Misplaced Pages

#536463

109-679: The Vasojevići ( Montenegrin and Serbian Cyrillic : Васојевићи , pronounced [ʋâso̞je̞ʋit͡ɕi] ) is a historical highland tribe ( pleme ) and region of Montenegro , in the area of the Brda . It is the largest of the historical tribes, occupying the area between Lijeva Rijeka in the South up to Bihor under Bijelo Polje in the North, Mateševo in the West to Plav in the East. Likely of Albanian origin, most of

218-713: A Serbian Romantic nationalist, wrote in 1835 that the Bratonožići intermarried freely with their Catholic Albanian neighbours and "were attracted to Catholicism by the Albanian priests". Sarajlija reports that probably in the first half of the 17th century Rufim Njeguš managed to convert the community back to Orthodoxy by convincing them to swear an oath that marriages with Catholic Albanians would only be with Catholic Albanian women, but no women from Bratonožići would be given for marriage to Catholic Albanian men. This measure would prevent any further conversions to Catholicism. The events of

327-608: A basis for the standard Serbo-Croatian language, was often used instead of the Zeta–South Raška dialect characteristic of most dialects of Montenegro. Petar Petrović Njegoš, one of the most respectable Montenegrin authors, changed many characteristics of the Zeta–South Raška dialect from the manuscript of his Gorski vijenac to those proposed by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić as a standard for the Serbian language . For example, most of

436-450: A central tribe that extended its name to many other brotherhoods as it expanded in new territory. The Vasojevići are first mentioned in a Ragusan Senate report filed by Ragusan merchants and dating to October 29, 1444. At that time, they were not described as a tribe but as a people, as they had not fully formed yet but were still a clan organized as a katun typically used by Vlach and Albanian pastoral communities. The report speaks of

545-518: A de facto recognition of Ottoman rule and the denial of its legitimacy. According to a memorandum created by the Austro-Hungarian consul F.Lippich, which studied the demographic structure of the area, the Vasojevići are considered the northern linguistic border of Albanian and constitute a case of slavicised Albanians. Marie Amelie von Godin in her travels still reported traces of bilingualism in

654-517: A definitive victory in Montenegro by the end of the 19th century, primarily in administrative, journalistic, and scientific styles. The literary style, which retained fundamental Montenegrin linguistic features, resisted this process the longest and mostly remained beyond the reach of the mentioned reform, entering the 20th century with preserved foundational Montenegrin language characteristics. The preservation of typical Montenegrin language features in

763-652: A harsh campaign of reprisals by the Austrians. Following the end of the war, a Great National Assembly was held in Podgorica, on 19 November 1918, to decide the future status of Montenegro. The election resulted in a victory for the Whites ( Serbian : bjelaši ), who supported unilateral unification with Serbia, while those who saw it as an annexation of Montenegro by Serbia were called the Greens ( Serbian : zelenaši ). Together with

872-524: A language system and thus are allophones rather than phonemes. In addition, there are speakers in Montenegro who do not utter them and speakers of Serbian and Croatian outside of Montenegro (notably in Herzegovina and Bosanska Krajina) who do. In addition, introduction of those letters could pose significant technical difficulties (the Eastern European character encoding ISO/IEC 8859-2 does not contain

981-665: A number of teachers declaring a strike and parents refusing to send their children to schools. The cities affected by the strike included Nikšić , Podgorica , Berane , Pljevlja and Herceg Novi . The new letters had been used for official documents since 2009 but in February 2017, the Assembly of Montenegro removed them from the official webpage. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Montenegrin, written in

1090-615: A region on the border between Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire, this was a challenge for both states. In 1911, an Ottoman offer to bring the Lower Vasojevići back under the authority of the Porte was not successful. Failing to pacify the tribesmen, the Ottoman authority decided to recruit and send them away from their homeland. This had the unexpected result that the Lower Vasojevići revolted in

1199-428: A result of Vuk Karadžić's linguistic reform, during the transitional period of the Montenegrin language (from the 1830s to World War I), significant changes occurred, and some typical Montenegrin linguistic features were officially abolished. Throughout this period, the language in Montenegro was officially referred to as Serbian , and the assimilation of the Montenegrin language toward the general štokavian Karadžić model

SECTION 10

#1732851451537

1308-400: A single community at that time. Bratonožići is a tribe ( pleme ) of several patrilineal ancestries which formed it over time since the late 15th century. The name of the tribe comes from a Brato , father of Nika and ancestor of a part of the brotherhoods of Bratonožići. He lived 14 generations before the time of the recording of the story around 1900. Two other communities that lived in

1417-507: A speech group with Kuči and Piperi . South Slavic in these three communities is marked by close contact with the northern Albanian dialects of Malësia . The dialects of Bratonožići and Kuči which differ to a certain degree from that of Piperi, largely because of the historic bilingualism that was present in the area as a result of direct contact with Albanian. The Bratonožići ( Albanian : Bratonishi ) were of Albanian origin and gradually became Slavic-speakers. A Franciscan report of

1526-466: A standardized Montenegrin standard language separate from Serbian appeared in the 1990s during the breakup of Yugoslavia through proponents of Montenegrin independence from Serbia and Montenegro . Montenegrin became the official language of Montenegro with the ratification and proclamation of a new constitution in October 2007. The beginnings of Montenegrin literacy date back to 9th century, during

