Mythological Parallels in Georgian and Chechen Legends

Khvtiso Mamisimedishvili

Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

Keywords: Georgian Myths, Chechen Folklore, Mythological Parallels.

Abstract: Chechen and Georgian mythology confirm important plot parallels and similar elements of traditional culture.

The existence of certain mythological motifs and plots in epic tales is explained by cultural influences and

borrowings, while some are universal and are reflected in traditions rather distant from each other. Important

questions of Georgian-Nakh cultural relations have not been discussed in academic literature to date, such as

the kinship of Chechen tales and Georgian folklore; the similarity of mythologemes, plots and motifs in

Chechen folk texts with Georgian oral tradition; and the reflection of mediaeval Georgian culture in Chechen

legends. The parallelism of mythological motifs in Georgian and Chechen tales manifests itself in various

aspects. From this point of view, among the myths of the two peoples, the subject of our study were hunting

tales, in particular, the narratives associated with the patrons of beasts and forest mythical creatures; the names

of mythological characters; the motif of struggle against demonic mythological creatures; secret signs/marks

associated with the appearance of the character; mythological names of toponyms, as well as the cosmogonic

nature of the mythologem of the dragon in Chechen folklore and its parallels with Georgian mythology. The

article examines the typological and genetic links between Chechen mythopoetics and Georgian oral folk

tradition, and reveals mythopoetic and narrative/story parallels. As studies have shown, the similarity of

mythological motifs in Chechen and Georgian legends is not superficial but deeper. They include well-known

plots reworked on the local soil, and completely original themes and motifs.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Caucasian Range has never been a blank wall

between the North and South Caucasus. Between the

peoples living on this and that side of the ridge, there

was a constant exchange of cultural values.

Accordingly, common mythologemes and elements

of traditional culture are confirmed in Georgian and

Chechen folklore. The appearance of some of these

mythological motifs and plots in epic tales is

explained by the influence and borrowing from

different cultures, some are universal and are

reflected in traditions that are quite distant from each

other. In ancient times, cultures were not isolated

from each other, and folklore was always open to

foreign motives and plots.

As is historically known, in the XI-XII centuries,

when the feudal monarchy of Georgia reached its

great political and economic prosperity, Georgian

culture spread in the North Caucasus, including

Chechnya. This is evidenced, for example, by cult-

religious terminology, sacral and household

vocabulary brought into the Chechen language from

the Georgian language or through the Georgian

language, the names of patron saints and the names of

the days of the week, which have been studied quite

well by scientists. From the Georgian language, the

names of the beyond world entered the Chechen

language: Yalsamani - cargo. "Samotkhe" - orig.

სამოთხე (Paradise), the same Heavenly Jerusalem

and Jozhakhate - Hell, which comes from the

Georgian word "jojokheti" - orig. ჯოჯოხეთი

("hell").

The purpose of our study is to establish

typological and genetic links between Chechen myth-

epic creativity and Georgian oral folk tradition, to

identify mythopoetic and plot parallelisms. As it

turned out, the similarity of mythological motifs in

Chechen and Georgian legends is not superficial, but

deeper. Among them there are well-known stories

reworked on local soil, as well as completely original

themes and motifs.

At a time when Chechen and Ingush legends were

collected and recorded in the second half of the XIX

and early XX centuries, the life of the Vainakhs was

not much different from the traditional life of the

Mamisimedishvili, K.

Mythological Parallels in Georgian and Chechen Legends.

DOI: 10.5220/0011608200003577

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Actual Issues of Linguistics, Linguodidactics and Intercultural Communication (TLLIC 2022), pages 119-127

ISBN: 978-989-758-655-2

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

119

Georgian highlanders neighboring them, namely, the

Khevsurs, Mokhevs, Tushins and Pshavs. One must

think that this should have been the case in the XVII-

XVIII centuries. And it was in such a socio-cultural

environment that the moral values of the Georgian

highlanders and Chechens, the main motives of

folklore and mythological plots, were formed.

As a rule, the formation of a national epic is

influenced not only by the traditional environment

within one society, one people, but also by the

cultural, political and religious processes taking place

around it. In Chechen legends, the main actions take

place in the vicinity of the Georgian mountains, in the

vicinity of the Georgian highlanders, in the gorges of

the Arghun River and its tributaries. Georgian

highlanders, Chechens and Ingush, in contact with

each other, formed a very complex, but highly

ordered system of oral laws and customs, based on the

daily life of traditional Khevsur and Nakh societies.

