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The Svans are an ethnographic group of Georgians
Georgians

The Georgians are a nation and ethnic group originating in the Caucasus, the oldest group of the South Caucasian peoples people mainly centered in Georgia , but also living in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Iran, and other countries....
 that mostly live in Svanetia region of Georgia
Georgia (country)

Georgia is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, located at the dividing line between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by the Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia to the south, and Turkey to the southwest....
. They speak the Svan language
Svan language

The Svan language is a language spoken in Northwest Georgia ....
.

History
The Svans are usually identified with the Soanes mentioned by Greek geographer
Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth"....
 Strabo
Strabo

Strabo was a Ancient Greeks history, geography and philosophy....
, who placed them more or less in the area still occupied by the modern-day Svans.

Until the 1930s, Mingrelians and Svans had their own census grouping, but were classified under the broader category of Georgian thereafter.






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The Svans are an ethnographic group of Georgians
Georgians

The Georgians are a nation and ethnic group originating in the Caucasus, the oldest group of the South Caucasian peoples people mainly centered in Georgia , but also living in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Iran, and other countries....
 that mostly live in Svanetia region of Georgia
Georgia (country)

Georgia is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, located at the dividing line between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by the Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia to the south, and Turkey to the southwest....
. They speak the Svan language
Svan language

The Svan language is a language spoken in Northwest Georgia ....
.

History


The Svans are usually identified with the Soanes mentioned by Greek geographer
Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth"....
 Strabo
Strabo

Strabo was a Ancient Greeks history, geography and philosophy....
, who placed them more or less in the area still occupied by the modern-day Svans.

Until the 1930s, Mingrelians and Svans had their own census grouping, but were classified under the broader category of Georgian thereafter. They are Georgian Orthodox
Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church

The Georgian Orthodox Church is one of the world's most ancient Christian Churches, and tradition traces its origins to the mission of Twelve Apostles Saint Andrew in the 1st century....
 Christians, and were Christianized in the 4th-6th centuries. However, some remnants of old paganism have been maintained. Saint George
Saint George

Saint George of Lydda was according to tradition, a Roman soldier in the Guard of Emperor Diocletian, venerated as a Christian martyr.In Hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Anglican Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and the Eastern Catholic Churches....
 (known as Jgëræg to the locals), a patron saint
Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, or person. Patron saints, because they have already transcended to the metaphysical, are able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges....
 of Georgia
Georgia (country)

Georgia is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, located at the dividing line between Europe and Asia. It is bordered by the Russia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, Armenia to the south, and Turkey to the southwest....
, is the most respected saint. The Svans have retained many of their old traditions, including blood revenge (although this tradition has been declining over time, as law enforcment takes hold). Their families are small, and the husband is the head of his family. The Svan strongly respect the older women in families.

Language


Typically bilingual, they use both Georgian
Georgian language

Georgian is the official language of Georgia , a country in the Caucasus .Georgian is the primary language of about 3.9 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad ....
 and their own, unwritten Svan language
Svan language

The Svan language is a language spoken in Northwest Georgia ....
, which together with the Georgian, Mingrelian, and Laz
Laz language

The Laz language is spoken by the Laz people on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea. It is estimated that there are between around 30,000 native speakers of Laz in Turkey, in a strip of land extending from Melyat to the Georgian border , and about 2,000 in Georgia ....
 languages constitute the South Caucasian
South Caucasian languages

The South Caucasian languages are spoken primarily in Georgia , with smaller groups of speakers in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Israel....
 or Kartvelian language family. The Svan language is being largely replaced by the Georgian proper.

Culture


Svan culture survives most wonderfully in its songs and dances. Svanetia boasts the most complex form of Georgian polyphonic singing, traditional to Georgian vocal music
Music of Georgia

Folk music Georgian folk music possesses what is the oldest tradition of polyphony music in the world, predating the History of Georgia #Ancient Georgia....
.

Famous Svans


  • Candide Charkviani
    Candide Charkviani

    Candide Nestorovich Charkviani was Georgian people party and government official, first secretary of the Communist Party of Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1938-1952....
      First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party.


See also

  • Svanetia
  • Georgians
    Georgians

    The Georgians are a nation and ethnic group originating in the Caucasus, the oldest group of the South Caucasian peoples people mainly centered in Georgia , but also living in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Iran, and other countries....


External links