1635-727: A total of 90 houses, of the Serbian Orthodox faith . It was commanded by Nicolla Hotaseu (Nikolla Hotasev) and Lale Boiof (Lale Bojov) and could field up to 280 soldiers. In 1658, the seven tribes of Kuči, Vasojevići, Bratonožići , Piperi, Kelmendi, Hoti and Gruda allied themselves with the Republic of Venice , establishing the so-called “Seven-fold banner” or “alaj-barjak”, against the Ottomans. In 1689, an uprising broke out in Piperi, Rovca , Bjelopavlići, Bratonožići, Kuči and Vasojevići, while at

1744-694: Is a captain Gojko and their historical village was Lutovo. Archival records show that the Lutovci lived in 27 households of Luskozupa in 1497 in the nahiye of Piperi, which included Bratonožići and the Piperi tribe. Over the years, a few families from neighbouring tribes like Kuči, Bjelopavlići and Piperi also settled Bratonožići and became part of the community. Bratonožići was an area of language contact between Slavic and Albanian as well as religious contact between Slavic Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Sima Milutinović Sarajlija ,

1853-626: Is a prestige supradialect of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian. The dialect serves as a basis for the Montenegrin language. Some of the dialects are shared with the neighbouring Slavic nations, such as the Eastern Herzegovinian dialect and the Zeta–Raška dialect . The Eastern Herzegovinian dialect is spoken in the majority of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina , as well as areas in Croatia and Serbia, with Montenegro only partially codifying

1962-504: Is established that Old Church Slavonic and Cyrillic became dominant during the Zeta period, replacing Glagolitic script . In Zeta was established a printing press by Đurađ Crnojević , starting in Obod and later moving to Cetinje . This press produced five incunabula , making Montenegro one of the four Slavic nations with incunabula in their language. During this period there was a development of

2071-406: Is named after the tribe, and the whole area that the latter inhabits is frequently called “Vasojevići”. Likely of Albanian origin, the Vasojevići ( Albanian: Vasaj , also Vasoviqi or Vasojeviqi ) underwent a process of gradual cultural integration into the neighboring Slavic population. Vasojevići is not a tribe ( pleme ) with a common patrilineal ancestor , but was formed under the rule of

2180-410: Is today Serbia and other parts of Montenegro . Though sense of tribal affiliation diminished in recent years, is not a thing of a past. Tribal association and organizations still exist (e.g. Udruženje Vasojevića "Vaso"). It could be clearly seen during the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum with the Vasojevići united opposition. The Vasojevići are located in the area between Lijeva Rijeka in

2289-410: Is vividly illustrated by writings in the Montenegrin press of that time. The contemporary stage in the development of the Montenegrin literary language encompasses the period after World War II, with the improvement of the country's status, the language's standing also improved. Although Montenegro did not gain the right to name its language with its own name, during this period, institutions promoting

SECTION 20

#1732851451537

2398-579: The Brda region of Montenegro . It appeared during the Ottoman period and was a captaincy of the Principality of Montenegro in the 19th century. Today, it forms part of northeastern Podgorica Municipality . In Montenegro, the majority of people who trace their origin in Bratonožići identify as Christian Orthodox Montenegrins and Christian Orthodox Serbs . Brotherhoods ( bratstvo ) from the historical tribe that settled in Bijelo Polje and became Muslims in

2507-527: The Constitution of Montenegro , the official language of the republic since 1992 has been 'Serbian language of the ijekavian dialect'. After World War II and until 1992, the official language of Montenegro was Serbo-Croatian. Before that, in the previous Montenegrin realm, the language in use was called Serbian. Serbian was the officially used language in Socialist Republic of Montenegro until after

2616-544: The Council of Europe , had a generally positive attitude towards the draft of the constitution but did not address the language and church issues, calling them symbolic. The new constitution ratified on 19 October 2007 declared Montenegrin to be the official language of Montenegro, but also gave some recognition to Albanian , Bosnian , Croatian , and Serbian. The ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro and Social Democratic Party of Montenegro stand for simply stating

2725-513: The Declaration on the Common Language , which states that in Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina a common polycentric standard language is used, consisting of several standard varieties, similar to the situation of languages like German , English or Spanish . The introduction of the Montenegrin language has been supported by other important academic institutions such as

2834-601: The Duklja period, with the establishment of numerous monasteries in the coastal region. While traces of Latin and Greek literacy from the Duklja period are partially preserved, there is only indirect evidence of literacy in the Slavic language. The use of Glagolitic script in Duklja was influenced by the strong center of Slavic literacy in Ohrid , although some argue that Slavic literature in Duklja

2943-669: The Latin alphabet : "Sva ljudska bića rađaju se slobodna i jednaka u dostojanstvu i pravima. Ona su obdarena razumom i savješću i jedni prema drugima treba da postupaju u duhu bratstva." Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Montenegrin, written in Montenegrin Cyrillic alphabet: "Сва људска бића рађају се слободна и једнака у достојанству и правима. Она су обдарена разумом и савјешћу и једни према другима треба да поступају у духу братства." Article 1 of

3052-771: The Matica crnogorska , although meeting opposition from the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts . Some proponents go further. The chief proponent of Montenegrin was Zagreb -educated Vojislav Nikčević , professor at the Department of Language and Literature at the University of Montenegro and the head of the Institute for Montenegrin Language in the capital Podgorica. His dictionaries and grammars were printed by Croatian publishers since

