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Paper short abstract:

Countries such as Georgia with strong traditions when isolated within the Soviet Union now have access to uncensored media of all sorts and access to the internet and increasingly so in rural areas.

Paper long abstract:

Some Georgian traditions, among the young generation, have been presented and discussed on social media. Do they just choose song and dance or other “traditional matters” reinforcing some aspects and discarding others? Will they inevitably in the future be transformed and refashioned or might there be, on the contrary, an active retrenchment into elements seen as being from the past. This applies some of the interests and concerns of traditional anthropology to a futuristic context.

We are calling for papers on the interaction between national traditions and how, once they are showcased on the internet, they are either reinforced and refined or else turned into a parody of what they had been defined as originally. To indulge in futurology, what if as AI develops, programmers wish to make some activities ‘cultural sensitive’ and conform to ‘cultural traditions’ what would such societies provide to them?

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Paper short abstract:

The article argues that social media and internet technologies can be a resource for saving joint Georgian-Ossetian religious practices that were interrupted due to the 2008 August war.

Paper long abstract:

In our social media-dominated society, we can find information about cultural practices that no longer exist. The vast amount of information and ease of communication available to most people today is unprecedented and an excellent means of preserving cultural traditions.

Historically Georgians and Ossetians had close social, economic, and cultural ties. Mixed marriages and different types of joint social and cultural activities provided positive and firm relations between them. Traditionally, Georgians and Ossetians had some common shrines and religious practices. However, due to the 2008 war, the neighboring Ossetian and Georgian villages were separated by the occupation line and contact between them was cut off. The Tskhinvali authorities do not allow Georgian citizens to enter the de facto state. Thereafter they can no longer celebrate traditional holidays together.

The article discusses a religious holiday Sajvareoba which is practiced in Racha, the mountainous region of western Georgia, and was celebrated jointly by Georgians and Ossetians until the occupation of the region; this practice brought Ossetians and Georgians closer and contributed to their peaceful coexistence. The continuation of the joint Georgian-Ossetian practice will be the key to the normalization of tense relations between these peoples. The authors will show the role of social networks in the context of maintaining this tradition.

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Paper short abstract:

As the nature of tradition is to be gradually transformed under the leading process of society’s needs, abrupt change of tradition may cause difficulties especially from he point of view of mentality and psychological development. The present paper discusses the mentioned process.

Paper long abstract:

Tradition, adaptive and changing du to the course of time, a strong foundation for national identity, is one of the profound psychological defenses of a human being as a member of society as well as an individual human being. As the nature of tradition is to be gradually transformed under the leading process of society’s needs, abrupt change of tradition may cause difficulties especially from he point of view of mentality and psychological development, thus hindering the harmonious development of society.

The present paper discusses the mentioned process on the example of father symbol-father as devoted part of family structure, nation’s father as the political leader and modern absent father.

The work is based on scientific ethnological and psychological literature as well as personal psychoanalytical practice with patients.

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Paper short abstract:

In post-Soviet Georgia traditional cultural heritage has covered many aspects of human life thanks to the digital world. In parallel with the growing dependence of state institutions on cultural heritage, as well as the development of the tourism sector, the traditional culture of weaving and embroidery, which has been partially forgotten, is being reincarnated in modern Georgia.

Paper long abstract:

The younger generation developed an interest in intangible cultural heritage, they began to study and revive the knowledge of previous generations. The involvement of Georgia in international cultural heritage conventions, with the support of the state institutions and the non-governmental sector, has made these processes more diverse and interesting. Cultural heritage documentaries, small-format videos, digital catalogs of traditional jewelry and other digital resources shared widely on social media are accessible to the general public and stimulate the next generation interested in traditional crafts.

From the very beginning, Internet technologies and the virtual world have become a means of mass access to traditional culture, and in conditions of the pandemic, this process has become more noticeable. Computer technology and social networks have become more often used not only in terms of advertising traditional crafts, but also in terms of sharing experiences. Having been geographically distant from each other and more limited in pandemic conditions remote communication the craftsmen have overcome the geographical distance and expanded the cognitive area of the intangible cultural heritage via the Internet.