Montenegrins

Montenegrins

Montenegrin: Црногорци
Total population
c. 1+ million[a]
Regions with significant populations
Montenegro: 256,436 (2023 census)[b][1] Diaspora: c. 600,000[2][3]
Diaspora
United States	c. 40,000 (2014)[4]
Argentina	c. 30,000 (2001)[4]
Germany	c. 30,000[4]
France	c. 30,000[5]
Serbia	20,238 (2022)[6]
Luxembourg	c. 12,000 (2001)[4]
Chile	c. 7,000 (2015)[7]
Italy	4,588 (2010)[8]
Canada	4,160 (2016)[9]
Croatia	3,127 (2021)[10]
Netherlands	2,721 (2022)[11]
Slovenia	2,667 (2002)[12]
Switzerland	2,593 (2014)[13]
Bolivia	c. 2,000 (2017)[14]
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,883 (2013)[15]
Australia	1,554 (2013)[16]
Sweden	1,551 (2022)[17]
United Kingdom	1,027 (2011)[18]
North Macedonia	1,023 (2021)[19]
Norway	764 (2023)[20]
Denmark	684 (2023)[21]
Albania	511 (2023)[22]
Russia	181 (2010)[23]
Belgium	129 (2010)[24]
Brazil	112 (2024)[25]
Languages
Montenegrin, Serbian
Religion
Majority: 55.22% Eastern Orthodoxy (45.11% Serbian Orthodoxy, 10.11% Montenegrin Orthodoxy) Minority: 4.6% Islam 2.0% Roman Catholicism 2.3% Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
Other South Slavs

Montenegrins (Montenegrin: Црногорци, romanized: Crnogorci, lit. 'People of the Black Mountain', pronounced [tsr̩nǒɡoːrtsi] or [tsr̩noɡǒːrtsi]) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro.

Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians, but the population also includes Catholics, Muslims and irreligious people. The Montenegrin language is the official language of Montenegro.

Historically, the Montenegrin nation comprised many tribes. Most tribes formed in the 15th and 16th centuries, about the time when the Ottoman Empire established its control of the medieval state of Zeta. Today the tribes are mainly studied within the frameworks of social anthropology and family history, as they have not been used in official structures since the time (1852-1910) of the Principality of Montenegro, although some tribal regions overlap with contemporary municipal areas. The kinship groups give a sense of shared identity and descent.

Outside of Montenegro and Europe, Montenegrins form diaspora groups in (for example) the United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina. It is estimated that around 600,000 Montenegrin-descended people reside outside of Montenegro.^[26][27] In 2023 a total of 152,649 Montenegrins both held Montenegrin citizenship and resided outside of Montenegro.

Genetics

According to one triple analysis – autosomal, mitochondrial and paternal — of available data from large-scale studies on South Slavs and their proximal populations, the whole genome SNP data situates Montenegrins with Serbs in between two Balkan clusters.^[28] According to a 2020 autosomal marker analysis, Montenegrins are situated in between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians.^[29]

Y-DNA genetic study done in 2010 on 404 male individuals from Montenegro gave the following results: haplogroup I2a (29.7%), E-V13 (26.9%), R1b (9.4%), R1a (7.6%), I1 (6.1%), J2a1 (4.7%), J2b (4.4%), G2a (2.4%), Q (1.9%), I2b (1.7%), N (1.4%), H (1.4%), L (1.2%), and J1 (0.49%).^[30] A 2022 study on 267 samples from northeastern Montenegro found that the "most common haplogroups are I2 and R1b, both identified in 23.97% of samples, followed by E (22.47%), J2 (11.61%), I1 (6.74%), G2 (3.75%), R1a (3.37%), I1 (1.12%), G (1.12%), N (0.75%), C (0.37%), T1 (0.37%) and Q1 (0.37%)".^[31]

History

Main article: History of Montenegro

Middle Ages

Slavs settled in the Balkans during the sixth and seventh centuries. According to De Administrando Imperio, there existed three Serb polities on the territory of modern Montenegro: Duklja, roughly corresponding to the southern half; Travunia, the west; and the Principality of Serbia, the north. Duklja emerged as an independent state during the 11th century, initially held by the Vojislavljević dynasty, later to be conquered and incorporated into the state of the Nemanjić dynasty. De Administrando Imperio does not mention which Slavic people lived in Duklja,^[32] but the state was considered to be one of the first Serb states, alongside Raška formed chiefly under the Vlastimirović and Vojislavljević dynasties respectively.^[33][34] Who exactly were the Slavic inhabitants of Duklja differs among authors, as other historians maintain that it is not possible to equate the people of Duklja with either Serbs or Croats, considering most historical Byzantian documents from that time.^[35]

