| Onamo 'namo! | |
|---|---|
| English | There, Over There! |
| Native name | Онамо, 'намо! |
| Genre | Patriotic song |
| Text | Nicholas I of Montenegro |
| Composed | Davorin Jenko orFrantišek Wimmer(disputed) |
Onamo 'namo! (Serbian Cyrillic:Онамо, 'намо!,lit. 'There, Over There!') is a patriotic song written byPrince Nicholas ofMontenegro and first published in theNovi Sad-basedSerbian-languageliterary journalDanica ("Morning Star") in 1867. Its melody can be attributed either to theSlovene composerDavorin Jenko or theCzechchaplainFrantišek Wimmer, the conductor of theRoyal Montenegrin Army'smilitary band.
The song's lyrics call for the liberation ofSerb-inhabited lands from theOttoman Empire, making reference to the medieval Serbian capital ofPrizren, theVisoki Dečani monastery and the 14th-centuryBattle of Kosovo. Following its publication, it became popular among the Serb population of theBalkans, and came to be popularly referred to as the "SerbianMarseillaise". It was for a time considered a candidate to become thenational anthem of bothSerbia and Montenegro, but was rejected out of fear that its lyrics might provoke the Ottomans, and was later banned in both the Ottoman Empire andAustria-Hungary for promoting pan-Serb sentiment. In 1870, the Montenegrin government opted forUbavoj nam Crnoj Gori ("To Our Beautiful Montenegro") as the country's national anthem, and in 1882, Serbia settled onBože pravde ("God of Justice").
In 1918, Montenegro became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamedYugoslavia) and Nicholas was forced into exile.Onamo, 'namo! was proposed as the anthem of the nascentRepublic of Montenegro in 1992, and after the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamedSerbia and Montenegro in 2003, as the national anthem of the newly formedstate union. Following Montenegro's decision to leave the state union in 2006,Onamo, 'namo! was proposed as the newly independent country's national anthem. Due to its pan-Serb themes and the fact that Montenegro is not explicitly mentioned in its lyrics, the Montenegrin government instead decided to adoptOj, svijetla majska zoro ("Oh, Beautiful Dawn of May").
Nicholas I (Serbian:Nikola I,Serbian Cyrillic:Никола I), of the house ofPetrović-Njegoš, acceded to the throne of thePrincipality of Montenegro in 1860, following the assassination of his uncle PrinceDanilo, Montenegro's first secular ruler. Over the preceding centuries, Montenegro had been one of the few polities inSoutheastern Europe that managed to remain essentially independent of theOttoman Empire. Atheocracy for much of its existence, it was ruled by a series of prince-bishops until Danilo's ascent in 1851. Upon coming to power, Nicholas waged numerous wars against the Ottomans, greatly expanding his country's territory.[1] Like his predecessors, he considered himself aSerb and was generally supportive of the Serbian national cause.[2] In addition to being a statesman, he was also an accomplished poet, playwright and orator.[3]
The lyrics toOnamo, 'namo! were first published in 1867 in theSerbian-languageliterary journalDanica ("Morning Star"), based inNovi Sad, which at the time was part of theAustrian Empire.[4][a] By some accounts, the song's melody can be attributed to theSlovene composerDavorin Jenko.[6] According to other sources, the melody was composed by a Montenegrinchaplain ofCzech descent namedFrantišek Wimmer,[b] and is said to have been based on that of a contemporary song extolling the Italian revolutionaryGiuseppe Garibaldi.[3] Wimmer was the conductor of the Royal Montenegrin Army'smilitary band, which had been established inPodgorica in 1889.[8]
Onamo, 'namo! is a pan-Serb anthem whose lyrics call for the re-establishment of the medieval Serbian state, which had been consumed by the Ottoman Empire over the course of the 14th and 15th centuries.[4] Its lyrics call for the liberation of all Serb-inhabited lands, a goal that Nicholas frequently referenced to foreign diplomats in the Montenegrin capitalCetinje,[9] and describe Nicholas' desire to set foot in Serbia's medieval capital,Prizren, then the seat of the eponymous Ottoman administrative unit known as theSanjak of Prizren.[10] The lyrics also referenceMiloš Obilić, the Serbian knight who was reputed to have slain SultanMurad at theBattle of Kosovo in June 1389, as well asJug Bogdan and the nineJugović brothers, who were said to have perished in the battle. TheVisoki Dečani monastery, in western Kosovo, is also referenced.[4]
