tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78078453537516065412024-03-13T04:17:50.121+04:00TransCaucasusTHIS BLOG HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2009.
PLEASE GO TO WWW.BATSAV.COMAlex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-56063433250518038102010-01-12T19:32:00.003+04:002011-02-20T12:10:44.849+04:00First Page<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >-<br />This blog has no longer been updated since 2009. Some entries have been deleted, and some images may no longer display properly.<br />-<br />Please go to <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.batsav.com/">www.batsav.com</a>, where you will find all the original posts and many, many more entries.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />-</span></span>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-18172129333175655182009-08-30T20:53:00.006+04:002009-12-04T11:01:05.856+04:00The Shrine of St. Marina in Mtiuleti<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8pipVh5LRmjOPm16QAcmem3LrvW8HKi6TbDzeXkDDyysAfSzdd7Vp3pHQR4ki3n5RJJGreag-whsx_flZnfgwNsaOYXpXEthFd-cp9Msn_fsAvxlyryKzE-Ztq2O_13YCjhJr7fgtIJ7/s1600-h/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+2+0809.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8pipVh5LRmjOPm16QAcmem3LrvW8HKi6TbDzeXkDDyysAfSzdd7Vp3pHQR4ki3n5RJJGreag-whsx_flZnfgwNsaOYXpXEthFd-cp9Msn_fsAvxlyryKzE-Ztq2O_13YCjhJr7fgtIJ7/s400/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+2+0809.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375802195563645730" border="0" /></a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">view facing south<br />-<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Shrine of St. Marina near the hamlet of Ebralidzeebi, across the Aragvi River from the village of Kvesheti in Mtiuleti, along the Georgian Military Highway.<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFfNdE1yqY0LN1YTZ-Qb1eCfvmI_assRhDZzqrDFTqUcUt6q0WVufNNmHBaWmZqIuvhtGCrBEBB9mL0g5NAGdJkHdH-FJB4paXPV8-oFRKQxT8VZH66VGvtWKQZ_MixhgoymJrCtsQfhR/s1600-h/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+marina+shrine+3+0809.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFfNdE1yqY0LN1YTZ-Qb1eCfvmI_assRhDZzqrDFTqUcUt6q0WVufNNmHBaWmZqIuvhtGCrBEBB9mL0g5NAGdJkHdH-FJB4paXPV8-oFRKQxT8VZH66VGvtWKQZ_MixhgoymJrCtsQfhR/s400/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+marina+shrine+3+0809.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378599676888399506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">view facing west<br />-<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The shrine is built atop an old stone tower, which - judging from the ruins which surround it - was once part of a group of quite large buildings.<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSd7snuZ9ZHLomQwUVb1HHocooGhvPTYlk9AktLcX9lufWZJdfG39wnDxZ2WospyYtNCAFWxXViM5GLR8tkN8OBYg411zNl3pmp4-elS115cfrDwwoMFrFjm-zIZQ76RTxVsE2NaEeyGdu/s1600-h/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+interior+0809.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSd7snuZ9ZHLomQwUVb1HHocooGhvPTYlk9AktLcX9lufWZJdfG39wnDxZ2WospyYtNCAFWxXViM5GLR8tkN8OBYg411zNl3pmp4-elS115cfrDwwoMFrFjm-zIZQ76RTxVsE2NaEeyGdu/s400/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+interior+0809.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375802216433530802" border="0" /></a><br />the interior<br />-<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The shrine contains a holy flag (Georgian: <span style="font-style: italic;">drosha</span>), bells, and drinking-horns and other vessels.<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFw4J916VikqIX4HNg7CMKapihF6K4Pp89BtvOBlcoegm3nbEF8RVGQUOQOvpkcVLhsYUrhs2tOi0uXUW7M-O55Q930QynK476lX9MlQeEp5VflzF1bhxGzW8S9Ml5OMxojcVktA6iYg_Y/s1600-h/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+4+0809.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFw4J916VikqIX4HNg7CMKapihF6K4Pp89BtvOBlcoegm3nbEF8RVGQUOQOvpkcVLhsYUrhs2tOi0uXUW7M-O55Q930QynK476lX9MlQeEp5VflzF1bhxGzW8S9Ml5OMxojcVktA6iYg_Y/s400/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+4+0809.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375802210826841570" border="0" /></a><br />view facing east<br />-<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyIc8ivOpOVzNxApxKpztk59l4eMXeOKxZz60HHyQDSRr6NVZvecm_MBczVmL5aSsCLu2v0_ez2DoCnjexGKGcszXHC6igtNDcRiQiD7M0Bem7V8hCUT8arZzJJijR5z2IskXHT-K-TAY/s1600-h/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+hands+0809.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyIc8ivOpOVzNxApxKpztk59l4eMXeOKxZz60HHyQDSRr6NVZvecm_MBczVmL5aSsCLu2v0_ez2DoCnjexGKGcszXHC6igtNDcRiQiD7M0Bem7V8hCUT8arZzJJijR5z2IskXHT-K-TAY/s400/mtiuleti+-+kvesheti+-+st.+mariani+shrine+hands+0809.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375802220215459490" border="0" /></a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">hands and dots<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">On the south face of the tower are hand-prints, pressed into plaster on either side of a group of dots (which might mark the spot where one should touch the tower with one's forehead).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-<br />Here is an old (1975) photograph of the chapel, copied from S. Kurtsikidze & V. Chikovani's amazing <span style="font-style: italic;">Ethnography and Folklore of the Georgia-Chechnya Border</span> (Munich: LINCOM 2008):<br />-<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwvH83ypEmh094CzdNBIQuCDXmEPRCWBmgSiQJ_RZAO7hTbFsk_GIcpmIHxZXdJpi5BXWHg9tzGJyM3t8IngOeGPj9zvZiI8QFMbm9KzvaoJqhCqN_0HlrFGLfLbQxDu-gTmO2jVzL-SE/s1600-h/georgia+-+ebralidzeebi+%28mtiuleti%29+-+marina+chapel.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwvH83ypEmh094CzdNBIQuCDXmEPRCWBmgSiQJ_RZAO7hTbFsk_GIcpmIHxZXdJpi5BXWHg9tzGJyM3t8IngOeGPj9zvZiI8QFMbm9KzvaoJqhCqN_0HlrFGLfLbQxDu-gTmO2jVzL-SE/s400/georgia+-+ebralidzeebi+%28mtiuleti%29+-+marina+chapel.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411271725599825986" border="0" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Note: The feast-day of St. Marina (Georgian: <span style="font-style: italic;">marinoba</span>) is on August 12. The shrine is accessible only on foot, having crossed the Aragvi River close to the village of Kvesheti.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span>-<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-2210590017555779152009-08-06T14:17:00.001+04:002009-08-06T14:28:58.346+04:00A Song in Tsova-<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wJ0XDqSNU-M&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wJ0XDqSNU-M&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />-Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-4420081351900648572009-07-22T19:26:00.003+04:002009-07-23T14:36:17.570+04:00The Traditional Tush Family<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">The Traditional Tush Family - Structure and Economic Activity</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">The basic unit of Caucasian society is the extended family, a grouping of several lineages collectively owning and exploiting a same estate. In Georgia, the extended family is particularly found in the western mountains among the Svans and in the east among the Tush, the Mokhev (inhabitants of Khevi), and the Pshav. Even as late as the early twentieth century it was not rare to find family communities composed of more than forty members, living under one roof, cultivating and exploiting collective property, and placed under the authority of the oldest man. Here is, for example, the composition of a Tush family, which remained undivided until 1913; the </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Djidjuriani</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">, from the village of </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Shenak'o</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">, were twenty-five individuals: the "Father of the House" (<span style="font-style: italic;">mamasakhlisi</span>, i.e. the patriarch) and his wife, an unmarried son, five other sons and their wives, their eleven children, and the wife of one of the latter. They collectively owned a thousand two hundred heads of cattle (ovin and caprin), ten cows, a pair of oxen, and thirty horses, and they cultivated an area of land equivalent to fifteen "dailies" (</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >dghiuri</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">, i.e. a surface of land which regularly required a day's work to be cultivated).</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">In another village, the Ganaani family was made up of three generations, a total of nineteen family members, of which ten were men. They owned between a thousand and a thousand five hundred heads of small cattle (ovin and caprin), eight cows, a pair of oxen, and six "dailies" of land. The elder son was in charge of the entire estate. Of his three younger brothers, two were responsible for the so-called "interior" or "inside" farming, i.e. they tended the family's fields, and the third was responsible for making cheese and other milk products. Among the next, younger generation, the son and the nephews of the family head (his son and the six sons of his younger brothers) devoted themselves to pastoral activities, helped by eight shepherds - seasonal workers foreign to the community and in the family's employ. Livestock farming was the most important part of the Tush economy. Tending to the needs of the family's cattle required fifteen men, whereas only two could acquit themselves of the "inside" farming. This disproportion explains the existence of a practice which differentiates the Tush from the other mountain tribes: almost all the male members of the family were needed to care for the cattle; consequently, it was the women who tended to the fields - ploughing and sowing them, etc. When this seasonal work was over, they devoted themselves to their main activity: the production of wool, weaving, the making of clothes, etc. Female work was organized by and under the direction of the "Mistress of the House" (<span style="font-style: italic;">dedasakhlisi</span>, i.e. the matriarch); this role automatically belonged to the wife of the oldest man: the wife of the "Father of the House" (1st generation) or, if she died, the wife of the elder brother (2nd generation); the woman's age was never taken into consideration - only that of her husband. And as for the role of patriarch, it always belonged to the oldest man.<br />-<br />The matriarch was also responsible for another important task: she was in charge of the accumulation of unconsumed goods</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"> - milk products, meat, grain - </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">and had to see to their storage and preservation. These reserves were called the <span style="font-style: italic;">saodjakho</span>, "for the family", and were destined to remain intact as the family's private wealth, and were not to be shared. In cases of absolute necessity, part of this wealth could be used by the family, but always collectively. This treasury also included sums of money, which were sometimes considerable, and which were also placed under the authority of the "Mistress of the House". Among the Tush and the Pshav, the profits resulting from the sale of livestock or products were hoarded, and not reinvested. Gains were thus buried forever and none would profit. Rapiel Eristavi commented upon this in 1855:<br />-<br />"This branch of agriculture [livestock farming] provides people with relatively important profits; the monies resulting from the sale of hides, of wool, of cheese and milk, are carefully entered in the families books. Among the Pshav and the Tush one may meet with well-off families who own forty or fifty thousand roubles, among which one may still find fifty kopeck coins, which are now no longer in use. This phenomenon is unsurprising, for the mountaineers - instead of reinvesting their money and replacing it into the economy - bury it in the earth."<br />-<br />This practice is important, for it shows to what extent mountain societies remained outside of the merchant economy, which was nonetheless penetrating most Georgian provinces. As in most archaic civilizations, the mountain tribes had no conception of goods being able to bear another value than their intrinsic value. As money was only defined by its value as a means of exchange, it was condemned to remain foreign to their economic system, for these peoples essentially provided for their own needs without resorting to commerce. Gaps in production were filled by barter and - possibly - pillage, whose economic role would merit closer study.<br />-<br />-<br /></span></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-43669011585422395132009-07-15T14:35:00.008+04:002009-09-07T09:59:59.877+04:00Pshavi<div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;">-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoD1GxpxBTqEU8pLgWtcJSomD0hUH-BX8j0T309x5ajJlULkuPHKSJZ3uq3sbYu-0HPjv7qPUJNQfWAycd_W9bATSoWAf1D4celB9oH5yfocombDOPHPi654iAAIlLdY8O0hFBeTYz4gb/s1600-h/pshavi_ge.