“It's a call for me, it’s a call to protect traditions. The Voices of Ancestors aren’t only sounds we heard from the old recordings, it’s all the traditions which our ancestors kept.”
Dr. Maka Khardziani
—-
In this special video episode, you can both see and hear the creative work of Nanina, a women’s group of ethnomusicologists and singers based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Our guest, Dr Maka Khardziani - ethnomusicologist and Director of Nanina - reveals how Georgian women’s voices continue to shape the nation’s musical soul.
-
Together with hosts Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson, Maka takes us inside the Nanina Women’s Folklore Festivals: how they began, why they focus on women, and how each year’s theme builds on the next:
1st Festival: lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana
2nd Festival: healing songs and the Batonebi ritual circling the church
3rd Festival: women’s labour songs and handicrafts
Next year: ritual songs for weddings and the weather
-
Far from being just concerts, the festivals bring together scholarly papers, video presentations from regional ensembles, and exhibitions of women’s handicrafts.
Maka reveals how lullabies form the root language of all Georgian song, and how healing songs once worked as powerful emotional therapy. She also discusses the challenges of reviving women’s work songs that were rarely recorded — and the joy of discovering unknown melodies in old archives.
-
There’s a touching moment when Maka sings Nanila, a Svan lullaby from her home region of Svaneti. And videographer-singer Ia Andghuladze joins in to share the younger generation’s perspective on carrying these traditions forward through film and music.
> In this episode
- Lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana
- The Batonebi healing ritual and sacred round dance
- Women’s labour songs and handicrafts
- The multidisciplinary festival: music, film, scholarship, and craft
- How younger artists are continuing the work of Nanina
-----
🎧 Hosted by Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson
🎥 Video and audio production by Ia Andghuladze
📍 Guest: Dr Maka Khardziani, Director of Nanina
--
>Music
Intro: ‘Makharia’, chonguri. From the Ialoni album, 'I fell in love with that sweet voice'
Maka: Sings opening phrase of Iavnana
Maka: Sings Svan Nana - Nanila
Lalkhori sing Lullabies from Svaneti
Nanina sing Meskhetian Batonebo
>Links - Film about the creative Group Nanina in Georgian with English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_y8vcWy7_E
>If you enjoyed this episode, why not buy the creators a coffee?
On ko-fi.com/voicesoftheancestors
Support the podcast on patreon www.patreon.com/voicesoftheancestors
Sign up for our email updates and never miss an episode: eepurl.com/hhgoOf
Navigate this episode with the searchable transcript, available here voicesoftheancestors.co.uk/transcripts
All content for Voices of the Ancestors is the property of Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
“It's a call for me, it’s a call to protect traditions. The Voices of Ancestors aren’t only sounds we heard from the old recordings, it’s all the traditions which our ancestors kept.”
Dr. Maka Khardziani
—-
In this special video episode, you can both see and hear the creative work of Nanina, a women’s group of ethnomusicologists and singers based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Our guest, Dr Maka Khardziani - ethnomusicologist and Director of Nanina - reveals how Georgian women’s voices continue to shape the nation’s musical soul.
-
Together with hosts Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson, Maka takes us inside the Nanina Women’s Folklore Festivals: how they began, why they focus on women, and how each year’s theme builds on the next:
1st Festival: lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana
2nd Festival: healing songs and the Batonebi ritual circling the church
3rd Festival: women’s labour songs and handicrafts
Next year: ritual songs for weddings and the weather
-
Far from being just concerts, the festivals bring together scholarly papers, video presentations from regional ensembles, and exhibitions of women’s handicrafts.
Maka reveals how lullabies form the root language of all Georgian song, and how healing songs once worked as powerful emotional therapy. She also discusses the challenges of reviving women’s work songs that were rarely recorded — and the joy of discovering unknown melodies in old archives.
-
There’s a touching moment when Maka sings Nanila, a Svan lullaby from her home region of Svaneti. And videographer-singer Ia Andghuladze joins in to share the younger generation’s perspective on carrying these traditions forward through film and music.
> In this episode
- Lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana
- The Batonebi healing ritual and sacred round dance
- Women’s labour songs and handicrafts
- The multidisciplinary festival: music, film, scholarship, and craft
- How younger artists are continuing the work of Nanina
-----
🎧 Hosted by Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson
🎥 Video and audio production by Ia Andghuladze
📍 Guest: Dr Maka Khardziani, Director of Nanina
--
>Music
Intro: ‘Makharia’, chonguri. From the Ialoni album, 'I fell in love with that sweet voice'
Maka: Sings opening phrase of Iavnana
Maka: Sings Svan Nana - Nanila
Lalkhori sing Lullabies from Svaneti
Nanina sing Meskhetian Batonebo
>Links - Film about the creative Group Nanina in Georgian with English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_y8vcWy7_E
>If you enjoyed this episode, why not buy the creators a coffee?
On ko-fi.com/voicesoftheancestors
Support the podcast on patreon www.patreon.com/voicesoftheancestors
Sign up for our email updates and never miss an episode: eepurl.com/hhgoOf
Navigate this episode with the searchable transcript, available here voicesoftheancestors.co.uk/transcripts
Centuries of Song with Teona Lomsadze: Series 2 Episode 7
Voices of the Ancestors
1 hour 15 minutes 11 seconds
8 months ago
Centuries of Song with Teona Lomsadze: Series 2 Episode 7
“So I feel Voices of the Ancestors are definitely, somehow, I don't know, kept in Georgian traditional music for me, because it's, it brings me so much energetic, like emotional information and energy er encoded in this music over the centuries, which is just because of our ancestors and their voices.”