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Onamo, 'namo! cemented Nicholas' reputation as an accomplished poet among his subjects, as well as the Serb population of the Balkans more broadly.[11][c] "The people accepted this poem as their battle song," the historian Olga Zirojević writes, "as a call to liberate those Serbian people still under Turkish occupation, as a great national duty which had to be accomplished."[10] At the height of its popularity, it was widely referred to as the "SerbianMarseillaise".[9][d] Despite the widespread misconception that it once served as Montenegro's national anthem, this was never the case.[3] Two years before its publication,Danica had published the lyrics to several candidates for the Serbiannational anthem, none of which were accepted by the Serbian government. Since the lyrics ofOnamo 'namo! called for the separation of Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire, the Serbian authorities decided against adopting it for fear of provoking the Ottomans.[4] For similar reasons, the Montenegrin government was reluctant to officially adopt it as Montenegro's national anthem, and in 1870, instead selectedUbavoj nam Crnoj Gori ("To Our Beautiful Montenegro").[3] In 1882, the Serbian government settled onBože pravde ("God of Justice"). Nevertheless,Onamo, 'namo! became highly popular among the Serb population of theBalkans, and was sung on many official and unofficial occasions.[4] For this reason, it was banned in theOttoman Empire andAustria-Hungary.[4]
In the early 20th century, a variation of the song titledOvamo, 'vamo! (Here, o'er Here!) became popular amongBosnian Serbs; it called for Serbia and Montenegro to freeBosnia andHerzegovina from Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian domination.[13] In 1910, the Montenegrin People's Assembly voted unanimously to elevate Montenegro to the status of akingdom and Nicholas to the title of king.[14] During theFirst Balkan War of 1912–1913, theRoyal Serbian Army managed to capture Prizren before the Royal Montenegrin Army. Prior to the war, Nicholas had been hoping to incorporate the town into Montenegro, and the references he made to it inOnamo, 'namo! imbued this goal with additional significance.[15] DuringWorld War I, Montenegro and Serbia fought side by side against theCentral Powers, and were both occupied by Austria-Hungary for several years. After the Central Powers' collapse in 1918, Montenegro was annexed by Serbia, then ruled by Nicholas' son-in-law, KingPeter. In short order, both states were incorporated into the newly createdKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, governed by Serbia's rulingKarađorđević dynasty. Nicholas was exiled to France, where he died in 1921.[1] In 1992,Onamo, 'namo! was one of three compositions proposed by the Montenegrin authorities to become theRepublic of Montenegro's new national anthem, alongsideOj, svijetla majska zoro ("Oh, Bright Dawn of May") andUbavoj nam Crnoj Gori. At the time, Montenegro was one of two republics that formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was created following thecollapse of theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991–1992.[16] In 2003, after the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamedSerbia and Montenegro,Onamo, 'namo! was proposed as the national anthem of the newly formedstate union.[17]
Following Montenegro's decision to leave the state union after anindependence referendum in 2006, the song was proposed as the newly independent country's national anthem by the predominantly Serbopposition.[4][e] This was met with hostility from pro-independence politicians since it does not contain any explicit references to Montenegro in its lyrics, neither as an entity separate from Serbia nor even as a distinct region.[4] The song's references to "Serb lands" and the Battle of Kosovo also disqualified it in the eyes of Montenegro's pro-independence ruling party, theDemocratic Party of Socialists.[18] According to the scholars Aleksandar Pavković and Christopher Kelen: "The government of Montenegro was looking for a song that would implicitly or explicitly justify the separation of its singers, Montenegrins, from the Serbs."[4]Oj, svijetla majska zoro, whose lyrics had been rearranged by the Montenegrin separatist andWorld War II fascist collaboratorSekula Drljević, was chosen as the national anthem instead, to the displeasure of manyMontenegrin Serbs, who according to the scholar Kenneth Morrison, lamented its "fascistic connotations".[18]
Source:Pavković & Kelen (2016, pp. 143–144)
| in Serbian Cyrillic: | in Serbian Latin: | in English: |
|---|---|---|
| Онамо, 'намо... за брда она, говоре да је разорен двор Онамо, 'намо... да виђу Призрен! Онамо, 'намо... са развалина Онамо, 'намо... за брда она Онамо, 'намо... за брда она, Онамо, 'намо... за брда она Онамо, 'намо... сабљи за стара Онамо, 'намо... за брда она | Onamo, 'namo... za brda ona, govore da je razoren dvor Onamo, 'namo... da viđu Prizren! Onamo, 'namo... sa razvalina Onamo, 'namo... za brda ona Onamo, 'namo... za brda ona Onamo, 'namo... sablji za stara Onamo, 'namo... za brda ona | There, over there... beyond those hills, Ruined lies, they say, my There, over there... I see Prizren! There, over there... from on top of the ruins There, over there... beyond those hills, There, over there... beyond those hills, There, over there... beyond those hills, There, over there... for the ribs of the old man, There, over there... beyond those hills, |