This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Strange Swanetans of the Eighteenth Valley Describe Stilts and Selves
An observer details the Swanetans, a reclusive valley people of about 9,000 families, living in ruined castles and practicing a frugal, cloistered existence. They trade sparingly, wear hides in winter, dress scantily in summer, and maintain a rich but fading folklore. Their language blends Georgian with Persian and Kirguese terms, and they allegedly worship four deities with remnants of Christianity. The community shows high rates of mental and physical disorders including cretinism, goitres, and dental abnormalities, and their social mores are reported as incestuous and morally degraded.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tong
Eibur
Wateh
Swanetan
Olderogge
Didian-Swaneta