Biguaa, V. (2023) Анцвахацара-Ancvaxacara: The Abkhaz Traditional Religion. Sukhum: Abkhaz State University, pp. 22–34.

Valery L. Biguaa
Doctor of Historical Sciences, since 2015 Professor in the Department of History, Archaeology, and Ethnology of Abkhazia at Abkhaz State University; since 2016, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Ethnology at the Institute for Humanities Research of the Academy of Sciences of Abkhazia.

Нартский эпос и кавказское языкознание - The Nart Epic and Caucasology

23-25 November 1992, Maykop, Republic of Adygeya

Proceedings of the VI International Maykop Colloquium of the European Society of Caucasian Studies

Maykop, 1994, pp. 345–349.
Published by the Government of the Republic of Adygea.

Асker Хьэдэгъалlэ (Asker Khadagatl)

Нартский эпос и кавказское языкознание - The Nart Epic and Caucasology

23-25 November 1992, Maykop, Republic of Adygeya

Proceedings of the VI International Maykop Colloquium of the European Society of Caucasian Studies

Maykop, 1994, pp. 15–25.
Published by the Government of the Republic of Adygea.

Translated into English by AbkhazWorld.

Translator's Note

This article by the distinguished Abkhaz scholar, the first president of the Republic of Abkhazia, Vladislav Ardzinba (1945-2010) represents a seminal work in comparative Nart epic studies. Originally published in Russian in 1987, it demonstrates Ardzinba's innovative methodology of analysing Abkhaz folklore through cross-cultural mythological parallels. 

The Nart sagas are the ancient heroic epics of the peoples of the Caucasus, with the Abkhaz version preserving unique archaic features. This analysis of the 'shepherd' figure reveals deep connections between Abkhaz epic tradition and mythological patterns found across Eurasia, from Hittite Anatolia to ancient China.

Abkhaz language phrases are preserved in the original Cyrillic script with contextual explanations provided. Translated from Russian, 2025.

Characteristics of the ‘Shepherd’ Image in the Abkhaz Nart Sagas

Published in: Abkhaz Studies. Language. Folklore. Literature. Issue II. Sukhum – 2006. Pp. 128-137.

Konstantin Kovács’s The Songs of the Kodor Abkhazians is a seminal collection of ethnographic materials complete with musical notations, published in 1930 by the People's Commissariat for Education of Abkhazia and the Academy of the Abkhazian Language and Literature. This 72-page volume represents a significant exploration into the musical and cultural heritage of the Abkhazian people, focusing on the distinct traditions of the Kodor region. With a print run of 1,500 copies, this work serves as an essential document for understanding the intricate connections between music, folklore, and historical memory in Abkhazia.

Kovács, renowned for his pivotal work 101 Abkhazian Folk Songs (Sukhum, 1929), compiled this collection to document the cultural expressions of a people who had faced centuries of struggle, marked by conquest and resilience. His work captures the profound role that music plays in preserving collective identity, narrating historical events, and portraying social structures.

AbkhazWorld presents the first translations of The Songs of the Kodor Abkhazians, encompassing the Author’s Preface (pp. 3-5) and the initial section, Historical Songs (pp. 7-11), which covers topics such as the struggle for the independence of the Caucasus, the Russian-Turkish War (1877–78), feudalism, and revolutionary events. In time, the remaining chapters will also be translated and made available.

These translations were conducted with the aim of preserving the academic integrity and ethnographic detail of the original text, making them accessible to English-speaking researchers and enthusiasts of Abkhazian folklore.

This article, Mysteries of the 1925 Musical-Ethnographic Expedition, first appeared in Respublika Abkhazia (Issue No. 127, 9–10 November 2006) and was later republished in Аҧсуаҭҵаара / Abkhaz Studies (Issues 8-9, 2013, pp. 298–301). Authored by the esteemed Mirra Khotilashvili-Inal-ipa (1928–2024), a distinguished historian, archaeologist, and honoured cultural worker of Abkhazia, as well as an honorary doctor of the Abkhazian National Academy, the article provides a rigorous examination of a unique yet largely forgotten chapter in Abkhazia’s musical and cultural history.

Khotilashvili-Inal-ipa's work unearths the details of a 1925 musical-ethnographic expedition in Abkhazia, spearheaded by prominent cultural figures of the time. Through meticulous analysis, she investigates the individuals involved, the expedition's objectives, and the enigmatic absence of its findings in Abkhazia’s collective memory. 

Translated from Russian by AbkhazWorld.

To what origins does the Nanhwa holiday in Abkhazia go back? Is it connected with Christian traditions, and what rituals precede it? Read the article.

On 28 August, the memory of the dead is traditionally honoured in Abkhazia. In houses, tables are laid with the fruits of the seasonal harvest, and candles are lit. The tradition also coincides with the Christian feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Roles and Statuses of Old People in the Abkhazian Family (Toward the Question of Gerontophilic Factors in Longevity)

Soviet Anthropology and Archeology, (1985) 24:1, 77-100

Russian text @ 1982 by 'Nauka' Publishers. "Roli i statusy star- shikh v abkhazskoi sem'e (k probleme gerontofil 'nykh faktorov dolgozhitel'stva)," Sovetskaia etnograjia, 1982, no. 6 , pp. 40-51. Translated by Jean Laves Hellie.

The Religious Beliefs of the Abkhasians, by N. S. Janashia
Georgica | A Journal of Georgian and Caucasian Studies.
No:4 & 5 Autumn 1937, pp. 117-153

This is a translation of the article published in Khristianski Vostok, The Christian East, Petrograd, 1915, vol. iv, No. 1, pp. 72-112.

This article represents a revision in 1914 of materials collected ca. 1900 in the village of Adzvibzha in southern Abkhazia (the province of Abzhua). The author describes the gods of the Abkhaz and the religious ceremonies connected with them. The discussion follows the established order of church festivals, centering around the four chief holidays of the year (the New Year, Easter, the Assumption, and Christmas).

Soviet Anthropology and Archeology, Vol. 14:1-2, 168-178, July 1975.

Depending on the nature of their economies, different types of ritual poetry moved to the fore among different peoples at various times. While poetry of familial ritual is of a single type among all peoples, or at least a majority of them, insofar as its principal features are concerned, one cannot say this with respect to the poetry associated with work. Among those peoples whose principal occupation was tilling the soil, it was naturally ritual poetry having to do with the agricultural calendar that developed to the highest degree; while among those who chiefly engaged in hunting, it was hunting songs that took pride of place, and so forth.