07.07.2015

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 their 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.

Thanks to several important factors - a common Christian faith, a common written language - the Svan culture is largely shaped by Georgian culture and forms part of it. At the same time, the small mountain people living in relative isolation, unlike the Georgians, retained their tribal system, which still determines their national character.

This is how Kornily Borozdin, who served as an official in the Tiflis province in the middle of the 19th century, describes the Svans in No. 4 of the Historical Bulletin for 1885: “Tall, muscular, with a type reminiscent of our crests, they were dressed in light chokhas (outer men's clothing from cloth resembling 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 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 of different ages 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 - the communists.

One of the most famous symbols of Svaneti is the 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 one narrow window, usually facing south, on the 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 locked. 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.

Selected chapters from Alexander Kuznetsov's book "Below Svaneti" ed. Central Committee of the Komsomol Young Guard, 1971

The Svans are Kartvelians by origin; they belong to the family of the Caucasian or Japhetic peoples. The most ancient inhabitants of the Caucasus, its aborigines, were called Japhetids. Svaneti is an organic part of Georgia. It is connected with it not only geographically, but also through its entire history and centuries-old culture.

However, the Svan language is completely different from modern Georgian. The Svan language never had its own written language; the Georgian script was adopted. Georgian is the language taught in schools, and all books, magazines and newspapers are printed in it in Svaneti.

The Svan language lives in parallel with Georgian. They read and study in Georgian, and Svan is spoken in the family and songs are sung. Most Svans thus now use three different languages ​​- Svan, Georgian and Russian.

Librarian in the village of Adishi

The Romans were familiar with Svaneti already from the 1st century AD, when the Svans occupied a much larger territory. Scientists of Rome, historians and geographers, considered the Svans to be a powerful and warlike people, with whom even Roman commanders had to reckon. Even then, the Svans had a high culture and were well organized, firmly united by their tribal social system. It is possible that some kind of Italian influence penetrated into Svaneti and brought here architectural forms completely alien to other regions of the Caucasus. The battlements of the Svan towers are somewhat reminiscent of the Moscow Kremlin. It is known that the Kremlin walls were built by Italians in the 15th century. There are watchtowers in the Caucasus and other places, in Ossetia, for example, but nowhere else will you find anything similar to the architectural forms of the Svan towers. Perhaps in medieval Italy...

Ushguli village

The Kartvels appeared in Georgia 1000 years BC; it is not yet known for certain when they settled in Svaneti. However, in the Mestia Museum you can see objects found in Svaneti that belonged to people not only of the Bronze Age, but also of the Stone Age.

The documents, books, icons, architectural monuments that we managed to get acquainted with and which give a more or less clear idea of ​​the history and ancient culture of Svaneti do not go back further than the 10th - 12th centuries AD. Legends, traditions and historical songs also begin from the time of Queen Tamara (late 12th and early 13th centuries).

One thing is clear: the entire history and development of the culture of the Svans, their way of life, customs and mores are connected with two seemingly contradictory phenomena. This is isolation from the outside world and at the same time the influence of Georgian culture, mainly through the Christian religion. It was isolation that led to the preservation and strengthening of the clan system, which lasted until the 20th century, while in other parts of Georgia the clan system was replaced by a feudal system three centuries BC. Self-government, apparently, served to develop a heightened sense of independence among the Svans and formed the Svan character - proud and courageous. What else, other than the desire to be independent, to preserve one’s freedom with all one’s might and even at the cost of one’s life, could have created these towers, these fortified houses, this desire to preserve one’s own, and only one’s, way of life? After all, Upper, or Free Svaneti, waged a ceaseless and persistent struggle for its freedom for centuries.

With its historical monuments - churches, books written on parchment in ancient Georgian, silver chased icons, frescoes and other works of art of long-gone times - Svaneti, of course, owes to the general culture of Georgia, to which Christianity came from Byzantium in the 4th century.

Church in the village of Adishi

All Svans are fanatically hospitable. Now there are a lot of different people walking around Svaneti, and everyone is still finding shelter, shelter and food in Svan houses. Svans are leisurely, reserved and polite. They will never offend a person. The Svan language is distinguished by the absence of swear words. The most powerful curse word among the Svans is the word “fool”. (The rest were borrowed from other languages.) But even this word could not be tolerated by Svan’s pride; often because of it, enmity and even blood feud arose. Politeness is in the blood of Svans, laid down by many generations. Respect for elders, veneration of the elderly has been elevated to an unshakable law in Upper Svaneti.

