Boka poet 1870: Let glory rise, rise up Serbs, glorify the nation! Forward, united, Serbs, the evil will fall!

A strong tricolor flag, like a rainbow from the sky. Under its coat of arms it says: Let glory rise, rise up Serbs, glorify the nation! The storm is spreading, and the thunder is roaring, he would say, that a terrible judgment will come to the world, and the thunder roars, as if saying: Forward, united, Serbs, the evil will fall, wrote visionarily in the 19th century the famous Serbian patriot and Bokelj who originated from old Montenegro, Risto Milić.

Poet Risto Milić, one of the most important, most prolific and versatile social members of the then Kotor, was an honorary member of the Serbian singing society "Jedinstvo", writes the IN4S portal.

Dream

I looked at Kosovo, as if it were on the horizon,

Where it stretches for a long time, and the dawn washes it blue;

From everywhere, Serbs are flying to it in a hurry,

To remove the cursed Turkish yoke from the tribe.

A strong tricolor flag is raised in a row,

Like a rainbow from the firmament of heaven;

Under its coat of arms it says: May glory rise!

Rise, Serbs, glorify the tribe!

Looking at that strange banner for a long time,

The sky darkens, and lightning flashes,

From the thunderous roar, the whole field trembles,

Only the flag itself lights up in flames.

The storm is spreading, and the thunder is roaring,

He would say, that a terrible judgment has come to the world:

And the thunder roars, as if saying:

Forward, in unison, Serbs! The evil one will fall.

The gloomy sky began to clear,

Only one cloud was visible;

From that cloud a strange brilliance shone

And presented the glorious shadow of Saint Sava,

Who with an outstretched hand from the vault of heaven

Shows this written verse:

Forward boldly with the sword, sons of my race!

Avenge the sad cry of Serbian mothers!

"Serb Defenders", Risto Milić

A written leaf was created in the harbor,

And it was spilled over the graves of Kosovo!

From their graves the shadows rose,

On St. Vid's Day, when they fell for freedom.

They surrounded Miloš's grave with a chariot,

And their voice was heard by the scoundrels:

Rise, Miloš! The enemy has already expired!

The Serbs rose, to avenge us!

When the Serbian army saw these visions,

To meet the evildoer, they descended down Kosovo;

The cannon began to fire, and the dagger to clang,

And the heroic blood began to flow in the river.

From Avala the fairy calls out, wake up:

Whoever is a Serb, let him rush into battle with a sword!

At that I suddenly jumped up, and I woke up from my sleep

And I shouted loudly: Now, my kinsman!

We also remind you of the promotion on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the founding of "Jedinstvo" on October 16, 2014, in the Treasury of the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality of Kotor:

Poet Risto Milić is one of the most significant, most prolific and versatile members of society, so it is no wonder that he was also proclaimed an honorary member of the Serbian Singing Society "Jedinstvo", as the most consistent follower of its still current motto: "With a song in the heart - with a heart in the family!", assessed the Society's secretary Dragan Đurčić. On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the founding of "Jedinstvo" on October 16, 2014, he addressed those present at the promotion of a reissue of lyrical patriotic songs entitled "Serbobranka" by Risto Milić in the Treasury of the Serbian Orthodox Church Municipality of Kotor. Đurčić reminded that numerous chroniclers of the SPD "Jedinstvo" spoke about Risto Milić, and on this occasion we quote from his preface to the new edition: "Špiro Jovović himself composed, to everyone's liking and praise, several patriotic songs by Ljubo Nenadović and the Kotor poet and society member Risto Simov Milić..." "... In the autumn of 1869, the Boka Bay uprising broke out. ... The society president Risto M. Subotić and the patriotic society poet and singer Risto S. Milić suffered the most severe torments". According to archival data, Risto Milić was born in 1842 in Kotor. "Under number 8, it says: Risto (Cristoforo) is the son of Simeon Milić (Simeone Milić) from Bjelica and Jelena Katurić (Elena Catturich) from Kotor, and was born on April 19, according to the old calendar, or May 1, according to the new calendar (then April 19 / May 1, 1842). The birth register was written in Italian, which was the official language in the southern, Dalmatian, provinces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire," the archival materials state.

"Despite all his poetic and singing successes, Milić could not get a secure job in the civil service in Kotor. That was the price of his patriotic activities in Boka. That is why, at the end of 1871, he traveled to Odessa, where he was an official trustee of Matica Srpska. In Odessa, he also met his compatriot, Jelisaveta Popović, who took 11 songs from Serbobranki and composed music to their verses. After the war, in 1879, Milić was assigned to Belgrade as a class V accountant of the Main Control, and from 1883 to 1910 he worked as a bookkeeper in the Postal and Telegraph Department of the Ministry of National Economy (first as a class V accountant, and then IV, III, II and I classes). As The postal clerk did not publish his literary works, but he was in the midst of literary events, especially of Serbian writers. He died suddenly, of a heart attack, on March 8, 1910, in the Belgrade tavern Proljeće", is a detail from the biography of the poet Risto Milić.

"Unity" went to pay homage to the relics of Saint Peter of Cetinje on the eve of Lucindan, October 17, 1870. That same evening, a great party was organized in the Cetinje reading room for the prince, other leaders and the people. Then the Montenegrin anthem, composed by the "social bandmaster" Antun Šulc, was performed for the first time, and in the words of the poet Jovan Sundečić, "And since then it has been sung and played as the Montenegrin anthem until our happy national unification". In return, the prince presented the Society with 200 forints in gold, a gold watch with a dedication to the conductor, Schulz, and ordered the printing of patriotic songs "Srbobranke", sung by Risto Milić, "a valuable member of the society, at state expense. In August 1869, conscription was introduced, despite the imperial word given during the occupation of Boka Bay that it would not be done. After Emperor Franz Joseph rejected the request of the Boka Bay leaders not to conscript the local population and sent a strong army to Boka Bay, on September 25th, first the people of Krivošija, Ledenić, Rišnjani, Oravčani, and then the people of Grbljani, Maine, Braići and Pobori rose in revolt. On January 3rd, 1870, the Peace of Knezla was concluded - "Unity" fell out of favor police, several members were arrested, and the hardest hit were the president Risto M. Subotić, who died in prison from the torture he suffered, and the poet Risto S. Milić, a member of the Society who had to leave Kotor due to the great Serbization and go to Odessa, and later to Belgrade. The Society expressed solidarity with the victims by giving up parties and reduced its activities to prayers for the salvation and repose of the souls of the fallen insurgents; In Odessa, R. Milić was the official representative of Matica Srpska. In Odessa, he met Jeisaveta Popović, a Serbian composer. She composed the music for 11 of his songs from Srbobranki (two patriotic and nine love songs). The notes of all the compositions are preserved in the Archive of the SPD "Jedinstvo", a detail from the history of "Jedinstvo", which also speaks volumes about Risto Milić.

In addition to Đurčić, the parish priest of Kotor and the governor of Boka Kotor, Stavrophor Momčilo Krivokapić, Stevan Kordić, who did the photography and design, and Kotor High School professor Ljiljana Čolan, spoke about the book "Serbobranka" by Risto Milić. The book is published by Vojin Lazarević. The management of "Jedinstvo" has also prepared a large number of letters of appreciation for their contribution to the work and existence of the Society during the period of renewed activity from 1994 to 2014. Last night, they were awarded to: prof. Ljiljana Čolan, Dragan Đurčić and Stevan Koridić", we wrote on our website on 08.09.2018.