Abkhaz neopaganism, or the Abkhaz native religion, is the contemporary re-emergence of the ethnic religion of the

Abkhaz people Abkhazians (russian: Абхазы), or Abkhazs ( ab, Аԥсуаа, Aṕswaа, ), are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora populati ...

in unrecognized

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which ...

, a revitalisation which started in the 1980s.Schnirelmann, p. 202. The most important holy sites of the religion are the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia, each one having its own priestly clan, where rituals and prayers began to be restored in the 1990s. According to the 2003 census, 8% of the population of Abkhazia adheres to Abkhaz neopaganism. On 3 August 2012 the

Council of Priests of Abkhazia The Council of Priests of Abkhazia unites the seven principal priests of the Abkhazian traditional religion, who are responsible for the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia The Seven Shrines of the Abkhaz in Abkhazia are considered holy in the Abkhaz ...

was formally constituted in Sukhumi. The possibility of making the Abkhaz native religion one of the state religions was discussed in the following months.

History

The traditional Abkhaz religion was actually never completely wiped out; circles of priests, whose activity was kept secret, passed on

traditional knowledge Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. According to the World Intellectual Property Or ...

and rites in the times when Christianity and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

became dominant in the region, and later in Soviet times of anti-religion. Such priests continued the worship of deities such as the thunder god Afy and the supreme god Antsua. Since the 1980s, and later in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Abkhaz native religion was resurrected by the joint efforts of priests who began to resurface, rural people reactivating local rituals, and urban intellectuals supporting Paganism as an integral part for a reawakening of the Abkhaz

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...

and cultural identity. A turning point for the revival of the Abkhaz native religion came with the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict.Schnirelmann, p. 205. With tensions growing, more and more Abkhazians began associating

Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Chu ...

with the

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, ...

, and chose to reject it, turning to the native gods. The eventual victory of

in the 1992–93 war with Georgia catalyzed the Neopagan revival. Many Abkhaz believe that their national god Dydrypsh awarded them the victory.Schnirelmann, p. 206. Since then the Abkhaz native religion has been protected by Abkhaz authorities. Government officials took part in a bull sacrifice in October 1993 celebrated to thank the Lord Dydrypsh for the victory over the Georgians, and since then they regularly take part in worship rituals.Krylov, 1998a: 24–26; 1998b

References

Bibliography

* . * . * & 7, 1998 b: 54–56. * . * . * .

External links

* . * {{Neopaganism Caucasian Neopaganism Modern paganism in Europe Religion in Abkhazia Religious nationalism

History

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links