Through the exchange of knowledge and experience,

the religion of neighboring peoples, oral judicial

practice, norms of behavior, and public morality were

formed. In such a traditional environment, Georgian

mythological narratives based on similar motifs and

plots, and Nakh heroic tales about Narts-Ersthoists

were created.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Unfortunately, the recording of Chechen folk texts

began late, in the second half of the XIX century.

Even in Georgia itself, a country with an ancient

culture of writing, in the Middle Ages there was no

tradition of collecting and fixing folk texts in writing.

The oldest examples of the Georgian oral tradition

have been preserved mainly in the records of

medieval European missionaries. The systematic

recording of both Chechen and Georgian folklore

began late, from the second half of the 19th century.

As you know, folk texts reflect traditions, ideas and

beliefs coming from the depths of centuries.

Therefore, due to the traditional and conservative

nature of folklore, we can have some idea of what the

genre system of Georgian and Chechen folklore

should have been like in the Middle Ages.

The article uses completely authentic Georgian

and Chechen oral material, which was recorded by

famous folklorists in the second half of the XIX

century and the 20th century. For the first time, these

samples were published in popular publications, such

as "Collection of information about the Caucasian

highlanders", "Collection of materials for describing

the localities and tribes of the Caucasus", "Notes of

the Caucasian department of the Imperial Russian

Geographical Society", the newspaper "Kavkaz", etc.

Samples of Chechen folklore published in these

collections are also included in U. Dalgat's book "The

Heroic Epos of the Chechens and Ingush" (Dalgat,

1972). Most of them, as well as folk texts written in

Georgian, have an indication of the time and place of

recording, as well as the identity of the narrator and

writer. Thus, completely reliable and authentic

folklore material is used to study Georgian and

Chechen mythological parallels.

In the article, the elements of Chechen and

Georgian traditional culture are considered in the

context of comparative studies, since the method of

historical-typological and historical-genetic

comparison of studies allows a deeper understanding

of socio-cultural aspects. When studying

mythological parallels, I used data from related

scientific disciplines - ethnography and linguistics.

3 RESEARCH RESULTS

Chechens and neighboring Georgian highlanders

lived in traditional societies until the middle of the

ХХ century. No one knows how long their patriarchal

way of life, based on archaic elements, would have

lasted if not for the deportation of Chechens and

Ingush. In 1944, by decision of the Soviet

government, the Chechens and Ingush were deported

to Central Asia, and in 1952 the Khevsurs were

evicted from their native mountains and settled in the

lowland villages of Eastern Georgia. Khevsurian

villages and Chechen auls, carved into the rocks like

eagles' nests, were empty. Since then, nothing

significant has been created in the folk art of the

highlanders, cut off from their native land. The era of

the disappearance of traditions and a number of folk

genres began. Gradually, oral texts, cut off from

traditional folk life, were forgotten. Fortunately,

folklorists have recorded and preserved in writing for

new generations the sad heroic songs, religious rites

and mythological narrations heard in the impregnable

gorges of the Caucasus.

The Georgian highlanders were well acquainted

with the neighboring Chechen villages, teifs and

gorges, with their specific, concrete names. Pshav-

Khevsurian ballads and legends mention Chechen

characters by their own names and toponymic names:

Mitkhoy (Melkhi) - orig. მითხოელი (მელხი)

(Georgian highlanders called Melchist "Mitkho" -

orig. "მითხო" and Melkhistev - "mitkhoeli" - orig.

"მითხოელი" ("Mitkhoy"). Mitkho is especially

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often mentioned in the Pshav-Khevsurian heroic

poetry), Maistins - orig. მაისტელი, Tereloyans -

orig. ტერელოელი, Sakhanoi - orig. სახანოელი

etc. We find a similar picture in Chechen folklore,

especially in the folklore texts of the “Illi” genre,

which often involve Georgian characters with their

positive and negative qualities (Mamisimedishvili,

2018). The national name of the Chechen tribes living

in the highlands - "Nokhcho", "Nokhchiycho" - later

became the ethnic name of the Chechens.

