Ethnography
What is the soul of the people expressed in? In language, traditions, culture. It is also expressed in crafts that are passed on from generation to generation, giving the opportunity to create for the benefit and joy of people. “Living Craft” is a new project of the World Abaza Congress. The series of programs will tell about masters who, with their own hands, help traditions not to fade away, remaining part of modern culture. You will learn more about the history and technology of the craft and, perhaps, try your hand at creativity yourself.
Жəабран (zhvabran) is a ritual holiday that is held once a year before the beginning of Lent. This tradition is rooted in the distant past of our people.
The "Amazara" joint project of the WAC and the ANO "Alashara" continues the cycle of videos on Abaza wedding and post-wedding rites.
The WAC web information portal made a photoblog, which shows in detail the process of making the Abkhazian memorial candle of ashamaka.
The WAC is reviving the tradition of the Abkhazian ritual candle: for the second year in a row, on the day of remembrance of the victims of the Caucasian War, in May, ashamaka was lit. What is this tradition, what are its roots and history? The Information portal of the Congress has prepared a detailed material about this.
Many members of the “Apkhyartsa” ensemble two years ago did not hold any musical instruments in their hands and did not know the notes - but meanwhile the newly created team almost immediately began to take prizes at festivals. The WAC correspondent found out how this was possible.
Abkhaz language belongs to the West Caucasian (Abkhaz-Adyg) group of the Caucasian language family. The closest to it is the Abaza language and they are related to the Adyg, Kabardino-Circassian languages, as well as the now extinct Ubykh. The Abkhaz language is one of the oldest and archaic languages of the world, which has survived to this day. The alphabet of the Abkhaz language consists of 64 letters: 56 consonants, 6 vowels, as well as two signs - a soft sign and a labialization sign.
A hundred years ago it was impossible to imagine an Abaza yard without an apiary; beekeeping here has always been an honorable and beloved affair. Today, the situation has not changed much: modern beekeepers only modernized their apiaries, preserving the traditional craft as a real art.
Viacheslav Chirikba, Chairman of the Bagrat Shinkuba Abkhaz Language Foundation, member of the Supreme Council of the WAC, spoke about the methods of preserving the Abkhaz language using the example of the Wales experience in the UK.