Post by Bozur on Nov 18, 2007 0:18:00 GMT -5
Petar Vlahovic
The Serbian Origin of the Montenegrins
Petar Vlahovic is Professor of Ethnology of the Yugoslav Peoples and Ethnogenesis, and of Ethnic and Biophysical Anthropology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. He is the member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The paper The Serbian Origin of the Montenegrins was published in The Serbian Question in the Balkans, Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, 1995, pages 157-168. Translated into English by Dusanka Hadzi-Jovancic.
In this paper we want to point to the continuity of the Montenegrin ethnic determination and the forming of the Serbian ethnic being of the Montenegrins in different periods of time.
The name Serbs is one of the old Slav tribal names. This is attested by the traces from Polablje, Velikopoljska, and Pomorje (the three provinces belonging to Poland today). As early as in the mid 10th century the Serbs on the Balkan peninsula were aware of their links with the Serbs living in the north of the Slav original homeland. Even the learned emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) of Byzantium and his intellectual circle heard about the Serbs who had been brought from their homeland "White Serbia" by one of the sons of the ruler of the "unbaptised Serbs" in the time of Emperor Heraclius (610-640).[1]
The Serbian name has been mentioned in these parts since 822. Then, it was recorded that Ljudevit, the ruler of Posavina (the Sava river basin), when he was attacked by the Frankish army from Italy fled from the town of Sisak "...to the Serbs who, people say, live in the greater part of Dalmatia."[2] A century later, the Serbs were described by Porphyrogenitus as the landlords and inhabitants of the region between the town of Ras and the Pliva and Cetina rivers.[3] According to Porphyrogenitus, in the mid 10th century, they settled in the regions which were said to be Serbian and which extended from the Cetina river to the Ibar river and the Bay of Kotor.[4] In these regions lived the Neretljani, Zahumljani, Travunjani, and Konavljani that considered themselves to be Serbs, but there also lived the Serbs in the narrow sense who called their land "Baptised Serbia".[5]
Under the Serbian name Porphyrogenitus understood all the cubes which constituted the State of Czaslav. The tribes were those of Bosnia, Rashani, Trebinje, Konavle, Duklja, Zahumlje, and Neretva. So, the first Serbian tribal gathering in our past took place in the times of the rule of Czaslav. In the mid 10th century, Czaslav's state was the first to bear the name 'Serbia'.[6]
•••
The territory of the Serbian ethnic area was delimited as quoted in the heralds by Constantine Porphyrogenitus from the mid 10th century and in the reports of the Duklja Chronicle from the 12th century. Based on these sources one can produce a better geographical division of our regions in the period from the 10th to 12th century. In the middle of the 10th century, the border between the Serbs and Croats followed the courses of the Cetina and Pliva rivers. From the Cetina river extended the lands of the Neretljani, the famous pirates who, as mentioned by Porphyrogenitus, were the descendants of the "unbaptised Serbs". The Zahumska archontia also extended from the Neretva river. The Trebinjska archontia extended from Kotor all the way to Dubrovnik and to Gacko in the north encompassing the whole of the left coast of the Bay of Kotor and Konavle. Duklja, which was more often called Zeta since the 12th century, covered the area from the Byzantine district of Durazzo, from Bar to Travunia. West from the Lake of Scutari and the town itself, the border continued along the Zeta river to the Piva river. In the 12th century, Prince Miroslav built the monastery to SS Peter and Paul, which served as the seat of the Humska eparchy from the mid 13th century.[7]
It has already been mentioned that the first Serbian tribal gathering took place under Czaslav in the middle of the 10th century. He successfully consolidated his rule and Serbia with the aid of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, who in his work De Administrando Imperio under the Serbian name encompassed the present Bosnia extending to the rivers of Pliva, Cetina, and Lijevna in the west. In the east the Serbian border (towards the Byzantine Empire) reached Ras and in the north Mt. Rudnik and possibly the Sava river. On the grounds of this, Porphyrogenitus mentioned that within the boundaries of Czaslav's state and under the Serbian name lived the Bosnians, Rashani, Trebinjci, Konavljani, Dukljani, Zahumci, and Neretljani.[8] The same was pointed out by B. Grafenauer. He stated that Serbia from the mid 11th century, once and for all, united the regions of Raska, Duklja, and Travunia, and at times Zahumlje, Bosnia, and Neretljanska Principality were also pairs of this unified state organisation. Duklja was the centre of development only in the 11th century, while in the 12th century Raska (the Serbia of the time) once again became the mainstay of development; the centre of development then started shifting towards the Morava valley, the Danube river and Macedonia.[9]
•••
The clan system played an important role in the Serbian ethnic structure. Some of the clans replaced the previous names of the regions with their own names. Instead of the district of Vrsinje, Onogost or Prapratno there appealed Zupci, Niksici, Mrkojevici. There were many clan changes within the clan system. Tradition preserved these relationships to a certain extent, but they were confused and became legends.
