Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the relationships between Georgian highland sacred places and the mythological narratives associated to them, trying to analyze the local cultural landscape as it emerges from the interweaving of traditional stories, emic perceptions and ritual practices.

Paper long abstract:

Georgian Eastern Highlands (Pshavi, Khevsureti, Tusheti) constitute a peculiar cultural landscape characterized by the presence of specific types of sacred sites: shrines (salocavi), icons (khati/jvari), wishing trees (nat'vris kheebi), old churches and the so called "Mother of the Place" (adgilis deda), which protects the village in which it is situated and is particularly worshipped by its inhabitants.

Georgian highlanders tell many stories (andrezi) about the foundation and life of the shrines: in these mythological narratives, as well as in their spatialized symbology, pagan and Christian cosmologies interwine in complex representations and practices, producing a very interesting sacred geography.

Despite an evident problem of depopulation, the local communities (temi) still exhibit a strong connection to their land and sanctuaries: during an intense summer cycle, each of them celebrates its own patron by joining his shrine and performing a day-long ritual (dgheoba) guided by the khevisberi, a man who mediates between villagers and deities and is the most authoritative storyteller of the community.

Taking cue from the ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Georgia during 2010, this paper explores the relationships between andrezi, ritual practices and the local sense of place: how is the sacredness of places constructed through storytelling as well as trough spatialized ceremonies? How do narratives interact with symbols and practices? What do these myths reveal about some local historical experiences (e.g. the feudalization and the christianization of the region)? What is the intepretive potential of a narrative approach to the sense of place? How do people "make places" through stories?