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcoD1GxpxBTqEU8pLgWtcJSomD0hUH-BX8j0T309x5ajJlULkuPHKSJZ3uq3sbYu-0HPjv7qPUJNQfWAycd_W9bATSoWAf1D4celB9oH5yfocombDOPHPi654iAAIlLdY8O0hFBeTYz4gb/s400/pshavi_ge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358645314888913314" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">a view of pshavi from google earth<br />(the valley running north-south on the left-hand side is that of the pshavis aragvi river;<br />the 12 villages of pshavi are in the perpendicular valley, running east-west)<br />-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8VffmxEalwifKu-PRRGX3kzkGprEaiq-tZnYwYyDOqQTdmSlEVX8IFjjk1cl0fLQGwYGmTgFz43YDTVA8kMae11CHjNoRq3Vd7OgrjrHv6ojYK7bqjVVQ_WAiygsZV-R6sje5CRN1gFz/s1600-h/web_pshavi_01.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8VffmxEalwifKu-PRRGX3kzkGprEaiq-tZnYwYyDOqQTdmSlEVX8IFjjk1cl0fLQGwYGmTgFz43YDTVA8kMae11CHjNoRq3Vd7OgrjrHv6ojYK7bqjVVQ_WAiygsZV-R6sje5CRN1gFz/s400/web_pshavi_01.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358635566038062082" border="0" /></a><br />the turn to pshavi off the main road north from tbilisi towards barisakho and khevsureti<br />-<br />-<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I recently (June 2009) went to Pshavi for the first time, in the company of Thomas Wier, an aspiring linguist here in Georgia to study kartvelian dialects (Tush, Pshav, Khevsur, Mokhevian, etc.). We were meant to go with someone from the Arnold Chikobava Institute of Linguistics in Tbilisi, but this being Georgia, it never happened, and Thomas and I decided to head up to Pshavi on our own.<br />-<br />Although we got no further than the village of Shupakho, we did get to meet Lazare Elizbarashvili, the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >khevisberi</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> (or "Valley Elder") of the Sacred Shine of Iaqsar.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2TAgyENLWeq7bdteCOIdXlqDYn8C0P5_MtlpWqrwRpT8fcHHeABaWB05TvOhR_3blf-tbNNlIUIY00JkdRNS7Qbg2IiFUUPI2TLzixRhtel2Rv7UloxR4U7QSXrJyHP0qiy6QFqBQcmc/s1600-h/web_pshavi_05.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw2TAgyENLWeq7bdteCOIdXlqDYn8C0P5_MtlpWqrwRpT8fcHHeABaWB05TvOhR_3blf-tbNNlIUIY00JkdRNS7Qbg2IiFUUPI2TLzixRhtel2Rv7UloxR4U7QSXrJyHP0qiy6QFqBQcmc/s400/web_pshavi_05.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358635559017084530" border="0" /></a><br />lazare elizbarashvili, the valley elder of shuapkho and guardian of the shrine of iaqsar<br />-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt12ngjHEljM2pHAIjH_LDqBvAKcD_rf0-O0B3sA6xaeJMNV1s9JguDEt-Ck3Mq_5y-JODmN8hsK0acdI4qk81VmKPfTTuqdOxTwRDeAiwC3rR-K-4mQpiqaBge2Y05m6FWhmeaySzUltt/s1600-h/web_pshavi_06.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt12ngjHEljM2pHAIjH_LDqBvAKcD_rf0-O0B3sA6xaeJMNV1s9JguDEt-Ck3Mq_5y-JODmN8hsK0acdI4qk81VmKPfTTuqdOxTwRDeAiwC3rR-K-4mQpiqaBge2Y05m6FWhmeaySzUltt/s400/web_pshavi_06.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358635557425880434" border="0" /></a><br />the sacred shrine of iaqsar (hidden in the trees up on the right)<br />-<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Iaqsar is the <span style="font-style: italic;">khati</span> of the village of Shuapkho, a pagan divinity (winged, in some narratives) in the Pshav-Khevsur pantheon, the sworn brother of Kopala, like him a slayer of <span style="font-style: italic;">devi</span>, devils.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >To download the locations of the 12 villages of Pshavi for Google Earth, please click <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://a-z.ge/a-z_documents/pshavi_villages.kmz">here</a>, and download the ".kmz" file.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Here is <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://a-z.ge/a-z_documents/iakhsroba.mp3">a recording</a> of Lazare Elizbarashvili's father Ioseb, his predecessor as <span style="font-style: italic;">khevisberi</span> of the Sacred Shrine of Iaqsar, officiating during the feast (<span style="font-style: italic;">dgheoba</span>) of Iaqsar in the 1980s.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >(This prayer was recorded from Mirian Khutsishvili's ethnographic film <span style="font-style: italic;">Pshavi</span>.)</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /></div></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-<br /></span></div></div></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-65208992053032543312009-05-12T16:13:00.003+04:002009-05-12T16:16:22.761+04:00Ethnographic Map of Tusheti<div style="text-align: center;">-<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >tushetis istoriul-etnograpiuli dzeglebis kartograpireba</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">[historical-ethnographical map of Tusheti]</span><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Courtesy of Giorgi Mamardashvili from the State Museum of Georgia. The definition is poor, but familiarity with the region should enable one to glean some information from the map.</span><br />-<br />-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5o6TNb_vSOg4j26gLurP6Ql_NX03eUc237kAIO_vvtipiXkDVi5gzTbkVihHz-toVVpOKGook8h5dH4Z6uzSZjUws9YR7a7G8G2IZgA40ae3smM-3XGpqB5WSvDWsYSP8CvyscbQnnTW/s1600-h/tushetis+istoriul-etnograpiuli+dzeglebis+kartograpireba+%281%29.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5o6TNb_vSOg4j26gLurP6Ql_NX03eUc237kAIO_vvtipiXkDVi5gzTbkVihHz-toVVpOKGook8h5dH4Z6uzSZjUws9YR7a7G8G2IZgA40ae3smM-3XGpqB5WSvDWsYSP8CvyscbQnnTW/s400/tushetis+istoriul-etnograpiuli+dzeglebis+kartograpireba+%281%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334910093353262642" border="0" /></a><br />-<br /></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-26346586180077643422009-05-12T16:09:00.003+04:002009-09-07T10:05:43.015+04:00Ethnographic Map of Qvara-Tianeti<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">qvara-tianetis salotsavebi</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">[map of holy places in Qvara-Tianeti]</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;" >Courtesy of Giorgi Mamardashvili from the State Museum of Georgia. The definition is poor, but familiarity with the region should enable one to glean some information from the map.</span></span><br />-<br />-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3X9hWFgRdPv5G4rwe-KSfm-vaZxKmxbiujXho-c3nYmTYQzrOPhH4kVIS2qYZT-e6Ga6uvgCzWUS2HlgOPPnlrI7ZHTlnWu8lghrnL4ytEOJ_lOXNyHX74oFGXya3z85ZcoUH5a51EM6/s1600-h/qvara-tianetis+salotsavebi+%282%29.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3X9hWFgRdPv5G4rwe-KSfm-vaZxKmxbiujXho-c3nYmTYQzrOPhH4kVIS2qYZT-e6Ga6uvgCzWUS2HlgOPPnlrI7ZHTlnWu8lghrnL4ytEOJ_lOXNyHX74oFGXya3z85ZcoUH5a51EM6/s400/qvara-tianetis+salotsavebi+%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334909169737619330" border="0" /></a><br />-<br /></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-42701365046300408562009-05-12T16:07:00.002+04:002009-05-12T16:09:48.636+04:00Ethnographic Map of Pirikita-Khevsureti<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">pirikita khevsuretis djvar-khatebis ruka</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">[a map of shrines and holy places in pirikita khevsureti]</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Courtesy of Giorgi Mamardashvili from the State Museum of Georgia. The definition is poor, but familiarity with the region should enable one to glean some information from the map.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7ZsR8vWI9VcJbOaPFC8K5oga6F2vfNTxOUaSrmNyXSWRVGBJWo3nu0_EXIoecLJ4VG91sGSbETMbHPmcfyi7_W8c-zQfLmD_9mDPv4PGa18f-SVrFdccTjryUm1D_dlxScjiOrM_F_Ze/s1600-h/pirikita+khevsuretis+djvar-khatebis+ruka+%281%29.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP7ZsR8vWI9VcJbOaPFC8K5oga6F2vfNTxOUaSrmNyXSWRVGBJWo3nu0_EXIoecLJ4VG91sGSbETMbHPmcfyi7_W8c-zQfLmD_9mDPv4PGa18f-SVrFdccTjryUm1D_dlxScjiOrM_F_Ze/s400/pirikita+khevsuretis+djvar-khatebis+ruka+%281%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334908454021585410" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-44882872135951007712009-05-12T16:01:00.005+04:002009-05-12T16:07:37.079+04:00Ethnographic Map of Piraketa-Khevsureti<div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">piraketa khevsuretis djvar-khatebis ruka</span><br />[a map of shrines and holy places in piraketa khevsureti]<br />Courtesy of Giorgi Mamardashvili from the State Museum of Georgia. The definition is poor, but familiarity with the region should enable one to glean some information from the map.<br />-<br />-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBuRKvgnaLVaPG4mS4kgRuhtdR8hoO2KBkf-IHHLH_gpaqzAyb-6dQgzIeCWKUCkTUb_iQoLv1zYJ0BEq2il1gWZ1W8vtw55Z1geJSxI43FPB7uytNdWYLuPVDONFWhhbMwmP2I1gBlm2/s1600-h/piraketa+khevsuretis+djvar-khatebis+ruka+%282%29.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBuRKvgnaLVaPG4mS4kgRuhtdR8hoO2KBkf-IHHLH_gpaqzAyb-6dQgzIeCWKUCkTUb_iQoLv1zYJ0BEq2il1gWZ1W8vtw55Z1geJSxI43FPB7uytNdWYLuPVDONFWhhbMwmP2I1gBlm2/s400/piraketa+khevsuretis+djvar-khatebis+ruka+%282%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334907282467119474" border="0" /></a><br />-<br /><br /></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-2882183420329570812009-03-06T16:17:00.010+04:002009-09-29T10:22:09.422+04:00Georges Dumezil<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8v-uAZdHWYX2ht56aCwtwjmgmTxGXwpCzZ3UnW2sxlCti04fLl06cOzxTPavqxjlM4exjVvUJqigBQe-CnBMIfb4PwrmXJ2cBfGbeTuJ-lKgT_PyLOILSxB-JNihyV5ngP14reCbkL9l/s1600-h/georges+dumezil+library+books.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8v-uAZdHWYX2ht56aCwtwjmgmTxGXwpCzZ3UnW2sxlCti04fLl06cOzxTPavqxjlM4exjVvUJqigBQe-CnBMIfb4PwrmXJ2cBfGbeTuJ-lKgT_PyLOILSxB-JNihyV5ngP14reCbkL9l/s400/georges+dumezil+library+books.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310050364525668946" border="0" /></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Georges Dumézil was born in Paris in 1898, the son of a clacissist, and became interested in ancient languages at a very young age. According to the Wikipaedia entry, "it has been said that he could read the Aeneid in Latin at the age of 9". Having finished school, he went to France's elite Ecole Nationale Supérieure in 1916. </span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">His studies were interrupted by the First World War (the Battle of Verdun took place the year he became a student): He was mobilized, and fought in the war as an officer in the French artillery. After the war, he resumed his studies, and obtained his <span style="font-style: italic;">agrégation</span> in Classical Literature in 1921.</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">He spent a few months teaching in France, before becoming a lecturer at the University of Warsaw. In 1924, he received his doctorate, having written his doctoral thesis on "The Feast of Immortality" in Indo-European mythologies, thesis in which he compared the origins of the Greek "ambrosia" and the Indian drink "amrita", which was believed to render the man who drank it immortal.</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Dumézil apparently found the academic climate in France rather stifling, and moved to (the then nascent republic of) Turkey. He became Professor of the History of Religions at the University of Istanbul in 1925, where he taught for six . He learnt Turkish, and travelled in Turkey, Russia, and the Caucasus. It was also in Turkey that he first came across the Ubykh language, which was to fascinate him for years, and the experience and knowledge of the Caucasus he gained during these years was to make him the foremost French (and francophone) caucasologist.</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">He left Turkey in 1931, and moved to Uppsala in Sweden, where he taught at the University for 2 years before returning to France in 1933. Back in Paris, he held the Chair of Comparative Religion of Indo-European Peoples at the famous Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Named a member of the prestigious Collège de France after the war (1949), where he held the Chair of Indo-European Civilization (created </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">specially </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">for him), Dumézil would go on to teach at the Collège for almost 20 years, before moving to Princeton University (1968-1971).</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Prof. Georges Dumézil was elected to the 40th Chair of the Académie française on October 26, 1978, and was formally received by the illustrious Claude Lévi-Strauss - his colleague, patron, and fellow student of mythology.</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Doctor </span><i style="font-family: arial;" face="arial">honoris causa</i><span style="font-family:arial;"> of the University of Uppsala (1955), of Istanbul (1964), of Berne (1969), of Liège (1979), Associate Member of the Académie royale de Belgique (1958), Member of the Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1968), Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et belles-lettres de Paris (1970), Honorary Member of The Royal Irish Academy, Section of Polite Literature and Antiquities (1974), Honorary Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (1974), Prof. Georges Dumézil died on October 11, 1986.