Neighboring Georgians knew them under this

common ethnonym. In medieval Georgian historical

sources, in the heroic ballads of the mountains of

Eastern Georgia, in the works of Alexander Kazbegi

and Vazha-Pshavela, Chechens are referred to as

Kists. Georgian highlanders, in fact, until the end of

the twentieth century knew them under this

ethnonym. More ancient Georgian sources call the

Chechens "dzurdzuki" - orig. „ძურძუკი“.

Some regions of Chechnya (Melkhist, Mayst,

Teretego, Terloi-Mokhk, Khildekha) were directly

adjacent to Khevsureti and partly to Tusheti. The

Melkhists, Maystinians, Terloi-Mokhkians and

Khildikhaians were in frequent contact with the

Georgian highlanders. Between them there were

frequent cases of twinning. Due to blood feuds or

other conflicts, many Georgian highlanders left their

native lands and permanently moved to Chechen

villages. Representatives of many Chechen families

living in the Argun Gorge pointed to their Georgian

origin. According to A. Ipolitov, members of the

Zumsoy clan believed that their ancestor came from

Georgia to the Argun Gorge and settled there;

according to the tribal tradition, the founder of the

Keloi clan was a Tushin; Varando came to Chechnya

from Khevsureti, etc. (Ippolitov, 1868).

Mountaineers from Chechnya and Ingushetia live in

almost all the mountain communities of Eastern

Georgia, who once moved here for various reasons,

believed in local shrines, swore allegiance to local

patron saints, adopted Georgian surnames, mastered

the Georgian language, Georgian customs and

customs, settled forever in Georgia and became a

blood part of the Georgian people.

Presumably, in the Middle Ages, the same

religious rites and sacrifices were carried out in the

cult centers of Chechnya, as in the neighboring

Georgian highlanders. Extremely important in this

regard are the records of Amand von Schweiger-

Lerchenfeld (1846-1910), showing that the Chechens

in the XIX century still adhered to Christian customs.

He writes: “Near the old church on the Sunzha River,

which is said to have been built by the Georgian

Queen Tamara, Chechens perform a religious

ceremony twice a year (on Easter and Trinity) in order

to make sacrifices to the patron saint. Sheep and bulls

are sacrificed. The blood of slaughtered animals is

sprinkled on the walls of the church, and their heads

are driven into the walls” (Schweiger-Lerchenfeld,

1887). As it turns out, many customs and folk rituals

of the Georgian highlanders and Chechens had a

similar structure, content and meaning. Often they

were indistinguishable from each other.

4 DISCUSSION

It is known that until 1944, all Chechens from the

border villages went to pray and make sacrifices in

the mountainous regions of Eastern Georgia, in

particular, in the Khevsur shrines - at the cross of

Anatori (orig. ანატორი) and Khakhmati (orig.

ხახმატი). The clergy treated the Chechens who

came to the religious holiday in Anatori with special

respect. According to the soothsayer/preacher of the

Anator’s cross, “The Bachakuri (ritual kada (Kada -

rich puff pastry stuffed, often with flour and sugar,

fried in butter)) brought by the Kists for the Anatori

Cross were preferable to the cattle donated by the

Khevsurs for slaughter, so the Kists were received by

the Anator’s Cross” (Mamisimedishvili, 1997). By

the Kistins, the soothsayer SagIira means prayers who

came from the neighboring mountain villages of

Chechnya. The Chechens called the Anatori cross

"Nakarin tsIiv". The well-known Chechen scientist

A. Suleimanov also confirms that in the sanctuary of

Anatoris Jvari - orig. ანატორის ჯვარი (Anatori

Cross) “Until recently, both Vainakhs and Khevsurs

came to worship and hold various religious rites and

holidays” (Suleimanov, 1997).

It is known that before the establishment of Islam,

the Tushol/Tishol cult was very popular in

mountainous Chechnya and Ingushetia. As Y.

Aliroev rightly points out, in the mythological

consciousness of the Chechens, Tushol, as the

patroness of fertility, personified the “Great Mother”

(Aliroev, 1994). A similar shrine, called Adgilis

Deda-Ghvtismshobeli - orig. ადგილის დედა-

ღვთისმშობელი ("Mother of the Place-Virgin

Mary"), was erected near almost every village in

Khevsureti.

The etymology of the word "Tushol" cannot be

explained by the data of the Nakh languages. Some

scholars point to its Phrygian origin, which is

incorrect. The well-known Georgian linguist Al.

