“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
Rituals of the Singing Village - Chamgeliani Sisters - Series 2 Episode 4
Voices of the Ancestors
1 hour 3 minutes 26 seconds
2 years ago
Rituals of the Singing Village - Chamgeliani Sisters - Series 2 Episode 4
How do you welcome the souls of your ancestors? Why are wolves sacred? Can you sing and dance through grief?
An audio journey to the highest mountains of Georgia - Svaneti. We meet Ana, Madona and Eka Chamgeliani, three sisters keeping the ancient traditions of their village, Lakhushdi, alive.
We hear:-
How their mother and grandmother passed on local traditions, protecting them from dying out.
-How a round dance, found in the capital, was taught to Maspindzeli (London based Georgian choir) and revived in its home village.
- How Madona took on the entire orthodox patriarchy and won the right to continue the ancient song and dance ritual of Tanghiloba,
- The legend of St. George becoming a werewolf
- The infamous story of a Cockerel taken to a Tbilisi hospital to catch the souls.
- A storyteller and a singer-songwriter’s first impressions of a country whose songs they love but had never visited.
- A ballad performed live by all three sisters accompanied by Svan stringed instrument the chuniri
Voices of the Ancestors by Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson.
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
Music in this episode:
Live recording of a Svanetian Ballad sung by Ana, Eka and Madona Chamgeliani with Ana playing chuniri.
Barbal Dolash from THE SINGING VILLAGE (Lakhushdi) https://georgianfolksinging.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-singing-village-lakhushdi with Ana and Madona Chamgeliani and Levan Biatrovi
Tanghili chant - Diadeb sung by the elders of Lakhushdi, recorded by Gosia Kaszhubska
Links:
Chamgeliani’s Concerts in Europe November 2023
https://europalia.eu/en/europalia-georgia/events/basiani-ensemble-chamgeliani-sisters
Basiani Ensemble and the Chamgeliani Sisters - ARSONIC, MARS-MONS ARTS DE LA SCÈNE
Date/Time: 15/11/2023 - 19:00:00
ADDRESS: Rue de Nimy 138 - 7000 Mons
https://europalia.eu/en/europalia-georgia/events/chamgeliani-sisters-didgori-ensemble
Chamgeliani Sisters and the Didgori Ensemble
Date/Time: 11/11/2023 - 19:00:00
ADDRESS: Molière Theater, Porte de Namur Gallery 3, Square du Bastion - 1050 Brussels
Film links:
Life in 3 Voices https://lifeinthreevoices.com/ - A documentary film following Ensemble Adilei and the Chamgeliani sisters, both on tour in the US, and in their native Georgia. A Film by Marina Kaganova & Leo Decristoforo.
Adventures in Singing https://youtu.be/eVze6oVbniE?si=CHvslwWKVZoVnXqg - The experience of non-Georgians learning to sing Georgian polyphonic songs, with insights from master singers. By David Ring.
Lakhushdi: The Singing Village https://youtu.be/hZ_zhyYQCgc?si=-8XWHmAjrBxHCHfd - Work and play in the village of Lakhushdi. Villagers practice traditional polyphonic song and circle dance. In July 2011 villagers welcomed guests to learn the songs and take part in the Festival - The Feast of Limkheri. The festival is celebrated at the 14th Century Chapel on the wooded hill above the village. The village is home to a cultural and development co-operative, The Union Lidbashi.By MikeSpringVideos. https://www.youtube.com/@MikeSpringVideos
Feasting and Singing in Svaneti https://youtu.be/ARQ63OZJmnY?si=tc8psdRc9vllVEmM Our guests enjoyed a home cooked meal in the home of the Chamgeliani sisters in upper Svaneti. A highlight was hearing them sing traditional polyphony! John Graham Tours https://www.youtube.com/@JohnGrahamTours
On Bandcamp https://georgianfolksinging.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-singing-village-lakhushdi
On Georgian Chant http://www.georgianchant.org/svan-chant-intro/ - An introduction to Svanetian Chant by ethnomusicologist Matthew Knight.
The House of Song, Lakhushdi (fundraiser now closed)
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/lakhushdi-house-of-song#/
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
