Although it is one of the smallest countries in the world in terms of territorial size, Montenegro is rich in diverse cultural heritage. Montenegrin cultural heritage is an inexhaustible treasure, only partially explored and valorized. These specific signs of our heritage await valorization within the cultural assets of Montenegro and the world (UNESCO status) and represent an extraordinary resource of our cultural and religious tourism. 

Montenegrin cultural heritage is an inexhaustible treasure that represents an extraordinary resource of our cultural and religious tourism.  Montenegrin cultural heritage is an indispensable factor in every specialized type of tourism, e.g. congress, health, adventure, etc. It is very important to valorize the Montenegrin cultural heritage for educational purposes, through the educational system at all levels of age categories, to educational television shows, viral content, placed through social networks and generally greater representation in modern and classic media. of the first elaborations on the valorization of cultural values ​​of intangible assets in 2013 and protected by law 19 intangible cultural assets of Montenegro. These are: The skill of making and decorating the Montenegrin folk costume, the Montenegrin oro, the Bokel Navy, the Bokel Night, the Cult of St. Vladimira, Fašinada, The skill of making chunovs, The skill of making Dobrot lace, The skill of making Dobrot cake, Traditional games of the Kolasin region, Legends of the origin of Kotor, Legend of Pava and Ahmet, Legend of the three sisters – Tre sorelle, Legend of the love of Katica Kalfić from Peraš and the French soldiers, and making sheet cheese, making Bihor rugs, Pljeval cheese, fiddling – fiddling, fishing with calimmers… Recorded intangible goods/elements are systematized into six groups: language, oral tradition, oral literature and other oral expressions, performing arts, custom, ceremony and ceremony, knowledge or skill related to nature and space, iconic and famous place, traditional craft and skill. 

The Bokel Navy is the first intangible cultural asset that Montenegro is applying for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status, and which inherits 12 centuries of tradition of the local community of Boke. The candidacy of the Bokel Navy for UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity caused divided reactions in Montenegro and Croatia. Montenegro, nevertheless, independently nominated the Navy, with the emphasis in the Nomination File that it is a cultural asset of the state of Montenegro, which is inherited predominantly by Catholics, Croats, and then by Montenegrins and members of other nationalities in the area of ​​Boka Kotorska. 

The UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity is an upcoming step in the valorization and presentation of Montenegrin intangible cultural assets. “Living heritage”, as it is often called, says that its simultaneous strength and danger are people – societies, communities and individuals, who, depending on the degree of their conscious or (ir)responsible attitude towards their own, immaterial, identity habitus, convey the narrative of their own existence and duration, for the sake of transmitting the universal cultural values ​​of humanity. Montenegro inevitably participates in this peculiar, worldwide mosaic of meanings with its unique intangible cultural heritage. 

Speaking of immovable cultural heritage, it is important to emphasize that Montenegro has 4 assets on the UNESCO Representative World Heritage List: the natural and cultural-historical area of ​​Kotor, the Durmitor National Park, stećki – medieval cemeteries (three sites from Montenegro are part of the multinational nomination – Greek Cemetery and Bare Žugića in Žabljak and Greek Cemetery in Plužine), as well as Venetian fortifications from the 16th to the 17th century (also a multinational nomination that is in the expansion phase). Also, Montenegro has its own so-called the tentative list/waiting list, which is a prerequisite for the preparation of the nomination file for candidacy, which includes: the archaeological sites of Duklja and Stari Bar, the Biogradska gora National Park, as well as the Historical Center of Cetinje. It is expanding over time, so the Old Town of Ulcinj is included in the domicile tentative list, the Bokel navy (the oldest existing maritime organization in the world with over 12 centuries of history) whose candidacy was accepted by the UNESCO Committee, etc… Resources for valorization and acquisition UNESCO status we have, both in the tangible and intangible heritage of Montenegro. Dedicated, dedicated, professional work is ahead in order to satisfy the demanding criteria of UNESCO, and the results will certainly not be lacking, Dr. Anastazija Miranović, director of the National Museum of Montenegro, tells our magazine. 

The Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property started preparing the first studies on the valorization of cultural values ​​of intangible property in 2013 and protected 19 intangible cultural property of Montenegro by law. These are: The skill of making and decorating the Montenegrin folk costume, the Montenegrin oro, the Bokel Navy, the Bokel Night, the Cult of St. Vladimira, Fašinada, The skill of making chunovs, The skill of making Dobrot lace, The skill of making Dobrot cake, Traditional games of the Kolasin region, Legends of the origin of Kotor, Legend of Pava and Ahmet, Legend of the three sisters – Tre sorelle, Legend of the love of Katica Kalfić from Peraš and the French soldiers, as well as production of sheet cheese, production of Bihor carpets, Pljeval cheese, fiddling – fiddling, fishing with calimmers.