Crazy courage and bravery coexist with deep inner culture, tact and restraint in the character of the Svan.

Photo by R. Barug

It’s clear that a lot depends on how you look at things, on what a person wants to see. For example, Dr. Orbeli published a brochure about goiter and cretinism in Svaneti in 1903. So, he saw only diseases here. And another doctor, Olderocce, wrote in 1897 “Essay on degeneration in Princely and Free Svaneti.” This doctor predicted the complete degeneration of the Svans in half a century. Half a century has passed - and nothing... The doctor’s foresight failed him.

The first Russian person to write about Svaneti was the Tsar's Colonel Bartholomew. What a arrogant aristocrat, but still managed to examine and understand the Svans:

“As I became more and more familiar with the Free Svaneti, I became convinced how unfair and exaggerated the rumors about their ossified cruelty were; I saw before me the people in childhood, almost primitive people, therefore, very impressionable, inexorable in bloodshed, but remembering and understanding good; I noticed good nature, cheerfulness, gratitude in them..."

Everyone sees, understands and loves first of all what they know. Therefore, I will talk about the Svan character using the example of mountaineering. Yes, speaking about modern Svans, it is simply impossible not to dwell on this.

No one will ever tell you absolutely definitely why people strive for the top. Only one thing can be said with confidence: this activity does not provide any material benefits. Only spiritual values ​​are acquired here. That’s why mountaineering is so popular among the Svans. It's just in their nature.

They may object to me: “Why shouldn’t the Svans be climbers when they live almost on the peaks!” Oh, that would be an ill-considered objection! Among the local population of the Pamirs or Tien Shan you rarely meet an outstanding climber. Aren't these mountains? There is, apparently, a general pattern for the whole world - there are almost no climbers among the mountaineers. The exceptions are the Sherpas in the Himalayas, the Svans in the Caucasus and the inhabitants of the Alps.

Shaliko Margiani works on the wall

This feature of the Svans was noticed already in the last century by the teacher of the Kutaisi City School V. Ya. Teptsov, who did not always speak flatteringly about the Svans. In his book "Svaneti", published in Tiflis in 1888, he wrote:

“Promise another mountaineer Mohammed’s paradise beyond the glaciers, he will not go, but the Svanet climbs straight into the jaws of death... They say that wandering beyond the mountains among the Svanet has become the same habit as roaming among the gypsies.”

Here is a list of famous climbers - residents of Upper Svaneti.

The older generation, the pioneers of Soviet mountaineering, about whom we will talk further:

1. Gio Niguriani.

2. Gabriel Khergiani.

3. Vissarion Khergiani, master of sports.

4. Beknu Khergiani, Honored Master of Sports.

5. Maxim Gvarliani, Honored Master of Sports.

6. Chichiko Chartolani, Honored Master of Sports.

7. Goji Zurebiani, Honored Master of Sports.

8. Almatsgil Kvitsiani.

The younger generation of Svan climbers:

1. Joseph Kakhiani, Honored Master of Sports.

2. Mikhail Khergiani, Honored Master of Sports.

3. Grisha Gulbani, master of sports.

4. Iliko Gabliani, master of sports.

5. Jokia Gugava, master of sports.

6. Sozar Gugava, master of sports.

7. Shaliko Margiani, master of sports.

8. Mikhail Khergiani (junior) master of sports.

9. Jumber Kahiani, master of sports.

10. Givi Tserediani, master of sports.

11. Boris Gvarliani, master of sports.

12. Valiko Gvarmiani, master of sports.

13. Otar (Konstantin) Dadeshkeliani, master of sports.

Some of these lists are no longer alive today. If we take into account that among the men a certain and considerable part is made up of children and old people, then, according to the roughest estimates, it turns out that for every 200 - 300 adult men of Upper Svaneti there is one master or honored master of sports in mountaineering. You will not find this in any other mountainous country in the world, including Nepal.

In Upper Svaneti, drivers and, especially, pilots are considered respected people - people who connect the country with the outside world and give it life. There are also many Svan pilots. But you will not find such a warm, such loving attitude towards anyone here as towards the climbers. A good climber, in the view of the Svans, is a real man.

The glory of climbers in Upper Svaneti is associated with Ushba, a peak rising above Mestia. The same V. Ya. Teptsov wrote in his book: “Ushba Peak is known among the Svans as the abode of the unclean. Not a single Svanet would dare climb its slopes because of the superstitious fear of going to hell.”

