FROM SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE 18TH CENTURY EAST GEORGIA (TOWARDS THE EXPLANATION OF “OBTAINED BY VILLAGE”)

Abstract

1801-1802 Census Book of Kakheti’s population contains interesting information uncommon to feudal environment. The account is about serfs who were “obtained by village” (soplis naskidi). In the Census Book alongside with the list of royal serfs of village Bakhtrioni we read following:“Ch. obtained by village. Kalatozishvili David. Household 1, head 1.Ch. obtained by village. Separated from (the household of) this David. Abraham cousin (of David). Household 1, head 1…”.As we see from the context of the text, those two serfs were obtained by village and the villagers owned those serfs collectively.The precise analogies of this occasion are not attested in the historical records. But in the Late Feudal Period we see uncommon facts for feudalism when peasant was owner of peasant. Generally, the Georgian feudal law is not familiar with this kind of ownership and this process must be connected with uncommon occurrence.This sort of occurrence should be the “Lekianoba” (The raids of people of Dagestan). The “Lekianoba” was immense in the 18th century. The royal court was forced to issue the law against feudal interests. It is well know that in 1765 king Erekle II issued an edict that allowed freedom to those peasants who managed to release themselves from captivity, they were able to make free choice of new suzerain and the old lord was not permitted to exploit them again. On the behalf of this edict number of free peasants was increased. They were allowed to choose their future lord even among the peasants, also any person even the peasants could release other peasants from captivity to make them serfs. The old lord was not allowed to protest against it. In our opinion, those two peasant families who are referred as “obtained by village” are the part of this process. It is highly probable that those two captive peasant households were released from captivity by the entire village folks.