Interviewer: Do you remember any special yearly traditions from your childhood?

GM: One thing that comes to mind is chiakokonoba. It’s a yearly tradition around spring where we used to make a very large fire pit and take turns jumping over them. 

Interviewer: Interesting. Tell me more, please.

GM: All the kids in the neighborhood gathered around and competed in who could jump over the largest fire. You can see the appeal; either you make the jump or burn yourself. The adrenaline is what made it fun. 

Interviewer: Do you know where this tradition originated? 

GM: No, but the idea is that it scares evil spirits away. 

Interviewer: Did you believe this when you were participating as a kid? 

GM: Not really. If anything, it angered my mom so much that evil spirits weren’t what I was afraid of anymore. 

Context: The informant was born and raised in Tbilisi, . He often visited his grandparents in the village during spring break, where he used to participate in this tradition. According to him, this tradition is less popular in the urbanized parts of Georgia but still lives on in the more rural areas.

Analysis.

The informant describes a tradition for driving away evil spirits called chiakokonoba (ჭიაკოკონობა). It is interesting that this cleansing from evil spirits happens during a transitional period of early spring. The fire can be seen as a symbolic boundary itself. Facing danger and overcoming fear will cleanse you and protect you from evil spirits. Upon further investigation, I have found that this tradition has pagan roots and now can mostly be found in orthodox Christian countries such as Georgia.