Montenegrins of the Black Mountain, a Proud Highland People of the Adriatic

On the Adriatic coast of the western Balkans, in a small land of black mountains, deep canyons, and a shining sea, live the Montenegrins, a South Slavic people famed for their warrior spirit and their long fight for freedom. Closely bound to the Serbs yet proud of their own state and history, Orthodox in faith and heroic in their epic songs, they are one of the small but distinctive nations of the Balkans.

This is the story of who the Montenegrins are: where they came from, how they lived in their highland clans, what they believe, and how they held their freedom in the mountains through centuries of Ottoman pressure before building a modern state. It is a tale of honor and resistance, of prince-bishops and poets, of a proud people whose gusle songs and mountain traditions carry their heritage into the present day.

The Montenegrins on Film

Origins
The Name
The Language
The Homeland
The Old Way of Life
Society and Community
Religion and Belief
Traditions
Crafts
Food
Festivals
History
Today

Origins

The Montenegrins are a South Slavic people of the western Balkans, the majority nation of the small mountainous country of Montenegro on the Adriatic coast. Closely related to the Serbs and the other South Slavs, with whom they share much of their language, faith, and history, they nonetheless developed a distinct identity of their own, forged above all in the harsh and independent world of their mountains.

The ancestors of the Montenegrins were among the Slavic tribes who settled the western Balkans in the early Middle Ages, in a land that had known Illyrian tribes, Roman rule, and the Byzantine world. In the medieval period this region gave rise to early Slavic states, above all the principality known as Duklja, and later Zeta, which are looked back on as the medieval forerunners of Montenegro.

What above all shaped the Montenegrin nation was the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. As the Ottomans conquered the Balkans, the highland communities of the Black Mountain, from which the country takes its name, held out in their rugged terrain, preserving their Orthodox Christian faith and a fierce independence when much of the region fell under Ottoman rule.

From this long resistance in the mountains grew the distinct Montenegrin people, famed for their warrior spirit, their code of honor, and their attachment to freedom. Bound to the wider Serbian and South Slavic world yet proud of their own separate state and identity, the Montenegrins became one of the small but distinctive nations of the Balkans.

The Name

The Montenegrin flag — The red flag of Montenegro with its golden double-headed eagle.

The Montenegrins call themselves Crnogorci and their country Crna Gora, which means the Black Mountain, a name echoed in the Venetian-derived Montenegro used internationally. The name refers to the dark, forested mountains at the heart of the land, above all around the old capital of Cetinje, where the free Montenegrin state took shape.

The name thus binds the people to their mountainous homeland and to the long struggle for freedom waged from its heights. Through the centuries of resistance to the Ottomans and the later history of the principality and kingdom, Crna Gora came to stand for a distinct land and people in the western Balkans.

The national flag of Montenegro is a red banner bordered with gold, bearing in its center the golden double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of the old royal house, symbols reaching back to the state’s princely and royal past. This emblem expresses the strong sense of a distinct Montenegrin nation and its history.

Montenegro is today an independent republic, having regained its statehood in 2006, and the Montenegrin name carries a strong sense of nationhood, though questions of identity remain, with some Montenegrins feeling close to the Serbs and others emphasizing a distinct Montenegrin nation. The name of Crna Gora stands for a small, proud people of the Black Mountain and the Adriatic.

The Language

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, prince-bishop and greatest poet of Montenegro.

The language of the Montenegrins is a South Slavic tongue very closely related to Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian, part of the group of closely related standards that were once considered a single language, so that Montenegrins, Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks can readily understand one another. In Montenegro this language is now officially called Montenegrin.

The question of the name and status of the language has been politically charged, bound up with the wider question of Montenegrin identity and its relationship to the Serbs. Some Montenegrins regard their speech as Serbian, others as a distinct Montenegrin language, and the standardization of Montenegrin, including some distinctive letters and forms, has been part of the assertion of a separate national identity.

Whatever its name, the language has a distinguished literary heritage, above all the works of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, the nineteenth-century prince-bishop and poet whose epic The Mountain Wreath is regarded as a masterpiece of South Slavic literature and a foundation of Montenegrin culture. Written in the language of the people, it gave the nation a great literary monument.