When it comes to intangible cultural assets, there is a significant amount of misunderstanding, according to Dr. Branko Banović. 

– Namely, the fact that a certain intangible cultural asset is inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the NKB of Humanity affects its status and overall attitude towards that cultural asset in different ways. Those influences do not necessarily have to be positive. For example, registration usually increases its attractiveness, which leads to the dangers of excessive commercialization, which can negatively affect the integrity of cultural property. Also, sometimes the inscription on the UNESCO List is understood as a matter of prestige, so there is a kind of competition between countries. In addition, goods that are not part of the List are sometimes considered less valuable. Similar analogies can be made with the national register. Therefore, the fact that some intangible cultural heritage is not registered in the Register does not make it less valuable. And the moment when a specific intangible cultural asset is on the UNESCO Representative List at the initiative of Montenegro, it does not mean that because of this, other intangible cultural assets should lack the attention given to their preservation and promotion. I will try to explain it using the example of Montenegro. I will highlight one instructive example from my professional experience. In 2016, when I got acquainted with the 14 registered intangible cultural assets, my first reaction was – I don’t see Montenegro in these intangible cultural assets at all, thinking of the past of Montenegro in all its cultural complexity. Although modern Montenegro consists of areas that in many respects had a different nature of historical development, I did not see any regional cultural peculiarities in the intangible cultural assets recorded at that time. I didn’t even see the heritage of the minority peoples. Above all, what was the strangest thing for me, the Register did not even contain an intangible cultural asset of special importance for Montenegro.

Namely, when I look at intangible cultural heritage from the perspective of a cultural anthropologist, in my perception there is hardly any intangible cultural asset that to that extent testifies to the connection with past eras and preserves the awareness of the cultural identity of the context from which a modern state gradually develops, such as this is the case with singing with the fiddle in Montenegro. Furthermore, the tribal society of Montenegro, with its authentic institutions, lifestyles and worldviews, strongly attracted writers, ethnographers, historians and travel writers from the period of European romanticism. The wealth of content and motifs, as well as performance aspects of Montenegrin oral literature, was one of the primary motives for prominent European intellectuals of that time to visit and study Montenegro. Nevertheless, despite such convincing characteristics and the abundance of material that can testify to the importance of this intangible cultural asset, singing with the fiddle was not found in the Register of Cultural Assets of Montenegro. As you can see, these are phenomena that require a wider professional discussion. This is partly a consequence of the bureaucratized and tightly structured top-down system in recording and processing intangible cultural heritage. In any case, the Registers are open documents, in the meantime several more cultural properties have been registered, and anyone is allowed to submit an initiative for the registration of a specific intangible cultural property in the Register. 

Criteria for cultural property There are clear criteria for a property to be protected, i.e., valued as a cultural property of Montenegro of local, national or international importance, and they are provided for by the Law on the Protection of Cultural Property, according to which cultural property is “any immovable, movable and intangible asset which, in accordance with this law, has been determined to be of permanent historical, artistic, scientific, archaeological, architectural, anthropological, technical or social importance.” In order to become a cultural asset, it must have cultural value, which is determined by an expert body of at least three members. They prepare an expert report on the basis of research and collected research findings on the given good, which includes an explained expert opinion on the properties, peculiarities, importance and category of the good that is valorized in this way. The necessary criteria that a certain asset must possess in order to acquire the status of a cultural asset are: authenticity and integrity, degree of preservation, uniqueness and rarity within its kind, as well as historical, artistic, scientific, archaeological, architectural, anthropological, technical or other social significance . The necessary criteria that a certain asset must possess in order to acquire the status of a cultural asset are: authenticity and integrity, degree of preservation, uniqueness and rarity within its kind, as well as historical, artistic, scientific, archaeological, architectural, anthropological, technical or other social significance. 

Speaking of immovable cultural heritage, it is important to emphasize that Montenegro has 4 assets on the UNESCO Representative World Heritage List: the natural and cultural-historical area of ​​Kotor, the Durmitor National Park, stećki – medieval cemeteries (three sites from Montenegro are part of the multinational nomination – Greek Cemetery and Bare Žugića in Žabljak and Greek Cemetery in Plužine), as well as Venetian fortifications from the 16th to the 17th century (also a multinational nomination that is in the expansion phase) In the past three decades, UNESCO has influenced, through various mechanisms, the raising of awareness of the importance of preserving intangible cultural heritage. A crucial moment was the adoption of the Convention on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage from 2003, which proclaims sustainable development and cultural diversity as key conceptual pillars of the protection of intangible cultural heritage and a prerequisite for its preservation and further transmission. In the period between 2010 and 2012, Montenegro adopted a set of regulations governing the field of cultural heritage. The Law on the Protection of Cultural Property for the first time regulated the area of ​​protection of intangible cultural heritage, and the Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property and the National Museum of Montenegro, in 2012 implemented the Project of recording intangible heritage on the territory of Montenegro. A preliminary list of 280 elements was then created, after which the valorization procedure was initiated and part of the intangible cultural assets was registered in the Register of Cultural Assets of Montenegro. 

