Tedo Sakhokia

Tedo Sakhokia (; March 15, 1868 – February 17, 1956) was a Georgian ethnographer, lexicologist, folklore scientist, translator, opinion journalist and educator, Correspondent Member of the Académie de Reims and Foreign Correspondent Member of the Society of Anthropology of Paris (1904).

Biography Tedo Sakhokia attended classes in Tbilisi Spiritual Seminary, from where he was expelled because of illegal activities. He attended universities in Paris, Geneva and Brussels. Tedo Sakhokia was a member of Liberty League. He was the leader of the Georgian Party, a political movement and co-edited the newspaper "Georgia" from 1903 to 1905.

Tedo Sakhokia was arrested in 1905 for attempting to bring weapons into Georgia illegally. In 1908, he was deported to Siberia, through which he fled to Europe, settling in Belgium, France, and England until 1916. After returning to Georgia, he became more actively involved in scientific and social activities, particularly in the restoration of the Georgian Church's autocephaly.

Tedo Sakhokia was the first Georgian figure who received specialized ethnographic education. He wrote several well-known works, including "Travelings (Guria, Adjara, Samurzakano and Abkhazia)," "Ethnographic Writings, "How We Grew Up in the Old Time" and "Georgian Imaginative Words and Sayings". His ethnographic papers have appeared in Georgian, English, Russian, Italian, and French translations.

Tedo Sakhokia worked closely with the Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians. He was a regular contributor to Georgian and foreign magazines and newspapers such as Tsnobis Furtseli, Moambe, Droeba, Sakhalkho Gazeti, Кавказ, etc.

Tedo Sakhokia was a translator as well. He translated Giovanni Boccaccio's "The Decameron" and Giuseppe Garibaldi's "Clelia" from Italian, and works by Voltaire, Guy de Maupassant, Emile Zola, Alphonse Daudet, François Coppée, Henri Barbusse, and Octave Mirbeau from French, Ivan Vazov's "Under the Yoke" from Bulgarian and Cornelius Borozdin's “Samegrelo” and “Serfdom in Samegrelo“ from Russian.

Ancestry

According to Tedo Sakhokia, his distant ancestor was Gamkrelidze from Racha, who relocated to Lechkhumi as a result of the murder. Because of Mouravi Chikovani's murder, his sons were forced to flee to Samegrelo. Two brothers settled in Shkhepi and adopted the surname Sakhokia, while two others took the surname Gakhokia.

Tedo Sakhokia's great-grandfather was a priest of nobleman Dadiani. Sakhokias were in charge of picking common nettles for lord and fasters in the palace during Great Lent, hence why they were dubbed "nettler" Sakhokias. Great-grandfather (from father's side) was a goldsmith and his family was considered as a prosperous family. Timote (1832-1887), Tedo Sakhokia's father, was from Shkhepi and worked as a priest at St. George's Church in Kheta. Mother Elizabeth was daughter of the same church's priest, David Kukava.

In 1872 Tedo Sakhokia returned to Kheta, but his family soon relocated to Sukhumi. Tedo Sakhokia's mother died in 1874 and Timote Sakhokia was left to raise four daughters and two sons alone.

Spiritual seminary

Admission to Martvili Spiritual School required fluency in Georgian literacy. That's why Timote Sakhokia sent his son to priest Shio Iosava, with whom Tedo lived for nearly a year but still couldn't learn to read or write in Georgian. Tedo Sakhokia was admitted to the Martvili Spiritual School in 1877, but due to his lack of Georgian literacy, he was placed in the first preparatory class. Tedo Sakhokia lived in Ivane Odisharia's home, where Besarion and Giorgi Khelaia also resided. Tedo was taught to read and write in Georgian by Besarion (later the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ambrosius Khelaia).

Tedo Sakhokia graduated from Martvili Spiritual School in 1884. Due to his age, he was unable to enroll in the second class at Kutaisi Classical Gymnasium. On the other hand, he was admitted to the first class of the Tbilisi Spiritual Seminary in the same year without exams because he had graduated from the first degree of the Spiritual School.

Tedo Sakhokia arrived in Tiflis in 1900 and agreed to work '"Tsnobis Furtseli" and "Moambe" from abroad. He mailed Feuilletons four times a month on average from abroad. Kirion II of Georgia, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, has offered to help him financially throughout his stay abroad.

