Molui Lamzuria Tushita
(scroll down for English translation)
Molui lamzuria tushita
Lamu lasharob dagana
Mhaui uiap’incho tabniga
Santlev hak’ daha martsana
Hakh’ar maiva ieg melhar
Shishkhina dara ts’odiva
Garmon mak t’ark’i lap’ts’iara
Iahova shina t’ot’iva
Mts’k’rive mak chua khabzhena
Jer vaser kh’ena pst’ialo
Kh’evberna lemzrad dughina
Alznena pts’eli khialo
Molui lamzuria tushita
Lamu lasharob dagana
Mhaui uiap’incho tabniga
Santlev hak’ daha martsana
Translation:
How beautiful is Tusheti¹
And the Tushetian Lasharoba²
And the candle lit on the sheep’s forehead
Before it is sacrificed.
Beautiful good women and men
Standing in a line by the ravine
Singing by the wild waters
Of the Alazan³
Drinking cold beer from the horn of a wild goat4️⃣
The sound of mtsvadi5️⃣ roasting on a fire
Dancing to songs played on the garmoni6️⃣
Played by the fingers of a Tush woman
Sometimes another verse is sung in this song:
Even through closed eyes
You can see the necks of the horses in the doghi
And birds dancing a round dance
And the shepherd boys with their wolf-like knees.
¹A highland in northeast Georgia. The ancestral home of the Tush people. Read more about Tusheti here.
²Also referred to as Lashari's Cross, a sanctuary to Saint George of Lashari. Located in the northeast highland of Pshavi and famous throughout Georgia, the mountaintop shrine used to be the political and religious center for Pshavs. The festivals of Lasharoba and Tamaroba (the latter referring to Lashari's sister shrine at Tamar-Ghele) are still celebrated every July throughout the northeast highlands.
In his publication The Political Symbolism of the Mid-Summer Festival in Pshavi (Northeast Georgian Highland), Then and Now' Kevin Tuite says of Lashari and Tamar, "These supernatural siblings take their names from historical personages who were, in fact, mother and son: Queen Tamar (reigned 1184-1215) and her son and successor George IV, known as Lashar Giorgi (reigned 1215-1222)."
³The Andi Koysu River, referred to here as Tusheti's Alazani, needs to be differentiated from the Alazani River that flows through Kakheti, Georgia. The Tushetian river flows north of the Caucasus watershed into Dagestan, eventually running into the Sulak River which ends in the Caspian Sea.
4️⃣The horns of the wild goat are traditionally hollowed out and used as drinking vessels when special toasts are made at feasts.
5️⃣A traditional food in Georgia, specifically in the east: Pieces of pork roasted over the fire on spits, served sometimes with raw onion and pomegranate (shish kebab / shashlik)
6️⃣A button accordion that originated in Russia and plays an important role in the musical tradition of the Tush in Georgia, as well as in other regions throughout the Caucasus. Read more about the garmoni here.
Rusudan Aptsiauri