Svaneti is one of the highest mountainous regions of Georgia. It is located on the southern slopes of the central part of the Main Caucasus Range and on both sides of the Svaneti Range, in the northern part of Western Georgia. Zemo (Upper) Svaneti is located in the gorge of the Inguri River (at an altitude of 1000-2000 meters above sea level), and Kvemo (Lower) Svaneti is in the gorge of the Tskhenis-tskali River (at an altitude of 600-1500 meters above sea level). In the southeast, Svaneti borders on Racha-Lechkhumi, in the west on Abkhazia, and on the south is Imereti and part of the territory of Samegrelo. In the north, the border of Svaneti runs along the Main Caucasus Range, on the other side of which are Karachay and Kabarda.

The population of Svaneti is the Svans - Georgian highlanders, an ethnographic group of Georgians who speak Georgian and in everyday life the Svan languages ​​(the Svan language belongs to the Kartvelian languages ​​and has four dialects and a number of dialects). Svans are an extremely colorful people. They have always been famous for their stateliness and courage. The Svans were considered the best warriors in Georgia. The ancient Greek geographer and historian Strabo wrote: “The Svans are a powerful people and, I think, the bravest and bravest in the world. They are at peace with all neighboring nations.” Pliny, Ptolemy, Appius, and Eustathius of Thessalonia wrote about the hospitable, enlightened and strong Svans.

The history of the proud, courageous and freedom-loving people of Svans, who have preserved their language, goes back several thousand years. He was never enslaved by enemies, maybe that’s why the people who once inhabited the coastal strip of the Colchis lowland and present-day Abkhazia, after numerous wars, chose a free life in the mountains.. It is noteworthy that the Svans never had serfdom, and the nobility had a conditional character. After all, every Svan is a person who does not accept domination over himself. The Svans never waged aggressive wars, this is evidenced by historical facts, one of which is the construction in ancient times of watchtowers and defensive towers called “Svan towers”. Since ancient times, the Svans have traditionally been fond of creating picturesque products from copper, bronze and gold. Famous Svan blacksmiths, stonemasons and woodcarvers made dishes and various household utensils from silver, copper, clay and wood, as well as Svan caps - the national Svan headdress and unique “kanzi” from tur horns.

Beekeeping was traditional for the Svans - an ancient Georgian occupation, especially widespread in the mountainous regions of Western Georgia. But the most respected and revered professions for Svans are hunting and mountaineering. The Svans were and remain professional hunters and climbers. For the Svans, hunting is actually equivalent to economic activity, and mountaineering is the national sport of Svaneti. The Svan mountaineering school produced many outstanding athletes. The most famous person in Svaneti there is a mountaineer and rock climber - “Tiger of the Rocks” - Mikhail Khergiani, who tragically died in the Italian Dolomites on the wall of Su Alto in 1969. The conquerors of the peaks of Ushba, Tetnulda and Shkhara were natives of Svaneti: Gabliani, Japaridze, Gugava, Akhvlediani and many others. Svan was a Hero Soviet Union, captain 3rd rank Yaroslav Konstantinovich Ioseliani, who during the war years made more than a dozen military campaigns and torpedoed many enemy ships. Another famous Svan is the famous film director Otar Ioseliani, who directed the films “Falling Leaves”, “Once Upon a Time There Lived a Song Thrush”, “Pastoral”, etc.

The Svans are the people of the Svan group belonging to the Kartvelian language family. The self-name of the people is Lushnu, Mushvan. Previously, the Svans were identified as a separate nation, but after the 1926 census they began to be included in the Georgians. All Svan surnames end in “-ani”.

Where live

The Svans live in the north-west of Georgia in the regions of Samegrelo, Zemo-Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi, Lower Svaneti, Mestia and Lentekhi municipalities. All of them are united into a historical region called Svaneti. A small number of representatives of the people live on the territory of Abkhazia in the Kodori Gorge, part of the Gulripsha region.

Svaneti is the highest historical region in Georgia. It is located on both sides of the Svaneti ridge in northern Georgia, as well as on the southern slopes of the central part of the Main Caucasus ridge. Svaneti is divided into two parts:

1. Zemo-Svaneti (Upper Svaneti), located in the gorge of the Inguri River, at an altitude of 1000-2500 meters above sea level;
2. Kvemo Svaneti (Lower Svaneti), located in the gorge of the Tskhenistskali River, at an altitude of 600-1500 meters above sea level.

There are no cities in Svaneti; the administrative capital of the region is the urban village of Mestia, where there is even an airport.