Tedo Sakhokia traveled to Paris in 1900, where he attended a World's fair. Hi was the Georgian delegation's correspondent. He subsequently went to the High School of Anthropology in Paris, where he spent four years. In addition to his studies, he attended De Mortilie seminars, weekly scientific expeditions, and scientific discussions. Tedo Sakhokia's "Georgian Proverbs," which included Shota Rustaveli's aphorisms, was published in French during this time period. He was elected to the Académie de Reims as a Correspondent Member in 1902. Also, he was elected as a Foreign Correspondent Member of the Society of Anthropology of Paris in 1904.

1890-1900

Tedo Sakhokia worked in a variety of jobs between 1890 and 1894 to support himself: Worked as a forester (in Borjomi), as a foreign correspondent in the industry of Nikoloz Ghoghoberidze (in Zestaponi), as a member of "Georgian Cooperation of Book Publishers". In 1894 he started working in "Phylloxerian Group" . During this time, Tedo Sakhokia was primarily focused on researching the situation in western Georgian communities. In the fight against grape disease, he sought to enhance the level of awareness among peasants.

From 1895 to 1897 Tedo Sakhokia lived in Tbilisi and engaged in publishing activities of the "Georgian Cooperation of Book Publishers". During this time, he released the following books: "აკაკის ნაკვესები" (1895), "Russian-Georgian Dictionary" (1897) and translation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Wild Swans (1997).

Political life Liberty League of Georgia In 1892 Liberty League was founded in Kutaisi by Georgian students from Russian and European universities. Most of its founders were from Universities of Warsaw, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kharkiv and Odessa. Tedo Sakhokia became a member of the organization in 1892. Tedo Sakhokia secretly corresponded with Shio Aragvispireli, Vakhtang Ghambashidze, and others to popularize the group and recruit new members.

The Russian government's gendarmerie has intercepted correspondence between members of the organization. Tedo Sakhokia was arrested on September 20, 1894, accusation for communicating with Shio Dedabrishvili and participating with the "Liberty League of Georgia" and was sent to Kutaisi's prison the following day. Three months later, he was freed from prison, however, he was still being watched by the police and gendarmerie.

Georgian Party

Tedo Sakhokia relocated to Sukhumi in 1898. He was the leader of a political movement, known as the "Georgian Party", in Abkhazia, and with Antim Jugheli, Ivane Gegia, Grigol Kandelaki and others, was an outspoken opponent of Russia's russification policy. With Tedo Sakhokia fought Spiridon Norakidze, Ivane Burchuladze, Ivane Gegia, and Parna Davitaia fought. "Georgian Party" members were clergy: Protoiereus David Matchavariani; priests: Avksenty Sakhokia and Ivane Chkhenkeli, and future Catholicos-Patriarchs of All Georgia: St. Kyrion II, Leonid of Georgia and Ambrosius of Georgia.

Tedo Sakhokia and his associates generally corresponded with one another and Tedo Sakhokia was in charge of coordinating this correspondence. The activities of the "Georgian Party" and Tedo Sakhokia were soon investigated by authorities of the Russian Empire. The indictment took them four years to write but with the support of his friends, Tedo Sakhokia was able to flee to Europe. After this, "Georgian Party's" operations slowed considerably. Tedo Sakhokia was sentenced to five years in prison and deported to Siberia by the Emperor's administration, but he assisted himself by emigration to Novorossiysk, where he secured a foreign passport, and then returning to Paris.

in 1905, Tedo Sakhokia was ordered by George Dekanozishvili, one of the leaders of the Socialist-Federalist Party in France, to accept illegally smuggled weaponry from abroad and meet people in various places of the Black Sea. After returning in Georgia Tedo Sakhokia communicated with Mikhail Esakia, the chairman of the Poti committee of the party. They also established committees in Batumi and Sukhumi. While being in Batumi Tedo Sakhokia and Alexander Jabadari met David Kldiashvili but did not get any important support from him. In the same year, the Dutch ship "Sirius" transported weapons purchased in Switzerland into Georgia, some of which were handed to the public, some of which were seized by the government, and some of which were dumped into the sea.