</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />-</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Dumézil published many books and articles. The following list concerns itself only with those related to the Caucasus:</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />-</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />Légendes sur les Nartes</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (</span><i face="arial">Institut d’Études Slaves</i><span style="font-family:arial;">, 1930)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Textes populaires ingush </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">(A. Maisonneuve, 1935)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Contes et légendes des Oubykhs</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (</span><i style="font-family: arial;">Institut d’Ethnologie</i><span style="font-family:arial;">, 1957)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Contes lazes</span> (</span><i style="font-family: arial;">Institut d’Ethnologie</i><span style="font-family:arial;">, 1957)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Études oubykhs</span> (A. Maisonneuve, 1959)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />Documents anatoliens sur les langues et les traditions du Caucase</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (A. Maisonneuve, 1960-'67)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />Le livre des héros, légendes ossètes sur les Nartes</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (Gallimard, 1965)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br />Le verbe oubykh, études descriptives et comparatives</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (Académie des Inscriptions et belles-lettres, 1975)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Romans de Scythie et d’alentour</span> (Payot, 1978)</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />-</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />-<br />Two books from the author's library:<br />-<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6D46KW_SmaVjH3q7xdO-DhAhIEwJzI1wR-vaWjZhicsZBDRMRe_IHuqCvyWVhufNXzuSJL77sNYIecaY08vZciymPfLkhdjPUCW_e2GWgKqVMTh3WdN5_zW009sUnDeKdxekl0gvogz_k/s1600-h/dumezil+-+contes+et+legendes+des+oubykhs.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6D46KW_SmaVjH3q7xdO-DhAhIEwJzI1wR-vaWjZhicsZBDRMRe_IHuqCvyWVhufNXzuSJL77sNYIecaY08vZciymPfLkhdjPUCW_e2GWgKqVMTh3WdN5_zW009sUnDeKdxekl0gvogz_k/s400/dumezil+-+contes+et+legendes+des+oubykhs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386770642746046402" border="0" /></a><br />-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgngcDmKVojCYjB1pXPMUfKCcL4W7OV4c6mBFfdUHzivs-Xxg-BSzimhsfYMVVr0IJIFRPF2qFqUmpB_U264TZF-NvBel-nB0UJXuJo5gzQ0SjPOdX4onW4j7Lthcw9WhL2ma9RpbBZqpDq/s1600-h/dumezil,+textes+populaires+ingouches.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgngcDmKVojCYjB1pXPMUfKCcL4W7OV4c6mBFfdUHzivs-Xxg-BSzimhsfYMVVr0IJIFRPF2qFqUmpB_U264TZF-NvBel-nB0UJXuJo5gzQ0SjPOdX4onW4j7Lthcw9WhL2ma9RpbBZqpDq/s400/dumezil,+textes+populaires+ingouches.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386770180861674290" border="0" /></a><br />-<br />-<br /></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-58890963573376351302009-01-30T00:18:00.003+04:002009-02-06T12:11:45.290+04:00Travels in Tusheti<div style="text-align: center;">-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_XxAIBe4UbwTGiXgWagq_vHQPTrNK-Ug5TMk2RbpKjeq_uKeJAPuEdX1IhOix9cIyySqILU46UAE7GF-LNPITF4z6fQFqqyHz1bKUApUW48U8Mr8_J-PRSVlPuQT-nMyvZws2QMdknzb/s1600-h/georgia+-+tusheti+-+wills+family.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_XxAIBe4UbwTGiXgWagq_vHQPTrNK-Ug5TMk2RbpKjeq_uKeJAPuEdX1IhOix9cIyySqILU46UAE7GF-LNPITF4z6fQFqqyHz1bKUApUW48U8Mr8_J-PRSVlPuQT-nMyvZws2QMdknzb/s400/georgia+-+tusheti+-+wills+family.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296814502329371506" border="0" /></a><br />-<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">When on my way back from the Dadaloba festival in the summer of 2008, I came across an English family on their way around Tusheti on horseback. I had been in touch with dad - Chris Wills - by email many months beforehand, and both parties were much surprised to bump into each other in Patima's wonderful guesthouse in the small hamlet of Djvarboseli!</span></span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Here is <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://travelsintusheti.blogspot.com/">a link to their blog</a>, a fine tale of horsemanship and feasting, and probably the best account of a wonderful stay in Tusheti! And for more information on how to get to Tusheti in the first place, please see <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/02/travel-to-tusheti.html">this entry</a> on my blog.</span></span><br />-<br />-<br /></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-33476741776236276512009-01-14T15:24:00.005+04:002009-08-02T19:00:32.381+04:00Khevsur Warriors<div style="text-align: center;">-<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqq61dVnKcGbHE1KeiU5R70GmtcXC_xJvjXnxIiabOePSs8_Rl2IdutSkeS9E3NNOKLHJ-H-E5LYYkPyoh1BB6gV6NSQW_R7wQzDVitAsKRc0dr4C71-2D8ZyNV-XKrASqKhJ9RwYscPec/s1600-h/georgia+-+khevsur+warriors.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqq61dVnKcGbHE1KeiU5R70GmtcXC_xJvjXnxIiabOePSs8_Rl2IdutSkeS9E3NNOKLHJ-H-E5LYYkPyoh1BB6gV6NSQW_R7wQzDVitAsKRc0dr4C71-2D8ZyNV-XKrASqKhJ9RwYscPec/s400/georgia+-+khevsur+warriors.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291110216165362210" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">-<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I do not wish to become embroiled in the common nonsensical discussions about the Khevsurs being the descendants of Crusaders who somehow got lost in the Caucasus on their way from Europe to the Holy Land. Even a basic knowledge of geography suffices to know that Khevsureti is a long, long way from the routes followed by the Crusaders from Europe!</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-<br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Regardless: This old studio photograph (probably taken in Tbilisi) is so wonderful that I feel I must post it!</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">-<br />-<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ1NjbAnHt6-eZvg4qTo2gqi73eB-Eu5xuOHzQfVq-gDkiqnOdxVGkxC9-XWS9XVvSg7BtJKC8VgPh5nMlSjsF9CKrmBxommVFID9YkLKafgms6f79WjU15AWwckxKsbq3EeR0DykgzBO/s1600-h/khevsurs+fighting+swords.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ1NjbAnHt6-eZvg4qTo2gqi73eB-Eu5xuOHzQfVq-gDkiqnOdxVGkxC9-XWS9XVvSg7BtJKC8VgPh5nMlSjsF9CKrmBxommVFID9YkLKafgms6f79WjU15AWwckxKsbq3EeR0DykgzBO/s400/khevsurs+fighting+swords.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365377790990204210" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">no shields here - just swords</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">There is a growing interest in and enthusiasm for "Caucasian martial arts", mostly on the internet, and there are even displays of "authentic" Georgian "martial arts skills" during folkloric festivals here in Georgia (see www.mtavari.ge for more information - the site is in Georgian). Here is an extract from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Religious System of Pagan Georgia</span> by Georges Charachidze (Paris, 1968 - in French; my translation):</span></span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></span>Nevertheless, the <span style="font-style: italic;">kadag</span> [a powerful soothsayer; the gods were thought to communicate through him] intervenes in matters of law; firstly, in precise circumstances such as the vendetta and the "duel", called <span style="font-style: italic;">parik'aoba</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">tch'ra-tch'riloba</span>. In some ways, <span style="font-style: italic;">tch'ra-tch'riloba</span> represents the legal form of the vendetta, if the protagonists belong to different clans. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">tch'ra-tch'riloba</span> means "cut" or "wound" [in the Khevsur dialect of Georgian]: the two adversaries kneel facing each other, the sword held in the right hand, the shield in the other; they cannot break up [their fight]. They may only strike each other's faces, the sword's sharp point being used to inflict wounds; the wounds must be light, and may not go down to the bone. The fight takes place within the surrounding wall of the shrine; it is prescribed by the men of the council, the judges, either to end a debt of blood which may exist between two clans or as an ordeal to separate two plaintiffs belonging to the same clan. If one of the fighters receives a severe wound, the man responsible for inflicting it and/or his clan must "buy back his blood" [from the wounded man and/or from his clan]. The wound is measured with grains of cereal, each one being equivalent to [the payment of] one cow. Wherefrom springs a practice of certain Khevsur doctors who, at the bidding of the wounded man, deepen his wound down to the bone. Sometimes, instead of ending the vendetta, the </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">tch'ra-tch'riloba</span> restarts it, following a disagreement regarding the gravity of the wound inflicted or the good faith of the "surveyors of the wound" [those who judge its severity]. It is obvious that in this situation the "judges" are incompetent: by deciding that the fight should be held, they had already divested themselves of the case and had accepted the subsequent divine judgement beforehand. If even this divine judgement was for whatever reason inoperable or unacceptable, a retrial was useless: one addressed oneself directly to the divinity, i.e. to the <span style="font-style: italic;">kadag</span>. Such cases were commonplace, if one may judge from the persistence, the popularity, and the violence of </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">tch'ra-tch'riloba</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">. Vaja Pshavela [a famous nineteenth-century Pshav writer and poet] tells that he counted more than 50 wounds on the face of a single man. G. Eladze, describing the custom in 1949[!], concludes by recommending governmental action with a view to transforming these bloody fights into a simple sport. (pp. 183-184)</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />-</span><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wlFgyGQzT7w&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wlFgyGQzT7w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-<br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Here is a Youtube video showing old films and photographs of <span style="font-style: italic;">parik'aoba</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">tch'a-tch'riloba</span>.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> The first few seconds (filmed in the late 1920s) are a good example of<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>this practice</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, as the two fighters are not wearing chain mail hoods (which were included in all the early photographs of the Khevsurs, which prized dramatic effect over ethnographic accuracy).</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></span></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />-</span><br /></span></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-36582551306500870632009-01-13T18:12:00.004+04:002009-01-13T18:32:12.173+04:00Two Songs by Lela Tataraidze<div style="text-align: center;">-
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPO6FrZaZQ6JT3rbLZ3Q8C_3s1kRd2mqxZVUPTNQX4ufdQGuM7tiiZb3zVl30y7_1q44TJZY0URWa7ABtXc6J0X9VGy0JNfJbJbORE-mQCanJ7fmTdVDVSuu8cbcsehJlGyzB9oG6ZqDv/s1600-h/lela+tataraidze.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 375px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPO6FrZaZQ6JT3rbLZ3Q8C_3s1kRd2mqxZVUPTNQX4ufdQGuM7tiiZb3zVl30y7_1q44TJZY0URWa7ABtXc6J0X9VGy0JNfJbJbORE-mQCanJ7fmTdVDVSuu8cbcsehJlGyzB9oG6ZqDv/s400/lela+tataraidze.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290784702421729250" border="0" /></a>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Lela Tataraidze is Tusheti's most famous singer. She was first described to me as </span></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:AcadNusx; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:135 0 0 0 27 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:FR; mso-fareast-language:FR;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span lang="DE" style="font-family:AcadNusx;"></span>
<br /><span lang="DE" style="font-family:AcadNusx;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="DE" style="font-family:AcadNusx;">TuSeTis jeniper lopez<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span>
<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">i.e. "Tusheti's Jennifer Lopez" - some indication of her fame and popularity! She was born in Dano, a small, nearly abandoned hamlet in Pirikiti Tusheti. Like most Tush families, hers had no doubt been spending the harsh winters down in the valley of the Alazani, in Kvemo Alvani (where her house - and indeed her mother! - are still to be seen). Her haunting songs are THE music played by all the Tush, irrespective of origin (Tchaghma, Pirikiti, Gometsri, Tsova, Tbilisi Tush, etc.), and some of them - particularly "How beautiful is Tusheti!" - have come to represent the very soul of Tusheti - indeed, to the detriment of other Tush artists: Ask any Georgian (or Tush) to name a singer from Tusheti, and <span style="font-style: italic;">every single one</span> will come up with Lela Tataraidze. But ask them to name a singer from Tusheti <span style="font-style: italic;">other</span> than Lela Tataraidze, however, and you will most likely draw a blank.
