Johann Georg von Hahn recorded one of the first oral traditions about Mrkojevići from a Catholic priest named Gabriel in Shkodër in 1850. According to it the first direct male ancestor of the Mrkojevići was "Merkota Keqi", son of a "Keq " who fleeing from Ottoman conquest settled in a Slavic-speaking area that would become the historical Piperi region. His sons, the brothers "Lazër Keqi" (ancestor of Hoti)), "Ban Keqi" (ancestor of Triepshi), "Merkota Keqi, Kaster Keqi" (ancestor of Krasniqi) and "Vas Keqi" (ancestor of Vasojevići) had to abandon the village after committing murder against the locals, but "Keq" and his younger son "Piper Keqi" remained there and "Piper Keqi" became the direct ancestor of the Piperi tribe. Such stories exist in many tribes of northern Albania and southern Montenegro with different details every time in context with the general traditions of each tribe.