Numerous settlements are scattered within the National Park: Dobrilovina, Budečevica, Đurđevića and Lever Tara, Tepca, Mala Crna Gora, Motički gaj, Razvršje, Pitomine, Bosača, Rasova, Pitomine, Bosača, Rasova, Virak and Nadgora. Durmitor's traditional house is a log cabin, where the space is divided into two parts, with a separate economic zone (pantry, warehouse, workshop), which is built of stone, and above it is a residential part-a log cabin with a steep roof that is covered with shingles or clapboards. .
In the vicinity of the house there are commercial facilities: cowsheds, dairy farms, huts. An integral part of the decor of the Durmitor region are colorful katuns with endless meadows where cattle herders stay during the summer: Lokvice, Stari katun, Veliki do, Katun u donja Ališnica, Ograda, Poljica, Dobri do , Veliki štuoc... Their uniqueness and simplicity is reflected in the architecture.
In the life of the settlement, watermills and stupas for rolling cloth, built as log cabins, played an important role.
The beauty of a place is the people and their mentality. They are recognized by deep-rooted and strong family ties. Customs are nurtured in different forms of assembly-parliament, within which various competitive games are organized such as shoulder throwing, long jump, horse races...
Spiritual creativity is preserved through epic folk songs, which are often performed with fiddles or duos.
Twins
Dvonice is the name for a rectangular double flute. It consists of two pipes made side by side from the same piece of wood. Each tube has a spout and holes. The right tube has a hole higher. The instrument produces two tones at the same time. Below the lip part is the body of the flute, richly decorated with carvings. This type of flute is widespread in the Balkans in different variants, and it also has different names. In Montenegro, it has the name dvojnica or dvojenica.
The fiddle
In the first encounter with these sounds to an unaccustomed ear, these tones may sound unfamiliar and strange. They are created by playing the fiddle. The fiddle is a traditional stringed instrument in the Balkans. In Montenegro, however, they are something more than that: a symbol of tradition and an important part of Montenegrin culture and identity.
The fiddle is actually a type of lute. There is only one, thick string stretched over the body of the fiddle, created by joining up to 30 horse hairs. This is quite unusual, as the horse's mane hair breaks quickly. Therefore, the instrument must be tuned and played carefully.
Few instruments from the region are decorated like fiddles. The head of the gusal is most often decorated with animal motifs such as the head of a chamois or a horse, it can be a falcon or an eagle. The neck and sound body are decorated with various ornaments. There are different types of fiddles, but Montenegrin fiddles are the largest, and they are considered the best and most beautiful among fiddles. Fiddles are played by skilled and musical performers, because their sound is open and bright, and the skill is how to maintain the tone.
The fiddle is played by a musician called a fiddle player. He sings and accompanies himself on this instrument. He pulls a large, wooden bow, also made of horse mane, over the string on the body of the instrument, while pressing the string on the neck with the fingers of his other hand. So, playing the fiddle is a real skill.
Heroic songs and epics, which tell different stories, are performed on the fiddle. And with those stories, they pass on the tradition and legacy of their ancestors.
Montenegrin writer and bishop, Petar Drugi Petrović Njegoš, wrote the epic "Mountain Wreath", which is considered the most important work of South Slavic poetry from the Romantic period. In this work, the role of gusal in Montenegrin culture is highlighted, this is how Njegoš writes:
"You can't hear the fiddle in the house, the house and the people are dead."