Even sequences of clans of some old families were remembered. For example, in the Neretljanska kingdom lived the clan of Kacic. The Greeks even referred to it as "the people" whose loots reached back to the ancient times. Many historically authentic families originated from it, such as: Miosic, Zarkovic, Andrijasevic, Sipic, Petkovic, Bartulovic, and others. In the Trebinje region the Ljubibratic brotherhood was powerful. They were mentioned in the 14th century.[10]
In the Montenegro of today this kind of life is preserved in the old tradition and with very well developed old relationships. In Katunska nahye, for example, there are large clan areas of Cetinjani, Njegusi, Ceklici, Bajice, Cuce, Ozrinici, Pjesivci, Zagarac, Kocani. The Cetinjani clan includes branches of Bajice, Humci, Donjokrajci, Jabucani, Ocinici, Ugma, Bjelosa. The Bajice clan consists of the brotherhoods of Martinovic, Borilovic, Tomanovic, Vuksanovic, Milosevic, Batricevic, and others. Other clan groupings, which are firmly held together by blood and heritage, are also subdivided in this way. When clan honour is at stake, they become one body and soul and guard the prestige of their community with all their might. Only the Ljesanska nahye is not subdivided into clans. The cause of this probably lies in the Turkish invasion which caused the old population to disperse taking with them their clan heritage. Traces of a clan organisation can also be found in the highlands of eastern Herzegovina, which is a part of Montenegro.[11]
It is interesting to note that many Montenegrin clans derive their origin from some real or imaginary ancestor. They often connect themselves, whether they have real grounds or not, to the Nemanyich and the heroes of the Kosovo battle.
•••
There is documentary evidence that the Montenegrins by their origin and affiliation were and remained Serbs throughout their history. The Byzantine sources described the inhabitants of Duklja, i.e. Zeta, as the Serbs and used the term "Serb" solely as an ethnic feature. The name of the population of Montenegro always had a constant feature which never changed since the arrival of the Slavs, regardless of historical changes and creations, and that feature was their ethnic name - Serbs, and their language - Serbian. Even when they called and declared themselves as Dukljani, and later as Zecani, and finally as Montenegrins (for some time some of them called themselves Brdjani/Highlanders/ and Herzegovinians), they always had another common name - Serbs, and declared themselves so.[12]
For example, the Charter of King Milutin (14th century) to the Monastery of St. Nicholas on Vranjina bears witness to the fact that the term Serb was solely used in its ethnic sense. In the basin of Lake Scutari, where the estates of St. Nicholas monastery were situated, lived next to each other Serbs, Latins, Albanians, and Vlachs.[13]
As we already know, Bozidar of Podgorica lived and primed books in Venice in the 16th century. He was also active in the Orthodox Church commune and in the brotherhood of "St. George, the Greek", constituted by the Orthodox Greeks and Serbs. Bozidar , as a prominent person, was the president of this commune. In the Brotherhood Register, when paying the membership fee, he was registered as "Bozidar of Vece, the Serb", and the same description was also found in all of the decisions that were passed by the Brotherhood under his presidency.[14]
In 1514, the permit was issued to the Greek colony in Venice to build a church and among the four Orthodox members who were in charge of choosing and purchasing the land was "Andrija of Zeta, the Serb". As it can be seen, his nationality was defined in older to distinguish him from the other three members who were Orthodox Greeks.[15]
Bishop Danilo (1670-1735), the founder of the Petrovic dynasty, left a note reading: "Danil, the Cetinje bishop Njegos, the prince of the Serbian land, hereby purchased this sacred Gospel with gold."[16,17] Bishop Vasilije Petrovic (1709-1766) always signed himself: "Serene metropolitan of Montenegro, Skenderia, the Littoral and of the Serbian throne."[18]