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<br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Here are two of her many songs:</span></span>
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<br />"<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://a-z.ge/alexmusic/tataraidze_ralamaziatusheti.mp3">ra lamazia tusheti</a>", or "How beautiful is Tusheti", and a <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://a-z.ge/alexmusic/tataraidze_lamentation.mp3">lamentation</a> for the death of several [Tush] people carried away in an avalanche (in the 1970s or -80s, I believe).
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For more traditional Georgian songs - not from Tusheti, however - please see my previous post on <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/12/two-songs-by-sandro-kavsadze.html">two songs by Sandro Kavsadze</a>.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span>
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<br /></span></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-45342303921604854202009-01-09T17:58:00.002+04:002009-01-09T18:01:23.144+04:00Journalists on Google<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmaxFXwsvy1LM-dDeyQaETNeIh0-yRqiSjk-rvwtWmDfr5BUlwKzNrjfhSHEZJunjr1nmrZ51be4ft4parKtKM7QUPcPicx-vrFgcLHjaq9GeuS6_vCsfC9g4bPvr3Xr6uAcBBDpgTF9I/s1600-h/counter.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 389px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmaxFXwsvy1LM-dDeyQaETNeIh0-yRqiSjk-rvwtWmDfr5BUlwKzNrjfhSHEZJunjr1nmrZ51be4ft4parKtKM7QUPcPicx-vrFgcLHjaq9GeuS6_vCsfC9g4bPvr3Xr6uAcBBDpgTF9I/s400/counter.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289293321413979378" border="0" /></a><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Notice the peak in August? Those are all the journos frantically searching the web for information on Georgia and South Ossetia!<br />-<br />-<br /></span></div></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-34897853203700099152008-08-20T13:13:00.005+04:002009-01-12T17:52:34.994+04:00The 2008 Dadaloba Celebrations<span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I spent a wonderful week up in Tusheti, travelling to Tsovata via the Gometsari valley with two friends - Peggy Scremin, the "Attachee de Cooperation" at the French embassy in Tbilisi, and Lali Laliashvili, a French-speaking half-Tush girl from Kistauri. We were the guests of the three "shulta" ("hosts") of this year's celebrations: Zura Garsevanidze (the former mayor of Zemo Alvani), Besik Kaishvili, and Petre Ushurauli (the master shepherd!).</span></div><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSb1_76rR3obEvfpH1HrawhMnuP1KIh4f3mNYIjvGs8tFaice7Rg0SCWfUMo0jgqrrFc9IG8KLjvumgE6Jx9HOuSAwv_ZDrbJ05O_MKZuJgVahG4JQe1aqP3rxOIjsG9lTuOnEgd5QgrKU/s1600-h/web_tusheti_002.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSb1_76rR3obEvfpH1HrawhMnuP1KIh4f3mNYIjvGs8tFaice7Rg0SCWfUMo0jgqrrFc9IG8KLjvumgE6Jx9HOuSAwv_ZDrbJ05O_MKZuJgVahG4JQe1aqP3rxOIjsG9lTuOnEgd5QgrKU/s400/web_tusheti_002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289649845332028594" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Our driver (a Tsova, naturally!) tops up the Niva's tank with a jar of moonshine petrol in Kvemo Alvani before we embark upon the epic drive over the mountains into Tusheti.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjhzBFcpxErBP622Eq43vHFt2TmZ2VOp20YG872QVHPwpDTzJbKn-BzWdiWxYSa-xmRCyNNtzCg7-CAWvPdHwCeHl03Qn0q9in4nUq8T-p6sKUs0_Bz3eAI8v0b3jkzIaFz_ICkHgBqWV/s1600-h/web_tusheti_003.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjhzBFcpxErBP622Eq43vHFt2TmZ2VOp20YG872QVHPwpDTzJbKn-BzWdiWxYSa-xmRCyNNtzCg7-CAWvPdHwCeHl03Qn0q9in4nUq8T-p6sKUs0_Bz3eAI8v0b3jkzIaFz_ICkHgBqWV/s400/web_tusheti_003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289649846916576994" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The road up to Tusheti (looking from the Caucasus mountains down towards the Alazani Valley and Kakheti).</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v4qOQ4vaJBWgRWy9sKHQNCHrzZmc8o7Xeg6Qf1MepGZ-jOKi9zp6zYUD9gt1uT1VexuU0lSVLZC4_k8LoqdMuYt0ew3eP30Q14OnB2UNtF6pqOfQFl0TR6Vfq9Anr1fbvd0-FvH8Qjr5/s1600-h/web_tusheti_007.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1v4qOQ4vaJBWgRWy9sKHQNCHrzZmc8o7Xeg6Qf1MepGZ-jOKi9zp6zYUD9gt1uT1VexuU0lSVLZC4_k8LoqdMuYt0ew3eP30Q14OnB2UNtF6pqOfQFl0TR6Vfq9Anr1fbvd0-FvH8Qjr5/s400/web_tusheti_007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289649849927733138" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The compulsory glasses of chacha (Georgian grappa - triple-distilled grape mush from the bottom of the wine press) on top of the 3,000m Abanos Pass which separates Tusheti from Kakheti. </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Because of the pass' high altitude, the road to Tusheti is only open to cars from mid-June to mid-September (and only passable to shepherds and horses from mid-May to late September).</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSzAVwg22B7RUh-QBNUqF9jtkd3x8TLZiPKc_x-vnz_CPFqvcd_zN8v76TDmeX8NMtVr6G7bAcZqyujii1PReLLh7XRlRS3H_PTcqQOt3QPI7YStiMwstxR2bL_QQvVkTnfJl9FqPoRGyg/s1600-h/web_tusheti_006.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSzAVwg22B7RUh-QBNUqF9jtkd3x8TLZiPKc_x-vnz_CPFqvcd_zN8v76TDmeX8NMtVr6G7bAcZqyujii1PReLLh7XRlRS3H_PTcqQOt3QPI7YStiMwstxR2bL_QQvVkTnfJl9FqPoRGyg/s400/web_tusheti_006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289649852207085090" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The (superb) view from the Abanos Pass down into Tusheti.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4rSGcvRXGUXce4x1GAMMdgRiykkvC2i83rnwmVt4asu-44OSsSpyVFqXWTYgBelpdc6ZqjBGQsD3oJZPzVDxmwTt5m-nuWIFAeijEt1LotIHOwkqP-Fhi72AT4nMF4P5BHItIeEN_2QYw/s1600-h/web_tusheti_010.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4rSGcvRXGUXce4x1GAMMdgRiykkvC2i83rnwmVt4asu-44OSsSpyVFqXWTYgBelpdc6ZqjBGQsD3oJZPzVDxmwTt5m-nuWIFAeijEt1LotIHOwkqP-Fhi72AT4nMF4P5BHItIeEN_2QYw/s400/web_tusheti_010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290398144993581138" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Sulak river basin, with Omalo ("the capital of Tusheti") and its fantastic castle in the background.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUrg85vLubK8uRmgsL_8UoUzBvZpFtpc506veWH4eYeTovQvhTUJ2cEcZ5S5DH_nydQeIPOiZcX73vXoh4vhK84jHIjZTuluE8uBZDN2-Naa_DugHN0YboW8q09BG8f_SmAWXTbq5F6fw/s1600-h/web_tusheti_028.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiUrg85vLubK8uRmgsL_8UoUzBvZpFtpc506veWH4eYeTovQvhTUJ2cEcZ5S5DH_nydQeIPOiZcX73vXoh4vhK84jHIjZTuluE8uBZDN2-Naa_DugHN0YboW8q09BG8f_SmAWXTbq5F6fw/s400/web_tusheti_028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290398151468036226" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The end of the road: Pati's fabulous guesthouse in the hamlet of Djvarboseli, "the byre of the Cross", where we spend the night on our way to Tsovata.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivQGBk_P1szKO-CXlS6VifUDglQq81oB7i6PIXSzwdTFqPAuB4akycSl3HGj909SMok98Vn3RVHg5zyyRVLJjLQmdHp9IPtEcHQs-dpB1y4_eqIqfp3NA-i5uAxY22_9wiUagPmPXmJwh/s1600-h/web_tusheti_032.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivQGBk_P1szKO-CXlS6VifUDglQq81oB7i6PIXSzwdTFqPAuB4akycSl3HGj909SMok98Vn3RVHg5zyyRVLJjLQmdHp9IPtEcHQs-dpB1y4_eqIqfp3NA-i5uAxY22_9wiUagPmPXmJwh/s400/web_tusheti_032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290398155328002146" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The superb view down the Gometsari valley from Pati's guesthouse, as photographed from the bathroom [i.e. loo].</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EjgUTodHcqxO7HCwttYjCMxaQw4cHAc5H0TdKnq-EEl4lEaavFXr42zNXHd6scT1vv8U4HK1WWERCyXYXRUu8TLSPdbIyR-bWSZz6q1tZlU0wk2LlWa_t_pRNWooAn9bkJ9UuJ5RqoDN/s1600-h/web_tusheti_016.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EjgUTodHcqxO7HCwttYjCMxaQw4cHAc5H0TdKnq-EEl4lEaavFXr42zNXHd6scT1vv8U4HK1WWERCyXYXRUu8TLSPdbIyR-bWSZz6q1tZlU0wk2LlWa_t_pRNWooAn9bkJ9UuJ5RqoDN/s400/web_tusheti_016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290398145190698914" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The view from Pati's guesthouse up the Gometsari Valley, with the path to Tsovata in the foreground.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jY-nwoaQa165KbUPBfSkD2tA8pmUO4l71tsmT3HcoT7dAnJtLmhmD_C7tTWMhAM_YrxTpzGRWVd4_mbDfj9L0FkFuViPuQwUK42dbd5keqqHg-uauBF75qJ4UokldgI_nQEx5hxnkefU/s1600-h/web_tusheti_031.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jY-nwoaQa165KbUPBfSkD2tA8pmUO4l71tsmT3HcoT7dAnJtLmhmD_C7tTWMhAM_YrxTpzGRWVd4_mbDfj9L0FkFuViPuQwUK42dbd5keqqHg-uauBF75qJ4UokldgI_nQEx5hxnkefU/s400/web_tusheti_031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290398156533722802" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The next day: Early morning preparations for the ride/walk to Tsovata.<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRd9odCnstHLKPhZNGGN-WHcIu9mXPvppJr5AMY7fYq_irAimR5i_rXkUNe-FGZzhGKjGKggCwWdE1vzKIWRRPB1h051sBQ-gJM7XtJytbpKIvvgZZqx9DbsZdLmgcX2oPHugcuhgCjqaw/s1600-h/web_tusheti_034.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRd9odCnstHLKPhZNGGN-WHcIu9mXPvppJr5AMY7fYq_irAimR5i_rXkUNe-FGZzhGKjGKggCwWdE1vzKIWRRPB1h051sBQ-gJM7XtJytbpKIvvgZZqx9DbsZdLmgcX2oPHugcuhgCjqaw/s400/web_tusheti_034.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290400096621023394" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Even Nivas (!) can go no further.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipi4U8NHJYgKCs28V5Fe3OWe3yXVJT9uZWiKMm2Dn2l8i4ZxbEDZSb9skjTq-E58GlG9qKMTbcv4Ro6B8xOKM7hWtIWGdSKHk_4cTaumyodVbkk6anaYDeX-ZQ9iJV9P5MO0C-HLvQQ83v/s1600-h/web_tusheti_056.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipi4U8NHJYgKCs28V5Fe3OWe3yXVJT9uZWiKMm2Dn2l8i4ZxbEDZSb9skjTq-E58GlG9qKMTbcv4Ro6B8xOKM7hWtIWGdSKHk_4cTaumyodVbkk6anaYDeX-ZQ9iJV9P5MO0C-HLvQQ83v/s400/web_tusheti_056.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290402920530048146" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">A pack-horse.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey6aon9meKqbBUWWolGqqb5_F_RiAg_wVe-oaDWCXF_ER_cwIGlfY6USfi7c9H51R97IXflIaJC7Uv3lHjP_X8fS0JoxI3NGSuEKmtI_su1Dxe7iFBxq3UiHWupdSBzekLV57t0_c8GBn/s1600-h/web_tusheti_039.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey6aon9meKqbBUWWolGqqb5_F_RiAg_wVe-oaDWCXF_ER_cwIGlfY6USfi7c9H51R97IXflIaJC7Uv3lHjP_X8fS0JoxI3NGSuEKmtI_su1Dxe7iFBxq3UiHWupdSBzekLV57t0_c8GBn/s400/web_tusheti_039.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290400100103079058" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The path that leads to Tsovata, looking down the Gometsari Valley back towards Djvarboseli.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPKomnw1iK2Trt6Y6OJuFhyphenhyphenAmje5R3aWi6I5mq8HcyZCN8ntlx6UQVGWpCiJaO5KvpbbRcFs0kptPO636rTk1-tporKUKmIGVzkfxE-ny_fb8Ja1or9clED3tWkiMx6NhzOlaaRK3_KudP/s1600-h/web_tusheti_040.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPKomnw1iK2Trt6Y6OJuFhyphenhyphenAmje5R3aWi6I5mq8HcyZCN8ntlx6UQVGWpCiJaO5KvpbbRcFs0kptPO636rTk1-tporKUKmIGVzkfxE-ny_fb8Ja1or9clED3tWkiMx6NhzOlaaRK3_KudP/s400/web_tusheti_040.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290400102040606258" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Tsovatistsqali River (a tributary of the Gometsris Alazani), looking towards Tsovata.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQja1vuLh6zA9ouDaUZsMi5T2K3mM1zk3ehYyz55qiFqzF9OSsj9sSY0ID4n3tWtLKf_Ka2SHg9Va3DaPpFse9in6nLx5DDbRxmZJ5hgeFzvKIc-ma4tU3XmNNoGZvEMUNpO43f6IMB7nO/s1600-h/web_tusheti_052.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQja1vuLh6zA9ouDaUZsMi5T2K3mM1zk3ehYyz55qiFqzF9OSsj9sSY0ID4n3tWtLKf_Ka2SHg9Va3DaPpFse9in6nLx5DDbRxmZJ5hgeFzvKIc-ma4tU3XmNNoGZvEMUNpO43f6IMB7nO/s400/web_tusheti_052.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290402782519975874" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Our host in Tsovata: Mirza. (Looking festive, as usual.)</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtF4kUlgpZb4chWa_ic6RPMHHw36nmDM-OTsWzWaP6q_ZoqTIhZoUWPkGrZQCfrpECjgxL9pUtnDV-JHhc4vUpVtw8y0G9OLJT_yMnRDupbaCefbKd7Gcn_qsUWIIbeHyTb51YeKjfZOxI/s1600-h/web_tusheti_050.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtF4kUlgpZb4chWa_ic6RPMHHw36nmDM-OTsWzWaP6q_ZoqTIhZoUWPkGrZQCfrpECjgxL9pUtnDV-JHhc4vUpVtw8y0G9OLJT_yMnRDupbaCefbKd7Gcn_qsUWIIbeHyTb51YeKjfZOxI/s400/web_tusheti_050.