Amaqo Gudamaqrelo

Text: Father Tamas Chokheli

(scroll down for English translation)

Mtashi arts’ivi navardobs

Tsashi ghrublebi hpenia

/Chanchkertan k’lde-ch’iukhebshi da

Esoden moulkhenia/

Aragvo shensa k’altebsa

K’ldeni lodebi hpenia

/Amaqo gudamaqrelo da

Rad rad mogits’qenia/

Rad chamakhvel barada

Mtashi suntkva shenia

/Tvaljvriani makhvili da

Omshi ar mogisvenia/

Sakmeni savazhk’atsoni

Mas moutmelod gelian

/Unda dast’ovos sitsotskhle da

Mogikhmobs aragvelia/

Samasmeerte iknebi

Ise ghimili gpenia

/Mamuls anatsvlo sitsotskhle da

Chveulebaa shenia/

Ias saplavze nazardsa

Tsremli tsvar-namad zdenia

/Davit’ireben sts’orebni da

Arts’ivni anaprenia/

Amaqo gudmaqarelo da

Rad rad mogits’qenia

Translation:

Proud Man From Gudamaqari¹

The eagle soars through the mountains

Clouds hang in the sky

By the waterfall, in the rocky gorges

It is revelry
 

Aragvi,² at your banks

Cliffs and boulders hang

Proud man from Gudamaqari,

What has upset you so?

Why have you come down to the plains?

In the mountains you breathed better

You give your sword with the many crosses

No respite from war
 

The work of a young man

Awaits you

You should leave this existence

The Aragvi is calling you

You will be the three-hundred-and-first³

To bear such beauty

To give your life for your country

That is the custom

A violet grew at the graveyard

It sheds tears of dew

Your peers will cry for you

And the eagles will fly in mourning

Proud man from Gudamaqari--

What upsets you so?

¹A small highland in northeast Georgia along the Aragvi river valley. Read more about Gudamaqari here.

²The major river of the eastern Georgian highlands of Khevsureti, Pshavi and Mtiuleti. The 112 kilometer long Aragvi was dammed in Zhinvali in 1986, forming the Zhinvali Reservoir which provides power to much of Georgia. The river eventually flows into the Mtkvari at Mtskheta.

³A reference to the three-hundred Aragvians:  three hundred men from the highlands along the Aragvi River who gathered together in 1795 and fought the battle of Krtsanisi against the invading Qajar Army.  They pledged to fight until their death, and only a few returned home. Many famous Georgian authors have paid tribute to the men in their writing. In 2008 they were canonized as martyrs in the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Khars Vgevar Naialaghars

(scroll down for English translation)

Khars vgevar naialaghars

Rkit mits’asa vchkhver vbubuneb

/Ghmerto samshoblo mitsotskhle

Sizmarshits amaz vduduneb/

Arts t’ant matsvia arts pekhta

Davdivar dedishobila

/Mets imat gvaridana var

Vints sigharibit tsnobila/

Tsot’a makvs tsot’as vjerdebi

Bechavtats gavuziareb

/Avis tkmit avis ktsevita

Guls arvis davuzianeb/

Qoranma qorans gasdzakha

Ialbuzisa mtasao

/Vest’umrot vazha-pshavelas

Is gagvikarvebs dardsao/

Mtas ikit mtvare amodis

Mtas aket nisli edeba

/Gavqureb kveqnis ch’ir-varams

Da gulze tsetskhli medeba/

Khars vegevar naialaghars

Rkit mits’asa vchkhver vbubuneb

Translation:

I Am Like The Buffalo When I Work
 

I am like the buffalo when I work

I dig into the earth with my horns

God, long live the homeland

Is what I murmur in my dreams
 

I have no clothes on my body, nor shoes on my feet

I walk stark naked

I come from a family

Known for their poverty

I have so little, but a little will be enough

I will share it with the poor

And I will hurt no one

With wicked words and actions
 

A raven called to another raven

On Elbrus Mountain¹ :

Let’s visit Vazha-Pshavela²

He will rid us of our sorrow

On one side of the mountain, the moon rises

On the other side, fog sits

I look at the troubles of my country

And a fire burns in my heart

I am like the buffalo when I work

I dig into the earth with my horns

I am like the buffalo when I work

I dig into the earth with my horns

¹The highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains 

²Luka Razikashvili (1861-1916) was one of Georgia’s most famous poets and writers. He wrote under the pen name Vazha-Pshavela, which literally means the Son from Pshavi. He was born and raised in the village of Chargali where a museum for him, opened in 1961, exists today.

Aragvisp’iras Agavlev

(scroll down for English translation)

Aragvisp’iras agavlev

Mtis mogat’areb k’altebsa

/Jikhvis qants’s shevatamasheb

Shens sadidebels dalevsa/

Mzis chasvlas mtidan ikhilav

Suls gailagheb namzeda

/Zholas agvrides shekheba

Gadagats’vimos qavzeda/

Chanchkertan mogeakhlebi

Shkhepebi gtsemen t’anzeda

/Qvavilta k’onebs chagits’nav

Qaqachoebad tmazeda/

Sulis lkhenad dagedebi

Mtvares vasveneb banzeda

/Shens siqvarulad vighvrebi

Zed rom medebi t’anzeda/

Translation:

I Will Walk With You

To the Banks of the Aragvi¹

I will walk with you to the banks of the Aragvi

I will take you to the base of the mountains

I will hold a qantsi²

And drink a toast to your glory.

You will see the sun set

Coming from the peaks

And rain on its way

As you shiver with joy

As I get closer to you under the waterfall

And drops of water fall onto your body

I will weave bouquets

Of poppies into your hair

I will be the joy of your soul

And have the moon rest over my roof

My love for you overflows

When you touch my body

¹The major river of the eastern Georgian highlands of Khevsureti, Pshavi and Mtiuleti. The 112 kilometer long Aragvi was dammed in Zhinvali in 1986, forming the Zhinvali Reservoir which provides power to much of Georgia. The river eventually flows into the Mtkvari at Mtskheta.

²The horn of a mountain goat is often used as a wine or hard liquor vessel during feasts, when special toasts are made.