“It's a call for me, it’s a call to protect traditions. The Voices of Ancestors aren’t only sounds we heard from the old recordings, it’s all the traditions which our ancestors kept.”

Dr. Maka Khardziani

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In this special video episode, you can both see and hear the creative work of Nanina, a women’s group of ethnomusicologists and singers based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Our guest, Dr Maka Khardziani - ethnomusicologist and Director of Nanina - reveals how Georgian women’s voices continue to shape the nation’s musical soul.

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Together with hosts Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson, Maka takes us inside the Nanina Women’s Folklore Festivals: how they began, why they focus on women, and how each year’s theme builds on the next:
1st Festival: lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana


2nd Festival: healing songs and the Batonebi ritual circling the church


3rd Festival: women’s labour songs and handicrafts


Next year: ritual songs for weddings and the weather

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Far from being just concerts, the festivals bring together scholarly papers, video presentations from regional ensembles, and exhibitions of women’s handicrafts.
Maka reveals how lullabies form the root language of all Georgian song, and how healing songs once worked as powerful emotional therapy. She also discusses the challenges of reviving women’s work songs that were rarely recorded — and the joy of discovering unknown melodies in old archives.

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There’s a touching moment when Maka sings Nanila, a Svan lullaby from her home region of Svaneti. And videographer-singer Ia Andghuladze joins in to share the younger generation’s perspective on carrying these traditions forward through film and music.

> In this episode
- Lullabies and the ancient goddess Nana


- The Batonebi healing ritual and sacred round dance


- Women’s labour songs and handicrafts


- The multidisciplinary festival: music, film, scholarship, and craft


- How younger artists are continuing the work of Nanina


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🎧 Hosted by Holly Taylor-Zuntz and Susan Thompson
🎥 Video and audio production by Ia Andghuladze
📍 Guest: Dr Maka Khardziani, Director of Nanina

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>Music
Intro: ‘Makharia’, chonguri. From the Ialoni album, 'I fell in love with that sweet voice'
Maka: Sings opening phrase of Iavnana
Maka: Sings Svan Nana - Nanila
Lalkhori sing Lullabies from Svaneti
Nanina sing Meskhetian Batonebo

>Links - Film about the creative Group Nanina in Georgian with English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_y8vcWy7_E

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