Photo by Zaur Chartolani

That's how it used to be. The Svans rarely approached Ushba; many superstitions and legends were associated with its impregnable walls.

At the end of the last and beginning of this century, foreign climbers are trying to conquer the world-famous peak. In England, even an “Ushbist Club” was created. Its members were English climbers who visited Ushba. Now there is only one member in this club - a very old man, a school teacher named Khodchkin. When our climbers were last in England, Zhenya Gippenreiter presented Mr. Khodchkin with an award badge “For climbing Ushba.” The eighty-year-old man could not hold back his tears.

At that time, almost all attempts to climb Ushba ended in failure. From 1888 to 1936, only five foreign athletes visited the northern peak of Ushba, and only ten foreign athletes climbed the southern peak, and more than 60 people stormed this peak. Over the past fifty years, many tragedies have taken place on its slopes.

In 1906, two Englishmen come to Svaneti and declare their desire to climb to the top of Ushba. They are looking for a guide, but not a single Svan agrees to cross the border of Dali’s possessions. However, there is a new Betkil, the brave hunter Muratbi Kibolani. He boldly leads the British along steep cliffs and reaches both peaks of the terrible Ushba. Although this time there was no meeting with the goddess Dali, one of the Englishmen died during the descent.

The Svans could not believe that people had been to the top of Ushba. Then Kibolani, taking firewood with him, climbed to the top alone and lit a fire there. A severe competition between the Svans and the impregnable peak began.

Among the first Soviet people to visit Ushba was also a Svan, his name was Gio Niguriani. For four years, a group of Georgian climbers led by Alyosha Japaridze attempted to climb, and only in 1934, four Soviet people - Alyosha and Alexandra Japaridze (the first Georgian climber), Yagor Kazalikashvili and Gio Niguriani - lit a fire at the top of the bicorne.

In the 1930s, mountain climbing took on a sporting character. Alpine skiing is also beginning to develop in Svaneti.

“One winter,” says Vissarion Khergiani, “we heard that seven Russians were coming towards us through the Tviber pass. That they have sleighs on their feet and the Russians can ride these sleighs very quickly in the snow. We didn't believe it until we saw it ourselves.

It's a small world. On May 1, in the “Ai” cafe, its participant Alexey Aleksandrovich Maleinov, Honored Master of Sports, chief engineer of the construction of the Elbrus sports complex, told me about this hike. This first crossing of the Caucasian ridge on skis was headed by the same doctor A. A. Zhemchuzhnikov, who had just treated Misha after a collision with an uncontrollable tourist.

“All of Mestia gathered,” said Vissarion. - The Russians showed us how to ski down the mountains. Everyone laughed a lot, and then they said: “Let Vissarion try.” They gave me skis, I put them on, went far, far and did not fall. When the Russians left, Gabriel, Maxim, and I made skis out of boards and began walking in the deep snow towards each other. And then we took and crossed the Bashil pass on our skis.

from the M. Khergiani Museum, photo by R. Kochetkov

After this, the Svans were sent to courses in Nalchik, and then to a mountaineering school, which was located in the current mountain camp "Dzhantugan" in Kabardino-Balkaria.

It was very difficult for us,” says Vissarion, “we did not know the Russian language and could not understand what they wanted from us. We always walked on ice without steps and did not know what insurance was. But then we got used to the ice ax and rope, learned to walk on crampons and hammer in pitons. This has become convenient and familiar to us.

And so in 1937, the same year when the first wheel was seen in Upper Svaneti, a sports group, consisting entirely of Svans, climbed South Ushba. The participants in this ascent almost all belonged to the Khergiani family, these were Vissarion Khergiani and Maxim Gvarliani, their relatives Gabriel and Beknu Khergiani and Chichiko Chartolani. Not without incident, Gabriel and Vissarion flew into a crack: the fragile rope broke; The Svans climbed directly, far from the easiest path, and ended up on a very difficult section of rocks. But everything ended well. This was the first Soviet wall ascent, the first ascent that brought the Svans the fame of real climbers. Mountaineering has become a national sport in Svaneti.

South Ushba, photo by Vakho Naveriani

Continuation

Expand discussion thread

:)) Look what I photographed in the M. Khergiani Museum.

