Ethnography
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.
Abkhaz singer, artist and part-time animator Astamur Kvitsiniya is working on the creation of the cartoon “Heroic actions of Abraskil” in the Abkhaz language.
Much has changed over the centuries in the marriage traditions of the Abkhaz people, but it is also surprising that much has been preserved. On the traditional Abkhaz wedding and how it is celebrated now - in the essay from the ethnographic cycle of the WAC portal.
The Abaza language belongs to the Abkhaz-Adyg group of the North Caucasian family of languages. It is related to the Adyg, Kabardino-Circassian, Ubykh (now extinct) and Abkhaz language, with which it is the closest. The Abaza language has two dialects: Tapant (from Abaza Ashua), which underlies the literary language, and Ashkhar (from Abaza Shkaraua). Both are used today. The developer of the first Abaza alphabet was the Abaza and Circassian writer and poet Tatlustan Tabulov.
In continuation of the topic of how to learn the Abkhaz language, the WAC web information portal tells us where and how to learn the native language outside of Abkhazia today.