Today Montenegrin is the official language of the independent state, written in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, taught in schools, and used in public life. As both a close kin of the neighboring South Slavic standards and a marker of Montenegrin identity, the language stands at the heart of the debates and the pride of the Montenegrin people.

The Homeland

The homeland of the Montenegrins is Montenegro, a small country in the western Balkans on the Adriatic Sea, whose very name, the Black Mountain, proclaims its dramatic and mountainous character. It is a land of extraordinary variety within a small space, from a beautiful coast to high mountains, deep canyons, forests, and lakes.

The coast, along the Adriatic, is famous for its beauty, above all the spectacular Bay of Kotor, a deep, fjord-like inlet ringed by mountains and old towns, one of the most striking landscapes of the Mediterranean. Behind the coast the land rises quickly into the mountains that dominate the country and shaped its history.

The interior is a world of high peaks, above all the Durmitor massif, of deep gorges such as the canyon of the Tara river, one of the deepest in the world, of forests, highland pastures, and glacial lakes. This rugged terrain, harsh and beautiful, was the stronghold of Montenegrin freedom and the heart of the traditional highland way of life.

The old royal capital of Cetinje, nestled in the mountains, carries the historic soul of the nation, while the modern capital of Podgorica and the coastal towns are the centers of contemporary life. This small land of black mountains, deep canyons, and the shining Adriatic is the homeland at the heart of Montenegrin identity.

The Old Way of Life

For most of their history the Montenegrins were a highland people of warriors, herders, and farmers, living in a hard mountain world where survival demanded toughness, self-reliance, and a strong sense of honor. In the rocky, infertile highlands, families kept sheep and goats, worked small patches of land, and lived in stone houses in villages scattered across the mountains.

Society was organized around the clan and the extended family, the bratstvo and the pleme, powerful bonds of kinship that ordered life, loyalty, and honor in the highlands. In the absence of strong outside rule, these clans governed their own affairs, settled disputes, and united in the constant struggle against the Ottomans and in feuds among themselves.

The warrior ethos ran deep, for the Montenegrins lived for centuries in a state of near-constant warfare against the Ottoman Empire on their borders, and the values of courage, honor, and readiness to fight for freedom and family were central to the highland character. The gun and the traditional cap were emblems of the free Montenegrin man.

This world of mountain village, clan, and warrior honor, though much changed by modern times, is remembered with pride and remains close to the heart of Montenegrin identity. The traditions of the highlands, the code of honor and hospitality, the epic songs, and the memory of the long struggle for freedom are cherished as the roots of the nation.

Society and Community

Montenegrin costume — The traditional national dress of Montenegro, for men and women.

Traditional Montenegrin society was built around the clan and the extended family, powerful structures of kinship known as the pleme and the bratstvo, which commanded the deepest loyalties and ordered life in the highlands. In a land without strong central authority, these clans governed their own affairs and united in the common struggle for freedom.

Honor lay at the very heart of this society, and the values of courage, loyalty, hospitality, and the readiness to defend one’s family and faith were supreme. The famous Montenegrin sense of honor, and the custom by which insults and injuries had to be answered, sometimes in blood feud, marked the highland world, alongside a sacred duty of hospitality to the guest.

The men were warriors as much as herders, and Montenegrin society was long organized for war against the Ottomans, with a proud martial tradition and a reputation for bravery that became legendary across Europe. The prince-bishops of Cetinje, both spiritual and temporal leaders, gradually united the clans into a single state.

Shaped by the mountains, by the long struggle for freedom, and by the bonds of clan and honor, the Montenegrins developed a strong and proud sense of identity, famed for their warrior spirit and their attachment to liberty. The values of honor, hospitality, courage, and loyalty to family and nation remain important features of Montenegrin life today.

Religion and Belief

The Montenegrins are traditionally an Orthodox Christian people, and the Orthodox faith has been central to their identity, above all as the mark that distinguished them from the Muslim Ottomans against whom they fought for so long. Religion and nationhood were closely bound together in the history of Montenegro.