Chincharauli clearly mentions the fact that the word

Tusholi and the cult of Tusholi comes from the

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worship of the Virgin and to clarify the fact the

scientist use the various types of linguistic material

(Chincharauli, 1979). In the Chechen language,

Tisholi appeared from the Georgian name of the

Virgin. In Khevsureti, the shrine of the Mother of God

near the village of Mutso is called by all Chechens the

shrine of Tisholi (Tisholi ← Tishobeli ←

Ghvtismshobeli (lit. Mother of God) (Suleimanov,

1997). "(orig. მშობელი) - parent: Ghvtismshobeli

(orig. ღვთისმშობელი) - Mother of God. In general,

the heavenly beings represented in the legends of the

peoples of the high mountains of the Caucasus are

those saints who have taken a folk form among the

new Christian peoples since the first millennium.

Khevsur legends tell sacred stories: the journey of

the Khevsurs-Hevisbury (Hevisbury is an elder

among the highlanders of Georgia) to the high-

mountainous and hard-to-reach villages of Chechnya

with the cult banner of the Holy Cross, the Treasury

Cup and clergymen, where they held services on the

roof of traditional Chechen houses, baptized and

consecrated residential buildings, blessed the

sacrifice made to the patron saint.

As it turned out, common religious holidays

played a big role in the religious life of Chechens and

Khevsurs. Chechens and Georgian highlanders living

in the border villages spoke each other's languages

perfectly. Folk religious holidays further deepened

the friendship and good neighborliness between the

two peoples.

It is remarkable that the Chechen tales have

parallels not only with the mythological tales of the

mountain regions of East Georgia (Khevsureti,

Pshavi, Khevi, Mtiuleti and Tusheti) but also with the

folklore of other parts of Georgia. Parallelism of

mythological motifs appears in many aspects in

Georgian and Chechen legends. In this context, of

Chechen mythology, the subject of our interest is

hunting tales, in particular, the narratives associated

with patrons of beasts and forest mythical creatures;

names of mythological creatures; the motif of fighting

demonic-mythological creatures; mythological

representations associated with the appearance of a

character; mythological names of toponyms; legends

associated with a mountain peak as a sacred place,

etc.

A deep archaism is felt in Georgian and Chechen

hunting tales, in which the protector of beasts is the

main character. He is also the guardian and protector

of the beastly places. The Chechen tale of the witch-

giants confirms the motif of the hunter going astray,

according to which the three brothers, who went out

hunting at night, find themselves in an alien,

unknown world, in the cave of the witch-giants - the

Almazov (Dalgat, 1972). In both Georgian and

Chechen legends the beast shepherds are invisible

patrons of wild animals. They gather the bones of the

killed and eaten game and wrap them in the skin of

the killed animal, then hit it with the herdsman's club

and revive the animal. As M. Eliade points out, the

reanimation of a killed animal from its bones is a

common belief in hunter societies (Eliade, 1987).

In Georgian and Chechen legends, the hunter

attends a secret meal of the patrons of beasts, where

he participates in stealing the shoulder (blade) of a

slain beast, replacing it with a wooden spatula, and

reviving the animal with its bones. This motif

underlies the Chechen tale of the Giant Sorceress. As

it turns out, the miracle of the beast with the "wooden

spatula" is the basis of Caucasian hunting legends. In

Abkhaz texts, the tale of the three female giants is

replaced by the family of the patrons of beasts

Ajweipshaa. The Ajweipshaas kill a mountain goat or

a deer (according to different versions) of a guest

hunter (Salakaya, 1974). In the Abkhazian legend the

plot develops similarly to Chechen and Georgian

hunting legends. The hunter the next day kills a deer

in which he unmistakably recognizes the prey

slaughtered and brought to life by its owners the

previous evening. According to L. Chibirov, "Ancient

Ossetians naïvely believed that the killed game was

revived by a deity if its bones are intact" (Chibirov,

2008).

In contrast to Chechen myth, the Georgian oral

tradition is not familiar with the forest women giants,

who are represented in Chechen folk texts as terrible

and ugly-faced, with large breasts and long blond

hair. Tkashmapa, the original ტყაშმაფა (Queen of

the Forest) from Mingrelian legends and Dali

(original დალი), the patroness of beasts from

Svanian songs, are of rare beauty. In Georgian

hunting legends this story has the following

continuation: the hunter becomes a secret lover of the

patroness of beasts Dali. According to E. Virsaladze,

"The woman patroness of beasts, the hunter she

ruined and the dog Kursha (original ყურშა) are the

most ancient characters of Georgian mythology"

(Virsaladze, 1964). In general, the theme of the

relationship between the hunter and the patron of

beasts or the hunter and the daughter of the patron of

beasts is popular in the folklore of Georgia, Abkhazia

and the peoples of the Northern Caucasus.

