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History
It is hard to trace the origins of the Georgian race, as there
are no migratory legends to recount. Moreover, archaeological evidence from the
eastern side of Black Sea demonstrate signs
of human settlement since Palaeolithic times. Throughout the centuries, the
land’s rich resources have attracted many invaders. Hittites, Assyrians,
Scythians, Cimmerians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Arabs, Seljuk Turks,
Mongols, Safavid Persians, Ottoman Turks, and Russians all have left their
mark on Georgian civilization. The Georgians and their unique culture,
however, have survived to the present day, long after many of their
adversaries have disappeared.
Georgia’s geopolitical positioning – surrounded by much larger and
more powerful nations and strategically located between the Black and Caspian Seas – resulted in a turbulent
history. The lesser Caucasus mountain range
– also known as the Likhi range, which separates Kartli and Meskhet-Javakheti
from Imereti, Guria and Samegrelo – played a part in a historical east-west
divide that fragmented the nation. Christianity was officially declared in
337 C.E. and proved to be a uniting factor for the country, since the
Georgian Orthodox version of Christianity replaced the old pagan beliefs,
which were based largely on the pantheon of Greek gods in the west (then
known as the Kingdom of Colchis), and Iranian Zoroastrian beliefs in the east
(then known as the Kingdom of Iberia). Nonetheless, the country continued to
struggle amongst invasions and occupations, with the west primarily occupied
by the Romans and the Turks and the East by the Arabs and the Persians.
Beginning with the expulsion of the Seljuk Turks at the beginning of the 11th
century and ending about 130 years later with the invasion of the Mongols,
however, Georgia
enjoyed a significant yet brief unification. This was known as Georgia’s
Golden Age during which Georgian arts and language flourished. Unfortunately,
it would be hundreds of years before the country would again be united, and
this time it came at the price of independence.
At
the beginning of the 19th century, the Russians annexed Georgia.
While stability under the Russian Empire led to the a renewed prosperity, it
also had devastating results for the Georgian Orthodox church and its sacred
musical tradition. The Georgian church, whose antiquated history is often
overlooked by scholars and theologians (Georgians had monasteries in Israel, Greece and the Balkans) lost its
independence and was absorbed by the Russian Orthodox church in 1811.
Unfortunately, a short national revival movement, which preceded the
Bolshevik revolution, did not prove strong enough to enable the survival of
the sacred singing tradition through the religious intolerance of the Soviet
regime. Today, however, Georgian Orthodox Christians, as well as the minority
Muslim and Jewish communities, enjoy religious freedom and independence. This
has led to a renaissance of sacred and secular musical practices among the
Georgian Christian population.
Georgia has a population of about 4.5 million with a negative
population growth. Georgians represent approximately 70% of the population.
More than 80 other nationalities make up the balance, including Armenians
(8.1%), Russians (6.3%), Azeris (5.7%), Ossetes (3%), Greeks (1.9%), and
Abkhazians (1.8%).
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Geography
Despite Georgia's
small size, it possesses a variety of geographical and climate zones, a topography
of marked contrasts, and a territory which is at the junction of a number of
landscapes of differing origins. The Caucasus mountain range runs across the northern provinces,
with the hills and plains running across the central area, and the Lesser
Caucasus in the south. In one day of travel, it is possible to see swampy
lowlands, palm groves, arid semi desert, pine forests, and alpine areas above
the tree line.
The People
Georgians are among the most hospitable and generous people in
the world, with strong traditions of chivalry and codes of personal honour.
They are proud, passionate and individualistic, yet deeply connected to each
other through a feeling of being part of the greater Georgian family.
Friendship is extremely important and is held in high reverence.
The Culture
Arts, crafts, architecture, and music have all had an
important role in the Georgian culture.
Literature
developed from a rich oral tradition in Antiquity and had its classical
period in the 12th century during the time of Shota Rustaveli, the most
celebrated writer in Georgian history.
Painting,
since the 11th century, has had a productive history. The most revered
Georgian painter was Niko Pirosmanashvili (1862-1918), known as Pirosmani. This
self-taught, "naive" painter best expressed the national psyche
with his paintings of the celebration of everyday Georgian life. Giorgi
Shengelaya's film "Pirosmani", which can still be seen in art
cinemas in North America and Europe, is a
portrayal of this great painter's life.
