ETHNOGRAPHIC MATERIALS OF THE VILLAGES OF THE PHRONE GORGE ACCORDING TO EXPEDITION RECORDS

Abstract

The gorge of one river or another generally represented a place around which settlements (villages) had been compactly formed since ancient times. For this reason, Professor Sergi Makalatia titled his main publications, describing the history and ethnography of villages located near gorges, as: "The Ateni Gorge," "The Liakhvi Gorge," "The Lekhuri Gorge," and others. One of these is his essay "The Phrone Gorge," which was published in 1963. This work included a historical-geographical overview of the Phrone Gorge, as well as descriptions of material cultural monuments and labor activities. Unlike his previous publications, this work places emphasis neither in the subtitle nor in the presentation of ethnographic material on the rich ethnographic data preserved through the expedition records conducted in 1944 under S. Makalatia's project at the Gori State Historical-Ethnographic Museum. Unfortunately, the work has been preserved only in manuscript form. The expedition was carried out from July 20 to August 20, 1944, in the villages of Eastern Phrone, that is, along the Dvani River: Sagholasheni, Aradeti, Tsveri, Breti, Dirbi, Takhtidziri, Dvani, Avnevi, Nuli, and Arkneti. The list of these villages is based on a list compiled by Vakhushti Batonishvili (as these villages belonged to different municipalities at different times). As we learn from the expedition records held in the funds of the Gori Museum, the participants of the expedition included the museum's scientific researcher, Ms. Marekh Khutsiashvili, and a teacher, Ms. Nino Kipshidze.

The expedition materials are written on rather low-quality paper, in the handwriting of Ms. Marekhi herself, and constitute a rough draft, as evidenced by crossed-out passages and corrections.

1. Makalatia chose not to append these expedition records to the final section of "The Phrone Gorge," in line with the demands of the Soviet era, although legends and oral traditions do accompany the descriptions of historical monuments.

The expedition materials essentially present a travel diary by M. Khutsiashvili and N. Kipshidze, which incorporates both ethnographic and folkloric material, and constitutes remarkable texts for ethnographers and historians alike.

Key words: Fieldwork, everyday customs and traditions, birth, funeral rites.