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290402784062254274" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Nightlife in Tsovata: The young Tsovas compete in lifting weights on their hand made bench-press.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhritCLBvzLwOk73OSJMSrFDDLEK0VmCLS5tGRMUpeU5l2d059-goxemzazHSZhrz_qkoOcf4OeMbqKqgBfrLhxHjAOn76UW5aLjRmEPnZ_hlqnflPVOohT665IpB420RIhDfaakvGJG9Se/s1600-h/web_tusheti_048.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhritCLBvzLwOk73OSJMSrFDDLEK0VmCLS5tGRMUpeU5l2d059-goxemzazHSZhrz_qkoOcf4OeMbqKqgBfrLhxHjAOn76UW5aLjRmEPnZ_hlqnflPVOohT665IpB420RIhDfaakvGJG9Se/s400/web_tusheti_048.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290402784661431986" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">What dreams are made of (for young shepherds in Tsovata).</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZGRCmd74DMUnNsN9k2DgKBGhfO1SGYWPqbBTMsht-raHXCWYPh7GcfckLuO45AQ2cttrjHguCCga6ChmAW43ZGBnd9BvlwSHSt-7kYEiWmrRL3bjeu3t6_88C4S39gkTu8Mhw1wLq_uR/s1600-h/web_tusheti_055.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZGRCmd74DMUnNsN9k2DgKBGhfO1SGYWPqbBTMsht-raHXCWYPh7GcfckLuO45AQ2cttrjHguCCga6ChmAW43ZGBnd9BvlwSHSt-7kYEiWmrRL3bjeu3t6_88C4S39gkTu8Mhw1wLq_uR/s400/web_tusheti_055.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290402786659986818" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The eve of Dadaloba. Mirza and his horse, with <span style="font-style: italic;">k'en sameb</span>, "the old [church of the] Trinity" on the sacred hill in the background.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EU-Qg8osSAbZuVPUdA6xmOVDqiHbjvxsaxgDsajE2-oqvZwlh6qpJFkQcH4XzCVwb53WeWoHb-gnaHM4WgcH1_bh8h8YNfRXXb8HlhEAd1e9oXFd4WxZHcCS43ThTIPkCgkXMvglh8Wd/s1600-h/web_tusheti_054.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_EU-Qg8osSAbZuVPUdA6xmOVDqiHbjvxsaxgDsajE2-oqvZwlh6qpJFkQcH4XzCVwb53WeWoHb-gnaHM4WgcH1_bh8h8YNfRXXb8HlhEAd1e9oXFd4WxZHcCS43ThTIPkCgkXMvglh8Wd/s400/web_tusheti_054.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290402790240848002" border="0" /></a></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Another, better view of the old church of the Trinity and the sacred hill. (Note the "stone man" on the latter's summit.) Women are not allowed to walk upon the hill, and it is not considered proper and respectful for them to even approach its flanks.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyI3fCDLglC9nzyCmvRu_8hl_oXzDYoygfIlg0r90uAOSwqnH37GtUk7Vrtp6UogGbN-wFXp3y5QeqzVFMpO9IqCCnow52I-M7Ycv1XiCaYkLk6kIWknVpmEJT0vdMb4z76PEpUKG2gPNR/s1600-h/tusheti_091.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236526505741653266" style="" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyI3fCDLglC9nzyCmvRu_8hl_oXzDYoygfIlg0r90uAOSwqnH37GtUk7Vrtp6UogGbN-wFXp3y5QeqzVFMpO9IqCCnow52I-M7Ycv1XiCaYkLk6kIWknVpmEJT0vdMb4z76PEpUKG2gPNR/s400/tusheti_091.JPG" border="0" /></a></span></p><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Celebrating the victory of Mirza (black t-shirt) in the "doghi" ("horse race"), a ritual horse race which is held yearly, and is the high-point of the Bats festival of "dadaloba", "the Feast of God the Father".</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></div><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-vrNZHzDP4Ronc_eewMmRuWMvY-oO1OBfFWUPvD9xeHQG-r1PNlav6kT9GCf5z7znmnws36Y18ilj-N3OLTeMI0LzL9hUVUohIyjUljKtIkfrxVCEDkUAmzdRHDrWaD9o2e7FukFJM8X/s1600-h/tusheti_122.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236526510700073090" style="" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-vrNZHzDP4Ronc_eewMmRuWMvY-oO1OBfFWUPvD9xeHQG-r1PNlav6kT9GCf5z7znmnws36Y18ilj-N3OLTeMI0LzL9hUVUohIyjUljKtIkfrxVCEDkUAmzdRHDrWaD9o2e7FukFJM8X/s400/tusheti_122.JPG" border="0" /></a></span></p><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Zura Garsevanidze, the former mayor of the Bats village of Zemo Alvani (in Kakheti), and one of this year's three "shulta" ("host"). His saddlebags both contain a (live) sheep, which will be taken down the Tsovatistsqali valley from Indurta to Tsaro, where their sacrifice will mark the beginning of the "doghi" ("horse race").</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span></div><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_1HVTzugn1PmY9ZYAQPFU47650HUTyipGk9tSHDYcFP4xbaEuYi9aUf1qB_WWKYVE3AbzFb_84CRujm9XQ8UJ0RXbgWrsVUyCTH9zHsCUA5xjopJQ7pw6qSUwNTH2ZvZVl81w6Qv4HsM/s1600-h/tusheti_134.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236526512119586434" style="" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_1HVTzugn1PmY9ZYAQPFU47650HUTyipGk9tSHDYcFP4xbaEuYi9aUf1qB_WWKYVE3AbzFb_84CRujm9XQ8UJ0RXbgWrsVUyCTH9zHsCUA5xjopJQ7pw6qSUwNTH2ZvZVl81w6Qv4HsM/s400/tusheti_134.JPG" border="0" /></a></span></p><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Rezo, a Bats who works as an airline pilot in China, was this year's "tamada" ("toast-master", i.e. master of ceremonies). Here he stands, addressing the (male end) of the table during the feast which follows the "doghi" ("horse race").</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></div><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoyKmYsCIbj1deKcRgsLlWJ7Q6b9L-gbWWlP1Nbgl8kGSdfsMwPlxdb9dXPILp7n1Wh87K4yvT6HSU0fGT_9vWz6SyRGdbUo8aJSdhmWgxabnjcjPOMRcmfy0wYrMPmPnpBGDOoR7c7MW/s1600-h/tusheti_193.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236526516718376914" style="" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoyKmYsCIbj1deKcRgsLlWJ7Q6b9L-gbWWlP1Nbgl8kGSdfsMwPlxdb9dXPILp7n1Wh87K4yvT6HSU0fGT_9vWz6SyRGdbUo8aJSdhmWgxabnjcjPOMRcmfy0wYrMPmPnpBGDOoR7c7MW/s400/tusheti_193.JPG" border="0" /></a></span></p><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-15520288079398706062008-03-31T13:35:00.002+04:002008-03-31T13:39:01.172+04:00The Autocrat of the Banquet Table<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;">-<br />An extremely interesting study of the history and rituals of the Georgian supra and its <span style="font-style: italic;">tamada</span> toastmaster-cum-dictator is available </span><a style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://www.mapageweb.umontreal.ca/tuitekj/publications/Tuite-supra.pdf">here</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> as a pdf on Prof. Kevin Tuite's website.<br />-<br /></span></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-33160482838128341502008-03-15T16:02:00.006+04:002009-09-07T19:08:33.973+04:00Petroglyphs<div align="center"> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#000000;">-</span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#000000;">The following are petroglyphs from Dano (Pirikiti Tusheti, Lela Tataraidze's village), photographed by Prof. Kote Tchrelashvili.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">-</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">-</span></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmUGSUUJJZhB7N60nVphk7GV9Nr7dms0mYImmvSMo5-7uVZIuu8nhyphenhyphenJ-PmL099QxopClWUWfF43TXM8C-LUNUgXZV8yXMQ0EP_D5ionY27OXORvh7KibWZ9tLZWY1TuQLK5TLuLZhv-lK/s1600-h/tusheti-petroglyphs-dano-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177939544031631682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNmUGSUUJJZhB7N60nVphk7GV9Nr7dms0mYImmvSMo5-7uVZIuu8nhyphenhyphenJ-PmL099QxopClWUWfF43TXM8C-LUNUgXZV8yXMQ0EP_D5ionY27OXORvh7KibWZ9tLZWY1TuQLK5TLuLZhv-lK/s400/tusheti-petroglyphs-dano-1.jpg" border="0" /></a> -<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibo_3UyXDO2QaDpRJtpvEIAY_L44idXCnOodQ-6emGYxmeIhSa0miCvWg00XF80jpPhjKayvv45TJ7q11ks7N1SZ-TxdIbH9S055VFmOGkV5DQgKXTI1MnT4-PlBK_VlotKux7Zf3ito7f/s1600-h/tusheti-petroglyphs-dano-2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177939552621566290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibo_3UyXDO2QaDpRJtpvEIAY_L44idXCnOodQ-6emGYxmeIhSa0miCvWg00XF80jpPhjKayvv45TJ7q11ks7N1SZ-TxdIbH9S055VFmOGkV5DQgKXTI1MnT4-PlBK_VlotKux7Zf3ito7f/s400/tusheti-petroglyphs-dano-2.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><p align="center">-</p>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-25812557066489802522008-03-10T01:43:00.005+04:002008-03-11T02:14:40.276+04:00Musical Instruments of Georgia<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">-</span></span><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.hangebi.ge/index_en.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">khalkhuri hangebi</span></a> ("national melodies")</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" > </span></div> <div style="text-align: center;">-<br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Maizer Gazdeliani, the director of the <span style="font-style: italic;">adila</span> musical ensemble and a keen musician and instrument-maker, has created this website in association with the Tbilisi and Kutaisi State Museums. It includes detailed descriptions and photographs of all the different wind, string, percussion, keyboard etc. instruments used in Georgian folkloric music, as well as many regional variations thereof (check out the "four-tone concert <span style="font-style: italic;">panduri</span>"!).</span></span><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-<span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-12218734455157263792008-02-03T22:37:00.000+04:002008-02-03T22:56:18.537+04:00A View of Zemo-Omalo<div align="center"><span style="color:#000000;">-</span></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWXTTaGZjwU_o4hXetR1T-QV_sb6thclRxl2sPH2a4_-yNOyfIeGvFwFqsRZmXmzqP16lruAAF9epmtNZeimgcGBhBuEIbFBk87IlCK_K4Ibvir7GUVHehGJhfKs4BfQG_7AI_s9CZFZD/s1600-h/georgia+-+tusheti+-+zemo-omalo+360.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162828342383227682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWXTTaGZjwU_o4hXetR1T-QV_sb6thclRxl2sPH2a4_-yNOyfIeGvFwFqsRZmXmzqP16lruAAF9epmtNZeimgcGBhBuEIbFBk87IlCK_K4Ibvir7GUVHehGJhfKs4BfQG_7AI_s9CZFZD/s400/georgia+-+tusheti+-+zemo-omalo+360.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#000000;"> -<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#000000;">A beautiful 360-degree View of Zemo-Omalo, the (old) "capital" of Tusheti, print-screened from the Tusheti National Park website (there is a link in the list on the right)</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">-</span><br /><br /><br /></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-48261148863980967122008-02-02T12:19:00.002+04:002009-02-06T12:09:50.802+04:00Travel to Tusheti<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NjXk4nehJX5-15jNCySMAQ_9L3Ro8YTbTviI-kKDIPYcA1OOjavf6ZgIesZvECk9zP4GnTAnKUwxi0biQ0VXSMbIzywpsEzVJl9MOICDqx4W6TTkaeTheyYUGqGMLQcjAeQ7-0FcHvOJ/s1600-h/tusheti+abanos.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162307208231400194" style="" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NjXk4nehJX5-15jNCySMAQ_9L3Ro8YTbTviI-kKDIPYcA1OOjavf6ZgIesZvECk9zP4GnTAnKUwxi0biQ0VXSMbIzywpsEzVJl9MOICDqx4W6TTkaeTheyYUGqGMLQcjAeQ7-0FcHvOJ/s320/tusheti+abanos.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPYwK63crv7nkXLceiJZwfrJQSuxWrC-TDvcOx-CkBI0mW_utgzpinPbm4q8-PObzY0VqjF9DK2kyzznK-bvzX9oeUXd0-nhyYH8GbjAf-61SFVyRKEj1ArBsk_gKuoRX1JDgmrkrE33z/s1600-h/tusheti+tower.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162307216821334802" style="" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPYwK63crv7nkXLceiJZwfrJQSuxWrC-TDvcOx-CkBI0mW_utgzpinPbm4q8-PObzY0VqjF9DK2kyzznK-bvzX9oeUXd0-nhyYH8GbjAf-61SFVyRKEj1ArBsk_gKuoRX1JDgmrkrE33z/s320/tusheti+tower.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >If you are thinking of travelling to Tusheti - this summer, perhaps - then I can recommend your employing "MN Georgien Travel". This company is run by Maia Veshaguridze, a "lamzur yeuH" ["pretty girl" in Bats] whom I met during my numerous stays in Zemo-Alvani.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Without wanting to cast any doubt upon the professionalism and capability of the many other companies which offer tours to Tusheti, I feel sure that Maia - as a native Bats (i.e. Tush) - would be able to provide an additional "edge" to your stay in the region! Her company's best offer is a 10-day (walking, mostly) tour which would take you from Akhmeta in Kakheti up the Pankisi Gorge to Tbatana, over a c.3,000m pass to the source of the Alazani river, over another c.3,000m pass to Tsovata, from Tsovata along the Gometsari valley to Omalo, and then down from Tusheti over the Abanos pass (c.3,000m, again!), back down to Kakheti... an exhausting but unforgettable and truly AMAZING trip!