How is it with cultural assets in the world?

In the world, a lot of attention and space in the media and the educational system is given to culture and cultural heritage in general. This type of self-awareness has long been valorized by European nations and states through various forms and ways of exposure. Let’s mention some at this point, e.g. Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, which base their gross social product and economic growth on the adequate valorization of their cultural heritage resources. 

This is very current in the world through the programs and support of UNESCO, but also at the level of individual national communities, depending on the awareness of the institutions and communities of the inheritors of intangible heritage. For example, the European Union has incorporated the principles and procedures of intangible heritage into many of its programs, projects and public policies, and there are various mechanisms for financing such projects. 

The valorization of heritage also has an important role when applying, because it can be the basis for programs of social and economic development through tourism, creative economy, agricultural heritage for organic production, ecology, and even as a response to crisis situations such as the current situation with the pandemic .

– My personal opinion is that the spirit of this UNESCO Convention is better reflected by the other two lists – the list of endangered heritage/urgent protection and the register of good practices. Montenegro has already painfully experienced this problem with the nomination of the Bokel navy. I had the honor of being among the initiators of that idea during a seminar that I once held for colleagues in Montenegro on behalf of UNESCO. Nevertheless, it is also an experience, and I remember the cooperation with my colleagues in Montenegro for many other instructive examples from the field of intangible heritage that I learned about on that occasion (e.g. the Dobrot lace, the Legend of Pava and Ahmet, the builder of chunes on Lake Skadar , and similar) – believes Saša Srećković. Ethnologist Dr. Branko Banović, director of the Local Museum in Pljevlja, also expresses his view of intangible heritage for our magazine:

– Intangible cultural heritage refers to concepts that have been at the basis of cultural research for a long time, such as folklore, folk culture, intangible culture, ethnology or folk life. More developed societies have a much longer tradition of systematic studies of various areas of national life. In this context, there are much greater resources and investments in systematic research of intangible cultural heritage and related concepts. Much of this work has long been done in the academic milieu through university programs and narrowly specialized institutes with researchers from various fields. In our country, it is still predominantly a product of private, often amateur initiatives. During my visit to America, I was amazed by the conditions in which my colleagues work – from the equipment at their disposal for digitizing people’s life and the amount of material that is digitized, to the real studios where recordings are made with interviewees. Society recognizes the importance of researching this type of heritage and invests significantly more resources, says Banović, who tried to apply it in Montenegro. – The “entry” of intangible cultural heritage into the museum is also an invitation to museology whose main focus will be on people and stories. The Pljeval Museum has only recently acquired its premises. By the middle of next year, we will have a modern archaeological installation, we will begin the systematic purchase of missing ethnographic material, and only then will the conditions for the full and complete activity of the museum be achieved. One part of the activity will be focused on the intangible cultural heritage of the Pljeval region. We will try to develop certain ideas in which the Museum will be a partner to the local guardians of tambourine and fiddle music, as well as in documenting and promoting some other forms of folk singing characteristic of the Pljeval region. We have already taken the first steps towards that, and I think we have a chance to make the Museum a service that will significantly facilitate activities for the local community to preserve and sustainably develop the intangible cultural heritage characteristic of the Pljevla region. 

To this initiative, it is necessary to add the objection of the author of this text, which concerns the insufficient valorization and popularization of the intangible cultural assets of Montenegro. The documentary exhibition in Kotor at the end of 2019 and the fashion show inspired by gold embroidery and the Bihor carpet by Dr. Anastazija Miranović are certainly positive examples, but very rare, at the level of exceptions. Author of the analysis: Dr. Miomir Maroš To this initiative, it is necessary to add the objection of the author of this text, which concerns the insufficient valorization and popularization of the intangible cultural assets of Montenegro. The documentary exhibition in Kotor at the end of 2019 and the fashion show inspired by gold embroidery and the Bihor carpet by Dr. Anastazija Miranović are certainly positive examples, but very rare, at the level of exceptions.

Author of the analysis: Dr. Miomir Maroš