Kolašin pays tribute to Old Man Milija

Memorial to the Montenegrin epic poet To the old man Milija will soon be installed in Kolašin, it was announced from the local administration.

The initiative originated four years ago at a literary dinner in memory of that poet, who was most likely born in Rovci. The installation of the memorial was planned last year as well, but was postponed for unknown reasons. The author of the memorial bust of Old Man Milija is a famous Montenegrin sculptor Miodrag Šćepanović.

As it is written in the explanation of the Program for erecting memorials, which will be presented to the councilors next week, Old Man Milija is "one of the greatest representatives of Montenegrin oral literature". He sang four folk songs, which he wrote down Vuk Karadzic: Strahinja Banović, The Marriage of Maksim Crnojević, The Sister of Leka the Captain and Gavran Harambaša and Limo.

"According to the opinion of the Montenegrin professor of literature Novak Kilibarde, Old Man Milija is the greatest Montenegrin poet and his 3.284 verses represent the pinnacle of artistic poetry, which developed in the areas that today belong to Montenegro. Radosav Medenica, an extraordinary connoisseur of European epic poetry unequivocally points to this. Summarized in the shortest setting, the poetic strength of Starac Milija is in a way a thread that leads to Njegoš", it is written in the explanation of the Program for erecting memorials.

The local administration also reminds that the work of that epic poet has international cultural significance. As they say, by erecting a memorial, the memory of one of the greatest representatives of our oral literature will be preserved.

They claim that "it is a characteristic of permanent importance, for which there is no risk that it will be devalued in the coming period".

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports approved the Kolasin Monument Erection Program.