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Montenegro national
costume – discover our cultural heritage It is said that
Montenegro national costume is one of the most beautiful and decorative
national costumes in the world. Many people wonder how such a small
country as Montenegro has extremely luxurious traditional attire, but
when you get to know the Montenegrin history and their people, it
doesn’t come as a big surprise. Once, Montenegro national costume was a
true status symbol. Today it is considered to be a part of Montenegrin
national identity and cultural heritage that people of Montenegro are
truly proud of. The national costume differs in many ways, especially
if we consider many cultural influences and ethnic differences in
Montenegro. There were two types of the national costume, widely used
until the 20th century: the older one, made of the domestic “sukno”
(woollen cloth of rolled sheep’s hair) and the newer type of svita (a
type of soft and firm rolled fabric). So, let’s get to know what does
the term “Montenegro national costume” really stand for and why is it so
important for our country.You could tell a lot about a person and where
he comes from, according to its national costume – a very important
element of the Montenegrin society in the previous centuries. In
Montenegrin culture, there were three types of national costumes: for
men, women and formal costumes for special occasions. Besides national
costumes for men and women, there were also clothes typical for the
certain areas of Montenegro, from towns of Risan, Kotor, Grbalj,
Orahovac, etc. Until the 19th century, Montenegro national costumes
were mostly domestically produced. Women in the countryside made quality
traditional clothes for the rural population in villages. Formal
costumes for the special occasions were made by the famous craftsmen
from Montenegro called “Terzije” who were responsible for making some of
the most beautiful pieces of traditional clothes, today kept in museums
as museum exhibits.
The Montenegro national costume is an elegant cut, made of the finest
fabrics, with rich gold embroidery and bold colour combinations. In the
past, the formal national attire was usually worn by the wealthy
citizens of Montenegro, but later it became commonly used among others,
as well. The most important materials for the Montenegro national
costume were wool, goat hair, flax, hemp, and silk. They were used for
many elements and became the inevitable parts of formal and traditional
Montenegrin attire. The formal clothing included: authentic cap,
usually white shirt, jamadan (the upper clothing), gunj (peasant
jacket), jelek (upper clothing), toka (element for belt-tightening),
silav (leather girdle for weapons), trambulus (silk belt), dusanka (the
upper part, worn over gunj) and dolama (the upper part with sleeves
under the armpits). Besides formal national attire, national costumes
were made uniquely for men and women. National costume for men – the
most important elements Montenegrin national costume for men is made of
many beautiful, decorative and useful elements, but here are the most
important ones every Montenegrin man had to have. Cap – a traditional
part of Montenegrin costume The Montenegrin famous circular cap was
made of “sukno” and “pustina”. It was made in red, with a black brim
and gold applique cord embroidery on top. The embroidery included many
symbols, but mostly used were historic or national ones. Upperparts of
the male costume – shirts, coats and other The white shirt with collar
was also an inevitable part of the national costume. It had a slit on
the chest, closed with buttons. The shirt was an item of obligatory
clothing for a male in Montenegro, usually drawn in the pants. The
so-called “Džamadan” (Jamadan) was domestically made of cloth and
cotton, and worn over the shirt. The upper part called “Gunj” was a
shirt of a male folk costume and it looked like a long peasant coat. It
had copper buttons and was widely worn among the male population of
Montenegro. At one point, Gunj was replaced with “Dolama”, made with
sleeves below the armpits. During the summer, they wouldn’t use the
sleeves of dolamas, but during the winter they were pulled on the
fists. In this way, the folk garment could be adjusted to all seasons.
Je?erma and Jelek Je?erma is a part of male traditional attire with a
flat slit on the chest. There are two buttoned rows on both sides, made
of black silk. Hooks and knots are below the buttons and are used for
buttoning all the way up to the middle. Jelek is an upper clothing
item, a sleeveless embroidered jacket, made of coarse and decorated with
golden embroidery or rope. Jelek was worn over the gunj. Jelek
doesn’t have buttons but it opens on the front side. Pants and belt –
important elements of clothes The traditional Montenegrin pants were
originally white and made of waterproof cloth (?oja) and coarse linen.
They were wide in the waist and shrunk below the knees. People usually
tied them with socks with a cord so they wouldn’t separate. Males of
Montenegro also wore a woollen or cotton belt, which was 5-6 m long and
15 cm wide. This belt tied the pants very well around the waist.
Knee socks were made of wool and are probably the most popular parts of
Montenegro national costume. They were mostly used to strongly tighten
the calves. They had to make them like that because Montenegrin people
needed as much safety as possible, moving around the stony parts of
the country. Traditional shoes “Opanci” – authentic peasant shoes The
important part of Montenegro national costume were “opanci” – the
authentic peasant shoes made of leather with various ending parts on
toes. They are a famous national symbol for many people in the Balkans.
National costume for women – inevitable parts of clothes Women of
Montenegro, widely known for their elegance and beauty, had one of the
most impressive national costumes in the world. There were formal and
everyday costumes and their main difference was that the formal
costumes were made of more elegant materials and decorated more
lavishly. There were two different types of female national attire,
such as traditional and citizen costumes. Montenegro traditional costume
– attire for different occasions Women in the country wore different
types of costumes for different kinds of occasions. Montenegro
traditional costume included several inevitable elements. Jecerma,
Kamizola and Zubun The “Jecerma” was a kind of a short vest made of
coarse fabric or velvet. It had buttons (some dindn’t) and it went down
to the women’s waist. On the other hand, Kamizola was a vest worn over
the shirt, made of silk and damask. It was usually worn by women of the
higher classes. Zubun was made of coarse fabric and velvet, in various
lengths. They were sleeveless and buttoned. Dolama and Bran Dolama was
an upper dress made of coarse fabric with golden buttons or golden
ropes. It was usually worn on festive occasions. Bran was a female
dress worn over the shirt, made of upper part “Stan” which was tight
and close to the body, while the lower part of the skirt went all the
way to the feet and was made of 5 folds. Skirt and Rasa Everyday
skirts were made of hemp and flax, while formal skirts had golden
embroidery and were made of damask and silk. Usually, the material of a
woman’s skirt represented her social status. The skirts were buttoned
with buttons and “ambreta”, which had a useful and decorative function.
Rasa was clothing made of different kinds of wool and was worn over the
white shirt. Rasa usually meant that a woman came from the upper
class. It was made of silk and other materials. The apron One of the
most important elements of Montenegro national costume for women was the
apron. It was made of “indijana” and “tela” materials, usually
intended for everyday use. There were also aprons made of silk with
golden embroideries, for festive occasions. Cemer and Zenski trak
Cemer was a heavy belt, decorated with various dark red or green stones
and silver filigrees. It was the most important part of Montenegro
traditional costume for women. Below the belt, there was another one
called “Zenski trak” made of coarse fabric, for the purposes of
protecting women from the pressure of the Cemer. Knee socks and Bjecve
socks Knee socks were used to tightly surround the calves. It was
important for women to tighten the socks well for the safety of their
feet. Famous socks for women called “Bjecve” were made of wool. The
upper part of the socks was red and black, while the rims of the socks
were hemmed with dark blue or red colour. Footwear Opanci, the peasant
shoes, were very popular among the women of Montenegro. Opanci are made
of the beef’s skin with edged fronts and tough peaks. Besides opanci,
women also wore “nanule” and pasamage (kinds of slippers).
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