Archbishop Vicko Zmajevic, in his address at the College of Venice, said of the people of his land: "The Serbian peoples of Montenegro and Grblja."[19]
In 1702, a metropolitan Avramije of Russia sent a book as a gift "...to the monastery of Savina located in the Serbian country."[20]
In 1788, Ivan Radonjic, the governor of Montenegro, wrote to the Russian Empress Catarrhina II stating: "All of us, Serbs Montenegrins, plead for your imperial mercy ..."[21]
In 1789 he wrote for the second rime to the Empress of Russia: "Now, all of us Serbs from Montenegro, Herzegovina, Banjani, Drobnjaci, Kuci, Piperi, Bjelopavlici, Zeta, Klimenti, Vasojevici, Bratonozici, Pec, Kosovo, Prizren, Arbania, Macedonia belong to your Excellency and pray that you, as our kind mother, send over Prince Sofronije Jugovic."[22]
•••
It is evident from the documents that the Montenegrins declared themselves as Serbs both historically and ethnically. The term Serb meant religious and national affiliation, particularly so after the adoption of Christianity in the 9th century. Then, on the whole of their ethnic area, the Serbs gradually became part of the Christian culture in the Mediterranean and acquired new elements in building and developing their own civilisation. Closely linked with Christianity were the Slavic, i.e. Serbian literacy and the beginnings of the Slavic and Serbian literature. Since then till the 13th century, almost all the Serbs except those living in Zeta and the Littoral entered the sphere of East Byzantine culture.[23] Parallel with religious and national components the principle of language and ethnic unity as a criterion of nationality gradually appeared from the time of Dositey Obradovic, and the same was our forward in Montenegro by Petar II Petrovic Njegos and King Nicholas.[24]
The State and Church were firmly linked in the Middle Ages, while under the Turks the links between the Church and the people were strong. This was fully expressed in Montenegro.[25] The Serbian state being subdued to the Turkish rule, the Church came into the limelight and started playing the role of the state as much as it was possible in such circumstances for in some matters the Serbian Church was in the forefront.[26] For a very long time, the Church dignitaries led the people in the battles against the Turks.[27] The Church was a single integral institution with a rich state tradition, its roots reaching back to the times of the Nemanyich, Balsic, and Crnojevic families. Therefore, it was qualified to lead the people.[28] Moreover, one may say that the authority of the Cetinje Metropolitanate arose from the Church authority which developed in the times of the Nemanyich, Balsic, and Crnojevic.[29] This can be recognised as an important integrating factor in the building of the ethnic consciousness and the unity of religious and national affiliations. For instance in 1757, Jovan Stefanov Balevic pointed out that "...all the inhabitants of Montenegro come from the Slav-Serbian people and Orthodox-Eastern righteous confession." Balevic enumerated among the adherents of the "Orthodox Serbian people" the clans of Kuci, Bratonozici, Vasojevici, Piperi, Rovcani, Moracani, Bjelopavlici.[30] The Montenegrins expressed their Serbian national consciousness in all stages of their development, and also when joining the common Yugoslav state.[31]
cont
The Serbian Origin of the Montenegrins
Petar Vlahovic is Professor of Ethnology of the Yugoslav Peoples and Ethnogenesis, and of Ethnic and Biophysical Anthropology at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. He is the member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The paper The Serbian Origin of the Montenegrins was published in The Serbian Question in the Balkans, Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, 1995, pages 157-168. Translated into English by Dusanka Hadzi-Jovancic.
