The Moral-Ethical Duties of the Pshavs and Khevsurs as Social Responsibility of the Community

Abstract

In any culture of the world, the population of a mountainous region is compelled to live under harsh conditions and with limited natural resources. Here, mutual assistance is not charity but an act dictated by the moral obligations of the human being — an act connected less with benefit than with physical survival. It is precisely from this context of social responsibility that we considered it important to investigate those preconditions, those moral-ethical obligations of the human being, which subsequently laid the foundation for patronage, charity, and sponsorship — activities grounded in ethical principles, established within contemporary business practice, and expressive of goodwill.

In this paper we examine the community of the Pshavs and Khevsurs as a socially bound group of people, a village population for whom responsibility toward one another is dictated by moral-ethical obligations and constitutes a vital function of the community. The customs established in the everyday life of the Pshavs and Khevsurs are presented within the context of social responsibility and encompass every requirement — whether measures directed toward overcoming poverty, labor and human rights, forms of encouragement and reward, or mutual support at significant stages of life, in both sorrow and celebration, and so on.

Drawing on the research of Georgian scholars G. Tedoradze, R. Topchishvili, A. Ochiauri, M. Kekelia, S. Makalatia, D. Gogochuri, B. Gdzelidze, D. Giorgadze and G. Chitaia, M. Makalatia, and G. Arabuli, and on the basis of ethnographic records gathered during expeditions as well as other material, we examine the forms of mutual assistance directed toward overcoming poverty established within the community of the Pshavs and Khevsurs: the Khevsurian „onchkhari“, almost identical to the Pshavian „ochkhari“; the transfer of the right to work the land to khiznebi (dependent settlers/tenants); the customary rules of hospitality; and forms of assistance connected with recurring labor activities. Examples of moral support are given both in cases of a fellow villager’s death and in cases of participation in the rituals following burial; also discussed are „mekodeoba“, aimed at strengthening social ties, the tradition of mutual assistance for the deceased extended to a neighboring community or village, and likewise shared participation in the expenses required for wedding ritual. Within the context of human rights, the tolerance shown by the Khevsurs toward an adversary or captive is described, as well as respect for differing confessions, governed by the laws of „man’s humanity to man“ (katsis katsoba). This outlook is further confirmed by the practice of imposing punishment for the excessive slaughter of neighbors of non-Georgian ethnic origin. As for environmental responsibility, no one could earn the name of a good q’ma (valiant youth) either by killing or taking more game or fowl than was necessary.

As an example of assistance pr~ovided in accordance with the principles of social responsibility, the rewards established by the community and by the servants of the shrine (khati) are cited: sakargq’mo, salotsavi, p’ativi, sagvarmeto, and others. It is noted that sakargq’mo was granted to a clan even after the hero’s death.

On the basis of this study of the forms of social responsibility within the community of the Pshavs and Khevsurs, the author reinforces the view that contemporary profit-making organizations emerge as a kind of corporate citizen, with their own rights and duties, and that their obligation of social responsibility toward society has its origin in the moral-ethical principles established in the everyday life of people bound by common interests, and in the experience of their ancestors.