The Svans are a small mountain people who stand out from the huge number of Caucasian peoples. And one of the main goals in Georgia (as already mentioned) was Svaneti and the Svans. Below I have separately taken out what I observed in Svan ethnographic museums, in Svan houses (both old and modern), and what I learned from communicating with the Svans...

Let's start with basic information taken from books and the Internet, and continue with personal experience and photographs.

Svaneti is one of the highest mountainous regions of Georgia. The Svans have always been famous for their stateliness and courage. They were considered the best warriors in the Caucasus. The Svans never had serfdom, and the nobility was conditional. 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.

Each Svan is, first of all, a separate personality, proud and original.

A lot about the customs of the Svans and their life is written in the book by Alexander Kuznetsov “Below Svaneti” ( can be downloaded from this link in fb2 format ). Before starting with photos and my own observations, a quote from the same book:

“Svvnetia, “The Land of Peace and Tranquility,” as the Georgian king Saurmag called it in 253 BC, who evicted his rebellious subjects here. Svaneti is a symbol of proud love of freedom. Svaneti, a tiny country, a world of glaciers, narrow valleys and crazy streams.”

There are many museums in Mestia, I have been to two, I know about two more, I suspect that this is not all. I was able to visit the Margiani family museum and the Mikhail Khirgiani museum, the first is a house with Svan furnishings, the second has a hall dedicated to Svan life. In addition, of course, I climbed into the tower and visited the ethnographic museum in Ushguli (this one, I also suspect, is not the only one here, it was organized by one of the families, apparently)

The first thing we managed to do was get into the tower. One of Georgia's business cards, from the inside approximately as shown in the diagram (I drew it myself, there may be inaccuracies). It’s interesting that the entrance to many is at a height, and to get to it you need an extension ladder (which naturally, if something happened, was pulled inside, and go and climb). Then there are several tiers of floors with stairs, and at the top there are loopholes and a hole leading to the roof itself. It is interesting that these towers, as I understand it, were used not only for defense during attacks by enemies from outside Svaneti, but also during “blood feuds” or during quarrels between communities and clans. Moreover, one gets the impression that the latter purpose is almost the main one.

It’s interesting that all the houses seem to be made of stones. Here is an example of a house in Ushguli:

In the old villages there are narrow streets, which originally meant either walking or equestrian habitation. There weren't even carts or carts here for a very long time, because... in the mountains this is not the best remedy. We spotted the sled several times:

In principle, this is natural. Ushguli is the highest mountainous settlement in Europe, and winter here is from October to May.

In the old days, there was one room in the house, in which around the perimeter there were places for people to sleep, under which pets were kept in winter.

There is a fireplace in the center of the room. Everyone gathered here:

I didn’t see any cabinets here; there were chests of different sizes, some more than a meter high. I also made a whole collection of photographs of chairs and armchairs.

In all three museums there was a huge chair near the fireplace. It's not just natural. But there were also many simpler “chairs”, and different ones. Below are photos from the most “important” to the most “simple”:

One of the most important activities of the Svans was hunting and beekeeping. Naturally, hunting in such an area required mountaineering skills from the early age.

Option for snowshoes from ancient times:

A crossbow that I don’t even know who I can shoot with, it’s really huge:

And this is your humble servant with a spear (the wonderful pose is the result of explaining to the photographer which button to press and hold until it works):

One can only imagine how harsh the life of the Svans was in the distant past, the cold and getting food in the mountains... People and living creatures in the same house...

This is the musical instrument I saw in the ethnography museum in Ushguli:

And here is this one in the house where we stayed in the Ipari community:

Modern Svan houses are two-story. On the second floor there are bedrooms. Here are two interesting shots, one of the house where we stayed, and the second of the room in which we had dinner, where this dinner was prepared...

It turns out interesting that where there used to be a fireplace and people slept around it, today there is a steel stove, and people sleep in the same room, despite the larger number of rooms, electricity, etc. Why not the same ancient traditions but in a new, modern way.

This is probably not the case everywhere, and perhaps we just ended up like that (a very small village ten kilometers from Ushguli), but the very fact of what we saw.

