Пребиловци – насеље и породице

Abstract

Prebilovci is the village in Southern Hercegovina, on the banks of river Neretva, in the municipality of Čapljina, canton Hercegovačko-neretvanski, Federation of B & H. It lies 5 km from Čapljina, 35 km from Mostar and 10 km from Metkovići (Croatia). The village is connected by means of a good asphalt road of 3 km with the highway Županja–Opuzen. It is situated on the low, hilly terrain which borders with the National park Hutovo blato (swampy terrain with several lakes and the river Krupa) and the banks of the riverbeds of Neretva and its tributary, Bregava. Prebilovci is, unfortunately, more known for its unfortunate fate in the last two wars. In August of 1941, during the big genocide slaughter of the Serbs in the Independent state of Croatia (Nezavisna država Hrvatska), the ustašas killed around 820 out of 1000 Serbs who lived in the village. Almost all of the killed were women and children from the village. Most of them were slaughtered in the Šurmanačka jama near Medjugorje. In June 1992, the Croats destroyed all the houses and other objects with mines and fires. After the pogrom and destruction in June 1992, the reconstruction of the small number of the houses started in autumn of 1999 which was followed by the homecoming of the pre-war inhabitants. There are two primitive strongholds and tens of tomb places with large amount of stones piled on it to prove that the village had been peopled since pre antique times. In ancient times, bordering with the territory of Prebilovci, there was an important road out of which remained a bridge on Bregava. There are famous remnants of the early Christian holy places in the nearby Tasovčići (Nereza) and Klepci (nowadays Orthodox Church). On the territory of Prebilovci, in Kuline, we have the remains of the “tower” from the Middle Ages. Little farther, in Gajine, below the village graveyard, there are the foundations of another, unknown, object from the Mediaeval period. There are two necropolis in the vicinity. One, obviously older, is in the field called “Vinogradi” (the vinyards). It consists of about ten graves with large stones, partly treated, with simple engraved decorations. One has the square escutcheon with a sword across it. On the Orthodox graveyard in Prebilovci, there is another, certainly younger, necropolis, with more gravestones which are better decorated. Some of them are placed on the graves even with the land while some are put on the stone crypts. One of the stones has heart-shaped, relief coat of arms, escutcheon, with a sword across it. There are large stone crosses and ones that are engraved in stones. Obviously, they belonged to the family which lived in Prebilovci till the Turkish occupation. Some solitary “stećak” (type of tombstone) can be found on other locations, too. Besides the mentioned necropolis, there are tombs and monuments dated from the Middle Ages till present day. There are very precious old stone monuments with the inscriptions on the Church-Slavonic. From the Turkish period, it is good to mention, the old bridge on Bregava from the mid 16th century, two Turkish graveyards (maybe, partially military ones, from the wars with the Venetians), then, two “čardak” of the Serbian families Medić and Suhić (joint) and Ekmečić in Grlić. There are, also, old huts “dolićuše”... Although the territory of Prebilovci had been settled since pre antique times, the relevant historic sources which cover the period of the Middle Ages in Herzegovina do not mention a settlement under the same or similar name. Shortage in the existence of sources is abundantly compensated in rich and interesting oral heritage cherished by the families of Prebilovci. In great part, it is confirmed by numerous proofs, and in rest of the cases it shows itself as realistically possible and probable, and it does not contradict historical data. It can be concluded, with a high level of probability, that, till the Turkish occupation of Herzegovina, on the teritorry of Prebilovci existed a settlement with different name. Many facts point to the name of Gojanovići that exists in the toponym “Gojanov do” (valley of Gojan) which is situated above toponym “Kućišta” with the remains of a settlement. Nowadays name of the village might have derived in 16th century after a personal name, Pribil/possible variant is Prebil/or after its geographical characteristics of the position of the village in relation to the surrounding relief as “pre(d)bilo” or “pribili se” which means “packed tightly together”. Many things point to the fact that the name of the village might have spread from the name Pribil/Prebil/-Bili, after one of the three brothers Dragićevići who lived in Prebilovci in the transitional period of 15th and 16th centuries. The Dragićevićis are an old Serbian family in this area whose predecessors, some 5 centuries ago, had put the foundations of the modern day Prebilovci the territory of which was their patrimony. This and other historical circumstances and data point to the fact that the forefathers of the Dragićevićis could have belonged to the nobility prior to the coming of the Turks in Herzegovina. Around 60% of the inhabitants of Prebilovci are the Dragićevićis. They belong to ten brotherhoods and bear the same number of surnames. The family name comes from the name Dragić, which, probably, was the name of the founder of the family who had lived in the transitional period of 15th and 16th centuries. The second old family in Prebilovci are the Buluts who also had had their estates here. Other families are immigrants from Ljubinjski kraj or surrounding places and many of them are old ones. Consequently, the population of Prebilovci is a precious remnant of the old Serbian population of the historical Hum. The Turkish sources, undobtedly confirm that this territory is the old Serbian land. Since the Turkish occupation, up to the present day, there is a forced change of religion which formalises itself in subsequent ethnical difference. Following, objectively speaking, forced islamisation at the beginning of the 18th century, in this part of Herzegovina lived Orthodox Serbs and a Muslim population which national feeling was a Turkish one though they preserved their mother tongue. Since then, it has begun an intensive settling of the U niates and catholics from Dalmatia, who, after the Austro Hungarian occupation in 1878 accepted the Croatian national name. After the most terrible genocide in the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna država Hrvatska) from 1941 to 1945 and genocide cleansing in 1992 the Serbs are reduced to the insignificant minority in this part of their historical and main land.