May 16, 2019 - Citizens of Perast traditionally celebrated 15 May, the Latter-day of the victory of their ancestors over the Turks in 1654. In addition to mass and ceremonies at St. Nicholas Square, the traditional event in the memory of the heroic defense of the city captured the custom of "shooting the rooster," which symbolizes the enemy.
This year's winner is local Marko Lindi, who, according to the age-old tradition, received a towel with the year of battle and the date of the shooting, after which he triumphed Perast accompanied by the City Music of Kotor.
On St. Nicholas square, the Boka Navy traditionally performed, which played the St. Tryphon Round Dance, after which Kotor bishop Msgr served the holy mass. Ilija Janjić.
At the central town square, in the evening, the Klapa Contra from Split held a concert. Although city lighting did not work, visitors enjoyed the excellent music.
The event was organized by the Society of Friends of the City of Perast, the Community Center, Perast Parish Office and the Perast International Klapa Festival.
Perast Battle - Latter-day of 15 May
Perast's ability in the seventeenth century on land and sea, skill with the sword and trade, the Chadian War, the loss of Risan thanks to the Perast Army in 1649 were just some of the reasons for the Turks to strike at the city.
Having learned that the Turks would attack the city, its peasants had been transporting the furniture to the islands in front of the city, because they believed the enemy would attack only from the land. Men were divided into nine towers. The commander of local forces, K. Šilopi, developed on his house the flag of Venetia and the mark with the municipal coat of arms, which obliged the Duke to come in every need with 30 armed men.
As the Kotorans modestly aided their neighbors with about 30 pedestrians and some ammunition, and there were seizures of about 30 of Perast's ships trapped between Korcula and Molunat at that time, a rift between the vast Turkish army of some 5,000 soldiers and only a few hundred peasants of Perast broke out.
Early in the morning, the Turks hit the town from the mainland. On both sides of the town, they headed for the St. Cross, where it was a fortress of local soldiers and Venetians. In the bloody defense for Perast, few citizens succeeded in resisting the enemy, taking over the leading battalion of the Turkish army and killing her command of Mehmet Aga, whose rifle could be seen today at the Perast Museum.
No one was hoping Turks would hit the town from the sea. The Turks under the leadership of Ulcinj Mustai Reis attacked Lepetane, set up a fortress with Our Lady of Angels and went through Verige to Perast. They devastated the islands of St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks, where they tortured votive gifts and mischief, but they did not find the image of Our Lady, because the citizens hid it in time at the church of St. Cross in Fortress.
Our Lady of Perast, Photo by Miroslav Marusic, Boka News
By the centuries-old tradition, the last Sunday in April, Our Lady's image is transmitted to the town to be returned to Our Lady of the Rocks on 29 June, on the feast of Saint Peter.
The enormous success in defending the city, the peasants of Perast, attributed the protection of the Blessed Virgin, so the municipality vowed that every year, thanks to Her, the ceremony would celebrate the Latter-day.
In honor of this great victory, on the western wall of St. Nicholas church in Perast, there is a memorial plaque with a text in the national language, which was given by the then archbishop Andrija Zmajević.
Read the full text in Montenegrin at bokanews.com
