Boka Navy Value Overcomes National and Regional Importance

"Convinced that the values of the Boka Navy exceed the national and regional borders, we have applied this good for enrollment at the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It is the first nomination of Montenegro for enrollment on this prestigious list," said Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin opening exhibition "Boka Navy Kotor - 1210 years of history, spirituality and culture".

 

 

The Deputy Prime Minister assessed that the members of the Boka Navy, their family history and traditions of the local community, are deserving that this great tradition is preserved for the generations that come despite all the challenges that Boka Bay has encountered in history.

 

He recalled that for over twelve centuries the Boka Navy managed to resist the strong influences that overwhelmed the area, assessing that the maritime tradition that permanently marked it was the real and fundamental value of the organization itself.

 

Vice President Pažin emphasized that the essential value of the Boka Navy is intangible, "which exceeds all material traces, transferred from generation to generation and which is a key cultural value that this organization recommended for the status of Montenegro's cultural property of national importance." 

 

He estimated that only by preserving local communities, supporting their identity and the initiatives that come from them, such values could be preserved and passed on to future generations.

 

Pažin reminded that the initiative for candidacy on the UNESCO Representative List came from the Boka Navy itself, and the candidacy process was in deep agreement with the members of the organization, conducted following its basic principles. Those principles indicate that the Boka Navy can be accessed by any person who accepts its Statute, regardless of ethnic, religious, or any other identity, and that it is an organization focused on respect for human rights and mutual respect for religious, national and cultural differences.

 

At the opening of the exhibition spoke Antun Sbutega, Admiral of the Boka Navy Kotor and Andro Radulovic, Director of the Maritime Museum of Montenegro in Kotor.

 

Admiral of the Boka Navy pointed out that he is convinced that the exhibition and catalogue that follows will significantly contribute to better understanding and promotion of this cultural asset, both in Montenegro and broader.

 

 

"Montenegro, as is often rightly pointed out, is a multiethnic and multicultural state. It is, although small, a complex mosaic composed of many different parts and it is important that the mosaic as a whole be consistent, that each part of it be adequately valued and obtains the right place. The Boka Navy is one of the parts of that mosaic and its affirmation in Montenegro, which declared it an immaterial cultural asset six years ago, and last year it has run on the UNESCO List, as well as affirmations on the international level,  are important not only for the Navy," said Sbutega.

 

 

Pointing to the values of the Boka Navy for Kotor and Boka Bay, Andro Radulovic said that it was no coincidence that at the end of the 19th century the idea of establishing an institution that would systematically collect, preserve and present material testimonies of the maritime tradition of Kotor and Boka originated from the Navy. Collecting items on the Boka Navy and the Bokelian maritime history started at the beginning of the 20th century in the palace of Grgurina family, where the Maritime Museum, originates from the legacy of the Boka Navy, is situated today.

 

Navy's Performance in Cetinje, Copyright: Government of Montenegro/ S. Matic

 

"Boka Navy Kotor - 1210 Years of History, Spirituality and Culture" presents the most representative exhibition on the theme of the Boka Navy with a large number of exhibits: documents, books, icons, artistic images of ships and maritime battles, vowel seafood gifts, captains' portraits, photographs, and decorations. A luxurious and richly illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition on 150 pages with texts in Montenegrin and English.

 

The Maritime Museum of Montenegro, Boka Navy Kotor, Ministry of Culture of Montenegro, Bishopric Kotor, Kotor Historical Archive, Kotor Museums and Kotor Municipality participated in the realization of the exhibition.