3161-715: The Republic of Venice , establishing the so-called "Seven-fold barjak" or "alaj-barjak", against the Ottomans. According to Historians Simo Milutinović and Dimitrije Milaković , the Catholic Kuči, Bratonožići and Drekalovići tribe has converted to Orthodoxy by Rufim Boljević . In 1689, an uprising broke out in Piperi, Rovca, Bjelopavlići , Bratonožići, Kuči and Vasojevići, while at the same time an uprising broke out in Prizren , Peć , Priština and Skopje , and then in Kratovo and Kriva Palanka in October ( Karposh's Rebellion ). During

3270-470: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." Bratono%C5%BEi%C4%87i The Bratonožići ( Serbian Cyrillic : Братоножићи , pronounced [bräto̞no̞ʒit͡ɕi] ) is a historical tribe ( pleme ) of Albanian origin in

3379-774: The Velika attacks (1879) , the battalions of the Moračani and Bratonožići fought off the Albanians. At the subsequent Battle of Novšiće , the battalions of Kuči , Vasojevići and Bratonožići fought the Albanian irregulars under the command of Ali Pasha of Gusinje , and were defeated. Soon after Battle of Novšiće in the same area, the Battle of Murino broke out in which Ottomans with Albanian irregulars attacked again less numerous forces of Principality of Montenegro and were heavily defeated by battalions of Bratonožići, Vasojevići and Moračani . At

Vasojevići - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-451: The accusatives of place used in the Zeta–South Raška dialect were changed by Njegoš to the locatives used in the Serbian standard. Thus the stanzas "U dobro je lako dobar biti, / na muku se poznaju junaci" from the manuscript were changed to "U dobru je lako dobar biti, / na muci se poznaju junaci" in the printed version. Other works of later Montenegrin authors were also often modified to

3597-524: The džupeleta ( xhubleta in Albanian), jackets or aprons, and that traditional Montenegrin costumes were to be worn instead. Later on officials were sent to Vasojevići to enforce the ruling. Despite, the women of the Vasojevići tribe would retain their traditional folk costume until the beginning of 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, while still under Ottoman rule, the Lower Vasojevići had become radicalized and were quick to stir up trouble. In

3706-507: The ruling coalition , Movement for Changes , the Bosniaks , and the Liberals , while the pro-Serbian parties voted against it and the Albanian minority parties abstained from voting. The Constitution was ratified and adopted on 19 October 2007, recognizing Montenegrin as the official language of Montenegro. According to a poll of 1,001 Montenegrin citizens conducted by Matica crnogorska in 2014,

3815-489: The 17th century illustrates the final stages of their acculturation. Its author writes that the Bratonožići, Piperi, Bjelopavlići and Kuči:" nulla di meno essegno quasi tutti del rito serviano, e di lingua Illrica ponno piu presto dirsi Schiavoni, ch' Albanesi " (since almost all of them use the Serbian rite and the Illyric (Slavic) language, soon they should be called Slavs, rather than Albanians) The first indirect reference to

3924-559: The 18th century, the folklore of the tribe was influenced by the Orthodox millenarianism that had developed during the mid Ottoman era. According to one such folk legend, an elder of the Vasojevići, Stanj, foretold Greek priests the advent of a Serbian messiah, a dark man ( crni čovjek ) who would liberate the Serbs from the Turks. These myths as part of the official Serbian Orthodox doctrine provided both

4033-661: The 1950 Novi Sad Agreement , and Serbo-Croatian was introduced into the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Montenegro in 1974. Organizations promoting Montenegrin as a distinct language have appeared since 2004 when the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro regime introduced usage of the term. The new constitution, adopted on 19 October 2007, deemed Montenegrin to be the official language of Montenegro. The most recent population census conducted in Montenegro

4142-563: The 2011 census, in most settlements linked to the Vasojevići the majority identified themselves as Serbs. In Andrijevica about 2/3 identified as Serbs and 1/3 as Montenegrins. During the War in Ukraine , some locals of villages of Andrijevica, part of the Vasojevići tribe, decided to sell and give up land for free to Russia, stating that "we are brothers". It is a tradition of all brotherhoods to show respect to ancestors by knowing precisely genealogy and

4251-477: The Albanian-Montenegrin borderland. In particular, the woman's garment, a woolen bell-shaped skirt called oblaja or džupeleta , is similar to the xhubleta worn by Albanian women from neighbouring Malisor tribes. Despite the efforts made to replace the Albanian traditional costumes with Montenegrin costumes in the 19th century, the women of the Vasojevići tribe preserved their traditional costume until

4360-594: The Austrian forces in Serbia and helped them take Niš and Novi Pazar , in July 1737. Led by the Serbian patriarch and the voivode Radonja Petrović of the Kuči tribe, another 3,000 highlanders arrived in a deserted Novi Pazar , a day after the Austrian forces had withdrawn. On their way home, some of the Vasojevići and Kuči highlanders looted and burned Bihor . The Ottoman reprisals against

4469-742: The Bjelopavlići, the Drobnjaci , part of the Nikšići and the Grahovljani , the Vasojevići were among the tribes that supported the Whites and, after their victory, celebrated an effective pan-Serbianism. During the Second World War , the Vasojevići were divided between the two armies of Serb Chetniks ( royalists ) and Yugoslav Partisans ( communists ) that were fighting each other (vojvoda Pavle Đurišić formed

