Georgian Country and Culture Guide
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Georgian Country and Culture Guide მშვიდობის კორპუსი საქართველოში Peace Corps Georgia 2017 Forward What you have in your hands right now is the collaborate effort of numerous Peace Corps Volunteers and staff, who researched, wrote and edited the entire book. The process began in the fall of 2011, when the Language and Cross-Culture component of Peace Corps Georgia launched a Georgian Country and Culture Guide project and PCVs from different regions volunteered to do research and gather information on their specific areas. After the initial information was gathered, the arduous process of merging the researched information began. Extensive editing followed and this is the end result. The book is accompanied by a CD with Georgian music and dance audio and video files. We hope that this book is both informative and useful for you during your service. Sincerely, The Culture Book Team Initial Researchers/Writers Culture Sara Bushman (Director Programming and Training, PC Staff, 2010-11) History Jack Brands (G11), Samantha Oliver (G10) Adjara Jen Geerlings (G10), Emily New (G10) Guria Michelle Anderl (G11), Goodloe Harman (G11), Conor Hartnett (G11), Kaitlin Schaefer (G10) Imereti Caitlin Lowery (G11) Kakheti Jack Brands (G11), Jana Price (G11), Danielle Roe (G10) Kvemo Kartli Anastasia Skoybedo (G11), Chase Johnson (G11) Samstkhe-Javakheti Sam Harris (G10) Tbilisi Keti Chikovani (Language and Cross-Culture Coordinator, PC Staff) Workplace Culture Kimberly Tramel (G11), Shannon Knudsen (G11), Tami Timmer (G11), Connie Ross (G11) Compilers/Final Editors Jack Brands (G11) Caitlin Lowery (G11) Conor Hartnett (G11) Emily New (G10) Keti Chikovani (Language and Cross-Culture Coordinator, PC Staff) Compilers of Audio and Video Files Keti Chikovani (Language and Cross-Culture Coordinator, PC Staff) Irakli Elizbarashvili (IT Specialist, PC Staff) Revised and updated by Tea Sakvarelidze (Language and Cross-Culture Coordinator) and Kakha Gordadze (Training Manager). December, 2015 1 Table of Contents Forward 1 Table of Contents 2 Culture: An Overview 3 Introduction to Culture 4 Fundamentals of Culture 9 Geography 18 History 20 Tbilisi 38 Language and Dialects 42 Religion and Holidays 48 Food and Supra 61 Gender Roles 69 Music 73 Dance 81 Literature and Poetry 87 Theater and Cinema 99 Architecture / Notable Sites 101 Superstitions, Jokes and 115 Stereotypes Cultural Dos and Don’ts 117 Links to Audio and Video Files 123 2 Culture: An Overview This first section of the Georgian Cultural Handbook will introduce the concept of culture, and then outline a few of its key components, which are often found below the surface. It will focus on the four fundamentals most relevant for you as a Volunteer in Georgia. The key will be not only to learn about what is below the surface in Georgia, but what is below your own surface. Peace Corps Georgia’s goal is to assist you in developing your cultural intelligence. Take a look at the equation below: Knowledge about cultures (facts and cultural traits) + Awareness (of self and others) + Specific Skills (behaviors) = Cultural Intelligence In the first part, culture is defined, the connection between values and behavior is examined, and you will learn about the different types of values each person possesses. In the second part, each section contains an introductory exercise that introduces one of five fundamentals of culture, followed by an explanation of the two poles of each concept, which are defined. In some cases, a follow-up activity is included. 3 Introduction to Culture Defining “Culture” Culture is a complex thing. Sometimes people use the word “culture” to describe the arts, dance, and music of a certain group of people. Other times they use it in reference to the language and history or the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a group of people. Culture does, in fact, encompass all of these things. The best way to start to fully understand your own or another group’s culture is to break it down into aspects one can see (visible) and aspects that one cannot see (invisible). Think of culture as an iceberg. Some aspects are observable and others can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited. Also, like an iceberg, the part of culture that is visible (observable behavior – i.e. arts, dance, and music) is only a small part of a much bigger whole. Linking Values to Behaviors The iceberg metaphor demonstrates how certain aspects or features of culture are visible— they show up in people’s behavior—while many other aspects of culture are invisible, existing only in the realm of thought, feeling, and belief. Though different, the two realms are related to each other as the values and beliefs you cannot see affect behavior. To understand where behavior comes from means learning about values and beliefs. The behavior of people from another culture may seem strange to you, but it probably makes sense to them, and vice versa. The reason any behavior makes sense is simply because it is consistent with what a given person believes in or values. Conversely, when we say that what someone has done “makes no sense,” what we mean is that that action contradicts what we believe the person feels or wants. 