ETHOLINGUISTIC ASPECTS OF THE STUDY OF ERDO-BANI HOUSES ("HOUSES WITH FLAT AND STRAIGHT ROOFS") IN THE FRON VALLEY

Abstract

Housing occupies a special place in the material and spiritual culture of the Georgian people. The study of the lifestyle woven into the customs and traditions of people living in a particular territory in the relevant context requires ethnolinguistic research along with historical facts.

High construction traditions and migration of population from different parts of Georgia led to the emergence of various types of residential buildings in the Frona Valley: Gomuri, Erdo-Bani, wooden and stone houses.

This article analyzes the ethnolinguistic aspects of the study of Erdo-Bani houses of the Frona Valley. The study is based on historical and ethnographic data, dictionaries of the Georgian language, dialect data and diachronic analysis of the relevant scientific literature.

The Erdo-Bani house was a one-story building built from Aliz materials. The flat clay roof was called erdo, and the chimney cut into the roof was called bani. The front part of this type of house served as a living space, and the back of the house was used as a place to store goods.

Research and research of the issue showed us that in the historical past of Georgia, the Erdo-Crowned  house was widespread, in addition to Kartli, mainly in Trialeti and Meskheti-Javakheti. This type of housing i. In the second half of the 18th century, Güldenstedt also saw it in Kakheti. The crowned hall of Erdo can be single-part and complex. A single hall with a crown on top was typical for the Fron Valley. Trialeti and Samtskhe-Javakhuri were characterized by a complex hall, in which, in addition to housing, there were also other agricultural warehouses (Boseli, Sabdzeli, corridor ...). The findings of the study are important for the analysis of historical, ethnographic and linguistic problems of the Fron Valley.

         Keywords: Ethnolinguistics; culture; tradition; housing; Erdo; Bani.