Davit SHAVİANİDZE

The problems with political and socio-religious life have arisen in Adjara, the historical community of Georgia, since the late Middle Ages. The internal development of culture has further deteriorated during the rule of Russians and Communist atheism, when the ideological machine became active, claiming that allegedly „the Adjarian is not Georgian“. This situation could not replace those socio-psychological factors, which ensured the development in accordance with national-ethnic sign. This is also confirmed by discovered ethnographic material on Georgian traditional holidays full of numerous rituals („Kvirikoba“, „Lazaria“, „New Year“, „Shuamtoba“, „Chkvanaroba“, „Kvishinaroba“, „Mareteloba“, „Chalaoba“) (using the comparative method, we apply to the realities reflecting the regularities of the self-consciousness function and ethnic feelings in everyday life and social relations of returnees settled in Ianeti). The results of a complex and ethnohistorical study of new and the latest ethnographic material on the villages of Didachara, Skhalta, Khikhani and Mareti Valley are as follows: 1. Despite the fact that the imposed circumstances brought from another religion established the ethno-national lifestyle in accordance with the developments, the benchmark of national consciousness is not close to the dangerous points in Adjara. Sense of national identity among the deportees after settling in Ianeti was low (they used to say that they are of Meskhetian nationality or Georgian Muslims); 2. From the outset, the Georgian mentality has come to realize that freedom of religion is not only the rights, freedom or declarations, but also the need for preserving the own traditional religious knowledge, fitting it with the imposed belief and responsibilities. Thus, the goal of foreigners to change the mentality made the Georgians even strengthened the will of Georgians to maintain the social and spiritual balance („come to Gamonatlevi, Gonio, Skhalta“, „always remember that Oshki, Tbeti and Khakhuli are our places“); 3. During the Communist regime, they occasionally changed the names of these holidays, and they were celebrated on non-working days established by the Government. They were aimed at maintaining faith and Georgian traditions and customs; 4. The need for holidays is explained by the principles of „awaiting“ and „cause-and-effectiveness“. The approach is as follows: „If you want to have a healthy and prosperous life, you have to be in faith and devote your several days to the service of God“ your several days not regret God“; 5. Religious and folk festivities, along with the strengthening the unity, have been the guarantee of the preservation of a moral and ethical lifestyle that we inherited from our ancestors. The study confirms the full preservation of Georgian mentality in the Mareti Valley.

Keywords: Georgia, Achara, Ethnography, Mareti, Religion.