Weddings and Festivals

ga-mata e dana akhnan ki-matakhva shennan ka-gvara ita letvalan hakuyta akhnan ka-de brata azakhva tanakhva bayyakh gorakhlakh. baba yemma PtasmimP dokiva em brata talbivala katan. kala la-msakhva odakhva. taniva pellan brata bayyakh mayyakhla katukh. le-amesva taniva la. ani razi aviva, aziva talbivala. b-aziva shaklivala. kharta akhnan m-uydale kha tre-ga k-amsakhva hamzemmakhva, ayda raba basurta. dayet?

In the village, at that time, when we used to reach the age of marrying, we did not have the right to go and say to the girl ‘We want to marry you.’ The father and mother made a decision as to which girl they would request in marriage for us. We would not be able to make any protest. They would say ‘We want to bring for you such-and-such a girl.’ He (the young man) would not have been able to say ‘No.’ If they were satisfied, they would go and ask for her hand in marriage. They would go and take her. Then we could talk to one another, one or two times, but that was very rare. You understand?

ita khluyla k-odiva. t-aziva masalan talbivala khina, tlibona shirennekh videna. t-aziva b-davla zurna aha men-mavay mayyivala bi arabane, yalenke. t-aziva, mayyivala. khluyla pt-odiva beta raba gura. davekva masalan tremma ganay, emma ganay, gura.

So, they held the wedding. They would go, for example, to seek her hand, and when they have asked for her hand, they would have held a betrothal party. They would go with drum and pipe. They brought her (the bride) from the villages in coaches, carriages. They would go and bring him (the groom). They would hold the wedding in a very big house. It would hold, for example, two hundred people, one hundred people, big.

etva kulinet kamkha, kuline gure sanduke tanakh. akhnan yale sure yaskakhva yattakhva al-kuline. yaskakhva yattakhva al-den kuline kat-melyena kamkha. adi esri ganavay, tlay ganavay yale sure yaskakhva atkha. anne tivena lakhkha ukhcha kale, nashe, bakhtate, kulle. tama t-aviva kha dana el-aghase kha men-bak. ita kha-nasha bayyiva markedvale kamta men-bak men-el-aghase bayyiva ijaza pellan-kas grushle kamaye, garshiva.

There were storage bins of flour, large bins, boxes let’s say. We young children used to climb up and sit on the bins. We used to climb up and sit on those bins, which were full of flour. Now, we children would climb up like this, twenty or thirty people. They (the others) are sitting here, (there is) so much noise, men, women, everybody. There was one man who was the master of ceremonies and one was the wedding organizer. Now, if a person wanted to make somebody dance, first he needed permission from the wedding organizer and the master of ceremonies (who would say) ‘Take so-and-so to the front (onto the dance floor),’ and they would take him.

ana masalan bakiven ka-diyyukh tanenva el-aghase pellan yala grushle kamaye raked. mayyivale ga-majles rakedva. dayet? rakedva. ita, emne nashe bayyiva en tre ganay o khluyla guret do khluyla ani k-aviva. kum ani taniva en-nashe nata dokiva al-davun, al-den tre ganay. ki-parshivalun tre ganay kat-a khluyla akhnokhun emne bayyitun mazmerritun emne bayye raked, ani gari odivale o shula. ita khayyuta merri raba yakurteva zuyza basureva.

If I, for example, am the wedding organizer, I would say to you ‘Master of ceremonies, take such-andsuch a young man to dance at the front.’ They would take him into the gathering and he would dance. You understand? He would dance. So, whoever these two individuals wanted (to dance), they were the leaders of the wedding. Whatever they said, the people would obey them, these two individuals. They would elect them, the two individuals, (saying) ‘At this wedding you make sing whoever you wish, who should dance,’ they must do this job. So, life, as I have said, was very hard and money was scarce.

ita adiyya khluyla t-odiva. gora bakhta raba basure kes-uydale damkhiva. duka letvalun. shenne khareta kharaye. khina khachcha gurveslan kha otagh surta tarsiva kha-tre-yarkhe tla-yarkhe ent taza khetna kalu ki-damkhiva tama. kharta khina ga-da kelpat esri ganay, khamshasar ganay ga-da beta dmikhena. khayyuta raba barayeva khalta raba basurteva. ita anne mendyane iva, khezyekh. dayet?