Dr Teona Lomsadze.
>
This episode covers a lot of ground, both musically and emotionally. Imagine singing with your family at feasts and the local folk youth club, then Gori Women’s Choir and in church, then being a jazz soloist and leading international workshops, all the while following your academic career, researching and writing. That’s just a taste of the life of Dr Teona Lomsadze.
- Are there rules at the Supra table?
Teo walks us through her family feasts.
>
- Can a woman be tamada?
Gender dynamics at the supra table
>
- Is Supra a ritual?
The sacred power of wine at the supra table
>
- What songs are being sung at the protests in Tbilisi?
Hear about Teo’s research into folk song and protest, and how those politics are playing out on the streets of Georgia now.
>
- Can a Christmas carol be a political statement?
How the ancient ritual of alilos were revived and are being performed as an act of resistance.
>
-Can you improvise a folk song?
Hear exclusive live recordings of Teo singing in Oxford University with Nana Mzhavanadze, Magda Kevlishvili and Teo’s partner Sandro Shar.
>
Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson host, with guest Dr Teona Lomsadze.
Audio production by Holly Taylor-Zuntz
>
Music in this episode:
Intro: ‘Makharia’, chonguri. From the Ialoni album, 'I fell in love with that sweet voice'
Underscore: Teo and friends singing ‘Jer Ar Ikneba Gvian’
‘Maspindzelsa mkhiarulsa’ sung by Teona Lomsadze, Sandro Shar and Nana Mzchavanadze. Live recording by Geoff Burton
Underscore: ‘Tsaiqvanes tamar kali’ sung by Maspindzeli
‘Me var da chemi nabadi', from Imereti sung by Aidio
‘Chona Alilo’ from Imereti sung by Odila
‘Dideba chvens shekreba’ sung by Teona Lomsadze, Sandro Shar and Nana Mzhavanadze. Live recording by Geoff Burton
‘Kirialesa’ sung by Kalta Choir
‘Nainina’ sung by Teona Lomsadze, Sandro Shar and Magda Kevlishvili. Live recording by Geoff Burton.
‘Shavlego’ sung by Mtiebi
‘Khasanbegura’ sung by Kimilia
>>
If you enjoyed this episode, why not buy the creators a coffee?
On ko-fi.com/voicesoftheancestors
Support the podcast on patreon www.patreon.com/voicesoftheancestors
Sign up for our email updates and never miss an episode: eepurl.com/hhgoOf
Navigate this episode with the searchable transcript, available here voicesoftheancestors.co.uk/transcripts
>>
Links:
E-book of Women’s Role in Unesco-Recognised European Traditional Singing Practices, compiled by Teona Lomsadze:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qZaLqiVZWdOCwvG4QjT9KJ0u8lhM2v7a/view?usp=drive_link
Independent Georgian news sources in English:
oc-media.org/
www.instagram.com/formulaenglish/?hl=en
Voices of the Ancestors
“It's a call for me, it’s a call to protect traditions. The Voices of Ancestors aren’t only sounds we heard from the old recordings, it’s all the traditions which our ancestors kept.”
Dr. Maka Khardziani
—-
In this special video episode, you can both see and hear the creative work of Nanina, a women’s group of ethnomusicologists and singers based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Our guest, Dr Maka Khardziani - ethnomusicologist and Director of Nanina - reveals how Georgian women’s voices continue to shape the nation’s musical soul.
-
Together with hosts Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson, Maka takes us inside the Nanina Women’s Folklore Festivals: how they began, why they focus on women, and how each year’s theme builds on the next:
1st Festival: lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana
2nd Festival: healing songs and the Batonebi ritual circling the church
3rd Festival: women’s labour songs and handicrafts
Next year: ritual songs for weddings and the weather
-
Far from being just concerts, the festivals bring together scholarly papers, video presentations from regional ensembles, and exhibitions of women’s handicrafts.
Maka reveals how lullabies form the root language of all Georgian song, and how healing songs once worked as powerful emotional therapy. She also discusses the challenges of reviving women’s work songs that were rarely recorded — and the joy of discovering unknown melodies in old archives.
-
There’s a touching moment when Maka sings Nanila, a Svan lullaby from her home region of Svaneti. And videographer-singer Ia Andghuladze joins in to share the younger generation’s perspective on carrying these traditions forward through film and music.
> In this episode
- Lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana
- The Batonebi healing ritual and sacred round dance
- Women’s labour songs and handicrafts
- The multidisciplinary festival: music, film, scholarship, and craft
- How younger artists are continuing the work of Nanina
-----
🎧 Hosted by Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson
🎥 Video and audio production by Ia Andghuladze
📍 Guest: Dr Maka Khardziani, Director of Nanina
--
>Music
Intro: ‘Makharia’, chonguri. From the Ialoni album, 'I fell in love with that sweet voice'
Maka: Sings opening phrase of Iavnana
Maka: Sings Svan Nana - Nanila
Lalkhori sing Lullabies from Svaneti
Nanina sing Meskhetian Batonebo
>Links - Film about the creative Group Nanina in Georgian with English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_y8vcWy7_E
>If you enjoyed this episode, why not buy the creators a coffee?
On ko-fi.com/voicesoftheancestors
Support the podcast on patreon www.patreon.com/voicesoftheancestors
Sign up for our email updates and never miss an episode: eepurl.com/hhgoOf
Navigate this episode with the searchable transcript, available here voicesoftheancestors.co.uk/transcripts
