Rastoder

Rastoder is a Montenegrin Bosniak surname, its members originating from Bihor, a region in northern Montenegro (Sandžak), which encompasses parts of the municipalities of Berane and Bijelo Polje.

History

According to a legend, the ancestors of the Rastoder family were from Kuči. These ancestors emigrated from Kuči either in in the 17th or 18th century. One part of the family went to Dupilo in Crmnica, and the other to the mountains of Plav, of which the Medunjani descend from. The family in Dupilo, because of a blood revenge (krvna osveta), emigrated north and stayed, however, one part of the family (known as the Petrovići at that time) decided to stay. The descendants of these Petrovićs say that the Vladika of Montenegro told the Petrovićs that they can't be known as the Petrovićs any longer, instead be known as Hrstoderi (later Hrastoderi) because they avenged and hung a man on an oak tree, thus the surname "Hrstoderi" (later spelled "Hrastoderi") because "hrast" means oak tree and these Petrovićs hung a man on an oak tree, thus giving them their new surname.

Another saying, not too different from the previous one, says that the ancestors of the Rastoders emigrated to Radmanci and converted to Islam. They didn't have enough food when they arrived in Radmanci, so they peeled off the bark of oak trees ("hrastovi") in order to enlarge the amount of flour for bread. It is not excluded that by that only oak valley came the surname "Hrastoder".

A third story, more of a legend, says that before the coming of the Turks, there lived some "Rasodijeri", however, it is not certain whether if they were Bogomils or others, probably even Pagans, but later converted to Islam. They were recorded in books in mosques as "Hrastoderi" rather than "Rasodijeri".

The surname without the H (Rastoder) was realised during and after the period of the Kingdom of Montenegro, in the registers, instead of being located in mosques, were located in local town and the Hrastoderi were recorded as Rastoderi as the registrars were Montenegrins and even today, the phoneme "H" isn't pronounced by Montenegrins and wasn't either at that time.

Descendants

From the Rastoderi descend the Kršići and Nurkovići in Rožaje, as well as the Medunjani.

Notable Members of the Rastoder family

*Rifat Rastoder, Montenegrin Bosniak politician and deputy speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro
*Šerbo Rastoder, Montenegrin Bosniak philosopher, historian and activist for Bosniak rights in Montenegro.

External links

* [http://www.rastoder.com Website about the Rastoder family]