Love Stories
Language, Private Love, and Public Romance in Georgia

Paul Manning (Author)

9781442608962

Paperback / softback, published 15 May 2015

192 pages
22.9 x 15 x 1.3 cm, 0.3 kg

Love Stories is a highly readable and interesting ethnography that will captivate the imagination of its readers as it has Georgian intellectuals. Accessible to undergraduates as an introduction to ethnography, it will also stimulate those interested in kinship, love poetry, socialism and post-socialism, queer anthropology and the history of anthropology. - Anthropology News Love Stories contains an abundance of translated examples; in the case of poetry, the Khevsur Georgian original is also provided (in transliteration). In addition to their informational and aesthetic value, the textual materials find use as pedagogical resources to illustrate concepts such as genre, sociability and performativity. - Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute Although of interest to scholars of post-socialism, the Caucasus, and linguistics, the book is that much sought-after, brief, jargonless, and vividly written ethnographic introduction to anthropological 'intersections' that brings together a variety of classical anthropological topics, all in about 140 pages. - Anthropologica This would be a great book to use with students. It is an enjoyable read about a topic that they can relate to. Manning's discussions of applications ranging from commercials and movies to Internet chat rooms would interest students being introduced to folklore or anthropology in a specific context. - Erik Aasland (Journal of American Folklore) Manning's book is a highly recommendable and enjoyable read. This is not only because of its enticing topic and the eloquent writing style, but also because Manning's treatment and sociohistorical contextualization of the stories of Khevsur love is eye-opening and thought-provoking. - Lian Malai Madsen (Journal of Linguistic Anthropology)

In the remote highlands of the country of Georgia, a small group of mountaindwellers called the Khevsurs used to express sexuality and romance in ways that appear to be highly paradoxical. On the one hand, their practices were romantic, but could never lead to marriage. On the other hand, they were sexual, but didn't correspond to what North Americans, or most Georgians, would have called sex. These practices were well documented by early ethnographers before they disappeared completely by the midtwentieth century, and have become a Georgian obsession. In this fascinating book, Manning recreates the story of how these private, secretive practices became a matter of national interest, concern, and fantasy. Looking at personal expressions of love and the circulation of these narratives at the broader public level of the modern nation, Love Stories offers an ethnography of language and desire that doubles as an introduction to key linguistic genres and to the interplay of language and culture.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Setting the Stage for Romance

A Brief Introduction to Khevsur Love
Well, Did They, or Didn't They?
Georgian Stereotypes about Khevsurs and "
the Romance of the Mountains"

Language and Desire: Genres and Practices
The Khevsurs in History
Plan of the Book

1. THE AMBASSADOR
The Elchi as Mediator
Autonomy, Persuasion, and Desire
The Elchi at Work: A Girl's First Night of Sts'orproba
Conversation 1: The Elchi and the Girl
Conversation 2: The Elchi and the Boy
Conversation 3: The Elchi and the Mother

2. SPENDING THE NIGHT TOGETHER
Lying Down and Getting Up: Sociable Talk and Sociable Sexuality
Intimate Contact: Prohibition and Transgression
Boundary: Sex
Boundary: Marriage
Sociability and Obligation
The Role of Different Genres

3. GOING STEADY
The Social Life of Vodka

Going with Vodka
Visiting Vodka
Road Vodka
The Sexual Life of Vodka
Stealing Vodka
Saving and Hiding Vodka
Drinking Vodka
From Casual to Durable Sexual Relations:
Sts'orperis and Dzmobilis
The Dzmobili Relationship and Its Rivals

Night and Day
Creating and Maintaining Durable Relationships over Time

Creating the Relationship: Oaths and Hints
Maintaining the Relationship: Waiting and Exchange

4. INVISIBLE LOVE POETRY
The Invisibility of Khevsur Love Poetry: The Absence of the Lyric Mode
Articulating Desire in Pshavian Lyric
The Erasure of Desire in Khevsur Love Poetry
Anonymity: Erasure of the Author of Love Poetry
Replacing Individual Desire with Desirability in Praise Poetry

5. DEMONS, DANGER, AND DESIRE: THE "
ARAGVIAN"
SEXUAL REVOLUTION
Scandal Narratives
Russian Marriage
The Aragvian Way of Love
Khevsur Girls' Love Stories: Three Case Studies
Mariemi's Story
Nanuk'i's Story
Ashekali's Story

6. INTELLIGENTSIA AND PEOPLE: A LOVE STORY
Genres of Realism and Romance
The Story of Natela: A Khevsur Romance of the Nineteenth Century
The Story of Natela: A Native Ethnographer of the Twentieth Century

7. ECHOES OF LOVE LOST: SOCIALIST NOVELS AND FILMS
Socialist Ethnographies
Modernist Novels
Socialist Films
Modernity and Tradition: Frame Narrative and Framed Narrative
Romance, Poetry, and Violence
Echoes of Sts'orproba

Conclusion: Virtual Romance

From Film to Image: Khevsurs in Late-Socialist Art
Virtual Romance on Georgian Teen Forums

Glossary
References
Index