| Drobnjaci | |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Serb[1][2] (Montenegrin Serb)[3] |
| Current region | Montenegro |
| Information | |
| Place of origin | Central Montenegro
|
| Notable members | Vuk Karadžić Jovan Cvijić Veselin Šljivančanin |
| Traditions | Slava of Đurđevdan |
Drobnjaci (Serbian Cyrillic: Дробњаци, pronounced [dro̞bɲǎːt͡si]) is an Old Herzegovinian clan and region in northern Montenegro (municipalities from Nikšić to Šavnik, Žabljak and Pljevlja). Its unofficial centre is in Boan/Šavnik. The Drobnjaci families are predominantly Serb Orthodox, with a majority declaring as Serbs, the rest as Montenegrins. The Orthodox families have Saint George (Đurđevdan) as their patron saint (Serbian custom "slava") and the majority of Drobnjak churches are devoted to Saint George as well. Families of distant Drobnjak origin exist in Serbia (with Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lika (in Croatia).
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The surname Drobnjak ("Bran Drobnjak") is first recorded in 1354, and as a clan (pl. Drobnjaci) in 1390. Drobnjak had a semi-autonomy and preserved its old tribal organization, which was predicated on democratic and universal suffrage, until its annexation to Montenegro. At the head of the tribe was a hereditary knez, and the head of the army commander, who was elected to the tribal Parliament, and confirmed by the Vizier in Travnik. The Parliament was chaired by the knez, who had right to choose all chiefs, who were all carrying weapons. Decisions had to be unanimous.
In the late 16th century, Serbian monks Damjan and Pavle of Mileševa sent a letter to the Pope, explaining "what is Serbia"; Drobnjaci are recognized as one of the old Serb katuns.[4]
On the religious holiday of Đurđevdan (Saint George), 23 April 1604, the Drobnjaci defeated the Ottomans, and all Drobnjak families symbolically became pobratim (blood brothers) and adopted Đurđevdan as their slava and most important feast day. The Vulovići, Đurđići, Kosorići, Tomići and Cerovići settled in the Drobnjak county in the 17th century, originally from Banjani. In 1694, Serb Uskoks, driven out by the Turks from Albania, settled in Drobnjak county.[5]
In 1789, Ivan Radonjić, the governor of Montenegro, wrote for the second time to the Empress of Russia: "Now, all of us Serbs from Montenegro, Herzegovina, Banjani, Drobnjaci, Kuči, Piperi, Bjelopavlići, Zeta, Klimenti, Vasojevići, Bratonožići, Peć, Kosovo, Prizren, Arbania, Macedonia belong to your Excellency and pray that you, as our kind mother, send over Prince Sofronije Jugović."[6]
After Karađorđe Petrović was chosen as leader of the uprising in the Smederevo Sanjak (1804), smaller uprisings also broke out in Drobnjaci (1805), Rovca and Morača.[7]
Under Prince Nicholas I of Montenegro and the Congress of Berlin recognition (1878), the Serb tribes of Piva, Banjani, Niksici, Saranci, Drobnjaci and a large number of the Rudinjani formed the Old Herzegovina region of the new Montenegrin state.[8]
Smail-Aga Čengić, an Ottoman feudal lord, fought frequently with the Drobnjaci clan, and in letters of Njegoš in 1839 it is known that Rustem-Aga, the son of Smail, had often raped local women of the Drobnjaci and Pivljani. The Drobnjaci had enough of the violations of their women, and approached Petar II Njegoš (who had lost eight family members in the Battle of Grahovo), organizing a plot against the Ottoman lords, planning to first kill Smail. The main conspirators were Novica Cerović and Đoko Malović. They started by asking Smail to collect the taxes himself, and in September 1840 the Aga is putting up his tent at Mljetičak, in eastern Drobnjaci. In the night, the force attacks the camp and Smail and a number of Turks are killed. The circumstances are mentioned in a letter to the Russian consul in Dubrovnik: "The notorious criminal, Smail-aga Cengic, the musselim of Gacko, Pljevlja, Kolašin and Drobnjaci, attacked our frontier regions with several thousand men almost every year. This year too he pitched his tent three hours away from our border, and started collecting troops to invade our tribe of the Morača. Our men found out about his evil intention earlier, and gathered about 300-400 men, and they attacked his tent on the morning of September 23rd, cut down the Aga himself and about 40 of his like-minded criminals... This prominent person was more important in these regions that any of the viziers."[9][10] The events are richly attested in Serb epic poetry.[11]
The Drobnjaci supported the White List at the Podgorica Assembly p. 285
In 1927, Drobnjaci had 40 settlements of 2,200 houses with 14,000-15,000 inhabitants. The capital was Šavnik.
On April 1, 1945, over thirty conspirators were executed in Šavnik, of whom a large number were of the Karadžići.[12]
The most notable brotherhoods (bratstva) of the clan are the Abazović, Cerović, Karadžić, Malović, Čupić, Kosorić, Jauković and Zarubica families. The brotherhoods of Vulovići, Đurđići, Kosorići, Tomići and Cerovići, were established when they settled in the Drobnjak from Banjani in the 17th century. The clan was originally formed by five related brotherhoods: Cerović, Đurđić, Kosorić, Tomić, Vulović and Žugić. The Drobnjaci are Serbian Orthodox in majority, the notably mixed Muslim/Serb family is Kalabic, the Muslim families are Selimovic and Dzigal.
The Uskoci and Šaranci clans are also regarded as part of, or kin to, the Drobnjaci.