In Georgia it is probably the same as anywhere else…

Once upon a time, the lazy-bones (a famous character of the Georgian folk tale) was sitting and digging with a stick in the ashes of the fireplace …

Then someone noticed that the shapes of strange figures in the ashes at the edge of the fire in some way resembled a magic ritual. It was this event that made people assign to this seemingly light-hearted hero those magic qualities that helped him to defeat the giants.

Incidentally, the main purpose of the Georgian ornament was to protect a person or a place from evil forces and, therefore, it was carved everywhere such a danger was to be anticipated. The majority of "protective" ornamentation in Khevsureti was embroidered on the clothes of women and children because they were considered weaker.

However, "protective" ornamentation such as the images of crosses in particular, were also common on male garments. It was this abundance of ornamentation that made some researchers assume that the Khevsurs were those riders who took part in the Crusaders’ wars and on their way to Palestine traversed Georgia and stayed here.

The scholars have not taken one factor into account though. The image of the cross is by its essence idolatrous and the Khevsurs used it as an ornamentation prior to the birth of Christ.

The victory in the wars for Georgia heralded the advent of the period when "all the misfortunes were elsewhere and joy was here". At such times, Georgians built cathedrals and fortresses and the ornamentation was cut out on stone.

At the earlier stage, before stone-engraved ornamentation, the decoration was more modest and rare. The ornament had no independent meaning of its own. It used to be cut in the interior of the buildings, on the heads of columns and capitols.

This is how the Bolnisi Sioni, Jvari, Oltisi, Tsromi had been built… Then came the age of the Arab rule.

According to historians, this is the time when ornamentation disappears from Georgian places of worship. And it is not surprising. Everything else aside, a great deal of joyfulness, optimism and an extremely positive attitude was required to make the stone take the shape of the vine, the sun or a flower.

For nearly three-hundred years this energy was suppressed and poured out only in the tenth-century monuments.

Framing with a wide ornamental strip began. The image changed on every façade and even on individual parts of the facade. Decoration became more complicated and took on subtly plastic shapes.

Subsequently, a new technique was gaining the foothold. The ornament no longer grows out from the surface. It is not protruding from the surface level and there is yet another thing to note: the ornament has a colour of its own.

In Pitareti, for instance, if the walls of the cathedral are of lilac-pinkish colours, the ornament is bright green and carnation-coloured. In Samtavro it is just the opposite: the ornament is ivory and yellowish and the church itself – green.

Frequently, several artists worked simultaneously on one church. In Nikortsminda, for instance, there were three stonecutters. Along with the ornamentation made with skillful virtuosity, real and mythological animals with inscriptions such as "Simurg", and "Ostrich" are carved on the walls of Nikortsminda cathedral.

In Georgia, animals were often engraved on churches or grave-stones. The images of a lion, a lion with wings, a sheep and a Caucasian goat are to be found…
The iconostasis of the places of worship and the main column in the homes were ornamented as well.

On a prominent place on the main column, the sign of the sun is engraved. When working on this image, the engraver would always ask God for a "sunny life". Creating ornamentation was considered an honourable occupation.

The images of domestic animals were also depicted on the main column. An open palm was the sign of firmness, whereas a vertical image of the hand – that of the dawn.

The swastika-group ornamentation was given paramount importance.

The ornament, in general, carried a heavy symbolism and these symbols – deep-rooted and powerful-originated from people’s lifestyle, their beliefs and everyday life.

An image of the cross was put up on the Chichilaki (a hazelnut branch which is cut into a tree-like shape and decorated with fruit and sweets, which functioned as a Christmas tree in Georgia) and was placed in the centre of a cycle. All four ends of the cross were spread far apart and two apples or two pomegranates were attached to them. This entire symbol, the balls in particular, stood for the four positions of the sun.

A stone circle or a circle woven from a birch tree branch was used in Svaneti to protect one from the evil eye.

The Khevsurs believed in the "witches’ night" day. This was Thursday before Easter when one would listen to the conversation of the devils. To do this, one would go to the forest, draw a circle and sit in the middle of it. The idea was that the devils could not cross over the line inside the circle and the listener was left safe and sound. Thus, the village knew what and for whom the evil forces were preparing in the coming year.

If the artists carved the ornaments on big chruches, creating works of art, ordinary people depicted them on their carpets, clothes, sword hilts and cradles made of birch wood. Thus, they brought the sun into the house, and everything that could be seen in the sunlight, as well as what could be seen at night. There is a theory that the contour of the Georgian letter "b" reflects the shape of the Great Bear constellation.

In folklore, the common name for the ornament is "a multicoloured or a colourful thing". Thus, when something was rendered "colourful", it meant that this added more years and power to the multicoloured and eternal nature. That very nature some people expressed in rhythm and others - in embroidery as, for example, Vazha Pshavela and his daughter Gulkani:

"Is it for father? I knit them for him. He put them on and kept praising them all the time saying that everything requires talent". "What were you looking at when you were knitting them?" - he asked. "I was looking at the things that appealed to me. All this requires talent."

And thus, a mystical talent and strength went from one generation to another. It followed the generations with a thread, a knife and a carving tool, expressing hope, belief and what needed to be said.

Craftsmanship was getting more refined and the tradition was getting established - the tradition of a most subtle story which was called Georgian ornament.
Then life became as thin as a knitting thread. Other times and different years came and went. And today, in the third millennium, a forgotten Georgian ornament, having become a museum specimen, has resurfaced into everyday life.

And then a girl from the city appeared with a Khevsurian men's hat on her head, which was followed by a whole generation of cross-embroidered handbags, jewelry and hats…

Georgian ornament has become fashionable, meaning that it has survived. This survival is not a surprise at all because it was not the first time that it had to struggle for survival. Has not the entire life of Georgians been a struggle for survival and one big puzzle?

They say that when solving a puzzle, one fold gets added to the brain of a person.

In some way this fold is kind of an ornament as well.

TEA TOPURIA
 Graphic work on the cover
 by Emir Burjanadze