Vasojevići - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-507: The Bratonožići comes from the 1416-17 Venetian cadaster of Shkodër. In it, a certain Marco Bratonese or Bratonesso was registered as living in Koplik where he had probably moved from one of the Zeta katuns (villages). The first direct reference to the settlements that comprise Bratonožići today is found in the supplementary defter of the sanjak of Scutari in 1497. They hadn't formed as

4687-448: The Brda. The Vasojevići themselves gradually expanded into the upper Lim valley in the 18th century and began to call all the other brotherhoods and families they encountered Srbljaci , whether they were recent newcomers from other Brda or Montenegrin tribes, or remaining descendants of the original Srbljaci . At the same time a similar term emerged, Ašani ( sing.   Ašanin ), which

4796-714: The East Herzegovinian forms in order to follow the Serbian language literary norm. However, some characteristics of the traditional Montenegrin Zeta–South Raška dialect sometimes appeared. For example, the poem Onamo namo by Nikola I Petrović Njegoš , although it was written in the East Herzegovinian Serbian standard, contains several Zeta–South Raška forms: "Onamo namo, za brda ona" ( accusative , instead of instrumental case za brdima onim ), and "Onamo namo, da viđu (instead of vidim ) Prizren" , and so on. Most mainstream politicians and other proponents of

4905-548: The Komovi Mountains. Most of the churches and monasteries were also burnt and destroyed, such as the monasteries of Đurđevi Stupovi and Šudikovo in 1738, the latter never being rebuilt. The defeat of Austria against the Ottomans led to a massive migration of the population of the Upper Lim valley, which became depopulated while part of its inhabitants was enslaved or even exiled to Metohija in 1739. The Upper Vasojevići region

5014-556: The Latin alphabet due to their existence in Polish , but which must be created ad hoc using combining characters when typesetting Cyrillic. Many literary works of authors from Montenegro provide examples of the local Montenegrin vernacular. The medieval literature was mostly written in Old Church Slavonic and its recensions , but most of the 19th century works were written in some of

5123-437: The Lower Vasojevići were within the Turkish reign until Balkan Wars in the 20th century. Johann Georg von Hahn recorded one of the first oral traditions about Vasojevići from a Catholic priest named Gabriel in Shkodër in 1850. According to it the first direct male ancestor of the Vasojevići was Vas Keqi , son of a Keq a Catholic Albanian who fleeing from Ottoman conquest settled in a Slavic-speaking area that would become

5232-441: The Montenegrin PEN Center in 1997 was a significant document emphasizing the autonomy of the Montenegrin language. These efforts culminated in the new Montenegrin Constitution of 2007, where the Montenegrin language gained official status for the first time. The establishment of the Council for the Standardization of the Montenegrin Language in 2008 and the adoption of the Montenegrin Spelling Book in 2009 represent significant steps in

5341-724: The Montenegrin language state that the issue is chiefly one of self-determination and the people's right to call the language what they want, rather than an attempt to artificially create a new language when there is none. The Declaration of the Montenegrin PEN Center states that the " Montenegrin language does not mean a systemically separate language, but just one of four names (Montenegrin, Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian) by which Montenegrins name their part of [the] Shtokavian system, commonly inherited with Muslims , Serbs and Croats ". Therefore, in 2017, numerous prominent writers, scientists, journalists, activists and other public figures from Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Serbia signed

5450-413: The Montenegrin language were substantively developed. Associations and organizations like the Montenegrin PEN Center, Matica crnogorska, Duklja Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Institute for Montenegrin Language and Linguistics, and the Montenegrin Society of Independent Writers played a crucial role in preserving Montenegrin values. The Declaration on the Constitutional Status of the Montenegrin Language by

5559-410: The Ottoman period identify as Bosniaks . In the 18th century, many families from the region settled in western Serbia. In Kosovo , a part of the Serbs of western Kosovo come from Bratonožići. The Bratonožići tribal region is a rugged, hilly area at an altitude which ranges from 400 to 450m. It is situated between the Morača river , Mala Rijeka and Crna Planina; it borders the tribes of Vasojevići to

SECTION 50

#1732851451537

5668-406: The Serbian Orthodox Church, with the aim of countering the separatist authorities in Montenegro. Historically having close ties to Serbia, the Vasojevići were among the strongest supporters of Bulatović, who could count on the majority of the population of Andrijevica and Berane, the main towns in the Vasojevići region. On 12 July 1994, at a traditional St. Peter's Day gathering, prominent members of

5777-411: The Vasojevići (and of their leader Vaso) as when, together with the Bjelopavlići and the Piperi, they attacked Ragusan merchants and did some material damage to them near the village of Rječica (now Lijeva Rijeka). The Vasojevići are not mentioned in the Vranjina treaty of 1455, which may be explained by the fact that at that time they were apparently a small community in the territory of Piperi, which in

5886-415: The Vasojevići used to refer to people living in Has, the name then given to the region around Berane. The name Has was then used by the Ottomans to designate an administrative unit of which Berane was the center, and its inhabitants were called the Ašani not only by the Vasojevići, but by the mountain tribes in general. And since Berane was at that time inhabited only by Srbljaci , the name Ašanin acquired

5995-415: The Zetan (Montenegrin) redaction of Old Church Slavonic, exemplified by the Miroslavljevo Gospel from the 12th century, written in Kotor . This redaction adapted Old Church Slavonic to the local language of medieval Zeta, influencing Bosnian and Serbian redactions. Despite being erroneously labeled as Zeta-Hum redaction, it originated in Zeta and then spread to Hum. The period of written language spans from