In this paper we want to point to the continuity of the Montenegrin ethnic determination and the forming of the Serbian ethnic being of the Montenegrins in different periods of time.
The name Serbs is one of the old Slav tribal names. This is attested by the traces from Polablje, Velikopoljska, and Pomorje (the three provinces belonging to Poland today). As early as in the mid 10th century the Serbs on the Balkan peninsula were aware of their links with the Serbs living in the north of the Slav original homeland. Even the learned emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) of Byzantium and his intellectual circle heard about the Serbs who had been brought from their homeland "White Serbia" by one of the sons of the ruler of the "unbaptised Serbs" in the time of Emperor Heraclius (610-640).[1]
The Serbian name has been mentioned in these parts since 822. Then, it was recorded that Ljudevit, the ruler of Posavina (the Sava river basin), when he was attacked by the Frankish army from Italy fled from the town of Sisak "...to the Serbs who, people say, live in the greater part of Dalmatia."[2] A century later, the Serbs were described by Porphyrogenitus as the landlords and inhabitants of the region between the town of Ras and the Pliva and Cetina rivers.[3] According to Porphyrogenitus, in the mid 10th century, they settled in the regions which were said to be Serbian and which extended from the Cetina river to the Ibar river and the Bay of Kotor.[4] In these regions lived the Neretljani, Zahumljani, Travunjani, and Konavljani that considered themselves to be Serbs, but there also lived the Serbs in the narrow sense who called their land "Baptised Serbia".[5]
Under the Serbian name Porphyrogenitus understood all the cubes which constituted the State of Czaslav. The tribes were those of Bosnia, Rashani, Trebinje, Konavle, Duklja, Zahumlje, and Neretva. So, the first Serbian tribal gathering in our past took place in the times of the rule of Czaslav. In the mid 10th century, Czaslav's state was the first to bear the name 'Serbia'.[6]
•••
The territory of the Serbian ethnic area was delimited as quoted in the heralds by Constantine Porphyrogenitus from the mid 10th century and in the reports of the Duklja Chronicle from the 12th century. Based on these sources one can produce a better geographical division of our regions in the period from the 10th to 12th century. In the middle of the 10th century, the border between the Serbs and Croats followed the courses of the Cetina and Pliva rivers. From the Cetina river extended the lands of the Neretljani, the famous pirates who, as mentioned by Porphyrogenitus, were the descendants of the "unbaptised Serbs". The Zahumska archontia also extended from the Neretva river. The Trebinjska archontia extended from Kotor all the way to Dubrovnik and to Gacko in the north encompassing the whole of the left coast of the Bay of Kotor and Konavle. Duklja, which was more often called Zeta since the 12th century, covered the area from the Byzantine district of Durazzo, from Bar to Travunia. West from the Lake of Scutari and the town itself, the border continued along the Zeta river to the Piva river. In the 12th century, Prince Miroslav built the monastery to SS Peter and Paul, which served as the seat of the Humska eparchy from the mid 13th century.[7]
It has already been mentioned that the first Serbian tribal gathering took place under Czaslav in the middle of the 10th century. He successfully consolidated his rule and Serbia with the aid of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, who in his work De Administrando Imperio under the Serbian name encompassed the present Bosnia extending to the rivers of Pliva, Cetina, and Lijevna in the west. In the east the Serbian border (towards the Byzantine Empire) reached Ras and in the north Mt. Rudnik and possibly the Sava river. On the grounds of this, Porphyrogenitus mentioned that within the boundaries of Czaslav's state and under the Serbian name lived the Bosnians, Rashani, Trebinjci, Konavljani, Dukljani, Zahumci, and Neretljani.[8] The same was pointed out by B. Grafenauer. He stated that Serbia from the mid 11th century, once and for all, united the regions of Raska, Duklja, and Travunia, and at times Zahumlje, Bosnia, and Neretljanska Principality were also pairs of this unified state organisation. Duklja was the centre of development only in the 11th century, while in the 12th century Raska (the Serbia of the time) once again became the mainstay of development; the centre of development then started shifting towards the Morava valley, the Danube river and Macedonia.[9]
•••
The clan system played an important role in the Serbian ethnic structure. Some of the clans replaced the previous names of the regions with their own names. Instead of the district of Vrsinje, Onogost or Prapratno there appealed Zupci, Niksici, Mrkojevici. There were many clan changes within the clan system. Tradition preserved these relationships to a certain extent, but they were confused and became legends.
