vaja

Vaja Pshavela, actually the pseudonym of Luka Razikashvili (1861-1915), was born in the small Pshavian village of Chargali to the family of a priest. His brothers Bachana and Tedo were also writers. After graduating from the teachers’ seminary in Gori he went to St. Petersburg where he studied law at the University. After his return to Georgia, he first worked as a teacher and then moved to the mountains. There, Vaja Pshavela lived as a peasant, plowing the land and hunting. He wrote most of his verses, poems and stories in Chargali. Just as the poetry of Nikoloz Baratashvili is considered the high-point of Georgian romanticism, the works of Vaja Pshavela represent the summit of 19th century Georgian realism. His works are mainly devoted to human relationships and are directed outward toward the material world. Vaja Pshavela considers the human being to be the crown of everything on the earth; humans, as complex, wonderful, and intelligent beings, are joined with nature’s eternal rebirth and are able to perceive its wisdom and mystery. He introduced the tough and passionate hero, reflecting the elemental forces of nature, into Georgian poetry. Vaja Pshavela’s characters, Mindia (“Gvelis Mchameli” [Snake eater]); Aluda (“Aluda Ketelauri”); and Lukhum (“Bakhtrioni”) are profoundly concerned with fate of the world and destiny of humankind. In Pshavi, the poet’s homeland, patriarchal customs, pagan beliefs, and the richest, most primeval, and greatest folk-lore arts were preserved, which served as an inexhaustible source inspiration for his poetry. The national epic works of Georgian poetry in the 19th century and the revival of poetic epos are connected with the name of Vaja Pshavela. The heroes of his poems “Aluda ketelauri” (1888); “Bakhtrioni” (1892); “Stumar maspindzeli” [The guest and the host] (1893); “Gvelismchameli” [Snake-eater] (1901), and others, are endowed with pronounced national merits but at the same time bear traits common to all mankind. Heroism, tragedy, and humanity define the epic creativity of Vaja Pshavela. Vaja Pshavela is interred in Mtatsminda pantheon.