6104-417: The aforementioned Vasoje stands out among them, as does Vaso , who is said to be his descendant, although these two names are often mixed up in different legends. This eponymous ancestor is said to have settled in Lijeva Rijeka at a time when the area was desolate, where he would have built a house on the right bank of the Nožica stream. Among the legends about the origins of the tribe, one considers that Vasoje

6213-403: The area of Vasojevici. According to her reports, although Albanian was no longer spoken in the area, some laments and oaths were still being sung and recited in Albanian. The people of Vasojevići consider themselves as the descendants of three Vaso sons: Rajo, Novak and Mioman. Hence the three great clans ( Serbian : bratstva ) of the tribe: In his book Pleme Vasojevići , published in 1935,

6322-430: The coastal region, the influence of the Montenegrin type of Old Church Slavonic had little impact on the literature of the period, where Latin and Italian language prevailed. The written language in secular use continued to follow the development of the Montenegrin spoken language, progressively shedding Church Slavonic elements as time passed. The most significant writers during the period of written language emerged in

6431-422: The country's official language to be Montenegrin, but this policy is opposed by the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro , the People's Party , the Democratic Serb Party , the Bosniak Party , and the Movement for Changes as well as by the Serb List coalition led by the Serb People's Party . A referendum was not needed, however, as a two-thirds majority of the parliament voted for the Constitution, including

6540-470: The dialect. The Zeta–Raška dialect is prevalent in mostly southern Montenegro and parts of the historical region of Raška in Serbia. It is mainly spoken by local ethnic Serbs , Montenegrins, Bosniaks and Muslims. The proponents of the separate Montenegrin language prefer using Gaj's Latin alphabet over the Serbian Cyrillic . In both scripts, the Montenegrin alphabets have two additional letters (bold), which are easier to render in digital typography in

6649-443: The dialects of Montenegro. They include the folk literature collected by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and other authors, as well as the books of writers from Montenegro such as Petar Petrović Njegoš 's The Mountain Wreath ( Gorski vijenac ), Marko Miljanov 's The Examples of Humanity and Bravery ( Primjeri čojstva i junaštva ), etc. In the second half of the 19th century and later, the Eastern Herzegovinian dialect , which served as

SECTION 60

#1732851451537

6758-526: The early 20th century. From their first mentions in the mid-15th century until the end of the 17th century, the Vasojevići remained in their Brda cradle, the centre of which was Lijeva Rijeka. At that time, the neighbouring upper Lim valley was inhabited by Serbs, with whom the Vasojevići were in regular contact and whom they called Srbljaci ( sing.   Srbljak ). However, these original Srbljaci emigrated en masse after 1651 and were slowly replaced by various brotherhoods and families from Montenegro and

6867-466: The end of the 16th century, when they separated from the nahiyah of Piperi as a separate and fully formed tribal unit. In 1613, the Ottomans launched a campaign against the rebel tribes of Montenegro. In response, Vasojevići along with the tribes of Kuči , Bjelopavlići , Piperi , Kastrati , Kelmendi , Shkreli and Hoti formed a political and military union known as “The Union of the Mountains” or “The Albanian Mountains”. In their shared assemblies,

6976-415: The end of the war. A prominent member of the Vasojevići, the Brigadier-General Radomir Vešović was given the task of disbanding the Montenegrin army and negotiating terms with the occupying forces. Having failed to do so, the general killed the man sent by the Austrians to arrest him. This act of defiance triggered a resistance movement in Montenegro, especially among Vešović's Vasojevići kinsmen, followed by

7085-519: The families of Novakovići brotherhood are as follows: Miomanovići is the smallest brotherhood of the Vasojevići. The families are: By the beginning of World War II , there were around 3,600 Vasojevići “houses” in Polimlje and Lijeva Rijeka . Many famous Serbs , Montenegrins, or people of Serbian or Montenegrin descent, are Vasojevići by origin, e.g.: Montenegrin language Montenegro's language has historically and traditionally been called either Serbian or Montenegrin. The idea of

7194-548: The government's webpage. In 2004, the government of Montenegro changed the school curriculum so that the name of the mandatory classes teaching the language was changed from "Serbian language" to "Mother tongue (Serbian, Montenegrin, Croatian, Bosnian)". This change was made, according to the government, in order to better reflect the diversity of languages spoken among citizens in the republic and to protect human rights of non-Serb citizens in Montenegro who declare themselves as speakers of other languages. This decision resulted in

7303-512: The historian Radoslav Vešović, who was a member of the tribe, describes the structure of the Vasojevići. The list of families was exhaustive at the time of writing, but new families may have developed since then. It happens that with a very distant genealogy, slight variations of names, chronology and relationships exist simultaneously, but there is no doubt among the Vasojevići members as to which family belongs to which brotherhood, branch and sub-branch. In fact, no Vasojevići family has ever questioned

7412-410: The historical Piperi region. His sons, the brothers Lazër Keqi (ancestor of Hoti) , Ban Keqi (ancestor of Triepshi ), Kaster Keqi (ancestor of Krasniqi ) and Merkota Keqi (ancestor of Mrkojevići ) 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. In

7521-403: The history of the tribe and a family. This also allows members of the clan to be unite, to act together and always to recognise kin. In terms of traditional customs, up to the end of the 19th century traces of a variant of the northern Albanian kanuns remained in use in Vasojevići. Two story houses were known as Kula The traditional clothing of the Vasojevići resembles that of other tribes of

