მე19 საუკუნის საქართველოში შემორჩენილი წესჩვეულებებისა და ამ ეპოქის პოლიტიკური მოვლენების ანარეკლი ნიკოლოზ ბარათაშვილის ეპისტოლურ მემკვიდრეობაში

Abstract

Georgia is a country with great traditions. Throughout the historical life, the Georgian people have developed a peculiar style of life and relationship. The epistolary genre is very close to everyday life, so it naturally reflects the customs that are felt in people. Nikoloz Baratashvili’s letters give us very interesting information about the old Georgian traditional wedding, hospitality and rituals of consecration of holy places. On April 15 and May 10, 1844, Nicholas wrote to his uncle, Zakaria Orbeliani: “David Eristavi, the brotherinlaw, asked for a hawk in Samachanklo. Zakaria, you know, these people believe in you a lot. ”(Epistolary Heritage of Georgian Writers of XIXXX Centuries. Vol. I; 2011; 151). According to the old Georgian tradition, matchmaking was a kind of money and was not a small amount for the society of that time. It seems that this tradition is still remembered in 19th century Georgia, although it has a relatively symbolic character in the case of Kato and the bride’s uncle is only asked to choir. In the card sent after the wedding in August 1844, Nikoloz Baratashvili describes the news of Kato’s wedding in detail to Zakaria Orbeliani. Baratashvili admired the shooting of so many guns, the crowd of people and their shouts. Such largescale weddings were a natural event for Georgia at that time and emphasized the good material condition and hospitality of the family ‒ (XIXXX saukuneebis qartvel mweralta epistoluri memkvidreoba [Epistolary Heritage of Georgian Writers of XIXXX Centuries] Vol. I; 2011; 158]). At the time when Nikoloz Baratashvili had to work, Georgia was in a difficult political situation. The deportation of Georgian thinkers has ruined the intellectual life of Tbilisi. There was no real public life in Tbilisi during Baratashvili’s time. Such a “useless” life is described by the poet in his letters to Grigol Orbeliani dated May 28, 1841 and October 18, 1841: “If you want the story of the city, tell me the truth, there is a lot of gossip and plague”; “Tbilisi is still a city useless for the mind and heart”. Earlier, in a letter to Mikheil Tumanishvili on August 6, 1838, we read: “Do not be angry for the silence, and from the dust there is nothing in Tbilisi that is soulstirring.” (Epistolary Heritage of Georgian Writers of XIXXX Centuries. Vol. I; 2011; 159). In his letters, Baratashvili gives a very detailed overview of the internal political life of Tbilisi at that time. He mentions the Georgian heroes involved in the battles: Mose ArgutinskyDolgorukov, Officer Giorgi Saginashvili and emphasizes Grigol Orbeliani’s special diplomatic opportunity in suppressing the Guria uprising. While corresponding with his uncle, Baratashvili hopes for Pozin’s work in Georgia and is kind to this Russian official. Such was, in general, the sociocultural atmosphere of Baratashvili’s time and the obstacles to the activities of the advanced Georgian intelligentsia that followed the defeat of the 1832 conspiracy. It can be boldly said that Nikoloz Baratashvili’s personal cards are an important fact of the political and public life of Georgia in the first quarter of the 19th century, an important document of the epoch.