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Georgia has a unique tradition of polyphonic choral singing. Georgian
traditional polyphony
(music consisting of two or more related melodic lines) is not the result of any
effort to create arrangements for the concert stage. On the contrary, it is
the result of a creative process believed to have sprouted naturally and
autonomously from the Georgian people before the Middle Ages, well before
polyphony was used anywhere else in Europe.
It has continued to develop orally from generation to generation and
represents something very different from the traditional music of its
neighbours, which has remained primarily monophonic (music in which melodic
interest is confined to one line). Traces of archaism, which defy the
conventions of harmony, counterpoint, and voice leading, are still present in
Georgian folk music, and at times make the music seem very modern. Songs are
predominantly sung in three-part harmony, in which all parts are of equal
importance. The sonic result thus places more importance on the harmony than
the melodic line. The folk music of Georgia is as widely varied as
the geographical areas from which it sprang, and ranges from the intricate
melismatic singing style of the east to the fierce, dissonant, and complex
counterpoint of the west. Due to urbanization and displaced populations,
however, Georgia's
traditional music in the rural regions is being threatened. With the help of
NGOs, UNESCO, and a vibrant traditional musical scene in the capital city of Tbilisi, efforts are
being made to reinvigorate the rural musical practices.
The
traditional songs of Georgia are
rooted in a bygone lifestyle of the country’s rural people. Work songs,
healing songs, dance songs, lullabies, travelling songs, wedding songs,
Christmas and Easter songs, historical songs, etc. were all an intrinsic part
of everyday living. Now, however, because of great technological and
political/administrative changes that have occurred in Georgia and
throughout the world, many of these songs have lost their original meaning.
For instance, work songs, whose rhythmic qualities improved productivity,
have fallen into disuse today. But the songs have not entirely disappeared.
Liturgical songs are once again sung freely in churches, and a vast range of
Georgian traditional music can be heard on the concert stage, and also at the
lavish Georgian banquets called supra.
If
one is describing Georgian culture, attention must surely be given to the
traditional Georgian supra.
At first glance it would be described as a banquet at which there is much
food, wine, toasting, and singing. However, this does not describe the
spiritual side of a supra.
Whenever
space allows, the supra is always held at one long table, or a makeshift
table of many joined together end to end, running from one room to another,
if need be. The table is laden with wine jugs which are always kept full of
excellent Georgian wine, and copious amounts of food of all kinds, so much so
that the table surface almost disappears.
Each
supra has a tamada (the closest English translation is
"toastmaster") and is chosen by the host of the supra before the
supra begins. Fulfilling one's role as a tamada is an art form in itself. A
good tamada is a poet/wit/philosopher/social commentator/orator/singer who
creatively improvises a beautiful atmosphere of community, camaraderie and
love through his toasts which introduce periods of tranquility and reflection
amidst the extroverted energy of table conversation. Through an adroit choice
of songs which are sung after every toast, the message of each toast is given
more resonance.
The
order in which the toasts are given is important. Throughout most of Georgia,
the first toast is always to peace, followed by a toast to parents, to
brothers and sisters, to those who have passed away (especially to any friend
or relative of any person present at the table), to life (especially to the
lives of the children of those who have recently passed away), and then to love
and friendship.
After
all these toasts have been made in this order, the tamada is free to choose
his own additional topics, maintaining the established creative flow, usually
relating these toasts to the people present or to the occasion which prompted
the supra. The topics, to name a few, might be to ancestors, to mothers, to
beauty, to creativity, to absent friends who are far away, etc. After any of
the evening's toasts, a guest, with the permission of the tamada, can add
some thoughts of his or her own with another toast on the same topic.
Starting a new topic without the tamada's permission would be a social
blunder. One important rule of the supra is that there should be no negative
remarks or toasts, and it is the responsibility of the tamada to ensure that
this rule is observed. Another rule of the supra is that one must not be
drinking one's wine unless a toast has just been made, and so it is the
tamada's responsibility to space out the toasts accordingly, so that everyone
has a chance to imbibe, but not so often that people might become too
intoxicated. In the hands of a good tamada, a supra is a beautiful, moving
experience.
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