Đukanović unveiled the memorial bust: The work of Old Man Milija is a reflection of the life of heroic Montenegro

The President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, unveiled today in Kolašin a memorial bust of Starac Milija, one of the most famous epic poets and the author of the poems Banović Strahinja, Maksim Crnojević's Marriage, Leka Captain's Sister... The memorial bust, which was placed in IV Proleterske Street, is the work of an academic sculptor Miodrag Šćepanović.

Đukanović said that the name "Old Man Milije is a symbol for the magnificent verses of oral literature among Montenegrins, but also in much wider areas". His work, the president said, "reflects the life of heroic Montenegro, which is a permanent determinant of its thousand-year existence."

"A poet of Homeric strength, creator of unforgettable songs, through whose voice speaks, not only Montenegro of the past, but also the era itself, in which those songs were written. Oral literature was established as an important cultural tradition and a reflection of the collective spirit of a people. She is a mirror of life in these villages, which was told through the song and passed down from generation to generation. Just as the Kolašin Rhapsody saved more than 3.000 all-time verses from oblivion, with this act we want to weave the work of Starac Milija into the culture of memory. Famous Montenegrin and international writers and thinkers, including Njegoš and Gete, admired his work," said Đukanović at the ceremony in Kolašin.

The old man Milija, said the President of Montenegro, "with his distinctive retelling of songs, incorporated his personal and folk literary experience into the songs he communicated to Vuk Karadžić, making them the very peak of epic poetry."

"He sang about Maksim Crnojević, about Banović Strahinja, Leka captain or Milić the standard-bearer, Montenegro speaks in him and through him, with the unique beauty of the lexicon of the South Slavic peoples and a distinct ethical principle, the counterpart of which can only be found in ancient drama. At the core of his singing are man and his drama, the country and its destiny. At the same time, a poet's admonition and a powerful legacy in the heritage of cultural heritage. When Starac sings his Maksim Crnojević, the political map of Montenegro appears before us, not from the time of Crnojević, but from the time of the singer himself, from the head of Mojsije Zečević or the abbot in Morača and Cetinje," said Đukanović.

That oral narrator of Vuk Karadžić, Đukanović said, only needed a few songs "to show all the splendor of a culture, which honed its literacy in the oral tradition, and reached its peak in the work of Njegošev".

The day when the memorial bust of Starac Milija was unveiled, said the President of the Municipality, Marta Šćepanović, "is a historic day when the debt and reverence for the giant of Montenegrin oral literature begins to be returned".

"The guardian of the wealth of our folk singing, tradition and collective consciousness and the noblest human values, moral postulates and ethical norms that he sang in his songs. Just as his poems still capture the attention of readers, listeners and researchers of oral literature, let's be sure that the memorial in his honor will become a new symbol of Kolašin. The protection and promotion of the local intangible heritage, the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage, which with its richness and timelessness nurtures and preserves our identity, is the strategic interest of our Municipality, as a confirmation of its thousand-year duration, which evokes in us a feeling of admiration for identity and continuity," said the President of the Municipality.

Professor of literature and president of the Council of the Center for Culture Snežana Šćepanović Đurasović spoke about the work of Starac Milija.