7630-476: The insurgents began in October 1737 and had terrible consequences for the people living in the valleys of the Ibar , West Morava , Lim and Tara rivers. The Ottoman army of Hodaverdi Pasha Mahmudbegović burned and destroyed every village in its path, which caused the migration of thousands of Serbs and also Catholic Albanians. By the end of 1737, the Ottoman army had ravaged the entire Vasojevići region, burning and destroying almost every village from Bijelo Polje to

7739-410: The introduction of graphemes ś and ź. Đuro Špadijer, in his Serbian Grammar (intended for 3rd and 4th grades in Montenegrin elementary schools), introduced some characteristics considered by Vuk's model as dialectal and provincial. However, from the school year 1863/64, Montenegro began the continuous implementation of Karadžić's linguistic reform in Cetinje schools. This reform would ultimately achieve

7848-456: The largest tribe ( pleme ) of all seven highland tribes of Montenegro (i.e. Vasojevići, Moračani , Rovčani , Bratonožići , Kuči , Piperi and Bjelopavlići ). Part of the tribe that stayed free from the Turkish rule lives in the area of Lijeva Rijeka and Andrijevica (Upper Nahija) – they are all called Upper Vasojevići. Lower Vasojevici (or Lower Nahija) inhabited the area of Berane . Most of

7957-517: The late 15th to the 18th century. During this time, written language represents the written realization of the local spoken language. In new socio-historical circumstances in Montenegro, there was a gradual shift towards the reintegration of the Montenegrin language with a popular basis. However, Old Church Slavonic continued to be used in the Orthodox Church for a long time. In this phase, Old Church Slavonic books and Cyrillic script dominated. Yet, in

8066-417: The late Baroque period - Andrija Zmajević in the coastal part Bay of Kotor and Danilo Petrović Njegoš in the continental part Cetinje . Both wrote in the Montenegrin vernacular. From the second half of the 18th century, strengthened by the state and church organization, conditions were created for the establishment of the uncodified Montenegrin literary language as a means of common communication across

8175-464: The leaders swore an oath of besa to resist with all their might any upcoming Ottoman expeditions, thereby protecting their self-government and disallowing the establishment of the authority of the Ottoman Spahis in the northern highlands. Their uprising had a liberating character, with the aim of getting rid of the Ottomans from their territories. Mariano Bolizza recorded in 1614 that Vasojevići had

8284-449: The letter З, for example, and the corresponding letters were not proposed for Cyrillic). Prime minister Milo Đukanović declared his open support for the formalization of the Montenegrin language by declaring himself as a speaker of Montenegrin in an October 2004 interview with Belgrade daily Politika . Official Montenegrin government communiqués are given in English and Montenegrin on

8393-585: The linguistic demographics were: According to an early 2017 poll, 42.6% of Montenegro's citizens have opted for Serbian as the name of their native language, while 37.9% for Montenegrin. A declaration of Montenegrin as their native language is not confined to ethnic Montenegrins. According to the 2011 census, a proportion of other ethnic groups in Montenegro have also claimed Montenegrin to be their native language. Most openly, Matica Muslimanska called on Muslims living in Montenegro to name their native language as Montenegrin. Montenegrins speak Shtokavian , which

8502-582: The literary style in the first two decades of the 20th century, were assimilated into the common "Serbo-Croatian" linguistic template in the new socio-historical framework. Although Belić's Orthography from 1923 formally allowed the use of ijekavian , he emphasized in that edition and subsequent ones that jekavian jotization is a dialectal phenomenon. Consequently, Montenegrins were obligated to use atypical non-jotized forms such as "djed" (grandfather), "cjedilo" (strainer), "tjerati" (to drive), "sjesti" (to sit), and so on. In subsequent editions, Belić abolished

8611-413: The literary style is evident in the works of three representative figures from that period: Petar II Petrović Njegoš , Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša , and Marko Miljanov Popović . The most significant changes in the Montenegrin literary language occurred during the phase marked by the influence of Serbian linguist Aleksandar Belić , between the two World Wars. Montenegrin linguistic peculiarities, preserved in

8720-574: The major Montenegrin publishing houses such as Obod in Cetinje opted for the official nomenclature specified in the Constitution (Serbian until 1974, Serbo-Croatian to 1992, Serbian until 2007). Nikčević advocates amending the Latin alphabet with three letters Ś, Ź, and З and corresponding Cyrillic letters С́, З́ and Ѕ (representing IPA [ ɕ ] , [ ʑ ] and [ dz ] respectively). Opponents acknowledge that these sounds can be heard by many Montenegrin speakers, however, they do not form

8829-534: The most successful Chetnik units out of mainly Vasojevići). As a result, the conflict spread within the tribal structures. The partisans formed a distinct Vasojević battalion. In battles, against Chetniks and the Fascist Italian army, it routed 200 Chetniks and 160 Italian soldiers in defense of the position of Pešića Lake during the advance of the Chetniks from Kolašin . As with other Montenegrin tribes, and although

8938-500: The normative status of the so-called longer endings of pronominal-adjective declension (-ijem, -ijeh) and codified only the short endings. This led Vuk's language model to be gradually abandoned by his followers. Despite the formal acknowledgment of ijekavian in literary language, the interwar period in Montenegro was marked by an increasing use of ekavian . The introduction of ekavian was implemented through education, as textbooks and teaching staff predominantly followed ekavian norms. This