So now, they held the wedding. The husband and wife seldom slept together. They did not have enough space. In recent years, after we had grown a little, they made a little room, and for one or two months, three months, the newlyweds would sleep there. Then (they would sleep) again among the family,where twenty people, fifteenpeople were asleep in the house. Life was very backward. Food was very scarce. So, these things were (like this). We saw them. Do you understand?

ida-gura, tla yumane ida-gura etvalan. e-dana yumet kameta khoshiba, k-azakhva sluta, umra. kasha etvalan sluta k-avedva. ita bar kavutra anne da mata anne akh-sakale khadriva emnet nashe etle geddeshta motana jammiva pt-aziva ga-bet-davun. idu barkhivale risha basamta b-yavvi-vale. yumet kameta hal kavutra ga-umra k-aviva. bar kavutra anne nashe gure etva ga-de mata motane t-aziva risha basamta. adi esra ganay, khamsar ganay khadriva, iket kha nasha kat e shita nashu munyekhkhele, mitele, khadriva risha basamta.

Easter, we held Easter for three days. At that time, on the first day, Sunday, we went to pray, at the church. We had a priest and he held the service. Then, after lunch, those that were like the dignitaries of the villages would go round, whoever has had an accident or somebody deceased, they would gather and go to his house. They would wish him a happy Easter and offer him their condolences. The first day until lunchtime they used to be in church. After lunch if there were people who had died, the senior people would go and offer their condolences. Now, ten people, fifteen people would go around, wherever there was somebody who had a family member who had passed away, died, they visited to offer their condolences.

yumet tre t-aziva kha idet do-khina barkhiva. ita khina dokiva b-jarga. mata t-oyava tlay batvay arpi batvay. udyu bet-diyyukhvet, bet-do-khina, gashket esra yumane, khamsar yumane k-avi idavay barukhe. ita akhnan yale jile al-den sulyatet kat kenyane e shekhte ruppo, tupteptela, ay janiman k-azakhva arra bezzaze talakhva. kha shabta men-da khoshiba al-do khoshiba khina talakhva tavule kut-yum. ita etva davla davla ki-makhiva janiman k-azakhva. yale jile a shulanva kha shabta. yumanet idet gura-ida tla yumane, ina kha shabta akhnan har k-avivalan talta bar kavutrane. k-azakhva morisha palkhakhva bar kavutrane k-atakhva. tama jammakhva talakhva arra bezzaze, janiman, kha-menne … janiman zamerva shapira anne kulle b-rakdiva rish-khegga b-labliva. ida raba sodana k-odakhvale. khedyuyta etvalan.

On the second day, they would go and wish one another a happy Easter. Now, they kept to a sequence. The village was thirty or forty houses. Today you are in your own home, (then) in the house of somebody else. You see they used to convey festival blessings for ten days, for fifteen days. Now, we young children used to go and dance the +janiman dance and play ‘holes in the ground’ on the heaps where they had thrown cattle dung, which was stamped down. We played games every day for a week, from this Sunday until the next Sunday. Now, there was a drum, they played the drum, we went to dance +janiman. This was what we young children did for a week. The days of Easter were three days, but we had games in the afternoon for one week. In the morning we went to work and in the afternoons we came back. We gathered there and played ‘holes in the ground,’ +janiman, one of them would sing +janiman beautifully, and everybody would dance and lead a jig in a circle. We had a very enjoyable festival. We had merriment.

ita-khina khamra i-jammiva betvate. etvalan zamare spay. beta gura mattiva o zamara b-zamerva, supra muttena. kuline etlan, lina etlan gura. vadra malivale mattivale b-arallegh khamra. maliva tasa gurta maliva kakh b-yavviva at b-shatetvala ka-davva b-yavviva. atkha t-atyava tasa matyava tamma parkava. gashket shavva vadre, tmanya vadre khamra shativa. khamra perya k-avivalun. zamriva, shativa, t-akhliva, zamriva hal saat kha tre b-lele. anne mendiyyane etva ga-mavate.

