In the Qadagi project we were researching about an ancient Georgian profession called “Qadagoba”, that is indigenous to the Pshav-Khevsur people. The research pertained visiting 20 pre-Christian Georgian shrines in the Pshav-Khevsuretian mountains and inquiring particularly about the role of women Qadagis. The project compounded of a six week long field work in the Khevsuretian mountain villages and a two-days long Workshop in Tbilisi called “Women Qadagis”.

The Qadagis were considered as “tongues of the Gods” and served as an important link between the Gods and the human community. The first Qadagi was a woman, who lost her gender after becoming a Qadagi. Over time the role of women decrease existing in the field of sacred professions. Due to colonialist influences the profession of the Qadagi comes into overall cultural extinction in the 1970-ies in the local communities.

In the workshop we presented the gathered material from the field research and invited the feminist Doctor of Comparative Anthropology Khatuna Tavdgiridze.

Our workshop circled around following questions: Who were the “Women Qadagis”? What were their functions and roles in the society? Why is the indigenous profession of the “Qadagi” disappearing from Georgian memory? Why were women increasingly removed from authoritative roles in sacred practices and rituals?

The project was funded by the Culture Moves Europe mobility grant of the Europe Union and supported by the feminist & queer NGO Women’s Fund of Georgia.

If you are curious about the Qadagis you can continue reading in the following article about them: