Bratonožići

Bratonožići (Serbian Cyrillic: Братоножићи, pronounced [bräto̞no̞ʒit͡ɕi]) was a tribe in the Brda region during the Ottoman period and a nahija of the Principality of Montenegro.

Geography

The Bratonožići tribal region is situated between the Morača river, Mala Rijeka and Crna Planina; it borders the highlander tribes of Morača to the north, Vasojevići to the northeast, Kuči to the southeast, Piperi to the west and Rovca to the northwest.

The upper part of the tribal region is called Brskut.

History

Tribe relations

Bratonožići was in conflict with the Kuči. Bratonožići often attacked Rovca, who were always defended by the Moračani. They also often fought with the Baljevići.

Middle Ages

In a Venetian document dating to 1455, Banovichi is mentioned as one of the villages of Upper Zeta; this was most likely Bratonožići. According to the 1485 defter, the Vasojevići and Bratonožići were not yet established tribes.

17th century

Venetian public servant Mariano Bolizza's 1614 report that the villages of Kuči, Bratonožići and part of Plav were under the soldiers of Medun, the spahee, but the commander was not named; and the highlanders would pay the Ottoman officials a portion of their income. The report registered the Bratanosich as a Serb, Orthodox village with 87 houses, and 260 men in arms commanded by Stanoje Radonjin. In 1658, the seven tribes of Kuči, Vasojevići, Bratonožići, Piperi, Klimenti, Hoti and Gruda allied themselves with the Republic of Venice, establishing the so-called "Seven-fold barjak" or "alaj-barjak", against the Ottomans. In 1689, an uprising broke out in Piperi, Rovca, Bjelopavlići, Bratonožići, Kuči and Vasojevići, while at the same time an uprising broke out in Prizren, Peć, Priština and Skopje, and then in Kratovo and Kriva Palanka in October (Karposh's Rebellion).

18th century

Documents, especially the letter of Ivan Radonjić from 1789, show that the Montenegrins were identified as Serbs, and that the Banjani, Kuči, Piperi, Bjelopavlići, Zećani, Vasojevići, Bratonožići were not identified as "Montenegrins". They were all mentioned only in a regional, geographical, and tribal manner, and never as an ethnic category.

19th century

During the Velika attacks (1879), the battalions of the Moračani and Bratonožići fought off the Albanians. At the subsequent Battle of Novšiće, the battalions of Kuči, Vasojevići and Bratonožići fought the Albanian irregulars under the command of Ali Pasha of Gusinje, and were defeated.

Anthropology

Bratonožići

Ethnicity	Montenegrin and Serb (Serbs of Montenegro)
Current region	Brda (Highlands), Montenegro

According to folklore, the tribe's progenitor was "Brato" (or "Bratonog" according to Erdeljanović), who gave his name to the tribe. He was allegedly a descendant of Grgur Branković (1415–1459), the son of Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković (r. 1427–56). It was said that the Bratonožići were of better blood, descending from Despot Đurađ, than the Drekalović (of Kuči), descending from Skanderbeg. One theory has it that the Bratonožići baptised the Kuči tribe which is why today they have the same Slava (patron saint).

Clans

All clans of the tribe have the Slava of St. Nikola (sv. Nikola').

Avramović, Bajović, Baljević, Balević, Baličević, Barjaktarović, Baržić, Biljurić, Bismiljak, Bošković, Branković, Butrić, Veljić, Veljović, Velimirović, Vesković, Vidić, Vujović, Vujotić, Vukajlović, Vuković, Vukorepović, Vulić, Vučelić, Vučinić, Garić, Gilić, Gogić, Grujić, Gudović, Darmanović, Dmitrović, Dokić, Đelević,Đukić,Đurdjević, Đurić, Živković, Žmikić, Ilić, Janković, Jelavić, Jovanović, Jovović, Kaluđerović, Keljanović, Keković, Korać, Krkelić, Lajkovič, Lainović, Lalović, Lašević, Liković, Lukić, Lutovac, Ljajinović, Ljajkovic, Ljaljović, Ljaković, Ljašović, Malević, Marnić, Macura, Mijailović, Miajlović, Mirković, Muratović, Novović, Obrenović, Pavičević, Pavličić, Pejušković, Perović, Praščević, Prelevčanin, Premović, Progonovići, Radojević, Radosević, Radunović, Raketić, Rakić, Ratković, Sekulović, Stanišić, Stanković, Strahinjić, Toljević, Todoroviić, Tomaševiić, Tošković, Trimojević, Ćeklić, Četkovic, Ugričić, Femijić, Caričić, Cmiljanić, Čađenović, Čubranović, Šćepančević, Šajinović, Šaković, Šoškić.

Others

• Lutovci, descend from kapetan Gojko from Pirot.
• families migrating from Kuči, Bjelopavlići and Piperi

Dispersed families

Muslim families in Bijelo Polje hailing from Bratonožići include Koraći, Ljaljevići, Polumente, Uremovići, Huremovići.

Demographic history

At the beginning of the 20th century, the region had ca. 400 houses.

Notable people

• Niša Saveljić, by paternal descent
• Esteban Saveljich, by paternal descent
• Nemanja Bešović