Chechen tales of the hunting cycle know a

character named Khun Sag, who is a mythological

creature similar to Ochokochi (original ოჩოკოჩი)

from Mingrelian legends (Mingrelian texts, 1991).

The Chechen Khun Sag and the Mingrelian

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Ochokochi literally mean Forest Man. Both Khun Sag

and Ochokochi live in a dense forest and constantly

clash with hunters; both have on their chests a huge

axe-like or horn-like sprout with a sharp blade, with

which they overpower the enemy.

In different parts of Georgia tales about the

sacrifice of a deer are widespread, according to which

St. George or the patron saint of beasts sent a deer to

the temple for sacrifice on feast days (Kiknadze,

2008). On the day of the feast the deer itself went to

the shrine, and the minister of the cult sacrificed it,

and then the people gathered for the service at the

communal table ate its meat. Presumably, a similar

narrative was widespread in the Chechen highlands.

There is a micro-toponym "Tsoiussabei" in the

Galanchozh district, near the village of Khoŭrga.

According to A. Suleimanov, the above toponym

consists of three components: "TsIoys," "Say," and

"Bey." Hence, TsIu means patron saint or sanctuary,

Say in Chechen means deer, and Bey means slaughter

or sacrifice. The name of the toponym can be

understood as: "a place where a deer is sacrificed to a

shrine". In A. Suleymanov's opinion, there must have

been a temple of the patron saint because there were

many aurochs and deer antlers in this place

(Suleymanov, 1997). It is noteworthy that in the

neighbourhood of the Chechen mountains, in the

sanctuaries of the Georgian highlanders until recently

it was customary to sacrifice deer and aurochs horns

to the patron saints.

Oral texts of the Caucasian peoples, including

Georgian and Chechen traditions, transmit

mythological representations connected with hunting,

with similar plots and motifs. We might say that the

peoples of the Mountain Caucasus had a single myth

of hunting. This circumstance indicates close contacts

between neighboring peoples, in particular,

professional hunters. They met during hunting and

shared their knowledge and experience with each

other. It is during hunting, against the background of

the meeting of Kista and Khevsur hunters, that the

plot unfolds in Vazha-Pshavela's poem "The Guest

and the Master".

The traces of mythological beings are imprinted

on the landscape where Georgian highlanders and

Chechens have had to live for centuries. According to

Chechen and Georgian beliefs, the strange outlines of

the relief, the stone split in the middle, and the

cracked rock are the work of mythical beings.

In the highlands of Chechnya, near Galanchozh,

on Mount Tumsoi-Lami, a mythical legend, namely,

the heroism of Seska Solsa, is connected with a

boulder split in the middle. According to legend, the

stone, which is larger than the tower, was struck by

Seska Solsa's sword. The reason for splitting the

boulder was Seska Solsa's curiosity. It turns out that

he wanted to test his sword, how sharp it was (Dalgat

1972). In Georgian, particularly in the Pshava

tradition, the motif of splitting in the middle of a rock

(boulder) is associated with the struggle of holy

patrons (Sons of God - original ღვთისშვილები)

against demonic forces (Devs - original დევი),

liberating land and water and seizing territories.

Contrary to Chechen legends, the split in the middle

of a boulder or rock is completely mystified in the

mythological verse Yakhsari (original იახსარ), and

this episode is the climax of the battle with the Devs.

To the patron saint power is given from God. A folk

round dance song sung by the patron saint, Yahsari,

recounts the splitting of the rock in two:

"One Dev the Giant fled,

I caught up with him at Roshkisgori, he hid behind

the rock,

I threw a heroic lahti at him, O Lord, you gave me

strength!

The rock split in two, I gouged out the Deva's eye"

(Ochiauri, 1991).

E. Meletinski connects the motif of fighting the

forces of evil with one of the main activities of the

cultural hero. He writes: "As for the fight against

devas and dragons, i.e. cleansing the land from

monsters, it was often a part of the cycle of deeds of

the cultural hero" (Meletinski, 1963).

