Ismet Toto: An Introduction & The Owl
“The more uncivilised a person is, the more they fear death.” - Ismet Toto
Who was Ismet Toto?
Ismet Toto was born in 1908 into an aristocratic family from the Progonat region of Gjirokastër County. His lineage traced back to the Asllan Pashalik family, a line of petty nobles and administrators who had governed areas such as Libohovë, Gjirokastër, and Delvinë for centuries. However, the family fell out of favour with the Ottoman Porte following his great-great-grandfather’s involvement in the Tanzimat reforms and the subsequent Albanian uprising of 1847.
Toto’s early life remains somewhat obscure, though it is known that he was a studious child and was later awarded a scholarship to study statistics in Rome. Upon completing his studies, he was appointed a diplomat by President Zog’s government, serving in Italy and Germany. During his time abroad, Toto wrote extensively and favourably about Hitler and his reforms, which he had witnessed firsthand and hoped to see replicated in Albania.
Upon returning to Albania in the 1930s, he began contributing to various nationalist publications under pseudonyms such as Aureolis Borealis, Borealis, Real, Dinamikus, D, Polifemus, Omega, Neo, Spero, Arbëreshi, Arbërori, Drini, Tomori, Ë., and Plaku. However, his return quickly led to disillusionment with Zog, who had since declared himself king. Toto no longer regarded him as the potential saviour of the nation, but as a usurper who had betrayed Albania’s youth.
For several years, he fiercely criticised Zog and his government, accusing them of having stolen the energy and idealism of the younger generation, exhausting it in the service of personal ambition rather than meaningful reform. This disillusionment ultimately culminated in the Delvinë Uprising, in which Toto, alongside several hundred others, attempted to overthrow the monarchy. The revolt failed, and Toto—then only 29 years old—was executed by hanging along with other leaders. Their deaths served as yet another tragic example of Albania’s tendency to eliminate its intellectuals and patriots in order to preserve the power of petty kings. Dysgenics in the fullest sense of the word.
Kukuvajka or The Owl
Upon the shattered ruins of "Besa" an old owl has perched, speaking with its shrill and hateful voice. Sometimes it cries, and sometimes it pretends to sing with its famous sighs and whims. There is no more villainous bird than this owl today on Albanian soil. It is one of a kind.
The "Besa-keepers" are rubbing their hands, their bellies, and counting their golden Napoléons. The owl, however, finds their hearts and vomits from its eloquent mouth all the misery that this hated group has in their minds.
With the cunning that distinguishes every trickster, it provokes the entire Albanian world and rejoices, because no one can answer its questions! But who would bother, or who among us is so foolish as to engage in a serious conversation with the owl, which has perched upon the ruins of "Besa"?
The "Besa-keepers" have plenty of gold, and for this reason, they will continue to trample the ruins and the owl. Even today, their resources—their usual resources—have not run out! And the Albanian world will continue to hear the shrill cries of the owl, cursed by the entire Albanian people.
But one day the owl will burst. If nothing else, the universal hatred of a people, miraculously, will materialize into a lightning bolt and cast it into the earth…
Comments on the Translation & an Explanation
This piece, published in 1936, is characteristic of the allegorical style that was prominent amongst dissenters in early 20th-century Albania, and which is still quite common. The reason for this is not so complex: people were afraid to air their real thoughts. They needed to symbolically dissent, as they were too afraid to attach their real names to such works. For example, Midhat Frashëri went by Lumo Skëndo; Ismet Toto had several pen names; Vangjel Koça went by Nirvana; and there are many other examples.
The "Owl" in this piece represents several people and things at once: the foreign interests which Toto and others believed had begun to sap the lifeblood of Albania, and Zog himself. These entities acted by sitting atop the ruins of the ancient framework of ethics so as to make themselves untouchable. This is because "Besa" is not so easily broken. The malaise of the Albanian psyche for much of this period was the incapability to act in a dishonourable way, a way that would not be becoming of a man of "Besa," leaving those who would and could to pick up the pieces and govern the others. The "Besa-keepers," or oath-keepers, are the low-level feudal lords who carry out Zog's bidding, and even Zog himself.
(notes)
Besa — This is a complex and ancient concept that likely deserves a post of its own, but to summarise briefly: it is the Albanian framework of ethics and honour, one so old it is almost impossible to date. It is a vow that, once given, cannot easily be retracted. This framework has led to much turmoil and violence in Albanian history and represents the most intense expression of the stereotypical Mediterranean society, one that struggled to trust even itself, let alone others.
Napoléons — Also known as Napolana in Albanian, these French gold coins served as the de facto currency in Albania during the final decades of Ottoman rule and well into early statehood. Their use stemmed from the persistent failure of successive governments to centralise or stabilise monetary policy. The solid gold French franc, trusted for its stability and prestige, became a preferred store of value. Napoléons likely entered Albania during Napoleon’s Adriatic campaigns, when Albanian regiments in his service were paid in French currency. Under the Communists in the 1950s–60s, remaining coins were often confiscated and melted down, though a few survive today as heirlooms, especially in rural areas.