Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Montenegrin Life
On a warm summer's evening the main street of every town fills up, as they do throughout
the Balkans, with a constant parade of tall, beautiful, well-dressed people of all ages, so-
cialising with their friends, checking each other out and simply enjoying life. In summer,
life is lived on the streets and in the cafes.
The enduring stereotype of Montenegrins is that they are lazy, an accusation that they
themselves sometimes revel in. Certainly the cafes and bars are always full, but perhaps no
more so than in the neighbouring countries. As a popular local joke goes, 'Man is born
tired and lives to rest'. This accusation of indolence probably derived from the era when
occupations other than fighting and raiding the neighbouring Turks were seen to be be-
neath a man's dignity. It's certainly not true of Montenegrin women, to whom all the actu-
al heavy labour fell.
Montenegrin society has traditionally been rigidly patriarchal and women were expec-
ted to kiss a man's hand as a sign of respect. In 1855 Prince Danilo caused a scandal by
publicly kissing the hand of his beloved fiancé; one of his officials berated him, saying: 'I
would never kiss the hand of a woman or a Turk'. Despite major advances in education
and equality for women during the communist years, distinct gender roles remain. If
you're invited to a Montenegrin home for dinner, for example, it's likely that women will
do all the cooking, serving of the meal and cleaning up, and it's quite possible that an
older hostess may not sit down and eat with you but spend her whole time fussing around
the kitchen.
These days you'll see plenty of younger women out and about in cafes and bars. Liter-
acy and employment levels are relatively equal, and basic rights are enshrined in law in-
cluding (since 1945) the right to vote.
Montenegrin society has traditionally been tribal, with much emphasis placed on exten-
ded family-based clans. This can create the potential for nepotism; accusations that major
employers and public officials favour family, friends or business associates are common-
place. Family ties are strong and people generally live with their parents until they are
married. This makes life particularly difficult for gays and lesbians or anyone wanting a
taste of independence. Many young people get a degree of this by travelling to study in a
different town.
Although people have drifted away from the more remote villages, Montenegro isn't
particularly urbanised, with about half of the populace living in communities of less than
