Ethnographic Studies on the Montenegrin Festive Costume as a National Symbol

The Montenegrin official national costume (known also as Njegoševa nošnja or the Costume of Njegos), and the Montenegrin hat as an integral part of it, are considered to be an important ellllllllllll marker for Montenegrins. They are the subject of special attention from the very first ethnographic records on Montenegro, and later on in Yugoslav ethnology. Nowadays, the interpretation of national symbolic markers of ethnic belonging related to the Montenegrin costume presents the two major scientific concepts on the genesis and identity of Montenegrins - a pro-Serbian and a Montenegrin. The proposed article provides both an overview and an analysis of the ethnographic and historic scientific works on Montenegrin costume, which view the costume as a marker of ethnic identity and national belonging and from which two clear opposing positions can be identified. The dominating position (and chronologically the earliest) claims that the Montenegrin people are part of the Serbian national corpus, while the other states that the Montenegrins have an autonomous and distinct historical and ethnocultural development since medieval times. This development had led to a formation of a particular and independent ethnic entity (the ancestor of Montenegrins) and its legitimacy can be traced and demonstrated by the occurrence and constitution of the national costume. Since national costumes are usually seen as means for affirm national identity and are in the “register” of national symbols, the article examines the scientific publications on the symbolic meanings of the Montenegrin costume in light of the wider context of the interpretation of Montenegrin history and culture and their elements as ethnocultural markers for Serbian or Montenegrin identity amongst the Montenegrin people.