9047-674: The north, Rovčani to the northwest, Kuči to the east and south, and Piperi to the west. The region ends after Mala Rijeka pours into the Morača, near the settlement of Mrke , about 13 km to the northeast of Podgorica . With the exception of Mrke, most of the other localities ( Klopot , Pelev Brijeg, Duga) of Bratonožići are semi-deserted or completely abandoned, their inhabitants having moved to Podgorica. In 2011, Mrke had 207 residents, 118 of whom identified themselves as Montenegrins, 60 as Serbs, while 25 chose not to declare their ethnicity. The Serbo-Croatian dialect spoken in Bratonožići forms

9156-435: The period of the uncodified Montenegrin literary language, three styles can be observed: literary, business, and scientific, all formed in the process of spontaneous Montenegrin linguistic standardization. Montenegrin literature, both linguistically and thematically, originated from everyday life. In the period in question, the highest achievement of such literary language is seen in the letters of Petar I Petrović-Njegoš . As

9265-455: The reconversion of Bratonožići are regarded as an important step for the reinforcement of what was termed as Serbdom ( Srbstvo ) and Orthodoxy in Montenegro by 19th century Serbian historiography. The tribe was often in conflict with the Kuči over grazing lands. Bratonožići often attacked Rovca, who were always defended by the Moračani. They also often fought with the Vasojevići. Venetian public servant Mariano Bolizza 's 1614 report that

9374-557: The same area were the Albanian Catholic Bukumiri and Bushati tribes and the Lutovci, who may have come from the Pirot region in the eastern Balkans or from Pilot in northern Albania. Their origin is debated because no collective memory of their history has been retained except for a toponym which may be interpreted to refer to Pirot in eastern Serbia or Pilot in northern Albania. Their first historical ancestor in Bratonožići

9483-425: The same is true of all Upper Vasojevići. However, in Lower Vasojevići, there are more plains around the rivers, so the mountainous terrain is more gentle. In modern Montenegro, the area of Vasojevići falls into the following municipalities: Berane , Podgorica , Kolašin , Plav and Bijelo Polje (around 15% of Montenegro). One of the highest mountains of Montenegro, Kom Vasojevićki (2,461 m (8,074 ft)),

9592-473: The same meaning as Srbljak in the region. Therefore, while Srbljaci originally had a broader meaning than Ašani , the two terms gradually became synonymous with each other. Thus, since the 19th century, both terms have been used to refer to people of another origin living in the Vasojevići region. The Vasojevići are considered to be one family or clan, descended from a single male ancestor called Vasoje . There are various folk tales about this ancestor, and

9701-496: The same time an uprising broke out in Prizren , Peja , Pristina and Skopje , and then in Kratovo and Kriva Palanka in October ( Karposh's Rebellion ). During the Austro-Turkish War , which began in 1737, the Serbian patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta organized an uprising and the Orthodox population of Serbia and the Brda revolted. Alongside the patriarch, chiefs of the Vasojevići and other Brda tribes joined

9810-428: The second half of the 15th century encompassed present-day Bratonožići and Lijeva Rijeka. The Vasojevići are mentioned in the 1485 Ottoman defter of Shkodër , where the village of Rječica was known by the alternative name of Vasojević . According to this defter, the Vasojevići and Bratonožići were not yet established tribes and the formation of the Vasojevići as a tribe was a long process that most likely lasted until

9919-465: The second highest result against breaking the state union with Serbia (after Pluzine municipality). The People's Assembly of Vasojevići stated many times that, apart from being Montenegrin, all Vasojevići are Serb and, thus, strongly oppose and have always opposed Montenegrin secession from Yugoslavia . The Montenegrin census of 2003 revealed that 89,81% of the Vasojevići declared themselves as Serb while 9,43% declared themselves as Montenegrin . In

10028-463: The sense of tribal belonging did not entirely cease, the Vasojevići as a tribe ceased to exist at the time of Communist Yugoslavia . However, the collapse of the Yugoslav state favored the resurrection of the northern Montenegrin tribes, traditionally closer to Belgrade. Tribal meetings were arranged in these historical tribal areas under the influence of Momir Bulatović 's Socialist People's Party and

10137-438: The south up to Bihor near Bijelo Polje in the north, Mateševo in the west to Plav in the east. To the south, the Vasojevići border the neighbouring Kuči and Bratonožići tribes. To the east is the border with Albania , while the northeastern boundary has often changed in the past and gradually the Vasojevići expanded in that direction. Lijeva Rijeka is hilly terrain with forests, interspersed with streams and straits, and

10246-534: The standardization and affirmation of the Montenegrin language. In January 2008, the government of Montenegro formed the Board (Council) for Standardization of the Montenegrin Language, which aims to standardize the Montenegrin language according to international norms. Proceeding documents will, after verification, become a part of the educational programme in Montenegrin schools. The first Montenegrin standard

10355-453: The structure described below. Rajevići is the biggest branch. It is in turn divided into three branches (again after Raja's sons or grandsons: Đuro, Dabet and Uglješa Damir-Kovač). Families that descend from Lopaćani are: Families that are descendants of Dabetići are: Families of Kovačevići branch are: Novakovići is the second biggest branch. Novak had three sons (Nikač, Vuksan/Vuica and Rečko), of which all families hail from: All

