Art
Modern art has had plenty to feed off in Serbia and Montenegro. The
vibrant art scene
produces works that use folk motifs, political symbols and provocative
text to pull apart
and interpret the former-Yugoslavia's tumultuous recent history.
Surrealist posters bring
political messages out of the gallery and onto the streets; some groups
hold installations,
or 'Phobjects', in bombed out parts of Belgrade. Writers, too, have mined
the rich vein of
tragedy in their country's history - Ivo Andric won a Nobel Prize for his
book Na Drini
Cuprija, about the gap between religions.
Music
Serbian music and dance is built on a strong folk tradition, similar to
that of neighbouring
Bulgaria. The gajde, which looks like a large set of bagpipes, is the
wailing mainstay of
Serbian song, and has probably been in the country since the Celts invaded
in the 4th
century. Albanian Kosovars tap their feet to a more Turkish tune and play
on Arabic
instruments, while around Guca, gypsy dancers swing their thing to the
brassy tones of
blehmuzika, Serbia's national brass-band sound. Modern musos such as
Momcilo Bajagic and
Dorde Balasevic have taken folk themes and added street poetry and jazz.
Language
Serbia and Montenegro's official language is Serbian. It was developed
by philologist and
language reformer, Vuk Stefanovich Karadzich, who polished and codified
the language of
Serbian peasants. Formerly know as Serbo-Croatian, Serbian differs in that
it is written in
Cyrillic rather than Latin script. The Cyrillic alphabet is entirely
phonetic, with one
symbol for each of the language's 30 sounds - there's no such thing as a
silent letter in
Serbian. Many Serbs can converse in Hungarian or Russian, and English is
also widely spoken,
but even so, learning a few Serbian phrases will open doors and create
smiles.
Food
The region blurs culinary borders, with a cuisine that takes tastes
from Turkey, Hungary and
Greece. However they spice it, though, Serbs and Montenegrins love their
meat; Serbian
kebabs, hamburger steaks, vegetables stuffed with meat and mixed grills of
pork, liver,
sausage and rissoles. Vegetarians will find the going tough outside major
citites; chicken
and fish are considered vegetarian food and the bean soup is usually
cooked with smoked ham
for flavour. Montenegrins, who do a good line in dairy cows, serve their
meat with cream and
cheese. Even breakfast is meaty - the traditional Balkan burek is a greasy
layered pie of
cheese and meat. Fruit grows everywhere, and the locals like to enjoy
their harvest year
round by fermenting grapes, apples, or stone fruit into a 'brandy'
calledrakija or a lethal
home brew plum brandy, sljivovica. Montenegrin beer is also an especially
tasty tipple to be
enjoyed regularly.
Dances
Have a look at this pdf-file for information about the dance
Cacak
To read the file you need the free software Adobe Reader from
Adobe or another pdf-viewer.
The Adobe Reader you can find on the homepage from
Adobe under Support -
Downloads.
National Anthem
To listen the national anthem click
here.
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