“Tkashmapa” And Megrelian Pagan Pantheon

Abstract

Georgian oral tradition has gone through a very difficult and diverse path of development. It is impossible to discuss the Megrelian spiritual culture without the ancient Georgian tradition. Megrelian ethnographic existence and oral material allow us to properly study the pagan pantheon along with the general Georgian and world pagan pantheon. Early legends and narratives about mythological characters are very important, but due to the lack of written sources, such legends and narratives have remained as a reminder of the existence of people, which is necessary to restore the views that fed the minds of our ancestors. The epic tradition in Megrelian oral tradition is mainly presented in the form of fairy tales. A fairy tale epic is a highly diverse genre of folk sayings. Motifs depicting local life are abundantly included in the Megrelian magic tale. This time we will talk about a mythological character considered to be a hunting deity around a woodpecker, about whom stories are still preserved in Megrelian oral tradition. We can conclude that the result of the primitive thinking of man at the lower level of mythology is the legends and legends where the representatives of the pagan pantheon (Tkashmapa, Ochokochi) appear next to people and possess the magical qualities that make them obedient to humans. They also give people the fortune to hunt. The woodpecker appears to be a hunting deity. And Ochococh occupies an important place in the Megrelian pagan pantheon.