Number

According to various estimates, the number of Svans living in Svaneti ranges from 14,000 to 30,000 people. Some estimates put the number at much higher, from 62,000 to 80,000. According to the 2010 population census, 45 Svans live in Russia.

Language

The Svans speak the Svan language (Lushnu Nin), which belongs to a separate Svan group of Kartvelian languages. In Svan there are a number of dialects, four dialects, divided into 2 groups:

1. upper - Nizhnebalsky and Verkhnebalsky;
2. lower ones - Lentekh, Lash.

This language is unwritten; Svan speakers use the Georgian script and the Latin alphabet to write. In 1864, the Svan alphabet in the Georgian language was published, but this alphabet did not take root.

Svan has many borrowings from Mingrelian and Georgian languages. All Svan speakers are bilingual and have a good command of Georgian.

Food

Often on the Svan table you can see khachapuri with cheese or meat, blood sausage ziskhora, salty suluguni cheese, and meat. They eat lamb, pork, and beef. A whole baked suckling pig is prepared for the festive table. From chicken meat in combination with spicy seasonings they make a cold appetizer called satsivi. They prepare mashed potatoes with cheese (shusha), shurpa - meat broth with hot pepper, sometimes potatoes are added to it. Almost every day the Svans eat matsoni - sour milk similar to yogurt. The people's diet includes nuts and honey.

Svanetian salt is extremely popular - table salt mixed with aromatic herbs and tsitsaka pepper. The salt is ground in a mortar for about 3 hours, then spices and herbs that can only be found in Svaneti are added to it. Salt is always present on the Svan table; it is added to various dishes, making them more aromatic and tasty.

From alcoholic drinks They traditionally drink fruit or honey vodka. Grapes do not take root in this area, so they do not have their own wine; the Svans buy it in other regions of Georgia. But their most important drink is mineral water, which is obtained from numerous springs on the land of Svaneti.

Religion

Paganism has long been present among the Svans. 160 days a year were dedicated to the worship of the sun god. In the 9th century, Orthodoxy came to Svaneti, which contributed to the conflict, as a result, the inhabitants continued to believe in the sun god. After the second attempt, the church managed to enter Svaneti and even influence the population. But priests rarely appeared here until the 19th century. Today the Svans are Orthodox Christians. An incredible number of churches have been built in the region; they contain unique icons. In the village alone, up to 60 small churches were built.

Appearance

The Svans have always been distinguished by their character, famous for their courage and stateliness. These are proud people, reserved and patient. They never offend anyone without reason, and do not use swear words. They don't even exist in the Svan language. Their strongest curse is the word “fool.” The Svans have long been considered the best warriors of the Caucasus.

They are tall, well-built and beautiful, similar in appearance to Georgians. Today Svans wear ordinary clothes and shoes. Previously, men's clothing consisted of two or three narrow beshmets, put on one another, leaving the forearms, chest, and knees open. They didn't wear shirts. Instead of pants, they put on an apron, and wrapped strips of cloth around their legs from ankles to hips. They did not have shoes; their feet were wrapped in a piece of raw leather, and the front was folded into a pointed toe. The traditional headdress of the Svans is a round felt cap, which men still wear today.

Girls did not cover their heads; after marriage, they wore a red scarf that covered their entire face, only their ears remained open. The clothes they wore were narrow long dresses made of red linen. A tie was sewn on the front. In winter they wore a cloak made of coarse cloth, in summer they wore capes made of red canvas.

Life

Svan families consist of 30 or more members. People have tribal relations. One clan includes up to 30 houses and up to 200-300 relatives. Parents' housing always went to their sons; if there are no boys in the family, then the house is doomed to ruin. Daughters always go to their husband's home. The Svans are famous for their belligerence, but they never attacked with the aim of seizing territory, but only defended their lands from the enemy.

Since ancient times, people have been creating paintings from bronze, gold, and copper. Svan famous blacksmiths, woodcarvers and stonemasons created household equipment, dishes from copper, silver, clay and wood. The Svans make their own gunpowder, mine and smelt lead, produce coarse cloth, and then sell it in Imereti. Traditionally, the inhabitants of Svaneti are engaged in beekeeping. Their most revered activities are hunting and mountaineering. Svans have always been and today remain professional climbers and hunters. Mountaineering is a sport for the people, and hunting is important economic activity.

The inhabitants of Svaneti used to actively use slave labor. They captured residents of neighboring states and republics who worked in their fields, raised livestock, chopped firewood, and did other household work.