In 1906 Tedo Sakhokia married and began working as a secretary of self-government of Sukhumi. In February of the following year, he was arrested once more. In September, he was found guilty and sentenced to an eternity in exile in Siberia. Tedo Sakhokia was released on bail while the Senate debated his case. He was allowed to stay in Sukhumi and not leave. Tedo Sakhokia traveled in Samegrelo to gather ethnographic materials with permission of the Caucasus Museum, the Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians and the Ethnographic Museum of St. Petersburg.

In 1927 Henri Barbusse visited the Georgian SSR. During this time Tedo Sakhokia was imprisoned in Metekhi prison. His friends also gave the French writer the Georgian version of his novel "Under Fire" and requested for assistance in getting the translator out of prison. Tedo Sakhokia was imprisoned from September 20, 1927 - to October 13, 1927, according to correspondence between him and his daughter. In 1934 the Holy Synod was formed instead of the Catholicos Council which limited the inclusion of secular people in it. Tedo Sakhokial was likewise hampered by this constraint. During this time, he began collecting and publishing Georgian proverbs and lexical materials, as well as customs, historical and ethnographic materials. Niko Lomouri, Vazha-Pshavela and Bachana, Anastasia Eristavi-Khoshtaria, Nikoloz Janashia, and others were among the people he met in Kartli. In 1911, "Sakhalkho Gazeti" published a series of his feuilletons titled "Georgian Language (Modern Speaking and Writing)".

Tedo Sakhokia returned to Georgia after emigration and taught French language at the Tbilisi Spiritual Seminary and then Georgian and French languages in the VII Gymnasium of Tbilisi. In October, 1923, Tedo Sakhokia resigned from his position as a teacher. Guria, and Adjara, among other places. Their descriptions appeared in "Moambe" and "Tsnobis Furtseli" in 1897–1901. Tedo Sakhokia's ethnographic and folklore writings were collected in a separate book entitled "Travelings: Guria, Adjara, Samurzakano, Abkhazia," which was released in 1950.

Tedo Sakhokia traveled to Racha in 1898, but he misplaced his records and was unable to find it. He traveled to Abkhazia the following year. The records given to a friend were lost in 1916, but the author discovered them in the Georgian Museum in 1936. One of the earliest scholarly works about this topics in Georgian ethnography is "Wedding Customs in Samegrelo." Tedo Sakhokia discusses wedding limitations and restrictions, as well as different types of engagement and wedding ceremonies. Other publications by Tedo Sakhokia include: "New Year or Kalanda in Samegrelo," "From the Mingrelian Mythology" "The Cult of the Dead in Samegrelo," "The Cult of St. George and the Law of God," and others, all of which have significant contribution in the research of Georgian culture.

Lexicology In 1889, while working as a teacher in Kartli, Tedo Sakhokia became interested in collecting Georgian proverbs, imaginative phrases and lexical materials. "Georgian Imaginative Words and Sayings", a three-volume masterpiece, is the best of his works. In 1936 Tedo Sakhokia began organizing the materials, systematizing the definitions of terms and phrases, and classification of their origins. More than 7000 lexical elements are included in the work. After finishing the work, he gave the book to the Nikolai Marr Institute of Language, History and Material Culture, but due to the onset of World War II, publishing was delayed. In 1950, 1954, and 1955, the three-volume set was originally published. In 1937 Tedo Sakhokia's article "Imaginative Words and Sayings in the Knight in the Panther's Skin" was published in Nikolai Marr Institute of Language, History and Material Culture Moambe which contained 208 definitions of words and phrases.

Folklore studies Tedo Sakhokia developed an interest in folklore at a young age, and his interest was piqued further while studying in the seminary by Georgian historian Tedo Zhordania. Guy de Maupassant and other French writers were later translated and published by Tedo Sakhokia. He translated Polish writer Zygmunt Miłkowski's novel "W zaraniu", Ivan Vazov's "Under the Yoke", etc., which were first published in "Moambe" and afterwards in their own volumes. and "Serfdom in Samegrelo" from Russian.

Tedo Sakhokia also worked as a translator from Georgian into other languages. He translated "ქართული ანდაზები" ("Georgian Proverbs") into French and Italian. His article "The Animal Folklore in Georgia" was published in English-language anthropological journal "Man". A number of scientific works about Georgian culture have been published in "Петербургския ведомости" and "Брачные обряды в Мингрелии" in Russian.

Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians Tedo Sakhokia was an active member of the Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians. While still a student in Geneva, he addressed the society, requesting financial and book assistance.

The society put out a program in 1882 "for the gathering materials of Georgian orality", which contained samples of folk wisdom from various regions of Georgia, but Samegrelo was left out. Tedo Sakhokia wrote a letter to Iveria in 1891 titled "For Whom Folk Art Loves" to address this problem. He encouraged readers to provide Mingrelian oral tradition samples, such as fairy tales, shairs, proverbs, spells, poems, etc. He requested that it be collected in Mingrelian language (written with Georgian letters). Tedo Sakhokia also wrote about agriculture and economy, describing the economic situation in Tsilkani in letters published in Iveria in 1892, harvest in Vladikavkaz, etc. He often commented on contemporary events, such as the spread of cholera in Zestaponi and the battle to stop it.

Tedo Sakhokia started publishing purposeful propaganda in periodicals such as "Moambe," "Kvali," "Tsnobis Furtsel," and others beginning in 1895. From 1898, he began publishing Abkhazia-related articles in newspapers published throughout the Russian Empire, including "Петербургское ведемости". Tedo Sakhokia wrote a letter "Из Сухума" to this publication, on July 1, 1900, discussing the persecution of the Georgian language: The Georgian language was forbidden from schools and churches in Abkhazia, and worship in Georgian was prohibited. The letter drew a lot of attention from both the general public and government officials.

Tedo Sakhokia released a book titled "აკაკის ოხუნჯობანი" in 1895 that was met with skepticism. The letter "Two New Books" by Artem Akhnazarov was published in one of the issues of the newspaper Iveria. Tedo Sakhokia took it as a personal affront and filed a lawsuit against the editors. The case was considered by the district court on July 24, 1896, and the complaint was deemed to be invalid, while Ilia Chavchavadze was declared not guilty. Tedo Sakhokia filed an appeal, and the case was reheard in the court, but the verdict was upheld.

Tedo Sakhokia's "Russian-Georgian Dictionary" was published in 1897. In the same year, Mitropane Laghidze's letter was published in one of the issues of the newspaper "Kvali", in which Tedo Sakhokia was severely attacked for mistakes of the translation. A critical remark was also published in "Iveria," in which the author (using the pen name "Georgian from Fereydan") chastised Tedo Sakhokia for inventing and misusing new vocabulary words.

1901–1905

In 1901 Tedo Sakhokia wrote a unique letter in response to Ivan Vazov's letter "A Brief Overview of the Historical Life of the Georgian Nation," in which the Bulgarian writer gave information about Georgia and Georgians.

Tedo Sakhokia participated in the Sukhumi board administration elections in 1903. He was elected as a mouravi of the city, but his candidacy was rejected by the government, therefore Vasil Abuladze was elected in his place. Berens, a former Mouravi of Sokhumi, sued Tedo Sakhokia for abusing him in November of the same year. The court discovered that Berens was dismissing cases without the agreement of the city councils, for which Tedo Sakhokia verbally attacked him. Berens eventually denied Tedo Sakhokia's guilt, bringing the case to a close.

Tedo Sakhokia published a series of letters titled "Passenger Notes" in the newspaper "Tsnobis Furtseli" in 1903–1904, in which he reported what he had seen and experienced while traveling from Sukhumi to Gagra. He also spoke about issues in churches and schools. On April 1, 1905, a letter was published in "Tsnobis Furtseli" that was likewise critical of the Russification policy.

Tedo Sakhokia died at the age of 87 on February 17, 1956. He was buried in the Didube Pantheon. His 100th birthday was commemorated with a jubilee evening at the Rustaveli Theater on June 17, 1968. Giorgi Leonidze opened the meeting. Reports about Tedo Sakhokia's life and works were read aloud by Solomon Tsaishvili, Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Geronti Kikodze, Giorgi Chitaia, and others.

Tedo Sakhokia's collection titled "People of My Generation" was released in 1984 by Professor Solomon Khutsishvili.

Tedo Sakhokia Memorial House-Museum was opened Kheta, Khobi Municipality in 1990.