FROM THE STORY OF THE VILLAGE KHOZOETI IN THE KSANI VALLEY

Abstract

The work discusses the village of Khozoeti in the Ksani Gorge, which belonged to the Karchokhi community. After reviewing the historical and geographical environment, the toponym Khozoeti is explained. The root of the name should be associated with coarse-grained unleavened bread.

There are reviewed the religious life of the village and its shrines: the medieval hall church of Saint Barbara, the transitional church of the Archangel, which was also known to the village population as Saint George.

The village population celebrated almost all Christian holidays, such as the Virgin Mary, the Lomisoba, Saint George, Saint Tomas Sunday, the Archangel, the Barbarian... Sometimes several holidays were celebrated together in one church, which led to its mention by different names... In addition to churches, they also had separate niches built. The chapel of the ancient population of Khozoeti was also the Church of the Virgin Mary located to the west of the village, near Kutskhoeti.

In order to present the demographic picture of the village, the book of Samtavisi seat of the second half of the 18th century, the statistical descriptions of Ksni Saeristavo in 1774 and 1783, the book of "Gasakvani Morigi" from the villages of Zemo Kartli from the years 1774-1800 are reviewed, through which we get to know the dynamics of the rural population of the relevant period, the views imposed on them, here existing agricultural branches, existing relations between serfs and lords. Analysis of 19th-century sources begins with the 1803 royal census, followed by Russian chamber censuses beginning in 1804 and ending with the 1886 census. The population of the 20th century is discussed according to the union censuses of 1923, 1939, 1959, 1970, 1979 and 1989.An important place is given to the situationof the beginning of the twenty-first century and the subsequent occupation of Akhalgori municipality. It should also be noted that the majority of chamber or union descriptions of the XIX-XX centuries are published for the first time, which makes the research topic more important and relevant. In order to better present the past of the village, together with historical sources, attention is paid to the folklore material preserved by the population of the Ksani valley. At the end of the work, the reasons, that led to the transformation of this high-mountainous village into a deserted village at the end of the 20th century, are discussed.

Key words: Karchokhi valley; demographic lists; migration; household; churchesmonasteries; icons; epitaphs; nasoflars; occupation.