Vazhaoba 2016: Georgia honours one of its greatest writers

Hundreds of Georgians and guests in the country are coming together today to celebrate a public holiday that honours one of the country’s greatest writers and contributors to Georgian literature.

Today Georgia is celebrating Vazhaoba, the annual festival that honoured Vazha Pshavela, simply referred to as Vazha, the Georgian poet and writer who lived in the 19th-20th Century. Vazha-Pshavela is the pen name for Luka Razikashvili.

The festival was held in Vazha’s native village of Chargali, situated in the mountainous Pshavi province in eastern Georgia.

The celebration included a number of cultural and sporting events such as wrestling and arm wrestling tournaments, a performance of old Georgian martial arts, an exhibition and sale of arts and crafts and horse races.

Photo by the PM's press office

The festival was attended by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

VazhaPshavela is believed to be one of Georgia's greatest modern geniuses. His finest works are tragic narrative poems that combine Caucasian folk myth with human tragedy.