The owner of the house is a very calm person, a Svan, and in many ways one can recognize what is written and said about this people. Morning dialogue with him on the porch of the house (I won’t give the evening dialogue, it wouldn’t work - I had to be there):

Do you like it in Svaneti?
- Yes very! It is nice here! Very handsome!
- Yes, it’s very good... But it’s also very difficult... It’s bad at work. The nearest store is in Ushguli - 10 kilometers away.
- So everything seems to be here, your bread... Why go to the store... Although...
- Yes, a lot of everything, like cigarettes, or beer or... A lot of everything…
- And I saw stuffed roe deer there, at the top. Your brother told me that you are a hunter, right? You are their...
- Yes, it was a long time ago. Hunted... It was possible...
- And now?
-And what now, now it’s a park, there are a lot of permit papers... And without them, the fine is 2000 lari (about 1200 dollars).
-Clear…

I won’t post a photo of the stuffed animals - it didn’t work out (let’s put it this way), but in principle it’s good that hunting here has become more difficult (I saw traces of bears here on the pass, and heard a lot about the fact that there are a lot of other wild animals here).

I can also say that sometimes you have to look for museums created by local families, here is the sign of the ethnographic (private) museum in Ushguli:

I got here by accident, a guy met me (he was on horseback, by the way), and offered to go to the museum. An excursion in such a museum can probably be read by any family member, but if he is under 20-23 years old, then the excursion will most likely be in English (as in my case).

One for all and all for one. Everyone is part of a big family. Georgian mountaineers live by this principle, protecting the values ​​of their family as carefully as freedom.

It's easy to identify us by our last name. Among the Svans it ends in -ani. We also have blond hair and eyes that are atypical for Georgia. I believe that it is in Svaneti that those Georgians live whose blood did not mix with the blood of the Turks and other conquerors.

We also have our own language. It is not at all similar to the Georgian language that our children are taught in schools. We always speak with Georgians in the state language, with Russians in Russian, and among ourselves in Svan.

The main thing for us is freedom. We have never been ruled by anyone, the Svans were not subjugated by princes, nor were they enslaved by feudal lords and enemies. My ancestors chose an independent life away from civilization. That is why Free Svaneti (aka Eastern Svaneti - the territory from Latali to Ushguli) is often rightly called a “community of free clans”.

The symbol of our region is the Svan towers. They were erected in the 8th-13th centuries, mainly for defense. Now they are turning into tourist attractions. But until now, these tall stone structures protect us from avalanches: like breakwaters, they “cut off” the force of snow blows. And once upon a time, the towers warned neighbors about danger; they hid church utensils, which were brought from all over the country during enemy invasions. Families took refuge in towers from enemies.

Svan lands were divided between communities. In the community they were distributed among clans, and within clans - between families. I come from an ancient Parjiani family. The first mentions of it date back to the 12th century, and they are associated with the name of the great Queen Tamara, who, on her way to her summer residence in Ushguli, stopped for the night in the house of my distant ancestor Vakhtang Pardzhiani. Like him, I also live in Latali. I’ve been living here for 39 years now, not counting periodic trips to other countries.

There was a time when I left my region and got a job in Russia. There I met Ksenia, whom I eventually moved to my home when I realized that I saw the future of my family in Svaneti. I have two daughters so far, but in general Svan families have many children. Typically, by the age of 30, a man already has three children. Five in a family is not the limit, sometimes there are ten.

Several generations live under one roof, just like in the old days. Our ancestors lived in a machubi - a spacious stone house with one room, in the center of which there was a fire. In winter, livestock also joined the large family, so that everyone would be warmer together. Now, of course, our houses are modern, equipped with all the necessary appliances, and we have moved the animals into the yard.

Every man should have a son. He will inherit the house and lands. Daughters always move into their husbands' houses, which means that if there is no son, the father's house is doomed to destruction. I know cases where men took a second wife if the first one could not give birth to a boy. But this is the exception rather than the rule. At a traditional Svan feast, the third toast is dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of Georgia. During this toast, we wish a son to those who do not yet have one.

I work a lot, like most of my fellow tribesmen. We always have something to do: take the cows out to pasture, clean the barn, build a fence, prepare firewood for the winter. Our women work no less. The house and kitchen are on their shoulders. We teach children to work too. The daughters help with cleaning and cooking, and the sons herd cattle in the mountains all summer. That is why there are so many climbers among local men. We feel at home on the peaks!

I start the day at six in the morning with oatmeal with Svan honey - the most delicious in the world. From early morning, women knead the dough - here they don’t buy bread in stores, but bake it themselves. An average family of 6-7 people eats about 10 pita breads a day. Once the dough is mixed, the women milk the cows and prepare cheese and matsoni from fresh milk.

