Folklore

Abstract

A Vision in Saint George’s Sanctuary of Zodekhi
The story relates about Saint George of Zodekhi’s miraculous healing of
an ailing child. The saint is described to appear in the shape of a serpant above
an oak tree standing by a sanctuary in the village of Zodekhi, the Tskhradzma
(Nine Brothers) gorge, Akhalgori municipality.
Recorded by Zurab Kiknadze and Khvtiso Mamisimedishvili

A story narrated by a khutsesi (priest) from Khitale
A Khevsurian priest (a sanctuary official), Giorgi Arabuli, relates about
his village Khitale and its shrines, of which only ruins survive. The priest is
visited by evil giants (the devis) in his dream. The giants force him to leave the
village. Others follow him and the village becomes desolate.
Recorded by Zurab Kiknadze

The Genius Loci of Makarta and the White Deer
A tradition surviving in the Gudamakari community relates about a white
deer who used to come to the celebration of the genius loci of Makarta every
year. The deer would drink some water, have a rest and offer itself as a sacrifice
to the genius loci. A myth about a deer (or an ox) sent by Saint George as a
voluntary offering is attested in many regions of Georgia.
Recorded by Zurab Kiknadze

Seven Hurrian Parables
The paper is the translation of seven Hurrian parables from the original
texts tentatively dated to a period no later than the 17th century BC. The
Hurrian parables are among the first surviving evidence of the genre, after
the Sumerian-Babylonian parables. Like Aesop’s fables, each of them ends in
a morale.
Translated by Nana Nozadze