Residential and Agricultural Buildings (Based on the Ethnographic Materials of the Gali Region)

Abstract

The study of the existence and culture of the population in the Gali district is quite fascinating. One exciting aspect involves exploring the traditional dwellings and agricultural buildings used by the people. A unique type of housing was developed based on the geographical environment, natural climate, and leading branches of agriculture in different parts of Georgia. Initially, these housing and agricultural structures were primitive, but they became more complex and sophisticated over time. Regardless of how primitive the dwelling was, it had a significant function in providing the family with a social unit that included various storage facilities for defense and existence. Housing, being the area of action for the person living in it, constantly changed depending on the era's needs. As different stages of development deepened life experience, new elements were added to the residential complex, while some traditional and solid forms were missing.

The relevance of this issue is even more significant in light of the conflict zone in which the Gali district is situated. The entire district was burned down as part of the Georgian genocide, making it challenging to trace traditional residential and commercial building patterns. The condition of the buildings is quite severe because, over the years, residential and agricultural structures have been burned, abandoned, and destroyed. As residential and commercial building types disappear, centuries of accumulated construction experience are gradually lost.

In modern Abkhazia, the Georgian population is most numerously represented in the Gali region. Studying the existence and culture of the population in this region and getting to know the traditional housing and agricultural buildings provides an interesting picture.

The paper aims to present the Gali region's surviving farming and agricultural buildings based on ethnographic material. During the fieldwork, precise information was collected from the local population, which was still preserved in their memory and represented an ethnographic and architectural historical source.

Thus, studying residential and economic buildings is crucial in understanding the public relations between Georgia and Abkhazia. It's essential to identify the similarities and differences between them. Natural geographical and climatic environmental conditions play a significant role in determining these differences and similarities since the choice of construction material depends on them. Due to the cultural-historical unity of the Georgian-Abkhaz population, some borrowing and mutual sharing of certain elements could have occurred. This is evident in examples of borrowing terms from Georgian (Megrelian) to Abkhazian and vice versa. The influence of culture and history also shaped the construction forms of residential and economic buildings, which had to preserve their specific character and traditional form. The internal functional planning of housing and the layout system of the rooms in the residential buildings of the Gali district show similarities with urban housing.