In Chechnya, on Mount Tumsoi-Lama, next to the

split stone there is another boulder, on which there is

a notch with an imprinted horseshoe of a horse.

Chechen tradition ascribes the appearance of the

horseshoe print on the stone to Seska Solsa's horse.

Seska Solsa's horse is said to have kicked into the

stone, and the imprint was imprinted on it forever.

Such mythological signs depicted on the surface of

the earth must also have had a sacral meaning in

Chechen lore, but the oral text seems to have come

down to us with flaws. In my opinion, this is indicated

by a trace left by Seska Solsa's horse hoof on the

Tumsoi-Lama stone. The fact that the Chechens once

considered it sacred is testified by the covering over

the imprint of the horse's horseshoe. According to the

legend, people covered the horseshoe print with earth,

so that it would not get into the eyes of man and would

not be touched by a human foot (Dalgat, 1972). The

traditional society so carefully and cleanly kept only

the traces of supernatural beings. Therefore, we must

think that Seska Solsa must have had an even higher

sacral status in the original versions of Chechen

legends.

Mythological Parallels in Georgian and Chechen Legends

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One of the Khevsur communities adjacent to

Chechnya keeps an anvil in its innermost place, on

which the horseshoe of St George's horse is said to be

depicted. According to Khevsur legends, the anvil

was taken from the abode of demonic beings, namely

from the forge of Kajety (original ქაჯეთი), which

the celestials under the leadership of St George broke,

and there, on the anvil standing in the middle of the

forge, militant George of Khakhmat (St George) left

the imprint of his horse's horseshoe (Kiknadze, 2009).

According to mythical tradition, the anvil as a special

shrine was assigned a secret storage in one of the

sanctuaries in the village of Khevsureti in Kvrivi

(original კვრივი), a sacred structure where no one

was allowed to enter to conceal it from human eyes.

It is noteworthy that in the mountains of Eastern

Georgia and in the Chechen mountains, near or next

to religious buildings large stones on which are

imprinted typologically similar, often the same secret

signs: geometric figures, images of the sun, human,

animal, cross, and the hand are preserved up to now.

Stones with secret signs are mainly placed in the walls

of sacred crosses and towers (Gigaury, 2010). The

mystery of the mythological symbols and

geographical ornaments depicted on the stones in the

mountains of Georgia and Chechnya is still

unresolved and requires comprehensive,

interdisciplinary research in the future.

The plots attested in Chechen and Georgian

mythological narratives are peculiar, mythologised

reflections of past historical events. But this

historicity in folk works, according to M. Eliade,

"cannot resist the destructive influence of mythology"

(Eliade, 2017). The historical event in the memory of

the people usually persists for a short time, changes

its form and fits into the general mythological

archetypal model. We encounter such a situation in

both Chechen and Georgian tales.

One part of Chechen tales tells of the same

confrontation between Narts Orstkhoi and local

giants for territorial conquest, as reflected in the

mythological narratives of the East Georgian

mountains about the battles of the Sons of God, the

same angelic beings and Devs-idols. According to the

Pshava-Khevsurian legends, the Devs, beings-giants,

oppressed people, hid the secret of blacksmithing

from them, did not give them working tools, deprived

them of their wives. The sons of God, the same patron

saints and angelic beings were sent by God to help

people against demonic forces (Kiknadze 2016: 22-

23). These Georgian and Chechen tales are based on

heroic motifs. Sons of God and Devas, Nart Orstkhoi

and local heroes fight with stones. However, there is

an essential difference between Chechen and

Georgian legends that probably should not have been

present in the archetypal invariants: the Pshava-

Khevsur narratives, in particular, the battles of patron

saints (Sons of God) and Dev-idols have sacral

significance for local residents and are considered

truthful stories, while Chechen legends have retained

only heroic-adventure content and have almost

completely lost their sacral significance

(Mamisimedishvili, 2020).

Devas and Giants are characters of many folklore

genres. They take part in fairy tale, mythological and

heroic epics. However, the Devs, as they appear in the

mythological tales of the East Georgian mountains,

find parallels only with the legends of the Erstkhoi

Narts, specifically Chechen folklore texts, in which

the Erstkhoi Narts are represented as enforcers

possessing various secrets, wealth, lands, water,

castles and fortresses, and giving them up after

bloody battles or defeats in sports competitions.

