If you take ethnography into consideration, this area belongs to the Dinaric cultural area and is influenced by the Adriatic cultural area. The costumes worn in the western Dinaric area are pretty much the same in different parts of the land.
Women's National Costume
Shirt – a common clothing element for both men's and women's costumes; made of homemade hemp, linen or cotton cloth woven by women. The shirt is cut in such a way that a piece of cloth is folded lengthwise resulting in seamless shoulders, and the opening for the head is cut along the folded part and in the middle down the chest. Straight sleeves with open wrists and ruffles on the shoulder are sewn on the basic cloth. In the armpit area, there is a small piece of square cloth that allows free movement of the hands. From the waist down, the shirt is widened with a triangular piece of cloth, so the hem of the shirt can be widened. A collar is sewn to the neckline. The shirt is usually calf-length. The parts of the shirt which are visible when the upper layers are worn were richly decorated with embroidery. Wool, cotton, linen and silk threads were used for embroidery, depending on their availability. Women's shirts were influenced by the coastal traditional wear. Sleeves are tightened in the wrists and ruffled. On top of the shirt, women wore a sleeveless overdress (kotula) made of white cloth, cut at the waist and pleated, reaching below the knee. It is open-chest and decorated with lace around the neck opening and at the hem.
Another shirt called košuljak (a small shirt) is worn over the overdress. It is a white waist-length linen blouse with long sleeves, decorated with larger ruffles on the shoulders and smaller ruffles and lace at the hem.
Provaljenica, carza, vuštan – the name derives from the type of fabric from which the clothes are made (carza – a light woolen fabric, French – sarge, Italian – sargio, which was used in the Romanesque west in the past) – wide, pleated shirt with a sewn-on sleeveless vest – oplećak, which is cut down the chest and on the part of the shirt so that krožet (traditional homespun waistcoat), primetača (piece of clothing only covering breasts where it has white linen decoration, especially below the throat) and the wide sleeves of the košuljak remain visible. It is made of thick, dark blue cloth for the winter period and of thin woolen cloth for the summer period. Oplećak is padded with colorful woolen fabric, as well as the hemline of the skirt.
Carza is a winter garment worn on special occasions. It is worn over a shirt and is made of dark blue cloth. It is ornamented with red, olive and dark blue hemming on the neck area, shoulders, sleeves and elbows. The hemline is also decorated.
Vuštan - when women stopped wearing thick dresses made from homemade wool, they sewed pleated skirts from a store-bought black or blue cloth.
Aljina (Mudrina) - winter garment worn on special occasions. It is made from dark blue, woolen cloth. It has a lot of layers and is very wide. The hemline is embroidered, and the length is mid-calf. The chest and shoulder area is decorated. Everyday aljina has no embroidery and decorated hemline.
The later type of traditional clothing includes clothing items that women sewed themselves based on upper class tailoring (worn mainly in cities). Those include vuštane (homemade woven skirt), pleated skirts with jackets and a short coat called kapotin, traverše (aprons) and blouses on top of which women wore guće/buće – dark, fitted waist sweaters knitted in a special technique called pirmič/puntariž (rice stitch) with a few buttons at the bottom.
During the cold days, women wore a knitted, square scarf splet, which was worn over their heads in case of death in the family. Splet is square shaped, measuring 1,5x1,5 m and black. The material is structured as a blanket. It was worn during winter, folded like a triangle and placed over the shoulder to the back.
Another version of a knitted robe is tunja, completely round with a diameter of 1,5 m with an opening for the head in the middle. It is made of thick black yarn and was worn in the winter over the head and rested on the shoulders.
Kabanica - women's winter sleeveless cloak made from thick rolled cloth, black or brown in a cape cut, with a head opening and a decorative hood.
Sadak - blue or black sleeveless robe of various lengths, most often to the hips. It is open down the chest and has a triangle shaped cloth inserted between the front and the back, giving it a bell shape.
Pregača – an indispensable part of women's clothing, always woven from homemade woolen yarn. It is rectangular, woven from multicolored wool in a special technique. It has a few geometric motifs with smaller or larger patterns that are repeated and lined up horizontally. It is aesthetically pleasing thanks to its colorful woolen yarn. The edges are decorated with fringes made of black or dark-colored yarn. Bags, feedbags, wall decorations, etc. are woven with the same technique.
Tkanica - woven women's belt. Women's tkanice were made by weaving threads with the help of a weaving board, which indicates that this technique is extremely old and could be a cultural property of the Slavs in the Proto-Slavic community. Tkanice were also made on a loom and are slightly wider (15 cm) than those made on a board and were wrapped around the waist once, whereas those made on a board were longer and narrower and were wrapped around the waist several times. Some tkanice were made from cloth or some other firm fabric, to which metal decorations were applied. These tkanice are rich in decorations on the front, and are hooked on the back by a metal clasp.
