Abkhaz neopaganism, or the Abkhaz native religion, is the contemporary re-emergence of the

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a pri ...

of the

Abkhaz people Abkhazians (russian: Абхазы), or Abkhazs ( ab, Аԥсуаа, Aṕswaа, ), are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population ...

in unrecognized

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

, a revitalisation which started in the 1980s.Schnirelmann, p. 202. The most important holy sites of the religion are the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia, each one having its own priestly clan, where rituals and prayers began to be restored in the 1990s. According to the 2003 census, 8% of the population of Abkhazia adheres to Abkhaz neopaganism. On 3 August 2012 the

Council of Priests of Abkhazia The Council of Priests of Abkhazia unites the seven principal priests of the Abkhazian traditional religion, who are responsible for the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia. The council was formally constituted on 3 August 2012. Its chairman is Zaur Chic ...

was formally constituted in

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

. The possibility of making the Abkhaz native religion one of the state religions was discussed in the following months.

History

The traditional Abkhaz religion was actually never completely wiped out; circles of priests, whose activity was kept secret, passed on

traditional knowledge Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. According to the World Intellectual Property Organ ...

and rites in the times when Christianity and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

became dominant in the region, and later in Soviet times of anti-religion. Such priests continued the worship of deities such as the

thunder god Polytheistic peoples from many cultures have postulated a thunder god, the personification or source of the forces of thunder and lightning; a lightning god does not have a typical depiction, and will vary based on the culture. In Indo-European c ...

Afy and the supreme god Antsua. Since the 1980s, and later in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Abkhaz native religion was resurrected by the joint efforts of priests who began to resurface, rural people reactivating local rituals, and urban intellectuals supporting Paganism as an integral part for a reawakening of the Abkhaz

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and cultural identity. A turning point for the revival of the Abkhaz native religion came with the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict.Schnirelmann, p. 205. With tensions growing, more and more Abkhazians began associating

Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...

with the

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

, and chose to reject it, turning to the native gods. The eventual victory of

in the 1992–93 war with Georgia catalyzed the Neopagan revival. Many Abkhaz believe that their

national god A national god is a Tutelary deity, guardian divinity whose special concern is the safety and well-being of an ethnic group (''nation''), and of that group's leaders. This is contrasted with other guardian figures such as family gods responsible ...

Dydrypsh awarded them the victory.Schnirelmann, p. 206. Since then the Abkhaz native religion has been protected by Abkhaz authorities. Government officials took part in a bull sacrifice in October 1993 celebrated to thank the Lord Dydrypsh for the victory over the Georgians, and since then they regularly take part in worship rituals.Krylov, 1998a: 24–26; 1998b

References

Bibliography

* . * . * & 7, 1998 b: 54–56. * . * . * .

External links

* . * {{Neopaganism Caucasian Neopaganism Modern paganism in Europe Religion in Abkhazia Religious nationalism

History

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links