VERSANT

A ritualized toast-competition, called alaverdi, is often established
between the men at the table. The tamada talks about a specific topic,
and the other men must modify this topic in the subsequent toasts.
When one alaverdi round is completed the tamada must decide who
will open the next round. His decision should be based on the criteria
of the toast’s originality, its formulation, and the approval it received
from the table. Table rhetoric is an important sign of Georgian masculinity.
Men who cannot take part are considered insufficient, weak,
or unmanly.
In the special form of alaverdi toasting competition, the tamada
symbolically grants other men his power of speech. Whomever he
hands the drink-horn or the glass to becomes temporarily the tamada,
and as such, the center of attraction of the dinner-party. He is then
expected to vary and elaborate on the topic already determined by
the head-tamada.
In formal contexts, the competition is about ‘who is the best.’ The
head-tamada, taking into consideration the approval of the people
present, judges who was best. In the next round, the winner is given
the right to speak as the second tamada. It is frequently very obvious
that the head-tamada himself was the best, and he laboriously tries to
remain in that position.
The audience at the table can express their appreciation of specific
toasts by paying compliments, clapping, or making non-verbal gestures
(however, this does not occur in the following example). In alaverdidrinking,
it becomes especially apparent that the power of words is a
sign of masculinity in Georgian culture.
Two women ‘vakhtanguri’ at a wedding, symbolically
drinking wine from a pair of high heels.
versant.com • 21