Now, as for wine, they used to gather in houses. We had good singers. They used to set up a large house and the singer would sing, (after) they have laid the spread of food. We have flour boxes. We have a large wine jar. They would fill a bucket and place the wine in the middle. They would fill a large bowl and they would give it to you, you would drink it and they would give it to him. In this way the bowl would come back, and arrive there (where it started) emptied. You would see that they used to drink seven buckets, eight buckets of wine. They used to have plenty of wine. They sang, they drank, they ate, they sang, until one or two o’clock at night. There were such things in the villages.

dala dalpe, ayen setva k-oyava. setva k-oyava, kurbabet eshvat k-aviva. etvala kha yuma. o yuma yale sure i-khadri yaskiva garavate dala dalpe k-odivala. kha-dana kavva yasriva men-kave pashtivale men-kave ga-beta pashtivale. ita aten mu etlukh, keshmishe etlukh, sherniyye etlukh daretva ga davun ani garshivala. kulle mata khadrivala. ita kharta etva bar prekvalun gashket nuyra b-sheriva al-garavate. khamra b-shativa, b-zamriva, aten esra ganay al-da garena, esra al-do garena. a shulada setva k-odivale yale jile anne gure. anne sure merri b-do kavva b-khadriva garavay, men-de kave pashtiva, keshmishe yavvivalun, goze yavvivalun, tluvve ki-yavvivalun. ku-met etvalun ga-dav b-yavviva katu, gareshvale men-da gare al-do gare khina, atkha kul-garavay khaderva, tla arpa yale sure.

Dala dalpə, this took place in the winter. It took place in the winter. It was around February. It had an (appointed) day. On that day the children used to go around and climb on the rooftops and play Dala dalpə. They would tie a bowl and let it in through a roof-window, they let it in through a roof-window. Now, whatever you had, whether you had raisins, or you had sweets, you would put in this (bowl) and they would pull it up. They would go round the whole village. Then afterwards, after they finished, you would see how they would light a fire on the rooftops. They would drink wine and sing. You (would see how) ten people are on this roof and ten people are on that roof. They do this in the winter, the older youngsters. The young ones, as I have said, went around the rooftops with that bowl, they let it in through the roof-window, people gave them raisins, they gave them walnuts, they gave them preserved hanging grapes. Whatever they had they would give to him in that (bowl) and he would pull it up, from this roof to that roof, going round all the roofs like this, three or four children.

yumet kalu-sulaka k-avivalan. arpi yumane bar ida kalu-sulaka k-aviva. kalu sulaka, kha dana kalu zarzakhva, akh-peslet kalu, tla arpa ganate a kalu tre ganay kha nasha davekva khetna baro, akhnanda bara bare t-azakhva. betet diyyukh betet davva, b-jammakhva. biyye ki-yavvivalan adiyya biyye b-yavvivalan, meshkha b-yavvivalan.

We had the day of (the festival of) the Bride of the Ascension. Forty days after Easter was the Bride of the Ascension. The Bride of the Ascension, we would dress up a bride, in the form of a bride, three or four people, the bride, two people, a person, the groom, followed her. We followed behind them. We gathered in your house, in his house. They used to give us eggs. Now, they used to give us eggs, they used to give us clarified butter.

ita b-jammakhva. bar prekla kulle mata khdiravalan, t-azakhva ga-cholavat karmane men-mata vaddar k-orakhva karmane. lablakhva tama, tava, shule. ojakhta sherakhva, spira bashlakhva. kut kha dastet ganu, masalan khamsha ganay ga-da chola, khamsha ga-do chola. gashkakh arpa khamsha cholavate. tivekh gave bashlakhva, k-akhlakhva en-biyye kat-jummekh men-mata. e kalu vidukh khdirekh beta beta kulle. ita tama zamriva. etvalun sodane zmaryate. dayet? anne mendiyyane e-ga etva. ayya kalu-sulakeva.

Then we gathered together. After she finished and we had gone around the whole village, we used to go to the huts of the vineyards. We went into the vineyards outside the town. We brought there a frying pan and the like. We lit a hearth fire and cooked an omelette, each in his own group, for example five people in this hut, five in that hut. You would see four or five huts. We sat in them, cooked and ate the eggs that we had gathered from the village. We had made the bride and gone all around from house to house. Then they used to sing there. They had good songs. Do you understand? There were such things at that time. This is what I have to tell about the Bride of the Ascension.