In the late 14th century, southern Montenegro (Zeta) came under the rule of the Balšić noble family, then the Crnojević noble family, and by the 15th century, Zeta was more often referred to as Crna Gora (Venetian: Monte Negro). The Crnojevići were driven out from Zeta by the Ottomans and forced to retreat above the Bay of Kotor where they built a monastery and a royal court in Cetinje, the future royal capital of Montenegro, before eventually fleeing to Venice.^[36]

Montenegrins in 1860

Yugoslav era

Flag of the Socialist Republic of Montenegro

Annexation of the Kingdom of Montenegro on November 13, 1918 gained international recognition only at the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris, held on July 13, 1922.^[37]

Although Montenegrins comprised one of the smallest ethnic groups in the state (2.5% in 1971), they were the most overrepresented ethnic group in the Yugoslav bureaucracy, military, and communist party organs. In the Yugoslav People's Army, 19% of general officers and 30% of colonels were ethnic Montenegrins. Among party elites, Montenegrins made up 16% to 21% of senior officials throughout the existence of communist Yugoslavia, and comprised a similar portion of the state's diplomatic corps.^[38][39] Montenegrins were over-represented among Yugoslavia's elite, largely due to the pre-war strength of the Communist Party of Montenegro, the high proportion of Montenegrins among Partisan commanders and Central Committee members during the war, and a historically militaristic culture.^[40][41] During this period, ethnic Montenegrins also held about 15% of government jobs in Yugoslavia.^[42]

Language

Main article: Montenegrin language

See also: Controversy over ethnic and linguistic identity in Montenegro

As per the census held from 3 to 28 December 2023, 34.52% of Montenegrin citizens say Montenegrin is their mother tongue.^[43]

Religion

Further information: Religion in Montenegro

Most Ethnic Montenegrins are Eastern Orthodox, with the majority of them adhering to the Serbian Orthodox Church, while a minority of them adhere to the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which is canonically unrecognised by the Eastern Orthodox Church.^[44][45]

Male folk costume from Montenegro

See also

• Montenegro
• Montenegrin diaspora
• Culture of Montenegro
• List of Montenegrins
• Demographics of Montenegro
• Ethnic groups in Europe
• Tribes of Montenegro
• Montenegrin nationalism

Explanatory notes

1. Note: The total figure is merely an estimation and as such might be misleading or exaggerated. This includes all nationals of Montenegro and the Montenegrin diaspora, including those of partial Montenegrin ancestry.
2. Note: The term Montenegrins in a wider sense can also be used to denote all the peoples from Montenegro (population of 623,633), regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation.

Further reading

• Mirabal, Sheyla; et al. (July 2010). "Human Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats: A Tale of Acculturation and Migrations as Mechanisms for the Diffusion of Agriculture in the Balkan Peninsula". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 142 (3): 380–390. doi:10.1002/ajpa.21235. PMID 20091845.
• Roberts, Elizabeth (2007). Realm of the Black Mountain: A History of Montenegro. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801446016.

