Eteriani
Encyclopedia
Eteriani is a Georgian
folk epic romance which has come down to us in the form of about 70 pieces of oral prose and poetry, probably dating from the 10th or 11th century. Variants also exist in the sister language
s: Mingrelian, Laz
, and Svan
.
Eteriani is a love story of a Cinderella
-like peasant girl Eteri and Prince Abesalom who decides to marry her against the will of his father, a king. Abesalom’s courtier Murman also fells in a passionate love with Eteri and sells his soul to the devil to make the marriage impossible. Through sorcery, he makes Eteri ill and persuades the prince into surrendering the girl to him as Murman possesses the only remedy for her illness. Abesalom does not survive the breakup and dies, prompting Eteri to commit suicide. The two are buried together, but Murman buries himself alive among them. Even after death, he becomes an obstacle for a reunion of the lovers: a hedge grows on his tomb, interfering between a rose and a violet which grow on the tombs of Abesalom and Eteri and lean to each other into an embrace.
A purely folklore version of the epos, a tale, was first published in the Georgian press in 1858. A more complete publication by the Georgian folklorist Petre Umikashvili followed in 1875. The romance inspired the Georgian writer Vazha-Pshavela
(1861–1915) to write his poem Eteri, and composer Zakaria Paliashvili
(1871–1933) to create his classical opera Abesalom and Eteri.
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...
folk epic romance which has come down to us in the form of about 70 pieces of oral prose and poetry, probably dating from the 10th or 11th century. Variants also exist in the sister language
Sister language
A sister language is a cognate language, that is, coming from the same once-existing language or hypothetical root language. The latter language is the so-called proto-language. There are many examples of sister languages...
s: Mingrelian, Laz
Laz language
The Laz language is a South Caucasian language spoken by the Laz people on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea...
, and Svan
Svan language
The Svan language is a Kartvelian language spoken in the Western Georgian region of Svaneti primarily by the Georgians of Svan origin...
.
Eteriani is a love story of a Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
-like peasant girl Eteri and Prince Abesalom who decides to marry her against the will of his father, a king. Abesalom’s courtier Murman also fells in a passionate love with Eteri and sells his soul to the devil to make the marriage impossible. Through sorcery, he makes Eteri ill and persuades the prince into surrendering the girl to him as Murman possesses the only remedy for her illness. Abesalom does not survive the breakup and dies, prompting Eteri to commit suicide. The two are buried together, but Murman buries himself alive among them. Even after death, he becomes an obstacle for a reunion of the lovers: a hedge grows on his tomb, interfering between a rose and a violet which grow on the tombs of Abesalom and Eteri and lean to each other into an embrace.
A purely folklore version of the epos, a tale, was first published in the Georgian press in 1858. A more complete publication by the Georgian folklorist Petre Umikashvili followed in 1875. The romance inspired the Georgian writer Vazha-Pshavela
Vazha-Pshavela
Vazha-Pshavela is the pen-name of the Georgian poet and writer Luka P. Razikashvili , a classic of the new Georgian literature.- The biography :...
(1861–1915) to write his poem Eteri, and composer Zakaria Paliashvili
Zakaria Paliashvili
thumb|250px|Zakaria Paliashvili portrait by [[Ucha Japaridze]]Zakaria Paliashvili was a composer from the nation of Georgia. He is regarded as a founder of Georgian classical music....
(1871–1933) to create his classical opera Abesalom and Eteri.