Geography
Comprising the small river valleys of the Ardoti, Shatili, Arkhoti and
the Aragvi, the province borders with Chechnya and is included in the
present day Dusheti district, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, Georgia. The
province covers 405.3 square miles (1050 km²), with a winter population
of approximately 3,200 people. The largest villages are Barisakho and
Shatili.
Ethnography
The territory of Khevsureti, together with the neighboring area of
Pshavi was known to medieval writers under the joint designation Pkhovi.
Despite the sporadic invasions by the royal troops, medieval Georgia was
never able to establish a typical feudal system and the civil code of
the community remained based on the ancient traditions and values
incorporating chivalry, courtly love, the respect of individuality and
family and the devoution to the homeland. The region adopted
Christianity as an official religion several centuries after St. Nino
and historically, the highlander communities of Khevsureti and the
neighbouring areas enjoyed a degree of autonomy from the royal
authorities. They were free of typical feudal relations and submitted
directly to the monarch. They defended the borders and provided crack
troops for the royal guards.
There has long existed a hypothesis, coming from descriptions by Russian
serviceman and ethnographer Arnold Zisserman who spent 25 years
(1842-67) in the Caucasus, that these Georgian highlanders were
descendants of the last Crusaders because their folk culture – the
material, social, and religious practices – greatly resembled those of
the Crusaders. American traveler Richard Halliburton (1900-1939) saw
and recorded the customs of the Khevsur tribe in 1935.
Even into the twentieth century, the
Khevsur men, dressed in chain mail and armed with broadswords, wore
garments decorated with crosses. They had a strict system of physical
training in martial arts preserved as a warrior dance Khevsuruli, one of
the finest examples of the Georgian choreography. They worshiped flags
adorned with crosses and considered themselves permanent members of the
army of the sacred flags and guards of Georgian kings.
Their religion is a unique mixture of
Georgian Orthodox Christianity and pre-Christian cults. They worship
sacred places locally known as jvari ("cross’), khati ("icon") or
salotsavi ("sanctuary"). Aside from their religious character, these
were the sites where the locals discussed and decided common matters
such as raids against enemies, peace-making, appeals of various
characters, etc. Even in a Soviet period of harsh restrictions against
any religious activities, each year the Georgian highlanders, together
with the group of self-appointed priests organized and performed
peaceful crusade-pilgrimages. Some disobedience offered by the Khevsurs
to the Soviet ideology was a reason for obligatory migration to the
plain initiated by the government in the 1950s. As a result, many
high-mountainous villages were deserted. Economic hardship of the last
two decades also increased a tendency towards migration.
Traditions
As other mountainous areas of Georgia, Khevsureti is characterized by a
great diversity of traditions and customs. They speak a local dialect of
the Georgian language that resembles the literary Georgian of the Middle
Ages and retain many of their ancient traditions including element of
folk rituals. Law of blood revenge was still alive in the twentieth
century.
Musical traditions also resemble music
of the Middle Ages. Khevsureti is famous for its Medieval ballads and
folk music. Khevsureti Chokha is different from the classic Georgian,
because it has more cross decorations and more powerful color balance
and is generally short, shaped like a trapezoid.
The architcture of Khevsureti is mostly
characterized as fortress style and numbers of towers are located in the
mountains as a sign of constant watchfulness of their enemies. Khevsures
are known by their warfare with the peoples of the Northern Caucasus
including Chechens, Kists, and people of Dagestan. Due to the complexity
and the lack of industrialization of the Greater Caucasus, the Northern
caucasian tribes used to attack and rob mountain-dwelling Georgians.
Well-known Georgian poet Vazha Pshavela described the warfare of the
Khevsurs in his poems. One of his most famous poems is Aluda Ketelauri,
a young Khevsur, famous of his warrior skills and bravery. One day,
after the Khevsur village was invaded by the Kists (Chechens), Aluda
followed the invaders and killed both of the robbers. After killing the
Chechen called Mussah, Aluda starting crying for the warrior after
realizing the bravery of the Chechen and his dedication to his religion.
When Aluda returned back to Shatili, he told to the village how much he
admired the Chechen hero, but the community was shocked by his
admiration of the pagan and the village ended up condemning Aluda and
expelling him from the community.
The Encyclopedia Britannica reported in
1911 that many curious customs still prevailed among the Khevsurs, as
for instance the imprisonment of the woman during childbirth in a lonely
hut, round which the husband parades, firing off his musket at
intervals. After delivery, food was surreptitiously brought to the
mother, who was kept in her prison a month, after which the hut was
burnt. One of the more striking features of the traditional cultures of
Khevsureti was the premarital relationship known as sc’orproba (or
c'ac'loba as it is known in Pshavi). A young couple could lie together
during the night with a sword placed between them. Sexual intercourse
between the pair was strictly forbidden. Any man who breached this rule
was condemned to death. Dozens of fortifications, sanctuaries and churches are scattered across
the province. Chief of these are the Khakhmati fortress, Akhieli
fortress, Lebaiskari fortress, Mutso fortress, Shatili fortifications,
Gudani Cross, and the Anatori Cross. |