Chewsureti
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Chewsuretien or Chewsurien ( Georgian ხევსურეთი , xɛvsuːrɛtʰi = chewssuret (h) i ) is a historical-geographical region in the northeast of today's Georgia .
geography
Chewsureti lies in the extreme northeast of today's Georgian region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti on both sides of the main ridge of the Greater Caucasus and between parallel high mountain ranges. The southern part lies on the upper Chewsureti-Aragwi and its tributaries, which flows south into the Kura via Pschawi-Aragwi and Aragwi . The north of Chewsuretia lies on the upper Assa and the upper Argun , which later flow north through the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya into the Sunscha . The part south of the main Caucasus ridge is also referred to as "this side Chewsureti" (Georgian პირიქითა ხევსურეთი , Pirikita Chewsureti ), the northern part as "otherworldly Chewsureti" ( პირაქეთა ხევსურეთი , Piraketa Chewsureti ), each based on the situation from the perspective of the Georgian heartland. The Assa Valley is also called Archoti ( არხოტი ), corresponding to the Georgian alternative name of the upper part of the river as Archotiszqali.
The high mountain region borders on Ingushetia in the northwest and Chechnya in the north and northeast. On the other sides, Chewsureti borders other north-east Georgian mountain regions, in the east on Tushetia , in the south on Pschawi , in the south-west on Mtiuleti and in the west on Chewi . Chewsureti today represents the northern part of the Dusheti municipality , with the southern part in the Chewsureti-Aragwi valley forming the Chewsureti municipality ( ხევსურეთის თემი , Chewsuretis temi, 354 permanent residents 2014) with the main town Barissacho , the northern part in the Argun valley and its tributaries the community Shatili ( შატილის თემი , Shatilis temi, 48 inhabitants 2014), named after its capital Shatili . The Assa Valley (Archoti) no longer has permanent residents.
Chewsuretia can be reached via the national road Sch26 ( შ 26 ) leading through the valley of the Pschawi-Aragwi and the Chewsureti-Aragwi , which branches off from the S3 at Shinwali , corresponding to the historic Georgian military road. The section over the 2767 m high Datwisdschwari Pass (literally " Bear Cross Pass") in the northern part of Chewsuretia is not passable in winter.
population
The inhabitants of the sparsely populated Chewsureti, the Chewsurs , are a subgroup ( subethnia ) of the Georgians . They speak a dialect of the Georgian language and are Georgian Orthodox Christians. As in neighboring regions, there are some pre-Christian rituals, e.g. Partly in Christian form, like the annual festivals and sacrificial ceremonies at Chati .
Traditional clothing
Until the 20th century, a type of Georgian national clothing called Chocha , the Chewsurische Tschocha , Georgian "Talawari" was widespread in Chewsuretia . The talawari is shorter than the Kartli-Kachetian Tschocha and without buttons. It is often embroidered with traditional Georgian geometric ornaments, mostly with crosses. Besides these ornaments, women's talawari are adorned with artificial pearls. Some authors suggest that the Hittites , Chaldeans, and the inhabitants of Babylonia also used similar clothing.
In Chewsuretia, as in some other regions of the Caucasus , remained until the 19th and 20th. In the 19th century, the tradition has been preserved that some men armed and armed themselves with body armor made of chain mail , helmets and shields in the event of war . The chevsuretic armor and shields are characteristic. The shape of the Khevuri shield, already described in ancient Greek sources, remained almost unchanged. The small iron shield is round. The shields were often painted black to be invisible at night. Some authors associate the round shape of the shield with a sun cult of pre-Christian origin, which was still observed in the 19th century.
architecture
One type of Georgian dwelling house was common in Chevsureti. This Khevsuretic residential building is a complex of a protective structure, the so-called "Kaw-Ziche", which consists of the wall and the castle-like residential buildings themselves. These traditional houses are seldom preserved in Chewsureti today.