For much of its history Montenegro was governed by prince-bishops, the vladikas of Cetinje, who were both the spiritual heads of the church and the temporal rulers of the state, uniting religious and political authority in a way unique in Europe. The monastery of Cetinje was the heart of both the church and the nation, and the greatest of these prince-bishops was the poet Njegoš.

The land is rich in Orthodox monasteries and churches, many of great age and beauty, and none is more famous than the monastery of Ostrog, dramatically built into a sheer cliff face, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Orthodox world, drawing pilgrims of many faiths. These holy places are treasures of the Montenegrin religious heritage.

The Orthodox faith remains an important part of Montenegrin identity, though it is also entangled with the questions of national identity, for the relationship between the Montenegrin and Serbian Orthodox churches has been a matter of dispute. The coastal region also has a notable Catholic community, and there are Muslims in some areas, reflecting the diversity of the land, but Orthodoxy remains central to the Montenegrin story.

Traditions

Montenegrin traditions are rooted in the highland world of the clans, in the warrior ethos, and in the epic memory of the long struggle for freedom, and they are expressed above all in heroic song, dance, costume, and the code of honor and hospitality. These traditions are cherished as the soul of the nation.

The great glory of Montenegrin tradition is the heroic epic song, performed to the accompaniment of the gusle, a one-stringed instrument bowed by the singer, who chants long narrative poems of the deeds of heroes, the battles against the Ottomans, and the history of the people. This ancient tradition of the guslar carried the memory and values of the nation through the centuries.

The traditional costume of Montenegro is among the most distinctive in the Balkans, above all the men’s dress with its richly worked waistcoat and the famous round cap, the kapa, whose colors and symbols carry patriotic and religious meaning. The circle dance, the oro, in which men leap and compete within a ring of onlookers, is a lively expression of highland custom.

The values of hospitality and honor, the customs surrounding the great moments of life, and the deep attachment to freedom and to the memory of the ancestors run through Montenegrin tradition. Rooted in the mountains and centered on the heroic songs of the gusle, these traditions are among the clearest and proudest expressions of the Montenegrin people.

Crafts

The Montenegrin cap — The kapa, the distinctive traditional cap of Montenegro.

The crafts of the Montenegrins grew from the highland world of the clans and from the materials of a mountainous land, and above all from the making of the distinctive national costume and its accessories. The elaborate traditional dress, richly embroidered and worked with gold thread, was among the finest expressions of the craft, along with the famous Montenegrin cap.

The kapa, the round Montenegrin cap of red and black bordered with gold, is itself a treasured craft object, its colors and the symbols worked upon it carrying patriotic and religious meaning, so that the making of the cap and the costume was bound up with the very identity of the nation. Fine embroidery and the working of gold and silver thread adorned these garments.

Metalworking flourished, and Montenegrin craftsmen were skilled in filigree, working gold and silver into fine jewelry and ornaments, and in the decoration of the weapons that were so central to the warrior culture, the richly worked pistols and yatagans carried in the sash. The arts of the armorer and the jeweler were held in high honor.

Alongside these, the crafts of the highland life, the working of wool, wood, and leather, the making of the gusle and other objects of daily and ceremonial use, served the needs of the people. These traditions, above all the making of the national costume, the cap, and the fine metalwork, are cherished and kept alive as a valued part of Montenegrin culture.

Food

Montenegrin cuisine reflects the country’s position between the mountains and the sea, and the meeting of Balkan, Mediterranean, and highland traditions. Along the coast the food is Mediterranean, rich in fish, seafood, olive oil, and vegetables, while in the mountainous interior it is hearty and pastoral, built on meat, dairy, and the smoked and dried products of the highlands.

The most famous Montenegrin specialties come from the highland village of Njeguši, above all the celebrated Njeguški pršut, a smoke-dried ham cured in the mountain air, and the rich Njeguški cheese, prized far beyond the country. These, along with the thick cream called kajmak, are the glories of the mountain table.