</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Besides speaking Georgian, Tush Georgian(!), and a little Bats(!!), Maia is also fluent in German (she studied History in Hannover, and has spent many years in Germany), and one of her colleagues in the company speaks very good English.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >-<br />-<br /></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Her company's website is <a href="http://www.mngeorgientravel.ge/"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">here</span></strong></a>. (I have also added a link; top right corner of this blog.) And should you wish to contact her, you can do so at: --contact--at--mngeorgientravel--dot--ge.<br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >Should you have any more questions about travelling to Georgia and - more specifically - to Tusheti or to Tsovata in order to meet the Bats people, I would be delighted to help!</span></div><div align="center"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For an account of an English family's trip through Tusheti on horseback in the summer of 2008 (just before the war between Russia/South Ossetia and Georgia broke out... not that the fighting even got remotely close to the beautiful mountain scenery of Tusheti!), please go to </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/01/travels-in-tusheti.html">this page</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, or go directly to </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://travelsintusheti.blogspot.com/">their blog</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >-<br />-<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The best time of the year during which to go to Tusheti is - unsurprisingly - summer, but not for the usual reasons (i.e. warm weather and plenty of sunny photographs): The [truly amazing] road to Tusheti - which begins in Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti, a three-hour drive from the capital Tbilisi - crosses into Tusheti over the 3,000m-high Abanos Pass. The pass is only open to cars from early June to mid- or late september, and is only open to the rugged local shepherds from late April to mid-October... Good drivers can be found in the villages of Kvemo- and Zemo-Alvani in Kakheti; one should expect to pay around 120 Georgian Lari (roughly 80$) for a one-way trip in a Soviet or Japanese 4x4; the drive from Kakheti to Omalo takes around 7 hours (for a mere 80km - this should give you some idea of the road conditions!).</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >- </span><br /></div></div></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-91347245861156141062008-01-29T13:09:00.019+04:002009-12-16T18:09:02.899+04:00INDEX<div style="text-align: left;font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM SLOWLY TRANSFERRING THIS BLOG TO ITS NEW HOME AT </span><a href="http://www.batsav.com"><span style="font-weight: bold;">www.batsav.com</span></a>.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />-<br />SOME OF THESE POSTS MAY ALREADY HAVE BEEN MOVED, AND SOME PHOTOGRAPHS OR OTHER IMAGES MAY NO LONGER BE VISIBLE</span></span><br /><br />-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >For a general introduction to the Bats people, their history, culture, and language, please click </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/04/step-4-meet-bats-people.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>here</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >. I have also reproduced (in full) a lengthy article on the Bats written by Prof. Roland Topchishvili from the University of Tbilisi, which can be read <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/01/prof-roland-topchishvili-on-bats-or.html">here</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">For photographs - old and new - </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/more-old-photographs.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>this page</strong></span></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> would be an excellent place to start. There are many other photographs on this website: More historic images, and </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/photographs-of-tsovata-during-dadaloba.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">some recent photographs</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> taken in Tsovata, </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/some-photographs-of-tsovata.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">others</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> taken by my friend Pridoni Beroshvili.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">To see a composite, annotated satellite image of the Tsovatatistsqali Valley, the ancestral homeland of the Bats people, please click </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/from-jvarboseli-to-tsovata-by-satellite.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">here</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">To read about a festival called "Zezwaoba-Dalaoba", which involves a dramatic horse race, please visit </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/05/zezwaoba-dalaoba.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">this page</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, and for more information on Bats/Vainakh/Caucasian horses and horsemanship, please click </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/05/bats-poem-and-some-notes-on-horses-and.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">here</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have also translated a very interesting chapter about the traditional "doghi" funerary horse races, i.e. a horse race like that held to mark the anniversary of the death of Zezwa Prindauli (see Zezwaoba), which you can read </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/02/doghi.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>here</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">. More information on animal symbolism in funeral ceremonies and monuments can be found on these two pages - one is dedicated to a pair of <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/03/samshvilde-equestrian-funerary.html">horse-shaped tombstones</a> still standing in situ south-west of Tbilisi in Georgia, and the other to a pair of eastern Anatolian <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/12/two-eastern-anatolian-ram-shaped.html">ram-shaped tombstones</a> held by the archaeological museum in Diyarbakir.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">For information on Caucasian languages:</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">1. A </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/caucasian-dialects.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Table</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""> outlining the 37 Caucasian languages and their corresponding 123 dialects</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">2. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/caucasian-languages-numbers-and.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Their numbers (of speakers) and geographical distribution</strong></span></a><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">3. Their phylogenies (i.e. their "family trees"): </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/south-caucasian-kartvelian.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>South Caucasian</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" > ("Kartvelian"), </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/north-west-caucasian.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>(North-)West Caucasian</strong></span></a> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">("Abkhaz-Adyghe")</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, and</span> </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/north-east-caucasian-nakho-daghestanian.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>(North-)East Caucasian</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""> ("Nakho-Daghestanian")</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">4. A Table showing some linguistic </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/caucasian-isoglosses.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>isoglosses</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""> among Caucasian Languages</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">Robert Chenciner (of Eastern Caucasological fame) kindly asked me to publish his notes on the feast of <a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/04/suburban-sacrifice.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Wastyrdjy, or the Feast of St. George as celebrated in North Ossetia</span></strong></a>. His blow-by-blow (or, rather, toast-by-toast!) account of the feasting and religious rituals makes for a fascinating read!</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">Mr Chenciner has also sent me a digital copy of a book on the Andi people of Daghestan, published in Makhachkala in 2002. I plan to slowly edit and publish several extracts from this book here on my blog. The first installment is a copy of the <a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/05/adat-laws-of-andi-of-daghestan.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Adat (laws) of the Andi</span></strong></a>, as well as a text concerned with the levying of tribute by the Andi upon a neighbouring village.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have also published a short post and links to </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/04/caucasian-peripheries.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">various works of Prof. Shorena Kurtsikidze and Prof. Vakhtang Chikovani</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, who are both experts in the ethnography of the Caucasus - particularly of Khevsuerti-Pshavi and the surrounding area. There is an amazing series of photographs taken by Prof. Chikovani on the website of the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a very interesting pdf article written by both profs on the ethnography of the Pankisi Gorge in northern Georgia.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">For information on Caucasian rugs and kilims, please read </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/caucasian-carpets.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>this post</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">For information on how to travel to Georgia without flying(!), please click </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/12/from-europe-to-georgia-without-flying.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>here</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I also have a small post on the abandoned <strong><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/05/from-tbilisi-to-grozny-by-rail.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">railway project which was to link Georgia and Chechnya</span></a></strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">. It seems that quite a few people end up on this blog when searching for ways of travelling between Turkey and Georgia, so I have written down a few recommendations on <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/06/from-trabzon-to-batumi.html">how to go from Trabzon to Batumi and Tbilisi</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">I have also translated (from the French!) some Vainakh i.e. Chechen and/or Ingush etc. legends, such as:</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">1. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/01/hordune-din.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>The Hordune-Din</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""> ("The Sea Stallion")</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">2. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/01/seven-sons-of-snow-storm-ingush-legend.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>The Seven Sons of the Snow-storm</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""> (an Ingush [Nart] Prometheus)</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">3. <a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/01/star-of-winds.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Star of the Winds</span></strong></a> (or how it came to be that winds blow in the mountains)</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">4. </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/01/pharmat-blacksmith-of-country.