3/2/2023 Entry Five The theme of Day 41 Nail factories all over Ukraine To whom to sell -to Georgia in exchange for tangerines

Caucasus, Oath and Code of Man

The history of Georgia is not so rich with revolts and revolutions. If we look at the history of Georgia, we will see that there has never been a civil uprising in Georgia, which is very strange, because there are episodes in almost all countries of the world when the disaffected population unites against the king and declares disobedience. Not a single legitimate king of Georgia was executed or simply removed from the royal throne, and in Europe, at this time there is a completely different picture, the history of medieval Europe is full of dramatic events and rebellions against the government, often even the Middle East did not trust the kings, there were frequent conspiracies against the kings or in public Even the execution.
Why Georgia was an exception?
There is no exact answer to this question, although there are several opinions in this regard, Georgians have always been distinguished by their special religiosity, to this day Georgia is a country where 90% of the population are devout Christians. According to old legends, Georgian kings (Bagrations) were originally from Israel, it was believed that they were descendants of King Solomon, it turns out that kings were a direct connection to God for Georgians, that’s why Georgians never rebelled against kings. We should add the code of not breaking the oath.
The cult of oath exists in the Caucasian culture since ancient times, it stems from idolatry, the Caucasian people thought that there is no great shame in breaking an oath, in Georgian history there were cases when a prisoner with a death sentence was released to say goodbye to his family based on an oath, the strong tradition of the oath and the manly code did not give Georgians the right to betray for the king.
Despite all this, some nobles were jealous of the Georgian royal family and they went to all lengths to seize total power, there were cases when they even cooperated with foreign conquerors, but they never managed to realize their goal and were either punished by death or spent their whole lives in exile. Despite the loyalty of the Georgians, there were often wars between the nobles in Georgia, which brought destabilization to the country, the nobles killed their brothers because of their ambitions, and this weakened the idea of ​​the unity of the country, that is why the kings of united Georgia always tried to strengthen the influence of the central government in the regions, which caused even more irritation of the nobles and the confrontation more And it was getting stronger.
The existence of the manly code in ancient Georgia is well reflected in Georgian poetry, the Georgian poet Vazha Pshavela was born in Mtuli, he was born on May 15, 1861, the poet and prose writer was originally from the mountainous region, it was in the high mountainous regions of Georgia that the traditions and habits of the manly code were best preserved, fortunately, Vazha Pshavela often reminded the reader about these traditions in his works, he wrote the epic poem “Guest-Host”
The poem was first published in 1893 in Tbilisi and it is considered to be the masterpiece of Georgian literature It is compulsory reading in Georgian schools.
Though the host, Joqola, is Muslim, and his guest, Zviadauri, is Christian, the poem refers only very vaguely to their differing religious and cultural traditions. It is more about the intertwining of their fates – and the great dignity with which they face their inevitable ends – once they’ve tripped the wire of their communities’ savage, mutual loathing.
Joqola and Zviadauri meet by accident in a damp forest – the ensemble, holding treelike poles and swaying in shadow to a sad mountain melody, remains one of Syndetic’s most mystical images – where both are hunting for deer. These are men who value action over words, so the clipped exchanges Reed writes for them convey an earthy stoicism. After Joqola invites his new companion to his home, to gut and celebrate their kill, their joy is evoked in a virile, ritualized dance.
In the manner of all kinds of knee-jerk vengefulness, things quickly fall apart for them and Joqola’s wife, Aghaza. The village, outraged at Joqola’s flouting of the taboo against giving comfort to the enemy, rallies around the rabble-rousing elder Musa, who demands that Joqola turn over his guest to them. The dissident Joqola, however, citing the revered local mandate for civility and hospitality – “The guest”, he recites, “will be the last to die” – refuses. So the fuse is lighted.
The descent into calamity is orchestrated with a paradoxical beauty. From a sacrifice conducted in the village cemetery to the outfitting of combatants in the rival village, each stylized sequence builds hypnotically on the one before. Drumbeats and ethereal recorded voices further cement the tension.