Georgian and Chechen tales of that type reflect the

names of specific geographical places where contests,

battles or clashes took place between the Sons of God

and Devi idols, on the one hand, and between the

Erstkhoi Narts and local heroes, on the other. Legends

retain information about the places where the Devs

and the Erstkhoi Narts lived. According Chechen

legends, the Narts-Orstkhoi are not Chechen

ancestors, though they lived in the neighbourhood,

just as the Devs and the humans in the Pshava

legends.

According to the legends, both Devs and Narts-

Eorstskhoi had their kings, whose patronage was

limited to a certain place. Following the Pshava

legends, Muza (orig. მუზა) was the king of the

Devas, who lived in Tsikhetgori (orig. ციხეთგორი).

The devs also had their own king in the Iori Valley.

Chechen legends tell of Nauraz, the king (Pachchach)

of the Nart-Erstzkhoi. The Pshava legends mention

the Devs and the Chechen tales refer to the Narts-

Erstskhoi by their proper names. The Devs are

referred to as: Avtandil (orig. ავთანდილი), Muza

(orig. მუზა), Beghela (orig. ბეღელა), Musa (orig.

მუსა), Verkhvela (orig. ვერხველა

), Narts-erstskhoi

are Nauraz (orig. ნაურაზი), Ghala (orig. ღალა),

Ghera (orig. ღერა). Despite the fact that Daves and

Narts live as humans, in the tales they appear as

characters of different origin and different formation.

The Devs, unlike the Narts, have more demonic traits.

Although they share some common features: in

legends of this type, Daeves and Narts possess more

physical strength than humans and are hostile to

locals.

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According to Chechen tradition, the Nart-

ersttskhoi Ghala carried a huge boulder to a mountain

three kilometers high, then threw it from afar and

stuck it in the ground (Dalgat 1972: 340). It is not

clear from the legend for what motives Ghala carried

the huge boulder up the mountain. It may reflect the

rivalry and the test of strength of the local population

and the Narts-Erstkhoi during the seizure of

territories. The place where, according to legend, the

Erstkhoi Nart Ghala lived and where he drove the

huge boulder into the ground is called "Ghala's

Stone". In the Pshava legends, the Sons of God and

the Devas also compete with each other in throwing

stones over long distances in a peaceful contest. The

defeated Davi relinquishes his possessions and

leaves, giving the Son of God the place where the cult

of the Son of God, the patron (Kiknadze, 2008) is

founded.

Since in the mountainous regions of Eastern

Georgia the legends about the stones have a sacred

meaning, we can assume that at one time they must

have had a similar meaning in the Chechen legends.

However, those mythological plots and motifs are

completely desacralised in Chechen legends. No

rituals are performed near the stones, which represent

the battle-confrontation of local heroes and the Nart

Orstkhoi. The connection of those stones with the

sacral sphere seems to have been forgotten by the

locals at the time the texts were written.

According to Chechen, namely, Khorachoi

legend, the creation of the Sunzha riverbed is

connected with the dragon. The seven Khorachoi

brothers encountered a mighty dragon, which

slaughtered humans and livestock. The valiant

brothers are not afraid of the dragon and fearlessly

fight the monster. They fight for a long time and

finally the dragon retreats. The Horachoi brothers do

not let go of the enemy and pursue it to the end. The

dragon retreats, wriggling, and the brothers follow.

Where the dragon slid, the weight of its body bent the

ground and formed a deep channel, in which now

flows the river Sunzha (Dalgat 1972: 344-345). The

plot of the legend is of cosmogonic nature. It tells the

story of the formation of the riverbed of the Sunzha.

In Georgian tales of this type the function of seven

brothers is performed by an ancient mythological

archetype - an ox. The bull fights the dragon. The

defeated dragon retreats and, according to various

versions, forms the channels of the rivers Iori (Ivri)

and Alazani.

