Tbilisi State University Institute of History and Ethnology
Senior Research Fellow of the Department of Georgian Medieval History and Source Studies
Source Studies
Doctor of History (PhD)
Tbilisi, Georgia
Abstract
Reflections of “Kashveti” and Its Festivals in the Central Caucasus Highland Region
Churches dedicated to Kashveti are scattered throughout most regions of Georgia (several years ago, I presented a paper on this topic). In the present study, attention is focused on the sanctuaries and toponymy identified in the central part of the Caucasus Mountains, which indicate the spread of the cult of “Kashveti” or its reflection in this region.
In Khevi (Stepantsminda Municipality), two toponyms have been identified: Kashetiai (a hayfield) near the village of Kanobi and Kashetai (a sacred forest) near the village of Khurti (Val. Itonishvili). At the same time, Kasheta represented a festival celebrated by local inhabitants in spring. The people of Khevi considered it a children’s festival (Begoidze).
The “Chronicle of the Eristavs” (“Dzegli Eristavta”) mentions:
"Saint George of Kashoeti desired to come and dwell in the house of Virshel, whose miracles were countless, like the stars of the sky and the sands of the sea."
The delighted Eristavi Virshel “decorated his cross and coffin and adorned them with silver and gold, and began the construction of a church in the name of the martyr, within the boundaries of Varnisi, in a place beautiful from every side.”
Today, a place with this name in the Ksani Gorge is not confirmed by other sources. However, there is a well-founded assumption that the abandoned village Kovsoti, located near the village of Midelaani in the Karchokhi Gorge, in the upper part of the Ksani Valley, may have been the residence of the Eristavi, as evidenced by the remains of medieval architectural monuments and a buried treasure discovered there. Most importantly, a Kashveti chapel from the same period still stands there (Vit. Kenkadze).
It is possible that this was the Kashoeti Church built by Virshel, and that the name “Kovsoti” was later derived from it. The cult of Saint George of Kashveti must have spread from the Ksani Valley to the Ossetians living beyond the Caucasus Range.
Above the highland village of Khidikusi in the Kurtati community is a sanctuary called Kasuta (Kasuti dzwar), whose festival is celebrated on the second Saturday after Easter. On this day, young married women are brought here, and prayers are offered for the birth of sons and the health of newborn children.
A sanctuary with the same name existed in the highland abandoned village of Jim (Alagir community), where the same ritual described above was performed (Tsagaeva). It has been suggested that the origin of the Ossetian sanctuary Kasuta may be connected with the Kashveti Church in Tbilisi (Abaev).
In the 19th century, among the Ossetians living on the southern slopes of the Caucasus, a festival called “Kashietba” was recorded (Perevaleko), which should represent a direct analogue of the Georgian festival Kashvetoba (Uarzhiati). The connection of Kasuta with Kashveti was also supported by the co-authors who studied the monuments of Khidikusi (Beletsky, Gaboeva).
Sanctuaries called Kasuta existed in the Truso Valley (Stepantsminda Municipality), in the highland villages of Zakagori (Ossetian: Chettoitykau) and Abano (Ossetian: Abana) (Tsagaeva). Although later these sanctuaries were referred to as places of worship of the Virgin Mary (Мады Майрам), it is noteworthy that at the end of November the festival of Jiorguba the feast of Saint George was celebrated there (Kunov, Kairov).
In Ingushetia, there are two villages named Kasheti in the Jairakh and Guloi valleys (Chakhkiev). Although, semantically, their names are usually associated with “graves” (Ing. “kash”), it is entirely possible that they also have a direct connection with “Kashveti” and may have been introduced into Ingushetia even under the influence of neighboring Ossetians (Beletsky, Gaboev).
Thus, the cult of Saint George of Kashveti was widely spread on both the southern and northern slopes of the Central Caucasus. This is indicated by the corresponding religious rituals as well.