Montenegrin national costume is one of the most diverse and specific in the world, to the extent that each climate has its own special details. Different ethnicities brought and left something of their own, without which the Montenegrin cultural heritage would be impoverished.
This is what the art historian and theoretician said in an interview for "Vijesti". Bojana Maraš.
Although a good number of young people do not fully see the importance of national costume, it is present everywhere, says Maraš.
Eternal inspiration
According to her, regional differences, in the material and non-material world, make Montenegro richer in terms of cultural heritage.
"Southern coastal costumes and those from the northern Plav-Gusin region are very different. In one we have a felj or a long black lace scarf, in the other a fez and medallions, a silk skirt and dimis. If we were to count from Ulcinj to Pljevlja, there would be many villages with many different types of costume details, stories, folklore, songs. What differentiated costumes by region were not only ethnic and religious differences, but also the climate and climate of a certain group", said Maraš.
He explains that, although the feeling of folk costume is often associated with something outdated, it is not always and necessarily so.
"What young people don't understand is that the folk costume with all its archaisms is the forerunner of what we wear today, as well as that its details are essential for understanding history, ethnography, design and everything that is studied today. People are often of that opinion, even though they don't know that they are wearing clothes derived and revised from our national costumes. Fashion houses have been drawing from our cultural heritage for decades, and even lesser-known, popular 'fast fashion' brands find inspiration in it," said Maraš.
A wealth of diversity
The three ethnicities brought and left something of their own, without which "the Montenegrin cultural heritage would be impoverished".
"As much as the costume was diverse in details and materials, and it encompassed every piece of Montenegrin land, its people, with all their differences, united one whole. It has been known since ancient times that there was a mold or standard by which the entire nation was dressed. Other countries, although they contained various variations of costumes, never had so many variants that even in one place there are several examples of costumes from the same climate - Malisor, Bosniak, Montenegrin costumes", said Maraš.
According to her, the climates of Podgorica, Zeta, Tuzi, Dinoša, as well as Stara Varoš, are full of anecdotes of mutual help and cultural fusion.
"One of the most interesting details comes from Crmnica. Namely, the people of Crmnica were so tidy that various jokes were often made up about their lifestyle among the rest of the people throughout Montenegro, such as 'you bathe like a Crmnica' or 'you bathe as if you were from Crmnica'. It has been recorded that even under the worst pressures of attempted oppression, the Montenegrin people 'behaved well' and that the costumes always smelled fresh," said Maraš.
Women's costume stands out in particular
Special elements that the interlocutor of "Vijesti" singles out are the details on women's costumes.
"Men fought for territory and borders, while women's battle is important for the survival of the nation, guarding the hearth, giving birth and raising children, as well as the art of making national costumes and maintaining cultural heritage from generation to generation. In most cases, it was women who wore jewelry, scarves, and belts. As for the Montenegrin women's belt, we have jakičar, that is, a massive leather belt with built-in carnelians, or popularly known as jakica, small jewels. The name of the belt is also known as čemer and was intended exclusively for married women," Maraš explains.
The Bosnian women's belt, explains the art theorist, is characterized by "massive decoration and unusual appearance".
"We call it pafte, two curved slightly round paftes with a buckle in the middle, as well as the Malisor women's belt, which was mostly made of knitting with multicolored patterns, which, as in carpet weaving, had a meaning and was tied directly around the waist. It is also specific in that it often contained a small woven bag attached to the front of the belt. A woman's belt spoke about both the social and marital status of the girl/woman who wore it," Maraš said.
Skilled custodians of the craft keep the costume from being forgotten
He emphasizes that belt colors are very important, and that they "play a big role in transmitting and seeing cultural heritage".
"Ever since Al-Hambra's red and Byzantine blue colors play a big role, so the carnelian, i.e. jakice, on the Montenegrin chemer are usually dark red, sometimes green, while the buckle in the middle of the Bosniak belt is often dark green. Since the time of Titian and the depiction of the Virgin as the main muse and Madonna, it is noticeable that her robes are always red or dark blue/dark green, and that national symbols are often marked with these colors. Red plays a big role in Montenegrin history," she said.
The interviewee of "Vijesti" said that "she is not afraid of the narrative that the art of being passed down from generation to generation will die out, because there are skilled guardians of the craft in Montenegro."
Among the special details of the Montenegrin costume, he singles out the ornaments for the girl's hair.
"The Montenegrin headscarf, or fejl, was often made of lace, and it also adorned coastal women's costumes. As the costume was diverse in terms of colors, the headdress was usually black, complicated to make, and lowered to half of the crown and thus often fell with a typically dark wreath. The fez in the Bosniak women's costume was decorated with beads and metal coins, while the largest gold coin, the devlion, would fall on the forehead, which is specific to the Plav-Gusinja folk costume," Maraš said.
And commerce conditioned the design and motifs
The Montenegrin national costume differs from others in the region in more details, says the "Vijesti" interviewee.
"For example, the fustanela - a white skirt typical of the Albanian male national costume is also present among the Greeks. Fes all the way from Bosnia to the very edges of the Greek borders, the waistcoat is what absolutely unites us all, headscarves as a female decorative detail, also, women's knitted belts, dimmies, opanci. All this is what unites us, and yet we are all different in our own way," said Maraš.
He emphasizes that the procurement processes are the "culprits" of the differences.
"Let's say, the finest materials such as silk, coastal countries would procure from ships, those areas that were abundant with mountain ranges would have the finest wool... There is a lot of influence from both Old Slavic and Ottoman traditions, as well as our own, which depends on the nation to nations, from one place to another. Floral motifs were usually represented in different climates in the same way that a certain type of flower is represented," Maraš said.
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