10464-612: The summer of 1912, with the support of the Montenegrins. With the help of paramilitaries from Rugova , Plav , Gusinje and other neighboring areas, the Ottoman regular army was able to suppress the revolt and devastated the Lower Vasojevići villages and crops, while the monastery of Đurđevi stupovi was looted and burned. During World War I , the Kingdom of Montenegro was occupied by the Austro-Hungarian army from January 1916 until

10573-542: The technical committee ISO 639 in July 2008, with complete paperwork forwarded to Washington in September 2015. After a long procedure, the request was finally approved on Friday, December 8, 2017, and ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-3 code [cnr] was assigned to the Montenegrin language, effective December 21, 2017. The language remains an ongoing issue in Montenegro. In the census of 1991, the vast majority of Montenegrin citizens, 510,320 or 82.97%, declared themselves speakers of

10682-437: The territory under the jurisdiction of the state and church. Even before the birth of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić , Ivan-Antun Nenadić from Perast advocated for the phonetic orthographic principle, emphasizing that writing should reflect how people speak and pronounce. This rule was applied early in Montenegrin literature, making it unsurprising that Vuk Karadžić's linguistic reforms were later accepted without significant issues. In

10791-486: The then-official language: Serbo-Croatian . The earlier 1981 population census had also recorded a Serbo-Croatian-speaking majority. However, in the first Communist censuses, the vast majority of the population declared Serbian to be their native language. Such had also been the case with the first recorded population census in Montenegro, in 1909, when approximately 95% of the population of the Principality of Montenegro claimed Serbian as their native language. According to

10900-564: The tribe decided that their region would join Serbia if Montenegro was to secede from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . In May 2006, Montenegro gained independence after a referendum on the future of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro . However, 72% of voters in Andrijevica municipality, the unofficial centre of the Vasojevići region, voted against Montenegrin independence. It was

11009-496: The tribe's history prior to the 16th century has naturally been passed on through oral history. Although the unofficial center is Andrijevica in north-eastern Montenegro, the tribe stems from Lijeva Rijeka in central Montenegro. The tribe was formed by various tribes that were united under the rule of the central Vasojević tribe. These tribes later migrated to the Komovi mountains and the area of Lim . The emigration continued into what

11118-548: The villages of Kuči, Bratonožići and part of Plav were under the soldiers of Medun , the spahee, but the commander was not named; and the highlanders would pay the Ottoman officials a portion of their income. The report registered the Bratanosich as an Orthodox village of Serbian or Greek rite with 87 houses, and 260 men in arms commanded by Stanoje Radonjin. In 1658, the seven tribes of Kuči, Vasojevići , Bratonožići, Piperi , Klimenti , Hoti and Gruda allied themselves with

11227-489: Was de facto incorporated into the Principality of Montenegro in 1858, after the Battle of Grahovac , and confirmed 20 years later by the Treaty of Berlin , while the Lower Vasojevići area remained under Ottoman rule. In 1860, the Montenegrin government, as part of an assimilation campaign, issued an order that certain embroideries and ornaments were to be removed from various parts of the Vasojevići women's folk costume, such as

11336-448: Was in 2011. According to it, 36.97% of the population (229,251) declared that their native language was Montenegrin, and 42.88% (265,895) declared it to be Serbian. Mijat Šuković , a prominent Montenegrin lawyer, wrote a draft version of the constitution which passed the parliament's constitutional committee. Šuković suggested that Montenegrin be declared the official language of Montenegro . The Venice Commission , an advisory body of

11445-505: Was not a part of their work. The Council has criticized this act, saying it comes from "a small group" and that it contains an abundance of "methodological, conceptual and linguistic errors". On 21 June 2010, the Council for General Education adopted the first Montenegrin Grammar . The first written request for the assignment of an international code was submitted by the Montenegrin authorities to

11554-571: Was officially proposed in July 2009. In addition to the letters prescribed by the Serbo-Croatian standard, the proposal introduced two additional letters, ⟨ś⟩ and ⟨ź⟩ , to replace the digraphs ⟨sj⟩ and ⟨zj⟩ . The Ministry of Education has accepted neither of the two drafts of the Council for the Standardization of the Montenegrin language, but instead adopted an alternate third one which

11663-584: Was primarily implemented through textbooks and external teaching staff that wholeheartedly followed the principles of Vuk Karadžić's linguistic reform. Vuk's principle of introducing the vernacular into literature encountered little opposition in Montenegro, as it was already present there before Vuk. However, the complete acceptance of all aspects of this reform did not proceed smoothly, leading to divisions among Montenegrin cultural figures. In lengthy debates, Jovan Pavlović (a consistent follower of Vuk) and Lazar Tomanović stood out, with Tomanović advocating for

11772-428: Was the grandson of Vukan Nemanjić and that Vaso was himself the great grandson of Vasoje. According to a folk myth, the three Vasojevići brotherhoods are descended from Raje, Novak and Mioman, the three sons of Vaso. Vaso's descendants gradually expanded to the north-east and inhabited the region by the river Lim , called Polimlje – the area around the Komovi mountains , Andrijevica and Berane . Thus, they formed

11881-509: Was written in Latin script. Literary activity flourished around Lake Skadar during this period, with the Monastery of Prečista Krajinska as a significant center. The Zeta period begins with the fall of Duklja to Serbian rule and extends through the rule of the Balšić and Crnojević families. While there is no consensus on the dating of Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts in present-day Montenegro, it

#536463