GEORGIAN LANGUAGE & CULTURE

Translated Folk Tales
(List of the Titles)

1.The Earth Demands Its Own
2.The Tale of John Dawn
3.The Hunter
4.Black Teimuraz, Moon
Teimuraz and Sun Teimuraz
5.Amiran
6.Clumsy
7.The Old Woman's Son
8.The Gazelle Lady
9.Abesalom and Ether
10.Blue Fish
11.Nine Brothers
12.The Tale of a Master
and an Apprentice
13.Sun's Daughter
14.The Tale of the
Valley Flower
15.Apple Man
16.Three Sisters
17.The Cane Lady
18.The Shepherd Blind Dev
and the Weaver's Apprentice
19.The Tale of the Naked Wolf
20.The Tale of the King
21.The son of the Hunter
22.The Golden Man
23.The Tale of Helen
the Beautiful
24.Uzundara Tale
25.Magic Cap
26.Sheep's Son
27.Tush Man's Son
and the King's son
28.Golden Haired Lad
29.The Tale of the King
and His Nine Sons
30.The Adventures of
Mamatsashvili George
31.The Tale of the Poor Man
who Knew the Language
of Birds
32.The Son of the King
33.The Tale of the Brother
and Sister
34.The Tale of Devtagan
and His Brother
35.The Hat Full of Devs
36.King Muzarbi
37.The Serpent-Lad
38.The Tale of John-Wrestler
39.The Wolf-Man
40.Hundred-Leaves

Images on top: 1. Medieval painting on the outer wall of the Church in Svaneti, Georgia; Epic Hero Amiran and his brothers fight with Devs. 2 and 3: Sacred shrines and shrine treasury in the highlands. Medieval frescos from the Svetitskhoveli cathedral. Photos by V.Chikovani.

Other images: Scenes from Shota Rustaveli's "Vepkhistkaosani" by the 17th C. Caligrapher Mamuka Tavakarashvili.

Georgian Folklore

Illustration from Shota Rustaveli's 'Vepkhistqaosani' by the 17th century caligrapher Mamuka Tavakarashvili The Georgian Folklore course views the traditional oral (myths, legends, tales, poetry, songs), customary (folk religion, festivals, dances, "law of love"), and material (architecture, food, costume) culture of different and mostly less known socio-cultural groups and border regions of Georgia. Special emphasis is given to the traditional regional folklore as a peasant culture of the peripheries. The course also presents a history of folklore and ethnographic studies in Georgia. Among different topics, the course discusses how the broadening of anthropological knowledge created a basis for the development of a widespread criticism towards different elements of the traditional life-style, and how this criticism aided a process of innovation of some of the old traditions.

The Georgian Folklore Course was offered in 2005 at the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.

The extensive collecting, publishing, and translation of Georgian folklore texts started in the second half of the 19th century. Translators of the Georgian folklore were mostly European linguists and writers interested in Georgian Language and Culture. Among these scholars are Marjory Wardrop, Robert Stevenson, David Lang (Great Britain), Adolf Dirr, Robert Bleichsteiner, Hans Faehnrich, (Germany), Hans Vogt (Sweden), Georges Dumezile, Rene Lafon (France), Jaromir Jedlichka (Czech), Marton Istvanovits (Hungary), George and Helen Papashvili (USA), Kevin Tuite (Canada), and others.

There are many interesting anthologies of Georgian folk tales published in Russian; among them, the most popular ones are: "Georgian Folk Tales, Hundred Tales," 1954-74, "Georgian Folk Tales, Myths and Legends," 1984-87, "Georgian Fairy Tales," 1985. These translations and their revised editions count more than 6 million copies. Selected Georgian folk tales, most of which have never before been translated into English, are valuable reading texts for students of Georgian language and folklore and have been included in the comprehensive program of Georgian language and Culture.
Illustration from Shota Rustaveli's Poem 'Vepkhistkaosani' by 17th c. caligrapher Mamuka Tavakarashvili
The folk tales are available through the following publication:
Shorena Kurtsikidze & Vakhtang Chikovani, Ethnography and Folklore of the Georgia-Chechnya Border: Images, Customs, Myths & Folk Tales of the Peripheries, Munich: Lincom Europa, 2008. All folk tales have been translated from the anthology "Georgian Fairy Tales," Selected and edited by M.I. Chikovani and V.M. Chikovani. Vol.1-2, Tbilisi, 1994 (in Georgian).

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