Purchase this article
USD $22.00
Identity and Traditional Law
Local Legal Conceptions in Svan Villages, Georgia
in Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
Author:
,
,
, and
Stéphane Voell
Stéphane Voell
University of Marburg voell@uni-marburg.de
Search for other papers by Stéphane Voell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Stéphane Voell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Natia Jalabadze
Natia Jalabadze
Tbilisi State University
Search for other papers by Natia Jalabadze in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Natia Jalabadze in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Lavrenti Janiashvili
Lavrenti Janiashvili
Institute of History and Ethnology
Search for other papers by Lavrenti Janiashvili in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Lavrenti Janiashvili in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Elke Kamm
Elke Kamm
University of Marburg elke.kamm@staff.uni-marburg.de
Search for other papers by Elke Kamm in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Elke Kamm in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
USD $0.01
All currencies in US Dollar
Traditional law continues to be relevant for the Svans (Georgians), who usually live in the highlands of the Caucasus, but who have also migrated to various parts of Georgia. To grasp its practice we draw on approaches in which its use is discussed as a strategy for '(re)asserting collective identities' (Benda-Beckmann) in order to enforce specific goals. But our research also shows another dimension of traditional law: more than in actual conflict resolutions, traditional law is found in narratives, that is in memories of how conflicts were resolved earlier and should be solved today. These stories, however, of how and when traditional law should be applied rarely correspond to lived reality. Drawing on Brubaker and Cooper, we argue that beside a rather instrumental motivated use of traditional law in asserting collective identities, its contemporary practice can only be fully understood if we also acknowledge its non-instrumental practice.