Abstract:
Dealing with the outside world, the Supreme Being had a special place for a man. Relationship between God and Man was made by the way of rituals. It seems obviously in folk holidays and sacrifices of God, where the main place has contributed Sacramental Wine (Zedashe) and earthenware vessels (Sacremental Qvevri), where Sacramental Wine is infused. A wide range of symbols, along with various items, include sacramental wine and food. They are called “Satsirveli”. In Georgia, every historical-ethnografical region sacremental wine and food are known with different names, as “Salocveli” in Racha, “Okhvameri” in Samegrelo, “Zedashe” in Kakheti, Kartli and Svaneti. Apart from wine, under the term “Zedashe” (Sacramental Wine) people betoken about honey, boiled butter, vodka, beer, cotton yarn. Topic of the present paper deal with donations of God (Zedashe and Sacramental Qvevri for praier) which are used for folk holidays, their roles in historical and modern life. The scales of ancestral and family prayers in Samegrelo (Tsalenjikha and Martvili region), which are called “Khvama”as well. There are two major types of “khvama” (practices connected with faith and belief) in Samegrelo. Megrelians had “Okhvameri” (annually celebrated ritual) and “Dunafiri” (ritual conducted just once). “Zedashe” was used for these practice and people had some Sacramental Qvevri for Sacramental wine. Every family had Sacramental Qvevri which had their specific names. The topic is urgent because traditional holidays are verge on disappearing as Sacramental Qvevri, accordingly Sacramental Wine. The materials collected in an ethnographic field show state of affairs. The study curried out in two regions (Tsalenjikha and Martvili) in mountainous Samegrelo. It is used both empiric and theoretic and also interdisciplinary and specific field methods. Main result of our research is ethnologic study of the issue and, respectively, the result and conclusions are novelty for the field.
