Marshua Kavkas

The Hadjist group performed at the 2009 Brave festival. They belong to the largest Pankisi ethnic group – the Kists. Their ancestors, the Maysts and the Melkhs, originated from the largest Chechen clans, and began arriving in Panksis from what is now Chechnya and Ingushetia in the late 18th century. Legend has it that this migration was because of a few boys whose sheep lost their way in the Caucasian mountains. The shepherds father’s ventured in the dense Georgian forests in search of their sons. When they needed to rest, they stuck their sticks into the ground and fell asleep. In the morning they found a spring spurting water in the place where they had slept, and that the swallows had already built nests on the tops of their sticks. The Maysts thought this was a sign from God and brought their families from Chechnya to settle down in Georgia. They were followed by many different groups: Chechens, exiles, Ingushetians escaping from the czar’s army. Later migrants came here for freedom of worship – some of them combine Christianity with paganism – and since the Georgian mountain-folk were also polytheists these new settlers were warmly welcomed.

Over the years the Georgian orthodox mission erected a church for the inhabitants of Pankisi in the village of Jokolo, and the Muslims of neighbouring Chechnya built a Mosque in Duisi – which became a popular hub for Sufi brotherhoods – including the Kadrija.

The Hadjist are not the first Sufi group to perform at the Brave Festival. These Kist women represent one of the two streams of Sufism present in Pankisi, the key characteristics of their beliefs are condemnation of war, love of peace, respect for adat (traditional law), forgiveness, abstention from revenge, asceticism and modesty.

The Hadjists message not only reflects the ethnic and religious diversity of the region but it is also a powerful voice in the recent history of the Caucasian territory. Although the influx of Chechens, Ingushetians and Dagestanis, over a few decades were accepted by the Georgians and formed a relatively peaceful and respectful community, another dramatic wave of refugees from warring Chechnya brought unrest and conflict. At first, the Kists provided care to these refugees from beyond the northern border, however in time these later migrants began to react against their host, “non-Chechen” culture, language and religion. These newcomers, the so-called ‘genuine’ Chechens set up Wahhabi temples and denounced ‘decadent’ Islam of the Kists. In the face of the new wave of migrants, the Kists themselves have begun withdrawing from religious life.

The Hadjists are working to revive the Sufi traditions in Pankisi. During all major religious festivals, older women perform the Zikr – an ecstatic prayer as a group. This prayer includes pleas for peace, and poetry by the charismatic Makvala Margoshvili. Makvala was given her name by her Georgian teacher. In the Georgian language it means “blackberries” – this playful, dreamy, merry Kistian girl had eyes the colour of blackberries when she started her first grade in school in Duisi. Today Makvala, now over seventy years old, belongs to one of the most respected Kistian families in the whole family. And there is practically nothing in the Pankisi Gorge that “Badi” as the Kistians affectionately call her, could not do. Badi would like her group to tour in Europe and show Kistian culture to a wider audience. “So that people would see how the Kists can sing and pray”.