long as there was an awareness of their common origin. Under the influence of agrarian reform, industrialization, and modernization, but also the aspirations of the members of the cooperative for personal income, these family cooperatives were subdivided into smaller families. This affected the size of their property holdings, which became smaller. The awareness of kinship among Albanians was much stronger than among Serbs, so the cooperative remained among them longer. In the years preceding the Second World War, due to the process of modernization, many family cooperatives broke up into smaller families.