4 Activity 1: Values vs. Behavior Match the value or belief in the column on the left to a behavior in the column on the right. 1. Directness _____Use of understatement. 2. Centrality of family _____Asking people to call you by your first name. 3. External control _____Taking off from work to attend the funeral of an aunt. 4. Saving face _____Not helping the person next to you on an exam. 5. Respect for age _____Disagreeing openly with someone at a meeting. 6. Informality _____Not laying off an older worker whose performance is weak. 7. Deference to authority _____ At a meeting, agreeing with a suggestion you think is wrong. 8. Indirectness _____Inviting the tea boy to eat lunch with you in your office. 9. Self-reliance _____Seeking advice from superior on something you’re an expert on. 10. Egalitarianism _____Accepting, without question, that something cannot be changed. Suggested Answers 1. Directness—Disagreeing openly with someone at a meeting 2. Centrality of family—Taking off from work to attend the funeral of an aunt 3. External Control—Accepting, without question, that something can’t be changed 4. Saving face—At a meeting, agreeing with a suggestion you think is wrong 5. Respect for age—Not laying off an older worker whose performance is weak 6. Informality—Asking people to call you by your first name 7. Deference to authority—Asking the headmaster’s opinion about something you’re the expert on 8. Indirectness—Use of understatement 9. Self-reliance—Not helping the person next to you on an exam 10. Egalitarianism—Inviting the tea boy to eat lunch with you in your office Activity 2: “The Things We Say” Part 1 Another useful way to understand how values are linked to behavior is by examining idioms/expressions people use in everyday conversation. These common expressions, after all, reflect what most people in a given society believe in or value. What cultural value or belief do the following expressions reveal? Write your response in the space provided. The first group of expressions is done for you. Example: Value/Belief: Egalitarianism a. He thinks he’s better than so and so b. She’s always putting on airs c. That person should be cut down to size d. It’s gone to his head Value/Belief: 1. Talk is cheap 2. Put your money where your mouth is 5 3. He’s all talk and no action Value/Belief: 4. She’s always beating around the bush 5. Tell it like it is 6. Straight talk, straight answer, straight shooter Value/Belief: 7. She did something with her life 8. Nice guys finish last Value/Belief: 9. Every cloud has a silver lining 10. Look on the bright side 11. Tomorrow is another day Value/Belief: 12. Where there’s a will there’s a way Value/Belief: 13. Stand on your own two feet Value/Belief: 14. Don’t judge a book by its cover 15. All that glitters isn’t gold Value/Belief: 16. Nothing ventured, nothing gained Suggested Answers 1-3: Action and doing over talking 4-6: Directness. 7-8: Emphasis on accomplishment, achieving things, in addition to being a good person. 9-11: Optimism. 12: Self-determination, control over one’s destiny 13: Self-reliance, independence. 14-15: Don’t judge or be fooled by appearances; look beneath the surface. 16: Risk taking, experimentation. Activity 3: “The Things We Say” Part 2 Can you think of other common expressions, ones you use yourself or that are common in your family? Write them below and then list the value or belief they represent. Value/Belief: 1. Value/Belief: 2. Value/Belief: 3. Just as expressions common in the U.S. reveal aspects of the national culture, so do host country expressions reveal certain host country values or beliefs. Using a host country informant or a PCV who knows the local culture well, try to come up with at least three common host country expressions, and then identify the cultural belief behind them. You may use proverbs if you like. However, in many cases you may find that the same proverb exists in one form or another in many cultures, so that the value it reveals is probably universal and not specific to your host country. 6 Value/Belief: 1. Value/Belief: 2. Value/Belief: 3. 7 Universal, Cultural, or Personal Culture is only one category or dimension of human behavior, and it is therefore important to see it in relation to the other two dimensions: the universal and the personal.