Even sequences of clans of some old families were remembered. For example, in the Neretljanska kingdom lived the clan of Kacic. The Greeks even referred to it as "the people" whose loots reached back to the ancient times. Many historically authentic families originated from it, such as: Miosic, Zarkovic, Andrijasevic, Sipic, Petkovic, Bartulovic, and others. In the Trebinje region the Ljubibratic brotherhood was powerful. They were mentioned in the 14th century.[10]
In the Montenegro of today this kind of life is preserved in the old tradition and with very well developed old relationships. In Katunska nahye, for example, there are large clan areas of Cetinjani, Njegusi, Ceklici, Bajice, Cuce, Ozrinici, Pjesivci, Zagarac, Kocani. The Cetinjani clan includes branches of Bajice, Humci, Donjokrajci, Jabucani, Ocinici, Ugma, Bjelosa. The Bajice clan consists of the brotherhoods of Martinovic, Borilovic, Tomanovic, Vuksanovic, Milosevic, Batricevic, and others. Other clan groupings, which are firmly held together by blood and heritage, are also subdivided in this way. When clan honour is at stake, they become one body and soul and guard the prestige of their community with all their might. Only the Ljesanska nahye is not subdivided into clans. The cause of this probably lies in the Turkish invasion which caused the old population to disperse taking with them their clan heritage. Traces of a clan organisation can also be found in the highlands of eastern Herzegovina, which is a part of Montenegro.[11]
It is interesting to note that many Montenegrin clans derive their origin from some real or imaginary ancestor. They often connect themselves, whether they have real grounds or not, to the Nemanyich and the heroes of the Kosovo battle.
•••
There is documentary evidence that the Montenegrins by their origin and affiliation were and remained Serbs throughout their history. The Byzantine sources described the inhabitants of Duklja, i.e. Zeta, as the Serbs and used the term "Serb" solely as an ethnic feature. The name of the population of Montenegro always had a constant feature which never changed since the arrival of the Slavs, regardless of historical changes and creations, and that feature was their ethnic name - Serbs, and their language - Serbian. Even when they called and declared themselves as Dukljani, and later as Zecani, and finally as Montenegrins (for some time some of them called themselves Brdjani/Highlanders/ and Herzegovinians), they always had another common name - Serbs, and declared themselves so.[12]
For example, the Charter of King Milutin (14th century) to the Monastery of St. Nicholas on Vranjina bears witness to the fact that the term Serb was solely used in its ethnic sense. In the basin of Lake Scutari, where the estates of St. Nicholas monastery were situated, lived next to each other Serbs, Latins, Albanians, and Vlachs.[13]
As we already know, Bozidar of Podgorica lived and primed books in Venice in the 16th century. He was also active in the Orthodox Church commune and in the brotherhood of "St. George, the Greek", constituted by the Orthodox Greeks and Serbs. Bozidar , as a prominent person, was the president of this commune. In the Brotherhood Register, when paying the membership fee, he was registered as "Bozidar of Vece, the Serb", and the same description was also found in all of the decisions that were passed by the Brotherhood under his presidency.[14]
In 1514, the permit was issued to the Greek colony in Venice to build a church and among the four Orthodox members who were in charge of choosing and purchasing the land was "Andrija of Zeta, the Serb". As it can be seen, his nationality was defined in older to distinguish him from the other three members who were Orthodox Greeks.[15]