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Pharmat, "The Blacksmith of the Country"</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (another Promethean legend)</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >5. A </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/01/gods-of-vainakh.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>list</strong></span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""> of Vainakh divinities.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have also just compiled a small bibliography of works relating to the Caucasus, which can be found </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/01/small-caucasian-bibliography.html">here</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Deutsches Museum in Munich has a scale model (1:10) of an Ossetian brewery, built according to descriptions of the famous traveller and caucasologist Adolf Dirr, which I have copied </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/01/caucasian-beer.html">here</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="">-</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Et specialement pour vous les Francais, j'ai mis en ligne la </span><a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/03/vazha-pshavela.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">traduction francaise du "stumar-maspindzeli"</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> ("L'Hote et l'Invite") et du "<a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2008/04/vazha-pshavela-le-mangeur-de-serpent.html"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">gvelis tchamieli</span></strong></a>" ("Le Mangeur de serpent") de Vazha Pshavela, traduit par Gaston Bouatchidze.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >For Google Earth fans, I have uploaded downloadable ".kmz" files to my blog showing all the villages of <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/08/khevi-google-earth.html">Khevi </a>(a.k.a Kazbegi), <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/07/pshavi.html">Pshavi</a>, and <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/12/khevsureti-google-earth.html">Khevsureti</a> (including Arkhoti), as well as <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/08/soviet-military-map-of-pshavi.html">a highly-detailed Soviet military map of Pshavi</a>.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >I have also copied and compiled <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/12/khevsur-demographics.html">some very interesting demographic figures on the population of Khevsureti</a> which I found in Sergi Makalatia's <span style="font-style: italic;">Khevsureti</span> (Komunistis Stamba, Tbilisi: 1935).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >I uploaded <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/08/song-in-tsova.html">a song in Bats/Tsova-Tush</a> to YouTube which I filmed in Zemo Alvani.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />Kevin Tuite from the University of Montreal let me copy his interview with </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/08/khevisberi-interviewed.html">Pilipe Baghiauri - <span style="font-style: italic;">tav-khevisberi</span></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/08/khevisberi-interviewed.html"> (chief priest) of the Pshav commune of Gogolaurta</a> in Georgia.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Dr. Mamardashvili from the National Museum in Tbilisi kindly gave me (low-resolution, alas!) copies of the Museum's ethnographic maps of <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/05/ethnographic-map-of-tusheti.html">Tusheti</a>, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/05/ethnographic-map-of-qvara-tianeti.html">Qvara-Tianeti</a>, and <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/05/ethnographic-map-of-piraketa-khevsureti.html">Piraketa-</a> and <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/05/ethnographic-map-of-pirikita-khevsureti.html">Pirikita-Khevsureti</a>.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Prof. George Hewitt from SOAS let me reproduce his article entitled <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/02/russian-academy-and-caucasus-in-xviiith.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Russian Academy and the Caucasus in the XVIIIth Century</span></a>, which contains some very interesting information on the first academics to study the Caucasus and its peoples in detail.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Prof. Tuite also passed on to me <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/02/georgian-national-museums-ethnographic.html">a catalogue of the collection of Mirian Khutsishvili's ethnographic films</a>, which he filmed all over Georgia. The catalogue comprises Prof. Tuite's descriptions of all the films. <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/02/mirian-khutsishvili.html">Mirian Khutsishvili</a> - who started filming in the 1950s - still works for the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi, and is a remarkable man!</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >I have also copied <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/02/unesco-atlas-of-worlds-languages-in.html">the sections relevant to the Caucasus of the UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger</a>.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >I also created a post entitled "<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2009/05/through-foreign-eyes-batstsova-and-tush.html">Through Foreign Eyes - The Bats/Tsova and the Tush in Ethnographical Literature</a>", where I copy all the references to them I have come across in the many books I have read.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >Please bear in mind that you can return to this Index page (and indeed to any other particular entry) by using the "menu" on the right-hand side!</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >And feel free to contact me at --alexjtb--at--gmail--dot--com--! Any comments or suggestions would be VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! If you leave comments on this blog without logging into Blogger, please make sure to include your email address, as I will not be able to reply if it is hidden.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftranscaucasian.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Findex.html&langpair=en%7Cfr&hl=en&ie=UTF8"><strong>Cette page EN FRANCAIS</strong></a> - "Chauves-souris" se refere forcement au peuple Bats...</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftranscaucasian.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F01%2Findex.html&langpair=en%7Cde&hl=en&ie=UTF8"><strong>Diese Seite AUF DEUTSCH</strong></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Die "Fledermaeuse" sind selbstverstaendlich das Batsische Volk...</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=es&langpair=enes&u=http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/&prev=/translate_s%3Fhl%3Des%26q%3Dwww.transcaucasian.blogspot.com%26sl%3Des%26tl%3Den"><strong>Ver esta página EN ESPANOL</strong></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Con "murciélago" se refiero obviamente al pueblo de los Bats y no al murciélago...</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">-</span></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-42597750405828885102008-01-26T09:37:00.000+04:002008-01-26T15:05:02.306+04:00Dadaloba 2008</span></span><div align="center">-<br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmFeO74e6_DEraJclyJHl4A1LGsnR7KZNcpmU0ZBGp8WBPBOaB5kWikdxU7hwo3Z96tDbw-5clHBC6jdfot2LojNwEqwxAeSrbyoTj-xaes93nL56WCcfYFQVSmp5UEAjYqPuxR_IPcq5/s1600-h/web_tsovata+sun.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096603200041461970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmFeO74e6_DEraJclyJHl4A1LGsnR7KZNcpmU0ZBGp8WBPBOaB5kWikdxU7hwo3Z96tDbw-5clHBC6jdfot2LojNwEqwxAeSrbyoTj-xaes93nL56WCcfYFQVSmp5UEAjYqPuxR_IPcq5/s400/web_tsovata+sun.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Sheltering from the Sun in Indurta during Dadaloba<br /></span><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">-</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">The annual "dadaloba" festival of the Bats people will take place in Tsovata in late July/early August. (The word comes from the Nakh "dal", "god", with the added Kartvelian "-oba" suffix meaning "the day of".) Drinking and toasts will start early in the morning - "as usual", cynics will say - and two horse races will be held around midday, before all join in a long and memorable feast! (Please see <a href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/08/photographs-of-tsovata-during-dadaloba.html"><strong><span style="color:#000000;">this previous post</span></strong></a> for photographs of last year's festival.)</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;">-</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">Last year, about a hundred people showed up, most of them Tchaghma-Tush and other Georgians from the lowlands. One small group of men arrived on foot from a side valley; I was told that they had walked all the way from distant Alvani, a three day journey up the Pankisi Gorge and past Alaznis Tavi i.e. the source of the Tushetis Alazani river. (This route is the old road to Tusheti, which was used before the new, motorable road was built from Pshaveli in the early 1960s.) All were dressed in normal clothes and city shoes, and one of them carried a little bread in a plastic bag... They must have been as tough as old boots!</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;">-</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">The feast was held on the valley floor itself, between two parallel lines of stones, which have probably been lying there for that purpose for centuries, and consisted of mutton cooked in several different ways (boiled, boiled then fried, etc.), and some vegetables brought up from the lowlands, along with a little bread and endless jerrycans of wine. Needless to say, one does not attend this festival for these culinary delights... Best to wait for the following day, when fresh "khinkali" dumplings (akin to large ravioli) are prepared <em>en masse</em>.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;"></span></div>-<br /></span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaQJuATzvpAjrFphU_hdlJhy47agDJR8g-ZQldnjmHNBFeTzFrTtSxJRh2ZOHuAMWxPNiFbwNtgIceTArFWJL3Q3THgE_zsMX7rDV5Bdqy5TimBLLaeK7VJJ0iOEKt3K-Oz7KlSduLVbL/s1600-h/web_tsovata+supra.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096603208631396578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaQJuATzvpAjrFphU_hdlJhy47agDJR8g-ZQldnjmHNBFeTzFrTtSxJRh2ZOHuAMWxPNiFbwNtgIceTArFWJL3Q3THgE_zsMX7rDV5Bdqy5TimBLLaeK7VJJ0iOEKt3K-Oz7KlSduLVbL/s400/web_tsovata+supra.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">The Supra (feast) to mark Dadaloba, with the Men's Khati (church) in the Background<br /></span>-<br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000000;">The Author's route will surely be the same as that followed last year, viz. First travel to Zemo-Alvani from Tbilisi, and the following day join others in a "Tush Taxi" i.e. a sturdy 4x4 driven by a grinning madman, to fight our way up the appalling road over the Abanos Pass (c.3,000m) all the way to Djvarboseli <em>via</em> Omalo and the Tushetis Alazani valley. Having spent an extremely comfortable night in the Djvarboseli guesthouse, one must walk the remaining few kilometres to Tsovata, which takes about a day.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;">-</span></div></div></span></span><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8r9rHtGd5zwKUYALn_WUIE_-clwA4yVTdgw0bz_iOIjlDstkAjEflIzr1azE5t4cTApbC65S5oah1XM1Kph3JaZl4IR5_urdJETvb8HGT4pLvc64QvbLhRzQZpOyt99EdkTLjmZoJuDjF/s1600-h/web_tusheti+road.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5096596469827709026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8r9rHtGd5zwKUYALn_WUIE_-clwA4yVTdgw0bz_iOIjlDstkAjEflIzr1azE5t4cTApbC65S5oah1XM1Kph3JaZl4IR5_urdJETvb8HGT4pLvc64QvbLhRzQZpOyt99EdkTLjmZoJuDjF/s400/web_tusheti+road.