The bull fighting the serpent/dragon, as an archaic

symbol of land and agriculture, is not known in

Chechen and Ingush tales. The Georgian name of the

dragon, ვეშაპი ("Vashapi" → "Eshapi"), is, however,

familiar in Chechen and Ingush languages. The word

"eshapi", which in Chechen fairy tales means an old

witch, a sorceress, and in Ingush tales means a

monster-guardian/guardian of the beyond, derives

from the Georgian word "veshapi" (eshapi ←

veshapi, original ვეშაპი). The dragon is referred to

by the word Veshapi in ancient Georgian literary

monuments, in particular, in works of the VIII-XII

centuries, including Shota Rustaveli's “In the Knight

in Panter’s Skin”: "Mze Veshapsa daebnela"

(original. "მზე ვეშაპსა დაებნელა") - "The dragon

hid the light - we will hardly be granted light,"

Rustaveli writes. Georgian sources of the late Middle

Ages refer to the dragon as Gveleshapi (original

გველვეშაპი) - Serpent-Smith (from the word gveli

(გველი) - snake, veshapi (ვეშაპი) - whale.) That is

why the name of the demonic creature Eshapi was

fixed in the Chechen language under Georgian

influence even in times immemorial.

The traces left by the dragon on the landform can

be seen in Chechen toponyms. Mount Bashlam, the

same Kazbek (Georgian Mkinvartsveri, original

მყინვარწვერი), is also known by Chechen

toponyms. It is called Sarmak Bizhina Korta - "The

Peak Where the Dragon Lied", which is a

mythologeme and preserves a certain mythological

history in concise form. The mystery of the Chechen

mythological name of the glacier can be explained by

the Mokhoe version of the famous Georgian epos,

Amirani. According to the legend, a dragon

descended from the mountain top to devour Amirani,

who was chained to a mountain slope. But

immediately Saint George appeared to Amirani and

said to the dragon: "- Stop, I chained Amirani so that

he might repent of his sins, not for your satiation.

Freeze where you are!" Hearing these words the

dragon immediately petrified (Kiknadze, 2008). As

both names - Chechen 'The Peak Where the Dragon

Lied' ('Sarmak Bizhiina korta') and Mokhya's Dragon

turned into mountain - are associated with one and the

same mountain - Kazbek, one may suppose that they

are based on one and the same mythological

representation. The myth connected with the

mountain Kazbek was preserved in Chechen tradition

only as a mythological toponym, while in the

Georgian epos it was preserved as a plot.

Georgian-Chechen mythological parallels are not

limited to the motifs and plots presented in this

article. Both Georgian and Chechen tales confirm the

stories of fortunate people who wear shining marks

(markings) on their bodies as a sign of their

chosenness. The Khevsurs called such a person a

partaker of God - natsiliani (original ნაწილიანი -

Mythological Parallels in Georgian and Chechen Legends

125

having a part). Secret signs on the body were

sometimes expressed in astral symbols, images of the

sun and the moon, which also kept the mystery of the

hero's unharmedness (Mamisimedishvili, 2021).

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this article, I have considered only a few details of

Chechen-Georgian mythological parallels, which

were formed as a result of a long exchange of cultural

values in the folklore of the two peoples. Deeper and

more genetic affinities are revealed between oral folk

texts of the highlands of East Georgia and Chechen

folklore samples, both in terms of mythological plots

and motifs and in the form of individual

mythologemes and traditional elements scattered in

the folklore texts. Chechen and Georgian traditional

cultures are alike in many aspects, which demands

further comprehensive and interdisciplinary studies.

Chechen and Georgian mythology reveal

important plot parallels and similar elements of

traditional culture. The existence of certain

mythological motifs and plots in epic tales is due to

cultural influences and borrowings, while some are

universal and are reflected in traditions rather distant

from each other.

The study demonstrated such important aspects of

Georgian-Nakh cultural relations as the kinship of

Chechen tales and Georgian folklore; the similarity of

mythologemes, plots and motifs fixed in Chechen

folk texts with the Georgian oral tradition; and the

reflection of mediaeval Georgian culture in Chechen

tales.

Parallelisms of mythological motifs in Georgian

and Chechen tales manifest themselves in many

aspects, in particular, in the narratives associated with

patrons of beasts and forest mythical beings; in the

names of mythological characters; motifs of fighting

demonic mythological creatures; secret signs

associated with a character's appearance;

mythological names of toponyms; and the

cosmogonic character of the dragon mythologem in

Chechen folklore and its parallelism with Georgian

mythology.

The article examines the typological and genetic

links between Chechen mythopoetics and the

Georgian oral tradition, and reveals mythopoetic and

narrative/plotological parallels. As studies have

shown, the similarity of mythological motifs in

Chechen and Georgian legends is not superficial but

deeper. They include well-known plots reworked on

the local soil, and completely original themes and

motifs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was supposed by Shota Rustaveli National

Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG) (grant

number: CS-I-21-158).

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