Bjelopavlići

42°39′N 19°01′E / 42.650°N 19.017°E / 42.650; 19.017

Bjelopavlići (Cyrillic: Бјелопавлићи, Albanian: Palabardhi;^[1] pronounced [bjɛlɔ̌paːv̞lit͡ɕi]) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanian origin and a valley in the region of the Brda, in Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad.

Geography

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Tribes of Montenegro
Tribes and regions Old Montenegro Bjelice Ceklin Cuce Ozrinići (Čevo) Pješivci Brda Bjelopavlići Bratonožići Kuči Morača Piperi Rovčani Vasojevići Old Herzegovina Banjani Drobnjaci Piva Grahovljani Littoral Paštrovići Former Tribes Kriči Macure Malonšići Mataguži Mataruge Mugoše Nikšići Novljani Riđani
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The Bjelopavlići valley (also known as the

Name

The name derives from the semi-mythical progenitor of the tribe known as Bijeli Pavle (lit. 'White Paul') in Slavic. The name corresponds to Palabardhi (i.e. Pal Bardhi) with the exact same meaning in Albanian, which is attested in a 17th-century Venetian document, where the Bjelopavlići are recorded as Palabardi.^[2] The Bjelopavlići are known as Dukađinci (from Dukagjin) among the Lužani who were the local Slavic-speakers of the Danilovgrad plain before the settlements of the Bjelopavlići in the region.^[3]

Oral traditions

There are several versions of similar oral traditions and folk stories which recorded since the late 19th century about the Bjelopavlići and their common progenitor. There is no actual recorded historical information about any such figure. According to an oral tradition recorded by Špiro Kulišić, the Bjelopavlići claim to descend from a son of the medieval Albanian noble Lekë Dukagjini named Pal Bardhi (Bjelo Pavle). The tradition further claims kinship with the Gashi who are depicted as the descendants of Pal's brother, Gash or Gavrilo. However, according to an alternate tradition, Lekë Dukagjini fathered two sons: Nikolla from whom the Mirdita and Shala descend, and Pal Bardhi from whom the Bjelopavlići and Gashi stem.^[4] Another similar folk tradition considers their progenitor to be a Bijeli Pavle who was the son of a Kapetan Leka who moved to Montenegro from Dukagjini (western Kosovo) in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest. There is no record in oral traditions about his ethnic origins (Serb or Albanian).^[3]

Further hypothetical constructions in the 19th century linked him to a Serb origin, corresponding either to the 9th-century Beli Pavlimir mentioned in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, or to a later person from the 13th century, related to the house of Nemanjić, while others linked him to an Albanian origin. Among Albanians from Metohija, it is believed his real name was Pal Bardhi and that he was the son of Lekë Dukagjini.^[5]

Origins

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Tribes and regions Malësia e Madhe Hoti Gruda Kelmendi Shkreli Rrjolli Kastrati Trieshi Koja Marsheni Tuzi Gruemiri Reçi Lohja Lepuroshi Boga Dukagjin highlands Bobi Shala Shoshi Shllaku Dushmani Toplana Mavriqi Mazreku Prekali Pult Kiri Plani Xhani Suma Highlands of Gjakova Krasniqi Nikaj Mërturi Gashi Bytyqi Morina Puka-Mirdita Berisha Mirdita Puka Malziu Thaçi Qerreti Kabashi Selita Dukagjini Upper Drin Hasi Luma Lura Arrëni Dibra Sopa Kastrioti Zadrimë - Lezha highlands Zadrima Bushati Renesi Vela Bulgëri Kryezezi Manatia Kruja highlands Progani Gjonima Myzeqe Lalë Muzaka Albania Veneta Pamalioti Mahine Kryethi Kakarriqi Zeta Bukumiri Bratonishi Bytadosi Kuçi Macure Malonšići Mataguzi Mugoša Ndrekalorë Pipri Palabardhi Rogami Vasaj Old Montenegro Goljemadi Herzegovina - Ragusan hinterland Burmazi Mataruga Španji Kriči Epirus/Chameria Bua Kurveleshi Losha Malakasioi Mazaraki Spata Zenevisi Souliotes
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Originally an Albanian tribe, the Bjelopavlići underwent a process of gradual cultural integration into the neighbouring Slavic population.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} A Franciscan report of the 17th century illustrates the final stages of their acculturation. Its author writes that the Bratonožići, Piperi, Bjelopavlići and Kuči:

nulla di meno essegno quasi tutti del rito serviano, e di lingua Illrica ponno piu presto dirsi Schiavoni, ch' Albanesi Since almost all of them use the Serbian rite and the Illyrian (South Slavic) language, soon they should be called Slavs, rather than Albanians.

^[11]

History

The first reference to the Bjelopavlići comes from a letter issued by the Serbian Chancellery in Dubrovnik in 1411. The document, a complaint from Ragusan people addressed to Jelena Balšić, is about the looting committed by the Bjelopavlići, together with the Ozrinići, Maznice and Malonšići, on Ragusan merchants on their way through Zeta while they were returning from Serbia.^[12]

Following the Ottoman conquest of Upper Zeta in 1474 and the subsequent fall of Scutari in 1479,^[13] the Bjelopavlići are mentioned as a distinct nahiyah in the 1485 defter of the newly created Sanjak of Scutari. Their area then consisted of 3 settlements numbering a total of 159 households: Martinići (35 households), Dimitrovići (95) and Vražnegrnci (29).^[14][15] The anthroponymy recorded in the nahiyah of Bjelopavlići predominantly belonged to the Slavic onomastic sphere, although a minority of household heads bore Albanian or mixed Albanian-Slavic personal names. Unlike in many of the other northernmost nahiyahs of the Sanjak of Scutari in Montenegro where Slavic anthroponymy predominated, a minority of the households heads from the nahiyah of Bjelopavlići still bore Albanian anthroponyms in the subsequent registers of the 16th century.^[16] Based on the archival material, Selami Pulaha considered regions such as Bjelopavlići to be zones of ethno-linguistic contact between Albanian and Slavic-speaking groups during the medieval period.^[17] In 1496, the Ottomans definitely incorporated Zeta into their Empire.^[13]

The burning of

The Bjelopavlići are recorded in an Ottoman historical report of Mustafa Naima as among the Albanian communities which rose in rebellion against the Ottoman authorities between 1637-8. According to the report, the Bjelopavlići and Piperi had first submitted and provided sustenance to the Ottoman forces under Vučo Mehmed Pasha on his campaign against the Kelmendi, although the latter later rose again in rebellion. The population of the nahiyah of Bjelopavlići is described in the report as Albanian.^[21]

In 1774, in the same month of the death of Šćepan Mali,^[22] Mehmed Pasha Bushati attacked the Kuči and Bjelopavlići,^[23] but was decisively defeated and returned to Scutari.^[22]

During the rule of Nikola I Petrović-Njegoš, the Bjelopavlići had bad relations with the prince, which deteriorated further after 1908 when a prominent member of the tribe, Andrija Radović, was sentenced to 15 years in prison during the Cetinje bombing trial.^[30]

Although a tribe of the Brda, the Bjelopavlići were among the first in the area to become subjects of the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro at the end of the 18th century,^[31] hence their strong support for the independence of the country in 2006.^[32]

Families and notable people

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All families have the