Bjelice


Bjelice is a historical region and tribe of the Katunska nahija region of Old Montenegro. The tribe was one of the largest traditional tribes of Old Montenegro and one of nine tribes of the Katunska nahija, along with Cetinje, Njeguši, Ćeklići, Cuce, Ozrinići, Pješivci, Zagarač and Komani.

Geography

The Bjelice region is located 20–50 km northwest of Cetinje. It is of a relatively high altitude and is surrounded by high mountains – Čelinac, Štavor and Čevski lisac. Today, Bjelice is considered a geographic region corresponding to the territory of the traditional tribe.

History

Czech historian Konstantin Jireček noted that Bjelice was first mentioned as a territory around 1430. They are also mentioned in a 1431 document found in the Kotor Archives, and in the Ottoman defter from 1521. Bjelice are described as a village comprising 80 houses and four hamlets: Lješev Stup, Prediš, Rešna and Staković. It is believed that Bjelice, along with the clans of Cuce and Bajice, are the descendants of the Orlović clan. Pavle Orlović is a Serb legendary hero who fell at the Battle of Kosovo, which legend holds that these clans are his descendants, it is likely it was from his brothers. The Orlović flight from Kosovo before the advancing Ottomans had them settle in around Gacko and neighboring villages. They later moved to Banjani and finally to the territory of Old Montenegro.
In 17th century Ceklin tribe expelled Bjelice from the territory they inhabit today.
In 1829 Bjelice struggled against Ozrinići and Cuce, two neighboring tribes, and Petar I Petrović-Njegoš sent Sima Milutinović Sarajlija and Mojsije to negotiate peace among them.

Anthropology

Brotherhoods

The Bjelice tribe was divided into Upper Bjelice and Lower Bjelice. Like most tribes, it also consisted of numerous brotherhoods and families. The largest brotherhood was Milići whose branch are Lončarevići. Older brotherhoods are also Abramović, Andrić, Pejović, Kuzman, Popivoda, Tomić and Mikulić while there is also a number of younger brotherhoods. Many emigrants from the tribe took Bjelica for their surname.