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">Tusheti as seen from the Abanos Pass</span></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">-<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></div></span></span>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-57872484554867990742008-01-24T12:52:00.003+04:002009-08-11T15:16:07.519+04:00FRANCAIS DEUTSCH ITALIANO ESPANOL ETC.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >-</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Thanks to "Google Translate", the entire blog (or individual posts) can be translated!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Pour voir ce site en Francais, cliquez <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=fr&langpair=en%7Cfr&u=http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/&prev=/translate_s%3Fhl%3Dfr%26q%3Dwww.transcaucasian.blogspot.com%26sl%3Dfr%26tl%3Den">ici</a>!</span><a href="http://www.google.com/translate_s?hl=fr"><strong></strong></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Um diesen Blog auf Deutsch zu sehen, bitte klicken Sie <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&langpair=en%7Cde&u=http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/&prev=/translate_s%3Fhl%3Dde%26q%3Dwww.transcaucasian.blogspot.com%26sl%3Dde%26tl%3Den">hier</a>!</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Ver esta página</span> </span><a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=y&u=www.transcaucasian.blogspot.com&sl=en&tl=es&history_state0="><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><strong>en español</strong></span></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/translate_s?hl=it"><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Italiano</span></strong></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >-<br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=y&u=www.transcaucasian.blogspot.com&sl=en&tl=ru&history_state0=">руски?</a><br />-<br />-<br /></span>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-44555901416546545292008-01-14T20:46:00.000+04:002008-01-25T12:20:59.423+04:00The Gods of the Vainakh<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">-</span></span><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">The following is a list of Vainakh divinities - from "Amaga-erda", the protector of lakes, to the "Votshabi", the spirits which watch over herds of aurochs. This list was copied from Mariel Tsaroieva's amazing <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Anciennes Croyances des Ingouches et des Tchétchènes</span> ("Ancient Beliefs of the Ingush and the Chechens", published in 2005), which I found in a remainders bookshop in Brussels today. Ms Tsaroieva is of Ingush origin, and holds a PhD in History of Religion from the prestigious <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Institut National des Langues et Civilizations Orientales</span> in Paris. A former teacher of romance linguistics at the state universities of Chechnya-Ingushetia and Kyrgyzstan, she has published many articles and books on folklore and "geolinguistics", both in Russian and in French.<span style="font-size:+0;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-size:+0;">The list reads as follows:</span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Gods of the World</span><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"diala" – the god-father<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"tusholi" – the goddess-mother<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"kurkhars" or "tshugul" – the hairstyle of Ingush women<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"tq’a" – the god of the universe<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"nana latta" – mother earth<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"h’al-erda" – the sky-god<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"mago-erda" – the god of magic and of wisdom and knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"eshtar" – the god of the afterlife</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Astral Divinities</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"malkha" – the sun-god<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"but’ " – the moon-god<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Gods of Nature</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"seli" – the god of (thunder-)storms and lightning<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"dardza-nana" – the goddess of snowstorms<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"mikha-nana" – the goddess of the winds<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"khi-nana" – the goddess of rivers and springs<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"amaga-erda" – the protector of lakes<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"hagar-erda" or "hirga-erda" – the aurochs-god or the rock-god<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"amgali-erda" and "saniba-erda" – the tribal gods<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"kherkh-erda" – the god of fruit-trees (also protector of great trees, with the "naj-gantskhoi", the spirits which protect "naj", "oak trees")<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Gods of Various Domains of Rural Life</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"elta" – the god of hunting<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"votshabi" – the spirits which protect herds of aurochs<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">The “Masters of the Woods” and their daughters or sisters, the "almas"<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"tamij-erda" – the god of stock-breeding<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"mat-tseli" – the god of agriculture and of justice and equality<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"matir-diala" or "matar-diala" – the god of haymaking<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"mats-khali" – the god of renewal (of crops)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"boalam-diala" – the god of plants (vegetation) and of travellers<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Gods of Social Life</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"susan-diala" – the protector of women and of maternity (i.e. the protector of mothers)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"agoi" – the protector of girls<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"orkhus" or "orkhush" – the god of fecundity and procreation<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"dika-seli" – the god of goodness and kindness<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"arda" – the god of boundaries (or of boundary-markers?) and of clan possessions<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Gods of Work and Handicrafts</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"sela-sata" – the protector of handicrafts and know-how<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"p’harmat" – the blacksmith-god<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"malar-erda" – the god of intoxicating drinks (i.e. the god of alcohol)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"moloz" – the god of war<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">The Gods of Disease</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"una-nana" – the goddess of contagious diseases<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"higiz" or "hegiz" – the goddess of smallpox</span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><br />Some Forgotten Gods of Antiquity</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"ami" and "h’ur-ami" or "fur-ami" – perhaps the god of good tidings and the goddesses of the winds, respectively <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"baini-seli" – the god of agriculture, perhaps, now replaced by "mat-tseli"; apparently related to the Georgian Mokhevi (i.e. the inhabitants of the Khevi, the valley of the Terek between the Djvari Pass and the Daryal Gorge)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"falkhan" – probably related to Mago-erda, the god of wisdom and knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"suvsa"</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB"> – </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">probably the ancient goddess-mother<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"sampai-tsuge" or "siampai-tsuoge" – probably the ancient god of trees or of forests; sometimes worshipped as the rain-god<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"mizir" - ?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"miq’al" - ?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">"ralo" - ?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span lang="EN-GB">-<br /></span></span></p>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7807845353751606541.post-47998788953979210962008-01-13T14:42:00.001+04:002009-09-07T19:10:19.120+04:00Robert Bleichsteiner<div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Prof. Robert Bleichsteiner was a noted ethnographer and anthropologist, whose fields of research and expertise were the Orient and the Caucasus.<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;">He was the Director of the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Museum für Völkerkunde</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> in Vienna, but his career had rather extraordinary beginnings, during the First World War: Bleichsteiner twice visited a prisoner-of-war camp (</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Kriegsgefangenlager Eger</span><span style="font-size:85%;">, in northern Bohemia), where he collected many myths, legends, songs, expressions, riddles, etc. among the Russian prisoners of war, particularly among those from the Caucasus. (This research was published as <span style="font-style: italic;">Gesänge Russischer Kriegsgefangener</span> - the third volume deals exclusively with the Caucasus.)</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Bleichsteiner wrote many articles and books - on Georgia, Tibet, Caucasian languages, etc. - but surely his most unusual and amazing contribution to learning was the incredible</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" > Ro</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">ßweihe und Pferderennen im Totenkult der kaukasischen Völker</span> </span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >("The Consecration and Racing of Horses in the Funerary Cults of the Peoples of the Caucasus"), which appeared in the fourth volume of the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >Wiener Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte und Linguistik </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">("Viennese Contributions to Cultural History and Linguistics"), published in Vienna in 1936.</span></span><br /></div></div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">-<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexM7armqgwtP4FDYBfU81mLgaFICjgSqXcPWEvnqTwkiy0lZPHlZCMaPxV1XEdvfM9l_GnjacPhGvMWosP_x6N2w1ehGsUxehkovpuEH0FnjM1bdX-CdhhO9-trfCMd_Ul42unRJfpDmz/s1600-h/JPG_mikeladze_44.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexM7armqgwtP4FDYBfU81mLgaFICjgSqXcPWEvnqTwkiy0lZPHlZCMaPxV1XEdvfM9l_GnjacPhGvMWosP_x6N2w1ehGsUxehkovpuEH0FnjM1bdX-CdhhO9-trfCMd_Ul42unRJfpDmz/s400/JPG_mikeladze_44.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154965257842299730" border="0" /></a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" >-<br />The saddled horse in the background awaits the soul of its deceased master to take him to Paradise.<br /><span style="font-family: arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;">For more information on equestrian funerary cults and the roles played by horses during funerals, please go to these two previous posts: "</span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/05/bats-poem-and-some-notes-on-horses-and.html">A Batsbi Poem and Some Notes on Horses and Horsemanship</a><span style="font-family: arial;">" and "</span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="http://transcaucasian.blogspot.com/2007/09/batsbi-way-of-death.html">The Batsbi way of Death</a><span style="font-family: arial;">".<br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;">-</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div></div></div></div>Alex JTBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15003588725539349515noreply@blogger.com