We grow mountain herbs near our houses. We set aside a corner of honor for them in the garden. We add cilantro, utskho-suneli, Imeretian saffron to traditional dishes and to Svanetian salt. The one that is ground for 2-3 hours in a large wooden mortar along with herbs and spices that grow only in Svaneti. This is a special art and a special tradition that is passed down from generation to generation through the female line, along with the mortar. Ours is already 400 years old.

Svans are similar to Sicilians. We have always been characterized by blood feud. It could have flared up because of an insult or the ground. History knows an example when a vendetta between two clans lasted more than 300 years, and during this time 12 people were killed on each side. My people believed that blood feud helps maintain order in the region. The fear of death is strong, especially since the entire community could be punished for crimes. Therefore, we are responsible for our actions not only to ourselves, but also to our ancestors and future children. Although today people mostly make amends for past grievances with money or livestock.

Everything is changing... Her mother, who is now 73 years old, often talks about what Svaneti was like in her childhood - without electricity and roads. Like 500 years ago. And now we dress like everyone else, we live in houses with amenities. In 2011, an excellent road was built here from Zugdidi, and an airport was built in the village of Mestia, from where you can get to Tbilisi. Life has become different. Therefore, it is important not to lose the most valuable thing - our traditions.

, Mingrelians, Lazy

Svans(self-name ლუშნუ, Georgian სვანები) - the people of the Svan group of the Kartvelian language family. Self-name "lushnu", units "mushwan". They speak the Svan language, which is part of the northern branch of the Kartvelian language family, separate from the Georgian branch. Until the 30s of the 20th century, they were distinguished as a separate nationality (1926 census), but then subsequent censuses did not distinguish them separately and included them (as today) as part of the Georgians. In addition to their native language, all Svans speak Georgian. Svan surnames end in “ani”.

Settlement

The territory of settlement of the Svans - Svaneti - is one of the highest historical 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. Upper Svaneti (Zemo-Svaneti) is located in the gorge of the Inguri River (at an altitude of 1000-2500 meters above sea level), and Lower Svaneti (Kvemo-Svaneti) is in the gorge of the Tskhenistskali River (at an altitude of 600-1500 meters above sea level). In the southeast, Svaneti borders on the historical regions of Racha and Lechkhumi (east and southwest of the edges of Racha-Lechkhumi and Lower Svaneti, respectively), in the west - on Abkhazia, Imereti and part of the territory of Megrelia adjoin to the south. In the north, the border of Svaneti runs along the Main Caucasus Range, on the other side of which are Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria.

Based on historical, folklore and toponymic information, some scientists believe that in a certain period (XVII-XVIII centuries) the Svans lived on the other side of the Caucasus Range, in the Elbrus region.

Language

Life and culture

The history of the Svan people goes back several thousand years. The Svans never had serfdom, and the nobility was conditional. 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 occupation of many peoples, also 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.

Svan holidays

Famous representatives

• Leila Mushkudiani

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Svans

“If you don’t answer, then I’ll tell you...” Helen continued. “You believe everything that they tell you, they told you...” Helen laughed, “that Dolokhov is my lover,” she said in French, with her rough precision of speech, pronouncing the word “lover” like any other word, “and you believed ! But what did you prove by this? What did you prove with this duel! That you are a fool, que vous etes un sot, [that you are a fool] everyone knew that! Where will this lead? So that I become the laughing stock of all Moscow; so that everyone will say that you, drunk and unconscious, challenged to a duel a man whom you are unreasonably jealous of,” Helen raised her voice more and more and became animated, “who is better than you in all respects...
“Hm... hm...” Pierre mumbled, wincing, not looking at her and not moving a single member.
- And why could you believe that he is my lover?... Why? Because I love his company? If you were smarter and nicer, I would prefer yours.
“Don’t talk to me... I beg you,” Pierre whispered hoarsely.
- Why shouldn’t I tell you! “I can speak and will boldly say that it is a rare wife who, with a husband like you, would not take lovers (des amants), but I did not,” she said. Pierre wanted to say something, looked at her with strange eyes, the expression of which she did not understand, and lay down again. He was physically suffering at that moment: his chest was tight, and he could not breathe. He knew that he needed to do something to stop this suffering, but what he wanted to do was too scary.
“It’s better for us to part,” he said falteringly.
“Part up, if you please, only if you give me a fortune,” said Helen... Separate, that’s what scared me!
Pierre jumped up from the sofa and staggered towards her.
- I'll kill you! - he shouted, and grabbing a marble board from the table, with a force still unknown to him, he took a step towards it and swung at it.
Helen's face became scary: she squealed and jumped away from him. His father's breed affected him. Pierre felt the fascination and charm of rage. He threw the board, broke it and, with open arms, approaching Helen, shouted: “Get out!!” in such a terrible voice that the whole house heard this scream with horror. God knows what Pierre would have done at that moment if
Helen did not run out of the room.

