Poetry
სტუმარ-მასპინძელი
Not translated into English
Vazha-Pshavela · 1893
Opening lines
ღამის წყვდიადში ჩაფლული,
გამტკნარებულის სახითა,
მოსჩანს ქისტეთის მიდამო
სალის კლდეების ტახტითა.
Sunk in the darkness of the night,
With a calmed face,
The surroundings of Kistetia appear,
With their throne of sheer cliffs.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from ka.wikisource.org
Synopsis
Two hunters meet by chance in the forest: Djokola, a Muslim Kist, and Zviadauri, a Christian Khevsur, whose communities hate each other. Djokola, who does not know who he is, invites him home to share the game, and from then on owes him the protection due to a guest. But the village recognises the enemy, drags him from the house and demands blood; Djokola and his wife Aghaza stand up against their own people.
Context
The poem was published in Tbilisi in 1893. It belongs to the sequence of great narrative poems in which the individual clashes with his community: the hero calls into question the laws of the clan in the name of a broader humanity. It was translated into Russian in 1935 and adapted for the screen by Tengiz Abuladze in 1967. A French volume by the author, translated and prefaced by Gaston Bouatchidzé, appeared in 1989 from Publications orientalistes de France.
Who it is for
A narrative poem of medium length, available in French; the conflict between two opposing duties is its whole subject, and neither of them is presented as wrong.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as a masterpiece of Georgian literature, compulsory reading in the country's schools.