What is "kelmend"

Kelmendi is a historical tribe and region (Kelmendi mountains, Malet e Kelmendit) in the mountainous borderlands of Albania towards Montenegro, of the wider Malësia-region. Part of the region lies within the Kelmend municipality, and is composed of a Roman Catholic majority and Muslim minority. The Kelmendi speak a subdialect of Gheg Albanian as the other northern Albanian tribes.

Families hailing from Kelmendi can also be found in Plav, Montenegro and Rugova, Kosovo, where they are Muslim. The name is derived from Saint Clement, the patron saint of the region.

Kelmend is a former municipality in the Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Malësi e Madhe. The population at the 2011 census was 3,056.