საკითხავი მასალა #5: ლექსი "სულიკო"
It's been a while since we picked a Georgian text to work on our vocabulary and to gain new insights into the Georgian language. The famous Georgian poem (and later song) სულიკო (Suliko, "little, gentle soul") from Georgia's Modern Literature Period and written by Georgia's well-known intellectual, poet and educator აკაკი წერეთელი (Akaki Tsereteli) is an excellent text for any student of the Georgian language, first because of the vocabulary and phrasing used, but also because of its importance to the Georgians and their nation.
საყვარლის საფლავს ვეძებდი,
ვერ ვნახე!.. დაკარგულიყო!..
გულამოსკვნილი ვტიროდი
„სადა ხარ, ჩემო სულიკო?!“
Composed shortly before the end of the 19. century in 1895, in a time period of Georgian history, where many Georgians were looking for alternatives to Russian rule, the Tsarist regime as well as for new economic and cultural perspectives beyond the mostly tranquile, rural, agrarian and often threatened by outside forces (also from Persia).
სულიკო is at first glance a sentimental love poem with a protagonist lamenting at length over the loss of his lover and describing the search for her in the countryside and thorn brushes; using lots of romantic references and pictures. On a deeper level, the poem allowed the Georgians to identify and connect with their own search for orientation, their self, a new future and their standing in the world at the end of the 19. century - სადა ხარ, ჩემო სულიკო? Where are you, my gentle soul?
The song's popularity even grew beyond the Georgian Soviet Republic during the Soviet period, when it was broadcast and recited regularly during public performances, radio broadcasts and similar events outside of the country, then most often in Russian translation, of course.
More Posts from the series Georgian Reading:
Georgian Reading #3: Folk Song "Apareka"
Georgian Reading #4: სათამაშო უსაფრთხოა? Is the Toy safe?
Listen to this beautiful rendition of სულიკო by the მძლევარი Ensemble (some verses repeated in Russian). Listening to the 12 verses is an excellent exercise in listening comprehension in Georgian! Read the verses while you listen to the choir first and then try it without the written text. Repeat this as often as you want.
On a side note here, the choir's name მძლევარი is worth some exploring, too. Rooting in the word მძლე (1. winning, victorious, prevailing 2. mighty, powerful, see მძლეობს), a მძლევარი in Georgian folk tradition is considered a messenger or courier of good news or victory. The arrival of birds like the cuckoo (გუგული), oriole (მოლაღური) or swallow (მერცხალი) after the winter signaled having survived the harsh period and the beginning of a new season - leading to such birds often being referred to as მძლევარი as well. In his dictionary, Kita Tschenkeli (2007: 877) attributes another role to them: A child (or anyone striving for a good life) should rise in the morning before the cuckoo or oriole have started to sing and therefore being victorious over these birds which promises a good start into the day. My guess is that the მძლევარი choir sees itself just as much as a bringer of good news as we see a swallow in spring!
Here is a commented translation of all 12 verses of Suliko. The words used are perfect for intermediate learners, and even beginner students of Georgian find many words that they know from their studies as well. As always, special attention is paid to the verbs; most of the other words you can easily look up in a dictionary or in online sources. Have fun reading the provided explanations and use the links to dive deeper into these words and pick up new vocabulary for your personal Georgian language journey!
სულიკო - Suliko
აკაკი წერეთელი
| [1] საყვარლის საფლავს ვეძებდი[1], ვერ ვნახე!..[2] დაკარგულიყო![3].. გულამოსკვნილი[4] ვტიროდი[5] „სადა ხარ[6], ჩემო სულიკო?![7]“ |
I was looking for my lover's grave I could not find it!.. It was lost!.. Heartbroken I cried "Where are you my Suliko?!" |
მე ვეძებდი საფლავს - I was looking for the grave. First person Imperfect of ეძებს - to search, to look for. საყვარლის is the genitive of საყვარელი - the lover, the loved one. ↩︎
მე ვერ ვნახე ის - I was unable to see her. First person imperfect of ხედავს/ნახავს - to see, to look at., used with ვერ to signal being incapable of doing something. ↩︎
ის დაკარგულიყო - she had gotten lost; the pluperfect of the verb დაიკარგება ↩︎
გული - the heart, ამოსკვნის - to bind a loop. So, literally my heart is bound in a loop - heart-wrenching, devastating, heartbroken ↩︎
მე ვტიროდი - I was crying. First person Imperfect of the verb ტირის - to cry, to weep. Some versions of the poem use the verb ვჩიოდი - I was lamenting. First person Imperfect of ჩივის - to complain, to lament. ↩︎
ხარ - second person singular of არის/ყოფნა - to be, to exist. The word სად (where) is linked phonetically to the following word by adding -ა, სად-ა ხარ? - Where are you? This is more typical for Eastern parts of Georgia, but also convenient in poetry for linking words. ↩︎
სულიკო - little soul; diminutive of სული - the soul. Can be found in the verb მოასულიერებს - to revive someone, to bring someone to his senses. ↩︎
| [2] ეკალში ვარდი შევნიშნე[1], ობლად[2] რომ ამოსულიყო[3], გულის ფანცქალით ვკითხავდი[4] „შენ ხომ არა ხარ სულიკო?!“ |
In the thorns I reckognized a rose, a single foundling that emerged, With throbbing heart I asked "Are you not my Suliko?!" |
მე შევნიშნე ვარდი - I reckognized the rose. First person Aorist of შენიშნავს - to reckognize something. ↩︎
ობოლი - the orphan; suffix -ად to mark the adverbial case: like an orphan. ↩︎
ამოსულიყო - it had come up; pluperfect of the verb ამოდის - to come up ↩︎
ვკითხავდი მას - I asked him. Imperfect of კითხულობს/იკითხავს - to ask someone. ↩︎
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