Traditional Georgian towers , which are common not only in Chevsureti, but also in Tusheti , were also used as a dwelling . Mainly these towers had a defensive function; the first floor (ground floor) was used as a stable ( Georgian გომური ). The top of the towers is often much narrower than the base. A good example of these Khevsuretic towers can still be seen today in Lebaiskari village .
Unique examples of Georgian architecture is the medieval castle town of Shatili , and also Muzo . The fortified village of Shatili, built on the rock, used to be a settlement and a castle at the same time. There are still four towers in Muzo today.
history
The name "Chewsureti" means "land of gorges" in Georgian and is associated with the mountainous geography of the region. The region was first named with this name in Georgian sources in the 15th century. In earlier Georgian sources, Chewsureti was referred to as Pchowi ( Georgian ფხოვი ) together with the neighboring Georgian region of Pschawi . Before the 15th century, Pshawi and Chewsureti were always a common historical region under the name Pchowi. Today both are referred to together as "Pschaw-Chewsuretien" ( Georgian ფშავ-ხევსურეთი ).
From the 13th century on, Chewsuretia was administered by the royal government of Georgia through the Eristawi feudal family of Aragwi , who had their seat in Ananuri outside of Chewsuretia. The Georgian title Eristawi is generally equated with the German title Herzog . Since the 16th century, the Eristawi of Aragwi came from the Sidamoni dynasty (alternative names also Sidamonishvili, Sidamonidse, Sidamon-Eristawi or Eristawi-Aragwi), previously from the Schaburidze dynasty. During the weakness of the royal power, the Eristawi dominated Chewsureti and tried in vain to become sole rulers in the region. Their function was limited (as with early medieval dukes) essentially to warfare, many internal matters were decided by the clan leaders and the Chewsuretian assemblies. As part of the Duchy of Aragwi, the region leads an autonomous, defensive life of its own. In the 15th century, the united Kingdom of Georgia was divided into several independent kingdoms; Since then, Chewsuretia has belonged to the Kingdom of Kakheti , the Duchy of Aragwi and its importance as a border region increased, especially during the Lekianoba period from the 16th to the beginning of the 19th century, a series of military attacks from Dagestan . Chewsuretic warriors fought successfully in the Battle of Aspindsa against the Ottomans (1770) and in the Battle of Krzanissi against Shah Aga Mohammed Khan of Persia (1795).
In 1801 the Russian Tsar Paul I made Georgia a Russian province. The Chewsurs and other Georgians also took part in the Mtiuleti and Kakheti uprisings against Russian imperial policies.
In the 19th century the population of Chevsuretia began to emigrate to the other regions of Georgia, this emigration was increased by individual resettlement actions to South Georgia in the 1930s and 1940s. One result of this resettlement is the poorly developed social and economic situation in the region. Since the 1980s the Soviet and then the Georgian government has been pursuing a policy of increasing the permanent population in the region.
literature
The literature of the Chewsuren is part of Georgian literature. You can read about the life of the Chewsuren in Micheil Dshawachishvili's novel "Just get off! Just get out! Or The white collar" from 1926. The author had previously visited and researched Chewsureti.
Individual evidence
- ↑ History of the Georgian Tschocha ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Talawari. Khevsureti.ge
- ↑ a b Ethnographic Museum in Chewsureti ( Memento from May 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Tamar Mamagulashvili, For the Preservation of Unique Architecture ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The architecture of the Georgian mountain
- ↑ Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, Volume 10., Tiflis, 1986, p. 692
- ↑ Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, Volume 7., Tiflis, 1984, p. 228
- ↑ S. Makalatia, Chewsuretien, Tbilisi, 1984 (Georgian)
- ↑ Published in German: Micheil Dshawachischwili: "Just get out! Just get out! Or The white collar" 2014 in the Caucasus-Caucasus Library No. 3, Shaker-Verlag Aachen, translation by Steffi Chotiwari-Jünger and Artschil Chotiwari / with an afterword. ISBN 978-3-8440-3135-5
