Mingrelians

Ethnographic group of Georgians Ethnic group MingreliansMingrelian: მარგალეფი MargalepiGeorgian: მეგრელები MegrelebiMegrelians, by J. X. Raoult, 1870sTotal populationc. 400,000Regions with significant populationsGeorgia 400,000LanguagesMingrelian, GeorgianReligionPredominantly Eastern Orthodox Christianity (Georgian Orthodox Church) The Mingrelians (Mingrelian: მარგალეფი, romanized: margalepi; Georgian: მეგრელები, romanized: megrelebi) are an indigenous Kartvelian-speaking ethnic subgroup of Georgians that mostly live in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti (Mingrelian: სამარგალო, romanized: samargalo; Georgian: სამეგრელო, romanized: samegrelo) region of Georgia. They also live in considerable numbers in Abkhazia and Tbilisi. In the pre-1930 Soviet census, the Mingrelians were afforded their own ethnic group category, alongside many other ethnic subgroups of Georgians. The Mingrelians speak the Mingrelian language, and are typically bilingual also in Georgian. Both these languages belong to the Kartvelian language family. History In the 13th century BC, the Kingdom of Colchis was forme