Filip Višnjić was born in the village of Vilića Guvno, near Gornja Trnova, Ugljevik, in 1767. At the time of his birth, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Ottoman Empire. His parents were Đorđe and Marija Vilić. He derived his surname from his mother's nickname, Višnja (meaning cherry). Višnjić's father died when he was young, and at the age of eight or nine, he lost his ability to see after a bout of smallpox. Following his father's death, Višnjić's mother remarried and moved to the village of Međaši in the lowlands of Semberija, taking her young son with her. When Višnjić was 20, the Ottomans massacred his family and burned their village. Around this time, he began to play the "gusle", a one-stringed instrument used to accompany the recitation of epic poetry.