<h2 dir="ltr">Holy Day and Kaloubnoba</h2>
<p dir="ltr">To celebrate a holy day with their families, or with an entire community, and to express their devotion towards God, Georgians would make offerings to God. A successful harvest, the birth of a child, or the recovery from illness could all be a good reason for doing so. In those ancient times, sheep would be sacrificed, a feast would be prepared, and the table would be set.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Another ancient religious celebration, Kaloubnoba, is celebrated around Easter time, and can still be observed in the village of Khandaki. Here, people make their offerings to God, and in order to celebrate the day properly, a large supra is also held close to the Kaloubani Church of St. George.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Chona and Tchiakokonoba&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Chona was an Easter tradition where masked performers would go from door to door, singing, chanting, and proclaiming the news about the Resurrection of Christ to raise everyone's spirits. In exchange, they would be given gifts of red-dyed eggs, as well as other treats.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Tchiakokonoba is also linked to Easter and is a ritual performed during the Easter fast with the aim of driving out evil spirits. Children would dance and have fun while jumping over a sizeable blazing bonfire. Indeed, many of these activities still occur in some parts of Georgia.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Lazaroba</h2>
<p dir="ltr">During droughts or floods, Georgians would perform Lazaroba, a ceremony that intends to bring out good weather. A clay doll made by women would be taken from village to village, while people would sing the Lazaroba hymn. In the end, depending on what kind of weather they wanted, they would throw the doll in the water or would cover it with ash. Lazaroba would conclude with a feast.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Tsatsloba and Stsorproba&nbsp;</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Tsatsloba was a tradition spread across the highland villages of Georgia, according to which people from Pshavi would allow a young boy and girl to sleep together, without actually having intercourse. Anyone disobeying the latter rule would be shunned from the community.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">In some cases, Tsatsloba resulted in pregnancy. It was allowed to marry your tsatsali if she/he was from another community, but otherwise, it was prohibited.&nbsp;</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Khevsuretian tradition of Stsorphroba or Nandauri was slightly different from Tsatsloba. In this case, it was acceptable for the two to like one another, and someone would serve as a liaison between them. However, getting married or engaging in sexual activity was absolutely against the rules of Stsorphroba.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Berikaoba</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Berikaoba is an old Georgian tradition, associated with fertility. The word "ber," which means "son," is where it gets its name.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It is a theatrical play in which men, women, and kids all participated. The action always began with fighting against the enemy, followed by dances and jokes told by several men, called the Berikas. The Berikas disguised themselves in different costumes and would play the roles of the bride, groom, matchmaker, prince, peasant, doctor, or old man. Some of them would dress up as animals too, as there had to be at least one goat, bear, and wild pig.</p>
<p dir="ltr">You can still attend this ancient tradition in four villages of Georgia: Didi Chailuri in Sagarejo municipality, Ude in Adigeni municipality; Sabue in Kvareli municipality; and Matani in Akhmeta municipality.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Nadi</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Nadi &ndash; Mamitadi is an old Georgian labor tradition, during which people help each other both in plowing and sowing, and in construction too. In western Georgia, Nadi was mainly associated with requests, giving birth to the song "Naduri."</p>

Georgian Traditions and Rituals

Georgian Traditions and Rituals