The Svan people are a subgroup of the Georgian ethnic group, living mainly in the Svaneti region of western Georgia. They are known for their distinctive culture, which has been shaped by their remote location in the mountainous Svaneti region.
Svan
Population in the Project Area: 30000
The People
Svaneti
The Svan people are found in the upper Svaneti region in Georgia. Only a few people in the lower Svaneti speak the Svan language. Upper Svaneti, part of the Caucasus, is an exceptional example of medieval-style villages and tower houses in a mountainous region. The village “Mestia” is considered the centre of Upper Svaneti, where the self-government of the district unit, schools, hospital, museum and many touristic infrastructures are located. The most populated village in Svaneti is called “Ushguli.” The Svan people are found in the 16 villages. The Svan people are known for their distinctive culture, which has been shaped by their remote location in the mountainous Svaneti region. They have a rich tradition of folk music, dance, and crafts, and their traditional costumes are among the most colorful and elaborate in Georgia. The Svan people have followed agriculture and animal husbandry since time immemorial. They were good hunters, and women were mainly engaged in needlework. In Svaneti, mountaineering is significantly developed. There were also icon-painting schools. Svans were also skilled blacksmiths and could carve the most complex figures or ornaments out of metal. Tourism and activities directly related to tourism are popular in modern Svaneti. A majority of modern Svans are employed in state structures as well. Economic problems are not felt. The Svan people are predominantly Orthodox Christians. The Svan community is still faithful to the customs that they have inherited from their ancestors and passed on to the generations. Their customs are heavily influenced by religion. One of the customs of animal sacrifice has survived to this day.
The Project
Mother-Tongue literacy.
Svan People have their own distinct language, also called Svan, which is a Kartvelian language and one of the oldest living languages in Georgia. The Svan language has two main dialects: the Upper Svan dialect and the Lower Svan dialect. The Svan language is one of the oldest, like everything else, which is directly related to Svan and the Svan people. The Svan language does not have a script, although this has never been a big problem for the Svan as they use the Georgian alphabet to write Svan. Most of the Svan people are bilingual and the rest are multilingual. In addition to their own language, the Svan people definitely know the Georgian state language because they have to use the Georgian language in schools and other state institutions. The Svan people tend to use their ethnic language at home for communication with each other in the household. Part of the Svan people is multilingual, which is caused by the excellent tourist interest in “Svaneti”. Multilingual Svans, in addition to Svan and Georgian languages, mostly know English and Russian as well. Children in the Svan region mostly speak Georgian because they are learning Georgian as their first language. In schools and other educational institutions, they have to use only Georgian.
We have conducted a detailed survey on the socio-cultural features of Svan people. The user population of the Svan language is decreasing year by year. One of the main findings is the community members are not equally interested in learning and maintaining the language. Hence, the actual number of users is less than the ethnic population. So, We have future plans of designing a custom training method based on the mother tongue and other languages. Alphabet development is also under consideration as it help to preserve the heritage of the language.
Progress
As of March 2023
A sociolinguistic survey was recently conducted in the Svaneti region to explore the language features, attitudes of the people towards their language, their bilingual ability, challenges, and other relevant factors. The survey findings revealed that there is a growing decline of interest in the Svan language among the community, which poses a threat to the language’s preservation. To address this issue, a custom-tailored action plan for literacy training will be developed based on the survey findings. The action plan aims to promote Svan language and culture by addressing the challenges identified in the survey.