References

1. "Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Montenegro 2023" (PDF). Monstat. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
2. "Širom svijeta pola miliona Crnogoraca" (in Montenegrin). RTCG. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
3. "U dijaspori živi još jedna Crna Gora" (in Montenegrin). Montenegrina. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
4. Širom svijeta pola miliona Crnogoraca Archived 29 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine Radio i Televizija Crne Gore
5. "Présentation du Monténégro". Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
6. "RZS objavio rezultate popisa o nacionalnoj pripadnosti stanovnika". N1. 29 April 2023. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
7. "Stojović: U Čileu živi 7000 potomaka Crnogoraca". Montengrina.net. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
8. "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
9. "2016 Census of Population". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
10. "Population by Towns/Municipalities" (xlsx). Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
11. "Bevolking; generatie, geslacht, leeftijd en migratieachtergrond, 1 januari" (in Dutch). Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS). Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
12. "Statistini urad RS - Popis 2002". Stat.si. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
13. "Who are the two million foreigners in Switzerland?". 19 November 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
14. "Bolivija: Po prvi put se okupili potomci iseljenika iz Crne Gore". cdm.me (in Montenegrin). 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
15. "1. Stanovništvo prema etničkoj/nacionalnoj pripadnosti - detaljna klasifikacija". Popis.gov.ba. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
16. "Montenegro   Crna Gora   Montenegro". 2013 Census. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018. Total responses: 25,451,383 for total count of persons: 19,855,288.
17. "Population by country of birth and country of Origin". Statistics of Sweden. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
18. "2011 Census: Country of birth (expanded), regions in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
19. "Dabase". Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
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21. DST statistics, DST statistics. "DST statistics". DST statistics. Archived from the original on 18 December 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
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23. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010. Национальный состав населения Archived 6 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
24. "Population par nationalité, sexe, groupe et classe d'âges au 1er janvier 2010" (in French). Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
25. Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)
26. "Širom svijeta pola miliona Crnogoraca" (in Montenegrin). RTCG. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
27. "U dijaspori živi još jedna Crna Gora" (in Montenegrin). Montenegrina. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
28. Kushniarevich, Alena; et al. (2015). "Genetic Heritage of the South-Slavic Speaking Populations: A Synthesis of Autosomal, Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal Data". PLOS ONE. 10 (9): e0135820. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1035820K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135820. PMC 4558026. PMID 26332464.
29. Takic Miladinov, D; Vasiljevic, P; Sorgic, D; et al. (2020). "Allele frequencies and forensic parameters of 22 autosomal STR loci in a population of 983 individuals from Serbia and comparison with 24 other populations". Annals of Human Biology. 47 (7–8): 632–641. doi:10.1080/03014460.2020.1846784. PMID 33148044.
30. Mirabal 2010, p. 380–390.
31. Sinanovic, A. L.; Licina, F. (2022). "Genetic diversity of male population in six municipality of the north-eastern Montenegro". Journal of Bioanthropology: 275. doi:10.54062/jb. S2CID 244764042. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
32. Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, Emperor of the East (1967). De administrando imperio. Gyula Moravcsik (New, rev. ed.). Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. ISBN 0-88402-021-5. OCLC 11970692.
33. Deliso, Christopher (2008). Culture and Customs of Serbia and Montenegro. ABC-CLIO. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-31334-437-4. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
34. Morozova, Maria (2019). "Language Contact in Social Context: Kinship Terms and Kinship Relations of the Mrkovići in Southern Montenegro". Journal of Language Contact. 12 (2): 307. doi:10.1163/19552629-01202003. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
35. Budak, Neven (1994). "Prva stoljeća Hrvatske" (in Croatian). p. 46. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023.
36. Roberts 2007, p. 9.
37. "Interesting things about the royal order of Montenegro - Untitled". Orderofdanilo.org. Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
38. Yugoslavia From "National Communism" to National Collapse: US Intelligence Community Estimative Products on Yugoslavia, 1948-1990. Government Printing Office. 2007. p. 605. ISBN 978-0160873607.
39. Lampe, John (2000). Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country. Cambridge University Press. p. 252-253. ISBN 0521774012.
40. Austin, Robert (2019). Making and Remaking the Balkans: Nations and States since 1878. University of Toronto Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-1487530723.
41. Petersen, Roger (2011). Western Intervention in the Balkans: The Strategic Use of Emotion in Conflict. Cambridge University Press. p. 274. ISBN 978-1139503303.
42. Morrock, Richard (2014). The Psychology of Genocide and Violent Oppression: A Study of Mass Cruelty from Nazi Germany to Rwanda. McFarland. p. 54. ISBN 978-0786456284.
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44. Kerrigan, M. (2010). World and Its Peoples. Marshall Cavendish Corporation. p. 1691. ISBN 9780761479031. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
45. Cole, Jeffrey E. (2011). Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 265. ISBN 9781598843033. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.

External links

• Matica crnogorska (official pages)
• Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts (official pages)
• The Montenegrin Association of America
• Špiro Kulišić: O Etnogenezi Crnogoraca (On Ethnogenesis of Montenegrins) (in Montenegrin)
• Article about Montenegrin tribes (in montenegrin language)