Fridon Khalvashi’s „Sami Simoneti (Three Simoneti)“ and Some Fragments from the History of Georgia

Abstract

Fridon Khalvashi›s poem „Sami Simoneti (Three Simoneti)“ was written in 1970. The ideological basis of the poem is the history of Georgia, along with the oral stories spread among the people. According to these stories, during the Ottoman invasion, part of the population from the village of Simoneti, located on Chorokhispira in Adjara, moved to Imereti and named their new settlement Simoneti. The third Simoneti, according to the analysis of the poem, is located in Turkey and was founded by Muhajirs. In the village of Ilimbei, Gayve District, Sakarya Province, the toponym Simoneti is indeed recorded, as it is the name of one of the districts established by migrants. Descendants of Georgian emigrants, particularly those from Maradidi and Simoneti of Adjara at the end of the 19th century, live in Ilimbei.

The thematic arc of the poem, in addition to the title, is announced in the epigraph: „I know three Simoneti: the first village is near Chorokh, the second - in Imereti, the third - near Bursa, Turkey“. The article discusses Fridon Khalvashi’s poem and the details of the past and present of the three villages, which are directly related to the artistic interpretation of reality. This involves the relation of poetic imagery to objective reality. Accordingly, along with artistic texts, both historical writings and collective memory materials are used for analysis: folk stories, legends, written or fictionalized narratives.

It is significant that, along with old and new folk stories, inspiring artistic texts of modern contacts with Simoneti were also found. Intensive contacts between individuals began in the 90s. In 2001, the first organized meetings between representatives of the villages in Adjara and Imereti were held. In 2003, a large stone cross was brought from Imereti to Adjara and installed at the head of the village. In May 2023, the foundation of a church was begun. On May 23, the day of commemoration of Simon the Canaanite, the foundation was consecrated. Another echo of folk history is that the construction of the church began in the name of Simon the Canaanite