Akvani (Cradle)

Akvani (Megrelian: Arkvani, Svan: Akavani), a baby’s bed, was popular among some Euro-Asian societies.

It is a type of a rocking bed. Akvani has a crescent-shaped rocking-cradle frame. The frame is suspended by ropes. The primitive version of Akvani is the so-called Khochichi – a hollowed-out, C-shaped plank with bedding. Before putting the baby into the real Akvani, parents would bind him to Khochichi. Sometimes, they would wrap the baby in wheat stalks and tie it with belts (Artakhi). Such a cradle was called Pirtskhi. A rocking cradle (Akvani) common in Georgia consists of a mattress (filled with either straw, wool, or cotton), blanket, shawl, belts, and other parts. The mattress has a hyenic hole that is cut out at the appropriate place where one would put Shibaki (a urine drainpipe on a cradle made of wood) or clean butterburs, elderberry, and docks (sorrels) leaves. According to folk tradition, to protect the baby from the evil eye, people would put Avgarozi (a charm) on top of Akvani. In case of infertility, or when the baby was sick, it was accepted to offer a small Akvani to an icon of a saint. The Akvani used today is probably not of Georgian origin. In the church frescos of the middle feudal era, there are depictions of Akvani with four legs that look like a bed. Therefore, Akvani, which has a rocking frame, must have been popularized by nomadic tribes. Today, they are still used in the whole of East Georgia and are known as an eastern type of Akvani called Beshiki. Apparently, in later periods, this latter one replaced Georgian Akvani.

Literature: ბ ა რ დ ა ვ ე ლ ი ძ ე-ლ ო მ ი ა  ვ., ბავშვის დაბადებასთან დაკავშირებული რიტუალი მთიან ქართლში, «საქართველოს მუზეუმის მოამბე», 1928, ტ. 4; მ ა ჭ ა ვ ა რ ი ა ნ ი  ე., ბავშვის მოვლა-აღზრდის წესები მთიულეთში, იქვე, 1957, ტ. 19A და 21B.

G. Chitaia

T. Abdushelishvili