The pastoral highlands provide lamb and other meats, often roasted or cooked slowly under a bell-shaped lid, along with dairy in many forms, while dishes of the interior include hearty stews and the cornmeal and dairy specialties of the mountains. From the coast and the lakes come fish, above all the carp and other fish of Lake Skadar.

Food is bound up with hospitality, which is a sacred value in Montenegrin culture, and with the celebrations of the year, when tables are laden and guests generously received. The country also produces wine and the strong plum or grape brandy, rakija, that accompanies gatherings. Rooted in the mountains and the sea, Montenegrin cuisine is a hearty and cherished expression of the culture.

Festivals

The festivals of the Montenegrins blend the Orthodox Christian calendar with the customs of the highlands and the coast, and with the memory of the nation’s history and its heroes. Religious feasts, patron saint celebrations, and the customs of the seasons mark the year in the mountains and the coastal towns.

A distinctive Orthodox custom of Montenegro, shared with the Serbs, is the slava, the celebration of the family’s patron saint, a great occasion of feasting, ritual, and hospitality that binds the family and honors its heritage. The great feasts of the church year, above all Christmas and Easter, are marked with their own customs and celebrations.

The coastal towns, with their long Mediterranean heritage, hold lively festivals of their own, above all the carnivals of Kotor and the coast, with their masks, processions, and festivities, and the famous flower festivals of the region. These coastal celebrations reflect the Venetian and Mediterranean side of Montenegrin culture.

Throughout the year, the customs surrounding the great moments of life, the epic songs of the guslars at gatherings, and modern cultural and folk festivals celebrate the heritage of the nation. Together, these festivals, blending faith, history, and the traditions of mountain and coast, are vivid and cherished expressions of the Montenegrin people.

History

The history of the Montenegrins reaches back to the medieval Slavic states of the region, above all Duklja and later Zeta, which are looked on as the forerunners of Montenegro. As the Ottoman Empire conquered the Balkans, the highland communities around the Black Mountain held out in their rugged terrain, preserving their faith and freedom.

For centuries Montenegro existed as a highland stronghold of resistance, ruled from Cetinje by the prince-bishops, the vladikas, who combined spiritual and temporal power and gradually united the fiercely independent clans into a single state. Under leaders such as the poet Njegoš, Montenegro fought an almost ceaseless struggle against the Ottomans and won a legendary reputation for bravery.

In the nineteenth century Montenegro grew into a recognized principality and then, in 1910, a kingdom, expanding its territory and taking its place among the states of Europe, its rulers linked by marriage to the royal houses of the continent. This was the golden age of the independent Montenegrin state, small but proud and fiercely free.

The twentieth century brought great changes, as Montenegro, after the First World War, was joined with Serbia and the other South Slavs into the state that became Yugoslavia, losing its separate statehood for much of the century. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Montenegro was long united with Serbia, before regaining its full independence in a referendum in 2006 and joining NATO, restoring the sovereign state of the Montenegrins.

Today

Today the Montenegrins are the majority people of independent Montenegro, a small republic on the Adriatic that regained its statehood in 2006 and has since joined NATO and pursued membership in the European Union. Podgorica is the modern capital, while the old royal capital of Cetinje remains the historic and cultural heart of the nation.

Modern Montenegro is a country in transformation, its economy increasingly built on tourism, drawn by the spectacular coast of the Bay of Kotor and the Adriatic, the mountains and canyons of the interior, and the rich heritage of the land. The small nation works to develop and to find its place in Europe while preserving its distinct character.

Montenegrin identity today is strong but also complex and sometimes contested, for the nation is bound closely to the Serbs by language, faith, and history, and Montenegrins differ among themselves over how far they form a separate nation. Questions of language, church, and identity remain live and sometimes divisive issues in the life of the country.

Through the centuries of struggle in their mountains, the Montenegrins have preserved a proud identity rooted in freedom, honor, and their Orthodox faith, and they have restored their independent state in the modern age. A small but famously proud people of the Black Mountain and the Adriatic, attached to Crna Gora and its heritage, the Montenegrins remain one of the distinctive nations of the Balkans and of Europe.