A week later, Pierre gave his wife power of attorney to manage all the Great Russian estates, which amounted to more than half of his fortune, and alone he left for St. Petersburg.

Two months passed after receiving news in Bald Mountains about the Battle of Austerlitz and the death of Prince Andrei, and despite all the letters through the embassy and all the searches, his body was not found, and he was not among the prisoners. The worst thing for his relatives was that there was still hope that he had been raised by the inhabitants on the battlefield, and perhaps was lying recovering or dying somewhere alone, among strangers, and unable to give news of himself. In the newspapers, from which the old prince first learned about the defeat of Austerlitz, it was written, as always, very briefly and vaguely, that the Russians, after brilliant battles, had to retreat and carried out the retreat in perfect order. The old prince understood from this official news that ours were defeated. A week after the newspaper brought news of the Battle of Austerlitz, a letter arrived from Kutuzov, who informed the prince of the fate that befell his son.
“Your son, in my eyes,” wrote Kutuzov, with a banner in his hands, in front of the regiment, fell as a hero worthy of his father and his fatherland. To my general regret and that of the entire army, it is still unknown whether he is alive or not. I flatter myself and you with hope that your son is alive, for otherwise he would have been named among the officers found on the battlefield, about whom the list was given to me through the envoys.”
Having received this news late in the evening, when he was alone. in his office, the old prince, as usual, went for his morning walk the next day; but he was silent with the clerk, the gardener and the architect, and, although he looked angry, he did not say anything to anyone.
When, at ordinary times, Princess Marya came to him, he stood at the machine and sharpened, but, as usual, did not look back at her.
- A! Princess Marya! - he suddenly said unnaturally and threw the chisel. (The wheel was still spinning from its swing. Princess Marya remembered for a long time this fading creaking of the wheel, which for her merged with what followed.)
Princess Marya moved towards him, saw his face, and something suddenly sank within her. Her eyes stopped seeing clearly. She saw from her father’s face, not sad, not murdered, but angry and unnaturally working on himself, that a terrible misfortune hung over her and would crush her, the worst in her life, a misfortune she had not yet experienced, an irreparable, incomprehensible misfortune. , the death of someone you love.
- Mon pere! Andre? [Father! Andrei?] - Said the ungraceful, awkward princess with such an inexpressible charm of sadness and self-forgetfulness that the father could not stand her gaze and turned away, sobbing.
- Got the news. None among the prisoners, none among the killed. Kutuzov writes,” he shouted shrilly, as if wanting to drive the princess away with this cry, “he has been killed!”
The princess did not fall, she did not feel faint. She was already pale, but when she heard these words, her face changed, and something shone in her radiant, beautiful eyes. It was as if joy, the highest joy, independent of the sorrows and joys of this world, spread beyond the intense sadness that was in her. She forgot all her fear of her father, walked up to him, took his hand, pulled him towards her and hugged his dry, sinewy neck.
“Mon pere,” she said. “Don’t turn away from me, we’ll cry together.”
- Scoundrels, scoundrels! – the old man shouted, moving his face away from her. - Destroy the army, destroy the people! For what? Go, go, tell Lisa. “The princess sank helplessly into a chair next to her father and began to cry. She now saw her brother at that moment as he said goodbye to her and Lisa, with his gentle and at the same time arrogant look. She saw him at that moment, how he tenderly and mockingly put the icon on himself. “Did he believe? Did he repent of his unbelief? Is he there now? Is it there, in the abode of eternal peace and bliss?” she thought.
- Mon pere, [Father,] tell me how it was? – she asked through tears.
- Go, go, killed in a battle in which they ordered the best Russian people and Russian glory to be killed. Go, Princess Marya. Go and tell Lisa. I will come.
When Princess Marya returned from her father, the little princess was sitting at work, and with that special expression of an inner and happily calm look, characteristic only of pregnant women, she looked at Princess Marya. It was clear that her eyes did not see Princess Marya, but looked deep into herself - into something happy and mysterious happening within her.