leqsebi

ia mtazeda
with a bullet). The code of blood-price and vendetta was very much alive in Svaneti until recent
times, and the dying Mirangula’s principal fear is that his death will be unavenged. He prays to God
for one last shot, his wish is granted, and he kills Vezden. In his final speech Mirangula totals up the
score, and — satisfied that he came out ahead — breathes his last. The episode ends with a macabre
description of the uses to which his corpse will be put by various animals. At this point the scene
returns to Balkaria, where some Ushgulian “priests” (bap’ær) have been taken captive. The SbMat
variant states that the Savs shaved the priests’ beards off and forced them to eat k’erjin, Balkarian
sourdough bread. This is regarded as a serious outrage: the wearing of a beard is a sign of the
priesthood, and k’erjin is seen as an infidel substitute for sepsk’wer, the “communion bread”
consumed in Svan rituals. The SvP (but not SbMat) text further mentions the humiliation of
Ushgulian wives by having their underwear stripped off. The priests escape their captors and head
back to Georgia. At the pass they find Mirangula’s body, and also the nine oxen he stole. They lead
the animals to Ushgul to be offered at a lukhor. This word literally means “gathering,” that is, a
meeting of the clan elders. The SbMat text specifies that a funeral feast (lagwæn) is held. The older
version further states that invitations are sent “as far as Chubeqhev,” that is, representatives from all
of Upper Svaneti attend the feast. To further mark the occasion, “wheat from Jerusalem” is used to
make the sepsk’wer, and wine is brought from the Black Sea coast. (Because of the high altitude,
grapes do not grow in most of Upper Svaneti). The wheat is processed at three sites in the vicinity of
Ushgul, mentioned in both versions of the poem. Twetnuld is a 5000-meter peak near the border
with Balkaria; At’k’wer is an alpine pasture, and the mountain named Mushur is part of the ridge
separating Upper and Lower Svaneti (information from Ambak’o Ch’k’adua, Svanur t’op’onimta
saleksik’ono masala [ms.]). In addition, God (in the SbMat variant, St. George of Ilor) sends an ox
adorned with candles and incense as an offering. The image of an ox sent by a divinity for sacrifice
recalls an incident which is reported to have occurred annually on the feastday of of St. George at
the celebrated shrine in his name at Ilor (near the Black Sea coastal town of Ochamchira). The saint
was believed to lead an ox to the church at night, and miraculously leave it inside the locked church.
The next day, the priests opened the church doors and discovered the animal. It was then slaughtered
and pieces of its meat, believed to have curative powers, were distributed to the faithful (Sergi
Mak’alatia, Samegrelos ist’oria da etnograpia. Tbilisi: Sakartvelos mxaretmcodneobis sazogadoeba,
1941, pp. 354-358.) Both versions have the same rather odd conclusion: The priests are gathered in
the darbæz, the upper floor of a Svanetian house, and the floor collapses under them. According to
the SbMat text, “many men were injured.” The lukhor breaks up, and thus it ends. It is not known
whether this account is based on an actual incident, or serves as a hyperbolic means of indicating the
large number of people who attended the funeral. The deity periodically invoked in the poem is
Lamrya Ushgwlæsh “(St.) Lamaria of Ushgul.” The name is ultimately derived from Mary, the
mother of Jesus. The shrine dedicated in her name — an ancient stone church encircled by a wall —
is located outside of Zhibiani, one of the four hamlets within the Ushgul community.
38. Dideb, dideb tarigdzelas (“Glory to the Archangel”). Source: SvP 316-317; variant in SbMat
XXXI:4, pp 4-7. Recorded by Arsen Oniani in 1917 in the Lower Svan province of Lashkheti.
Tarigdzela (variants include Tærglezer, Taaringzel) is the Svanified rendering of medieval Georgian
Mtavarangelozi, “Archangel.” In the religious system of 19th-century Svaneti, the Archangel was
one of the four chief deities, along with Khosha Gherbet, “Supreme God”; Jgëræg, “St. George”;
and Lamaria. According to Charachidzé, he “functions as ‘grand vizier’ to the supreme god,
exercising authority in his name, representing the power of the ‘celestial sovereign’ in the terrestial
realm” [SR 286]. As is characteristic of pre-Christian Georgian hymns, praise is addressed to both
the deity and the shrine dedicated to him. It is not clear which shrine inspired this poem, since there
are so many (two dozen in Upper Svaneti alone) that bear the Archangel’s name. In any event, the
description is probably not greatly exaggerated. First, quite a few Svanetian churches, like the one in
the poem, are adjoined to a defense tower and surrounded by a stone wall. Second, no visitor to
Svaneti can help being awestruck by the stunning collection of gold and silver artifacts, crosses,
illuminated manuscripts, and icons that some churches have accumulated over the centuries. For the
most part, these items were presented to the shrine, and hence the deity, by individuals who sought
or had received some favor, or to appease the deity if — in the opinion of a seer — some disaster
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