Alaverdoba
Encyclopedia
Alaverdoba is a religious and folk celebration in the eastern Georgian
province of Kakheti
, with its roots in a harvest festival
. It focuses on Alaverdi Cathedral from which it derives its name, with the suffix –oba designating attribution. The festival lasts for several days, climaxing on 28 September, the feast day of St. Joseph of Alaverdi of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers
, the 6th-century founder of the cathedral.
Historically Alaverdoba lasted for three weeks in a three-step cycle, reflecting pre-Christian
cults related to the Moon
. In the 19th century, a tradition of agricultural fair was added to the festival. It has been a subject of several contemporary ethnological accounts and travelogues as well as the focus of Giorgi Shengelaya’s 1962 semi-documentary Alaverdoba.
Alaverdoba survived the Soviet
era and is still widely celebrated in Kakheti, attended by locals as well as visitors from the neighboring communities such as the Kists
from the Pankisi Gorge
.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
province of Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
, with its roots in a harvest festival
Harvest festival
A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...
. It focuses on Alaverdi Cathedral from which it derives its name, with the suffix –oba designating attribution. The festival lasts for several days, climaxing on 28 September, the feast day of St. Joseph of Alaverdi of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers
Thirteen Assyrian Fathers
The Thirteen Assyrian Fathers were, according to Georgian church tradition, a group of monastic missionaries who arrived from Mesopotamia to Georgia to strengthen Christianity in the country in the 6th century...
, the 6th-century founder of the cathedral.
Historically Alaverdoba lasted for three weeks in a three-step cycle, reflecting pre-Christian
Pre-Christian
Pre-Christian may mean:*before Christianization**historical polytheism *BC**Classical Antiquity**Iron Age...
cults related to the Moon
Lunar deity
In mythology, a lunar deity is a god or goddess associated with or symbolizing the moon. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related to or an enemy of the solar deity. Even though they may be related, they are distinct from the...
. In the 19th century, a tradition of agricultural fair was added to the festival. It has been a subject of several contemporary ethnological accounts and travelogues as well as the focus of Giorgi Shengelaya’s 1962 semi-documentary Alaverdoba.
Alaverdoba survived the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
era and is still widely celebrated in Kakheti, attended by locals as well as visitors from the neighboring communities such as the Kists
Kist people
The Kists are a Nakh-speaking ethnic group in Georgia related to the Chechen and Ingush peoples. They primarily live in the Pankisi Gorge, in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti, where their total number is approximate to 5,000 people.-Origins:...
from the Pankisi Gorge
Pankisi Gorge
The Pankisi Gorge or Pankisi is a valley region in Georgia, in the northeastern corner of the country, bordering the Chechnyan republic of the Russian Federation. Administratively, it is included in the Akhmeta district of the Kakheti region...
.