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Traditions and Beliefs of Abkhaz

27.06.2018

According to the beliefs of the Abkhazians, life is the carrier of the soul. The literal translation of the Abkhazian word life is "contains the soul." Before death, the soul begins to depart from the body, and when the soul finally leaves, death will arrive. The soul needs the body everywhere, including in the other world after death. The soul can’t wander far away from the body, and can not long be separated from the body. So, if a person is killed in the mountains or drowns in a river, and if his dead body is moved to be buried in the family cemetery, it is necessary to reunite the soul that has departed from the body. To do this, Abkhazians have a unique ritual called "catching souls." They place a wineskin on the spot of death of the deceased and transfer it to the grave. Then, the soul is reunited with the body and can move on to the next world. It is also very important that all Abkhazians be buried in Abkhazia. 

It is believed that when God was handing out land on earth to all people, the Abkhazians were late to attend the ceremony because they were entertaining guests. All that God had left was a pile of rocks, which formed Abkhazia. Because God wanted to reward the Abkhazians for being so hospitable, God made the land of Abkhazia the most beautiful land on earth.

Fire, wood and stone have important symbolic value in the traditional religion of Abkhazians. Candles are often placed on the roots of a tree, alongside a small pile of stones that lean against the tree trunk, during ceremonies and festivals.

In the Abkhaz religion, the custom of animal sacrifices is widespread. Sacrificial animals, as a rule, are white goats or goatlings, sheep, and less often, bulls. The are a few important rules regarding the sacrifice. The animal should be male, flawless, well-fed, and healthy.

In addition to the seven holy sanctuaries, every village has their own sacred place where ceremonies are held annually with the relevant animal sacrifices and prayers. Prayers with sacrifices take place in groves, around individual trees that stand out from the others, such as trees that are largest in height or width. Certain mountains and passes have also long been considered sacred to the Abkhazians.

Traditional Abkhazian prayer involves a sacrifice and a common ritual feast, to further attach themselves to God. It consists of several special "clean" ritual dishes, including boiled meat, abysta, salt, adjika and wine. During the feast, the Abkhazians appeal to God to take their troubles, illnesses and other misfortunes from themselves and their relatives, so that they can continue to multiply and flourish for God. After each family member takes it in turn to repeat this prayer, they taste a piece of the liver and heart of the sacrificed animal, and drink a glass of holy wine.

One tradition of the ancient religion still continues to be one of the characteristic features of Abkhaz law. If the suspect in a crime protests his innocence, he must then repeat the oath to God: "If I am guilty, let me and my family die." The oath is sacred, it is not allowed to be broken under any circumstances. Such violation is considered the greatest sin. Abkhazians believe that after swearing a false oath, the person could die on the spot or the punishment could fall on his family. Thus, if the guilty person did not plead guilty, he causes the gradual death of his entire family and family name, and only then dies himself.

This article belongs to https://www.discoverabkhazia.org