Bishop Danilo (1670-1735), the founder of the Petrovic dynasty, left a note reading: "Danil, the Cetinje bishop Njegos, the prince of the Serbian land, hereby purchased this sacred Gospel with gold."[16,17] Bishop Vasilije Petrovic (1709-1766) always signed himself: "Serene metropolitan of Montenegro, Skenderia, the Littoral and of the Serbian throne."[18]
Archbishop Vicko Zmajevic, in his address at the College of Venice, said of the people of his land: "The Serbian peoples of Montenegro and Grblja."[19]
In 1702, a metropolitan Avramije of Russia sent a book as a gift "...to the monastery of Savina located in the Serbian country."[20]
In 1788, Ivan Radonjic, the governor of Montenegro, wrote to the Russian Empress Catarrhina II stating: "All of us, Serbs Montenegrins, plead for your imperial mercy ..."[21]
In 1789 he wrote for the second rime to the Empress of Russia: "Now, all of us Serbs from Montenegro, Herzegovina, Banjani, Drobnjaci, Kuci, Piperi, Bjelopavlici, Zeta, Klimenti, Vasojevici, Bratonozici, Pec, Kosovo, Prizren, Arbania, Macedonia belong to your Excellency and pray that you, as our kind mother, send over Prince Sofronije Jugovic."[22]
•••
It is evident from the documents that the Montenegrins declared themselves as Serbs both historically and ethnically. The term Serb meant religious and national affiliation, particularly so after the adoption of Christianity in the 9th century. Then, on the whole of their ethnic area, the Serbs gradually became part of the Christian culture in the Mediterranean and acquired new elements in building and developing their own civilisation. Closely linked with Christianity were the Slavic, i.e. Serbian literacy and the beginnings of the Slavic and Serbian literature. Since then till the 13th century, almost all the Serbs except those living in Zeta and the Littoral entered the sphere of East Byzantine culture.[23] Parallel with religious and national components the principle of language and ethnic unity as a criterion of nationality gradually appeared from the time of Dositey Obradovic, and the same was our forward in Montenegro by Petar II Petrovic Njegos and King Nicholas.[24]
The State and Church were firmly linked in the Middle Ages, while under the Turks the links between the Church and the people were strong. This was fully expressed in Montenegro.[25] The Serbian state being subdued to the Turkish rule, the Church came into the limelight and started playing the role of the state as much as it was possible in such circumstances for in some matters the Serbian Church was in the forefront.[26] For a very long time, the Church dignitaries led the people in the battles against the Turks.[27] The Church was a single integral institution with a rich state tradition, its roots reaching back to the times of the Nemanyich, Balsic, and Crnojevic families. Therefore, it was qualified to lead the people.[28] Moreover, one may say that the authority of the Cetinje Metropolitanate arose from the Church authority which developed in the times of the Nemanyich, Balsic, and Crnojevic.[29] This can be recognised as an important integrating factor in the building of the ethnic consciousness and the unity of religious and national affiliations. For instance in 1757, Jovan Stefanov Balevic pointed out that "...all the inhabitants of Montenegro come from the Slav-Serbian people and Orthodox-Eastern righteous confession." Balevic enumerated among the adherents of the "Orthodox Serbian people" the clans of Kuci, Bratonozici, Vasojevici, Piperi, Rovcani, Moracani, Bjelopavlici.[30] The Montenegrins expressed their Serbian national consciousness in all stages of their development, and also when joining the common Yugoslav state.[31]
cont