Abkhazians / Sula Benet [and four others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Benet, Sula, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ethnology.

Caucasus--Civilization.

Caucasus.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Conn. : Human Relations Area Files, 2009.

Summary:

This collection consists of a culture summary and four English language documents dealing with the people and culture of Abkhazia, covering approximately 1864 to 1979. The study by Paula Garb is based on the memories of centenarian informants and goes back in time to the middle or late nineteenth century. They recount the transition from czarist fuedalism to capitalist development, early Soviet government, the formation of collective farms, World War II, and their opinions of modern (late twentieth century) Abkhazian youth. Benet focuses on various environmental and biological factors leading to extreme longevity of a large number of individuals in Abkhaz society. Other ethnographic topics discussed are kinship and kinship terminology, women's roles, marriage, sexual behavior, child-rearing practices, funerals, religion, and folklore. Dzhanashvili and Dzhanashia both deal in large part with Abkhaz religion, including gods, ceremonies, spirits of the dead, and holidays. Dzhanashvili also presents some general ethnographic information on social life (marriage, the fosterage system of the upper class), and some notes on mortuary practices. The Abkhazians mostly live in the de facto autonomous republic of Abkhazia located between the southwestern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains and a narrow strip along the Black Sea coast in the extreme northwest region of the Republic of Georgia.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.