In Svaneti there was a unique democratic form of government. The head of the community (themi) was called Makhvishi, he was elected at a general meeting in which only sensible people of both sexes who were already 20 years old had the right to participate. The chosen one was distinguished from the rest by such qualities as wisdom, spiritual purity, sedateness, and justice. He should have been Orthodox Christian. IN peaceful times Makhvishi was a judge, and during the war he led the army and was appointed commander-in-chief.

Housing

The Svans built two-story houses (machui), the walls were erected from stone without fixing mortar, or they made houses from wickerwork and coated them with clay. Winters in the mountains are harsh, so all the animals lived together with people under the same roof. The first floor was reserved for women and livestock, men lived on the second floor, and there was a hayloft there. There was a separate room in the house for women in labor; everyone slept on benches. During the course of the dwelling there was a corridor from where two or three entrances led into the dwelling. This is where the Svan proverb “Women to the left, cows to the right” comes from. The house was heated by a fireplace, and food was cooked on it. The courtyards with housing were surrounded by a stone wall 3 meters high.

Traditions

Blood feud among the Svans is a normal phenomenon, as for modern people court. Today the Svans have become more civilized and gradually began to come into contact with Europeans, but from time to time blood feuds still happen. Previously, conflicts occurred even over the slightest reason, for example, if one man looked at another’s wife the wrong way or kicked his dog. The reasons could be resentment, envy, insults, as a result of which one family went against another and blood was shed. In such cases, families hid in their towers built near the house, and if the whole family was killed, their tower and house were considered cursed.

Today there are many such ancient stone towers on the territory of Svaneti. These buildings are included in the list of objects World Heritage UNESCO. All the towers are ancient, and no one is building new ones anymore. They were erected mainly for protection from attacks and avalanches coming down from the mountains; food was stored in the towers and used as a watchtower. They climbed into the towers using rope ladders that folded up, making it almost impossible to get into the buildings. Later, the Svans believed that which family had more towers was considered stronger and more successful.

Gender also influenced success born child, because a man in a family is a protector and breadwinner. If a boy was born, the whole family was considered happy. The birth of a girl did not bring such joy. After the wedding, according to custom, the bride's parents provide the land and dowry. This is another reason why the birth of a boy was a joy for the family.

The Lamproba holiday is celebrated 10 weeks before Easter, in February. On this day, they glorify the valor of boys, young men and men over their enemies, commemorate their ancestors, light bonfires, and organize torchlight processions with a festive meal. In each house, as many torches are lit as there are men in the family. If there is a pregnant woman in the family, a torch is lit in honor of the child she is carrying. Torches are made from solid tree trunks, the top is split into several parts. During the procession with torches, men walk towards the church and sing songs in the Svan language. In the courtyard of the church, a large fire is made from torches and tables are set. All night until dawn, people read a prayer to St. George and raise toasts.

Another holiday is called “Week of Souls.” Everyone sets the tables, then waits for the souls of deceased relatives to arrive. The following rituals are performed on this holiday:

• knives are not placed on tables;
• children are covered with soot;
• put fresh pastries on the table;
• candles are lit.

All Svans respect their elders immensely; if a person older than those present enters the room, everyone stands up. It was common practice among these people to steal people from other people's villages, for whom they then took a ransom in the form of weapons. For example, a gold-plated gun was demanded for a beautiful young girl stolen from someone else’s village.

The people are very hospitable, they will always greet guests well, feed them and provide them with the necessary necessities. It is considered shameful for a man to sit next to his wife; they do not like talking about women and do not even really know what kind of life a woman has in her family. Svan weddings are held in the bride’s house, she is bought from her relatives, and then they begin to feast. Women and men always sit at separate tables.

One of the most mountainous and inaccessible regions of Georgia is Svaneti. The first plane was seen there in the middle of the last century, and the first modern road was built four years ago. Kirill Mikhailov looked into why the Svans are respected and why they are feared.

The Svans are a small mountain people who live on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Range in northwestern Georgia. According to the tradition that developed in Soviet times, the Svans are classified as Georgians, although they speak their own language, which forms an independent branch in the Kartvelian language family.

Presumably, the Kartvelian language family split into Georgian-Zan and Svan branches at the turn of the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, so the Svans have reason to claim that they are a separate people, although all Svans speak Georgian, and native language remains the language of everyday communication. According to various estimates, 30-35 thousand Svans now live on the territory of Georgia.

The history of this people can be traced from sources since the time of Queen Tamara (late 12th - early 13th centuries), although there are references to the Svans even among ancient authors. Due to several important factors - the overall Christian faith, general writing, - Svan culture in to a large extent formed by Georgian culture and forms part of it. At the same time, the small mountain people, living in relative isolation, retained, unlike the Georgians, their tribal system, which still determines their national character.

