The Circle of Serbian Sisters

A Short History

Serbia Proper had won its liberty from the Turks and lived freely in its kingdom under the democratic rule of King Peter I Karadjordjevich and a most democratic president Nikola Pasic, who was at the helm.  In the north, Srem, Banat, Backa and Baranja were still under the Austrio-Hungarian Empire.  In the south, Old Serbia and Macedonia were still under the Turks.  None of these ruling powers wanted to see a free and united Serbia.

People living in the south were going through big and difficult turmoil.  First, the Albanians got together in the uprising against the Turks.  While this rebellion was going on, the Bulgarian underground movements purpose was to join this region with the Bulgarian state, brought to St. Elijah's Uprising (Ilindenski Ustanak) on July 20, 1903.  Now the Albanians joined the Turks in their effort to crush this resistance.  They burned more that 150 Serbian villages, looting and massacring the Serbian population everywhere.  Serbs were not only put in prison but were expelled from their lives.  They lived there in hiding, unprotected, with no food and without clothing.  Help they needed badly, but where would it come from.

This distressing fate and suffering of the Serbian people prompted two prominent Serbian ladies from Beograd to come to the conclusion that something had to be done for those troubled people, that Serbia was obliged to give a helping and supportive hand to Serbs there.  The younger lady was Mrs. Delfa Ivanich, whose husband Ivan was at the time the secretary of consular department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The older one was Miss Nadezda Petrovich, a recognized and acclaimed artist-painter from a well known Serbian intellectual family.  She had inherited the love for her country from her father.  She herself supported many patriotic actions.  With the support of five other ladies together they decided to form a women's patriotic, humane cultural organization with the purpose of giving financial support to terrorized Serbs in Old Serbia and Macedonia as well as all other Serbian victims outside Serbia Proper.  Mr. Ivan Ivanich, together with Mr. Branislav Nusich, also secretary of the consular department and one of the best known Serbian playwrights, was asked to draw preliminary by-laws for the new women's organization.  Mr. Nusich was also its godfather naming it "KOLO SRPSIH SESTARA" (The Circle of Serbian Sisters) which was immediately accepted.  With headquarters in Beograd the Circle had to have a chapter in every larger town in the Kingdom of Serbia.

At the end of July 1903 these seven ladies and the two gentlemen held a meeting which was attended by about ten additional Serbian ladies and eight to nine newspaper reporters.  Delfa Ivanich spoke of Serbian sufferings under the Turks.  She presented the intention of Serbian women and stressed that Serbian mothers, wives, and sisters would not turn a deaf ear to our brothers crying for help. "It is our humane and  patriotic duty and obligation to save our Serbian population and do everything possible and impossible for them,"  said Mrs. Ivanich.  The preliminary by-laws were read and made known.  The reporters were asked to write about this new organization which was ready to call for a big women's meeting and to be constituted.  Then the first donations were collected.  The very first one came from the speaker Mrs. Ivanich, who donated a gold coin as a symbol for good luck.  Those present followed and just enough was collected for beginning expenses.

The newspaper media responded to its duty.  The organizers got busy recruiting the founding members.  In no time there were fifty of them.  All had signed the printed announcement inviting every Serbian woman to attend the big meeting on August 15th, 1903 (old calendar), the day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, at Kolarac Hall at 3 p.m.

On that day the Serbian woman brilliantly manifested her consciousness for understanding and for performing patriotic tasks.  About three thousand women and a few hundred men filled the hall, the neighboring rooms, and the garden outside the building.

The meeting was conducted by the elected chair lady Mrs. Sofija Arandjelovich.