ZAGREB, January 19, 2018 – A scientific conference about the Croatian Bokeljska Mornarica brotherhood that promotes the heritage of Croats in the Bay of Kotor, notably their maritime tradition, was held in Zagreb on Friday, with participants suggesting that Croatia propose to Montenegro that they together nominate the tradition called “Bokeljska Mornarica” for inclusion on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Participants in the event in Zagreb substantiated their suggestion with arguments that the brotherhood that preserves and fosters the specific tradition of Croats in the Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) had inseparable connections with the Catholic Church and with the Croatian nation.
Croatian Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek told the conference that on several occasions her Ministry had communicated with the Montenegrin Culture Ministry and officially notified Podgorica of the wish to submit a multinational nomination of the rites of Bokeljska Mornarica and of the Kolo Svetog Tripuna Association, observed in tribute to Saint Tryphon, for the UNESCO’s list.
Saint Tryphon was a third century Christian saint who is venerated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches as a great martyr. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in Kotor is dedicated to him.
“It is our intention to intensively talk about this, in the spirit of good cooperation that is fostered within UNESCO,” the Minister said. “Both Croatia and Montenegro nurture that heritage and participate in that important phenomenon,” she added.
The head of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU), Zvonko Kusić, said that the joint candidacy would be certainly successful, and he informed the conference of the significance of this brotherhood and Catholic heritage in the Boka Kotorska bay.
The conference in Zagreb was organised as response to Montenegro ‘s plan to initiate procedure on its own for nominating Bokeljska Mornarica to the said UNESCO list without mentioning the cult of venerating St. Tryphon and the Croat people who developed that cult in the Adriatic part of the present-day Montenegro.
The Bay of Kotor is situated in the present-day Montenegro, but has strong connections to Croatia.
