Analysis of the Manuscript on the Life of the Abkhaz People in the 19th Century Stored in the Baltazar Bogišić Collection

Abstract

During his stay in Odessa in 1872, Baltazar Bogišić, a passionate traveller and one of the greatest South Slavic field explorers and ethnographers of his time, travelled the Caucasus Mountains with the aim of getting to know the way of life and culture of the native population. He spent most of his time in the then almost unknown tiny countries scattered on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus (in Abkhazia, Samurzakan, Mingrelia/Megrelia, Georgia, and Svanetia), which is recorded in the valuable manuscripts that are kept in the Baltazar Bogišić Collection in Cavtat. Apart from his original accounts, such as questionnaires and notes on the local circumstances, it also contains precious collector transcripts from various sources, like the description of the Caucasian peoples of the 19th century, legal documents from district courts, and printed sections from various texts. This article analyses the data on the number and characteristics of the inhabitants living in the Suhum District, which Bogišić collected during his stay in Abkhazia, and through a wider geographical and historical context presents a more detailed insight into the local social relations and the traditional culture of the 19th century Abkhaz people.