The Heroic Epos of the Montenegrins as a Tool for the Formation and Preservation of the Ethnos Value System

Abstract

In Russian Slavic studies of the XIX–XX centuries an important role was played by the Montenegrin principality. The struggle for independence against the Ottoman Empire left a deep mark on the history and artistic heritage of the Montenegrins. In the feudal era it was a small nation inside the Serbian state, but in modern period they waged endless wars against the conquerors, who considered the west of the Balkan Peninsula the possession of the Turkish sultan. Because of these wars, the Montenegrin tribes were doomed to poverty, hunger, social and cultural backwardness. For a long time Montenegro did not have the opportunity to maintain active ties with other European countries, remained aloof from scientific and technological achievements and from progress in the humanitarian sphere. As the result of the cultural isolation of the Montenegrins, which lasted for several centuries, the traditional tribal way of life, mythological consciousness, and the folklore were preserved. However, such an archaic state of society did not mean that the country did not develop. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment were almost unknown to the Montenegrins, but their own scale of values was formed in their environment, based on important concepts such as freedom, honor, valor, loyalty, military duty, etc. They had their own meaning for the Montenegrins, significantly different from common meaning of these words in other European countries. The mechanism for the transmission of these values was also unique. Montenegrin youths grew up to the sound of Montenegrin gusle and the monotonous singing of folk song performers, absorbing the warlike spirit of these songs, the brutal details of the battles and admiring the heroes, whose names were passed from mouth to mouth from generation to generation.

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