This is how Korniliy Borozdin, who served as an official in the Tiflis province in mid-19th century: “Tall, muscular, with a type reminiscent of our crests, they were dressed in light chokhas (upper men's clothing made of cloth, reminiscent of a Circassian coat. - approx.

ed.), on thick hair, cut into brackets, instead of hats, there were some small circles made of cloth, tied with laces under the shaved chins; Such a headdress served at the same time as a sling, from which the Svaneti throw stones with extraordinary dexterity. The shoes, reminiscent of ancient sandals, consisted of leather (kalaban) shoes with the wool up, tied with straps.”

Blood feud

Blood feud for the Svans has long been a tradition - the film “Svan” (2007), based on real events occurring in our time, clearly demonstrates this. For an hour and a half people different ages they kill each other with frantic passion. Georgians like to say that when the question of whether to send this film to one of the European film festivals was being decided, the main argument against it was that if now the main thing for Georgia is to join the European Union, then after this film they will have to forget about membership in a united Europe.

Colonel Ivan Alekseevich Bartolomei in the “Notes” of the Caucasian Department of the Geographical Society in 1855 describes his trip to Svaneti: “As I became more and more familiar with the Free Svaneti (Free Svaneti is one of the parts of Svaneti - ed.), I became convinced how unfair and rumors of their ossified cruelty are exaggerated; I saw before me a people in my childhood, almost primitive people, therefore, very impressionable, unforgiving in bloodshed, but remembering and understanding goodness; I noticed good nature, cheerfulness, gratitude in them...”

In fact, rumors about the cruelty and savagery of the Svans still circulate. Georgians like to say that on the slopes of Elbrus, the bodies of soldiers of the First Mountain Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht, better known by its emblem as “Edelweiss,” are still preserved frozen in the ice. This division is also known for the fact that its fighters hoisted fascist flags on both peaks of Elbrus on August 21, 1942. So, in Georgia they say that supposedly it was the Svans who drove out the mountain shooters from the peaks of the Caucasus, killing many, but Soviet propaganda was silent about this, because the Svans with the same fury killed other strangers who came to their mountains - communists.

However, German sources do not report serious losses inflicted by the Svans on the combat path of the Edelweiss division. There is a story on the Internet from one climber who was given a chance to shoot a perfectly preserved German Mauser 98k rifle in a Svan village, but most likely this was not a battle trophy: at the beginning of 1943, the division was hastily removed from the front due to the threat of encirclement and sent to Greece. And some of the weapons and equipment simply had to be abandoned in the mountains.

Svan towers

One of the most famous characters Svaneti - Svan towers. Most of them were built several centuries ago according to the same architectural plan: height up to 25 meters, base 5 by 5 meters, four or five floors with wooden ceilings, on each floor there is one narrow window, usually facing south, on top floor several windows, but all of them are not suitable for archery or firearms. There are still debates about the purpose of Svan towers: whether they are military or sentinel structures, or economic, but certainly not residential. To imagine how the Svans lived a century and a half ago, let us turn again to the memoirs of Korniliy Borozdin: “Imagine people, no more than three thousand in number, who settled in an area shaped like a box, open only three months a year, and in the remaining nine months hermetically sealed. The soil here will not give birth to anything except rye, which sometimes does not ripen, from which stinking vodka (araki) is distilled, and within three months the mountains are covered with grass, which at this time can feed on the baranta (a herd of rams and sheep. - K.M. ) and cattle and then, except for a small amount of honey, game, foxes, small animals, there is nothing - literally nothing.

Three months have passed, the box has slammed shut, that is, the snow has covered everything, and if people have not made provisions for the coming nine months, they will inevitably find themselves in a worse situation than blocked in a fortress and driven to exhaustion by hunger; there you can still run out to the enemy, but here you can’t run out anywhere. Consequently, it is impossible to exist without reserves, and where can you get them from, if not from your neighbors, and, moreover, without giving anything for them for a very simple reason, since there is nothing of your own to give. After that, how can you take from your neighbors, if not secretly and not by force? Call the free Svanetians whatever sentimental nicknames you want, but still, this does not interfere with the essence of their predatory profession at the expense of their neighbors: Karachay, Mingrelia, Princely Svaneti.”

Judging by the conditions in which the Svans lived, the towers were primarily sentinels and signals: in case of danger, a fire was lit on the tower, then on the next one, and so the entire gorge could quickly learn about the approach of the enemy. The towers are still a sign of the wealth and prosperity of the clan, since they were mostly built near residential buildings, rather than in the wilderness, and belong to families who try to preserve these structures.