Case Study of a Tush Transhumance. Contemporary Challenges of a Journey across Georgia: Sociability, Contingency and Relationship to the Land

Abstract

There are few contemporary social scientific studies on the Caucasus, and fewer still that deal with pastoralism in its own right. Yet, as a gateway between Europe and Asia, this is a region of extreme cultural, linguistic and ecosystemic diversity. Pastoralism has played a central role here historically, the basis of many mythic tales known throughout the world (e.g., the Golden Fleece). Drawing on a case study of Georgian transhumance from my own fieldwork, the goal of this article is to amplify research on Caucasian pastoralism with a contemporary overview of the core issues.