Banjani

Banjani () was a tribe in Old Herzegovina, and historical region in western Montenegro. Its territory comprises , west of Nikšić, in the centre between Nikšić and Bileća, from the top of Njegoš mountain to the Trebišnjica river, and on to the Bileća Lake. All Banjani families have Jovanjdan (St. John's feast day, January 20) as their slava (a Serbian Orthodox tradition).

==History== thumb|Peasants of the Banjani, ca. 1860 The first written mention of the Banjani is in 1319. Some scholars argued that the name could derive from balnea (sr. banja), which means "bath" or "spa". According to oral tradition, the tribal name comes from Banjska in Kosovo from where they migrated. The Novljani were a medieval Serb community, which became a component part of the Drobnjaci tribe in Old Herzegovina (in Montenegro). According to folklore, the Novljani settled Bosnia at the time of the Serb settlement in the Balkans, then later crossed into the Banjani plateau in Old Herzegovina. From there, the Novljani and other Serb tribes pushed out the native population towards the Tara and source of Morača, and towards the south, Podgorica, and then settled and divided the conquered lands between themselves. The Novljani received the wide land that later encompassed the tribes of Banjani and Drobnjaci.