Host and Guest

Vazha-Pshavela (1861–1915), translated by Jgerenaia, Lela G. (contact-email)

Host and Guest is an epic poem by the Georgian poet, writer and philosopher Vazha-Pshavela. The poem was first published in 1893 in Tbilisi, and it is considered to be the “masterpiece of the Georgian literature”.

Though the host, Joqola, is Muslim, and his guest, Zviadauri, is Christian, the poem refers only tangentially to their differing religious and cultural traditions. The story focuses on their intertwining fates – and the great dignity with which they face their inevitable ends.

The two men form a stoic friendship after a chance meeting in a forest while hunting deer. Their bond, symbolized by a ritualistic dance, unravels when Joqola defies a cultural taboo by hosting Zviadauri. His village, incited by elder Musa, demands the guest’s expulsion. Upholding a local hospitality mandate, Joqola refuses, igniting a catastrophic sequence of events.

Author Details

Vazha-Pshavela, the pen name of Luka Razikashvili, was a Georgian poet and writer born on 14 June 1861 in Chargali, Eastern Georgia. He hailed from a clerical family in the Pshavi region. Vazha-Pshavela completed his education at the Pedagogical Seminary in Gori in 1882 and briefly attended St. Petersburg University's Law faculty in 1883 as a non-credit student. Financial difficulties forced him to return to Georgia in 1884, where he worked as a Georgian language teacher.

He began his literary career in the mid-1880s, producing a significant body of work that includes 36 epics, around 400 poems, plays, stories, literary criticism, journalism, and ethnographic articles. His works, deeply rooted in Georgian upland life and mythology, often explore the interactions between individuals, society, and nature, alongside themes of freedom and human dignity.

Key works include "Aluda Ketelauri" and "Guest and Host", exploring the conflict between individual beliefs and societal norms. His epic "Snake-Eater" deals with the struggle of balancing personal ideals with societal and familial expectations. "Bakhtrioni" recounts the Georgians role in the 1659 uprising against Iranian rule.

Vazha-Pshavela's depictions of nature are notable for their dynamism and conflict, and his use of the Georgian language is both rich and precise. His works have been translated into over 20 languages, including Russian, English, French, and German.

He died on 10 July 1915 in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) and was buried in the Mtatsminda Pantheon, Tbilisi, in recognition of his literary and national significance. A museum in Chargali, established in 1961, commemorates his life and work.

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Jgerenaia, Lela G.

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