In Latali, many households still maintain elements of traditional culture, including Svan music. The village of Lakhushdi in the village community of Latali, also known as „The Singing Village“, undoubtedly holds a prominent position in this respect. In Lakushdi, local families and music lovers worldwide come together to sing old, polyphonic songs and perform traditional round dances. But traditional songs are also practised outside Lakushdi, as shown by further examples of singers and instrumentalists we had the pleasure of getting to know as part of our project „The Latali Records“. Many of the people of Latali share the opinion that these examples of old Svanetian culture should be preserved. They hope that by opening them up to tourism, an „interested public“ can be made aware of their cultural value for future generations.
Svan songs all bear the musical mark of pre-Christian ritual—the Georgian ethnomusicologist Dmitri Araqishvili stated “All Svan songs together… constitute a single enormous solemn and dark hymn to the gods and nature.” Some hymns, like Lile or Lazghvash, still contain largely animist texts, although many Svans today interpret them through a Christian lens; others like Kviria or Jgragish feature similar musical material sung to clearly Christian texts, suggesting that they may be re-texted versions of very old songs. There are also a few locally-composed chants meant to be sung during the Orthodox liturgy or during paraliturgical celebrations connected to the Orthodox calendar but celebrated by lay ministers outside of a church. A few song texts are impossible to reconcile with a Christian worldview, such as “Dala Kojas Khelghvazhale,” which describes a pre-Christian nature goddess giving birth on a mountain. However, such examples are relatively few.
Matthew Knight (2019). Svanetian Chant: Introducion. MUSICultures. Vol. 46 No. 1 (2019) Folk Polyphony Goes Viral: Televised Singing Competitions and the Play of Authenticity in the Republic of Georgia
Jan Kvanchiani’s music: Jan is singing one of his own songs on the chuuniri (chianuri). The song is called: sarvasisakhvani. It’s to praise the god, wish for peace and forgiveness for the dead.
Goga is a singer and teacher in Mestia, who came back to Latali ten years ago. Goga is singing „lilee“, a svan song.
Geographien | doing geography 