Primetača and krožetin two types of decorative inserts placed on the chest. They are made of double rectangular canvas or silk measuring 30x50 cm and have a neck opening which is attached by buckles or laces. Primetača was worn by girls over their shirts, and they were white, decorated with lace – rakam or ažur – lace made with a hook. Krožetin was a part of the costume for married women, colored by dull red tones, dark blue or brown and had different patterns and decorations made of pieces of patterned cloth left over from sewing some other piece of clothing.
Okruga - head covering and a symbol of a married woman, a rectangular scarf made of white linen and folded diagonally.
Men's national costume:
Men stopped wearing their national costumes earlier than women. As the costume reflects the way of life of one area, it does not change for a long time. A man's typical attire, which is the same for the winter and summer period, consists of a shirt, pants (gaće), and three typical cloth gowns (haljetak).
The shirt is white and made of linen cloth, has the same cut as the woman's and wide ruffled sleeves, a high collar and is tight-fitted around the wrists. It has an opening down the chest, so it can be put on over the head.
Gaće, benevreci – made of cloth with two slots on the front side. They are decorated with red čoja (a type of fabric). Kurdila, a string pulled through the hem, holds them tightly around the waist.
Krožet - a homemade cloth vest, sleeveless robe that reaches to the waist and is cut from one piece, is worn on top of a shirt. It folds on the chest and is buckled on the left side by metal buckles or, for special occasions, by filigree buttons. It is decorated with luštrin (golden decoration), woolen fringes and galun (decorative ribbon).
Krožetin is made of woolen fabric and is embroidered by colorful cotton threads around the neck and chest opening and has filigree buttons and an incised pocket. It is a ceremonial attire of Promina villages, as well as part of the Šibenik region.
During the winter, on top of these sleeveless vests men wore aljak – a coat with sleeves, and during the summer it was worn over the shoulder. It is made of brown cloth, reaches below the waist, has an opening down the chest and does not buckle – so that the krožet remains visible. The wedges are inserted under the arms, and it has one or two incised pockets.
Pas – woven from thin, spun, woolen yarn, usually burgundy. It consists of 16 to 24 woolen strings intertwined by hand, length to 600 cm. There is a loop on one end, and on the other twisted strings which remain on the left side after tying it around the waist.
Pašnjača – an alternative to pas, made of doubled leather with partitions for different types of equipment and weapons. Horsemen would put it around their waist when they travelled or when they went to battle.
- Red cap – made of red cloth with black yarn, round to elliptical bottom. There are 26 reels arranged in two rows along the rim.
- S pola veza – a modified shape of the red cap, somewhat smaller and shallower than the red one. It is embroidered with similar details – reels.
- Tiara – made of black or dark blue plush, size and shape match the red one. It was worn by rich people and some heads of the household.
LEGEND OF PROMINA CAP
Back in 1715, the Ottomans besieged the town and fortress of Sinj on the eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15. Sinj is defended by the Franciscans and their regiment and are asking the bishop of the Šibenik diocese for help. The bishop quickly organizes a group of 26 serdars and harambašas (ranks of commanders) and their cavalry in order to help them. They are led by serdar from Drniš and Petropolje Nakić-Vojnović and two harambašas – captains from Promina: Validžić and Knežević with their cavalry (26 of them) and captain Džepina in reserve. They attack the Ottomans from their side, and the Ottomans flee. Ever since that day, the Promina people decorate their caps' rims with 26 marks in honor and memory of their 26 horsemen. Later, the hat spread throughout the entire Šibenik diocese and was known as the Šibenik cap.
Test: Marko Knežević - Brko
Footwear
The footwear of the rural population in Promina did not differ much from the footwear of their contemporaries in the rest of the Dinaric zone. They wore different types of sandals, boots and shoes. Opanci are traditional peasant shoes they wore.
Older versions of opanci – oputaši or pripletaši were insoles made of cowhide over which the thin strips of catgut or sheep and goat skin (opute) were interwoven. This type of opanci in Promina is known as slani/pričani opanci (salted opanci). The name salted opanci derives from their production process, when fresh cowhide was salted and dried in the sun. A pair was made from two identical opanci without division on the left and right shoe, they were home-made and often made by women. The comfort while wearing this type of footwear comes from layers of different types of socks. There are two types of opanci, everyday and ceremonial.
Promina folklore contains all stylistic features specific to the Dinaric (mountainous) regions. The traditional dance is usually performed in a six-part rhythm followed by traditional singing. Promina people loved to dance and were very good at it. Every village in Promina had its own dancing place – some intersection, road, or any open space area. Dance took place on Sundays in front of the church after mass, depending on the holiday – in Oklaj on Nativity of Mary, in front of the Knežević houses on St. Stephen's Day, in front of the brides house and the house she marries into. Sometimes, the boys would visit multiple dance locations in different villages. When the weather would be nice, the dance parties would last late into the night.
