Zeta was founded in 1871 by Prince Nicholas and named after his predecessor, Danilo II. In the vicinity is Orialuka, the prince’s palace, with its mulberry nurseries. Spuzh (1000), a little lower on the east bank of the Zeta, possesses a fortified acropolis. Niegush or Nyegosh (1893), on the road from Cettigne to Cattaro, is the ancestral abode of the ruling family, which originally came from Niegush in Herzegovina. Zhabliak (1200), near Lake Scutari, was the capital until late in the 15th century. It was a Venetian stronghold. Rieka (1768), near the northern end of Lake Scutari, derives some commercial importance from its position. Grahovo (1000), in the extreme west, is famous for the Turkish defeats of 1851 and 1876. Other small towns are Kolashin, Virbazar and Andriyevitza.
The Montenegrins present all the characteristics of a primitive race as yet but little affected by modern civilization. Society is still in that early stage at which personal valour is regarded as the highest virtue, and warlike prowess constitutes the principal, if not the only, claim to pre-eminence. The chiefs are distinguished by the splendour of National Character-istics. their arms and the richness of their costume; women occupy a subject position; the physically infirm often adopt the profession of minstrels and sing the exploits of their countrymen like the bards of the Homeric age. A race of warriors, the Montenegrins are brave, proud, chivalrous and patriotic; on the other hand, they are vain, lazy, cruel and revengeful. They possess the domestic virtues of sobriety, chastity and frugality, and are well-mannered, affable and hospitable, though somewhat contemptuous of strangers. They are endowed in no small degree with the high-flown poetic temperament of the Serb race, and delight in interminable recitations of their martial deeds, which are sung to the strains of the gûsla, a rudimentary one-stringed fiddle. Dancing is a favourite pastime. Two characteristic forms are the slow and stately ring-dance (kolo),[1] in which women sometimes participate, though it is usually performed by a circle of men; and the livelier measure for both sexes (oro), in which the couples face one another, leaping high into the air, while each man encourages his partner by rapid revolver-firing. The oro is the traditional dance in the Katunska district. Women chant wild dirges, generally improvised, over the dead; mourners try to excel one another in demonstrations of grief; and funerals are celebrated by an orgy very like an Irish “wake.” Like most imaginative peoples, the Montenegrins are extremely superstitious, and belief in the vampire, demons and fairies is almost universal. Among the mountains they can converse fluently at astonishing distances. The physical type contrasts with that of the northern Serbs: the features are more pronounced, the hair is darker, and the stature is greater. The men are tall, often exceeding 6 ft. in height, muscular, and wonderfully active, displaying a cat-like elasticity of movement when scaling their native rocks; their bearing is soldier-like and manly, though somewhat theatrical. The women, though frequently beautiful in youth, age rapidly, and are short and stunted, though strong, owing to the drudgery imposed on them from childhood; they work in the fields, carry heavy burdens, and are generally treated as inferior beings. Like the Albanians, the Montenegrins take great pride in personal adornment. The men wear a red waistcoat, embroidered with gold or black braid, over which a long plaid is sometimes thrown in cold weather; a red girdle, in the folds of which pistols and yataghans are placed; loose dark-blue breeches and white stockings, which are generally covered with gaiters. The opanka, a raw-hide sandal, is worn instead of boots; patent leather long boots are sometimes worn by military officers and a few of the wealthier class. The headdress is a small cap (kapa), black at the sides, in mourning for Kossovo; red at the top, it is said, in token of the blood shed then and afterwards. On the top near the side, five semicircular bars of gold braid, enclosing the king’s initials, are supposed to represent the five centuries of Montenegrin liberty. There is little authority, however, for this and other fanciful interpretations of the pattern, which was adopted in the reign of Peter I.; the red fez, from which the kapa probably derives its colour, was previously worn. A blue or green mantle is sometimes worn in addition by the chiefs. The poorer mountaineers are often dressed in coarse sacking, but all without exception carry arms. The women, as befits their servile condition, are generally clothed in black, and wear a black head-dress or veil; on Sundays and holidays, however, a white embroidered bodice, silver girdle, and bright silk skirt are worn beneath an open coat. Over this is placed a short, sleeveless jacket of red, blue, or violet velvet, according to the wearer’s age. Unmarried girls are allowed to wear the red kapa, but without the embroidered badge. The Vasoyevitch tribe retain the Albanian costume, in which white predominates. Turkish dress is often seen at Antivari, Dulcigno and Podgoritza. The dwelling-houses are invariably of stone, except in the eastern districts, where wooden huts are found. As a rule, only the mansions of cattle-owners have a second storey: the ground floor, which is dark and unventilated, is occupied by the animals; the upper chambers, in which the family reside, are reached by a ladder or stone staircase. Chimneys are rare, and the smoke of the fireplace escapes through the windows (if any exist) or the open doorway. The principal food of the people is rye or maize cake, cheese, potatoes and salted scoranze; their drink is water or sour milk; meat is seldom tasted, except on festive occasions, when raki and red wine are also enjoyed. The Montenegrins are great smokers, especially of cigarettes; in the districts which formerly belonged to Turkey the men, whose dignity never permits them to carry burdens, may be seen going to market with the chibûk, or long pipe, slung across their backs. The mother possesses little influence over her sons, who are trained from their earliest infancy to cultivate warlike pursuits and to despise the weaker sex. Betrothals often take place in early childhood. Young men who are attached to each other are accustomed to swear eternal brotherhood (pobratimstvo); the bond, which receives the sanction of the Church, is never dissolved. Marriages between Montenegrins and converted Turkish girls are a common source of blood-feuds. The zadruga, or house-community, under the rule of a stareshina, or house-father, is found in Montenegro as in other Slavonic lands (see Servia). The tribal system still exists, but possesses less significance than in Albania, owing to the centralization of' authority at Cettigne. The tribe (pleme, pl. plemena) is subdivided into clans (bratstva).
Constitution and Government.—Notwithstanding the creation of an elective senate in 1831, the grant of a so-called constitution in 1868, and the establishment of a responsible ministry in 1874, the government remained autocratic till 1905, the whole power, even the control of religion and finance, which the constitution of 1868 had conceded to the senate, being centred in the hands of the prince, who in 1910 assumed the title of king. The senate, instituted by Peter II. with the object of limiting the power of the tribal chieftains, was in 1881 merged in a council of state, the members of which, six in number, were nominated and dismissed by the prince. The council supervises measures to be laid before the Skupshtina, or national assembly, and exercises a disciplinary control over officials. The ministry comprises six departments: (1) the interior, with separate sections for public works, posts and telegraphs, commerce and industry, shipping, sanitary service and agriculture; (2) foreign affairs; (3) war; (4) finance; (5) justice; and (6) education. On the 19th of December 1905 a new constitution was proclaimed by Prince Nicholas. A Skupshtina was instituted, consisting of 62 elected deputies, 9 ex officio members (the higher ecclesiastical and civil dignitaries), and 3 generals nominated by the prince. The Skupshtina is elected by manhood suffrage for a period of four years, and is summoned annually on the 31st of October. In conjunction with the Crown it exercises the legislative power; the ministers are responsible to it as well as to the Crown. The constitution affords financial supervision to the Skupshtina, which elects a board of control and votes an annual budget; it guarantees liberty of the person, of religious belief, and of the
- ↑ The ring-dance, known as the kolo (literally, “wheel”) in all Serb countries, corresponds with the Bulgarian horo (to be distinguished from the Montenegrin oro), and is almost universal throughout the Balkan Peninsula; it is seldom, however, danced in the rocky Katunska district, where level spaces are rare.
