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mariam_nikuradze · ‎04-17-2023

A man is excited as his team just won the game.

Today I want to tell you about a very special tradition in one small village of Guria region in the country of Georgia. It is called Leloburti, and it is basically rugby but without any rules. Leloburti is an almost 300-year-old tradition and was recently granted the status of the non-material cultural heritage of Georgia.

Leloburti is played every Easter day. Early morning the villagers of Shukhuti gather in the yard of the house where the ball is always crafted using sand, , sawdust and a bit of wine. Usually, the ball weights 16-18kg.

Stuffing the ball for 2017 game.

During this ceremony, which is conducted by the well-known local priest Saba associated with the game, people are saying toast and drinking wine (sometimes with very unusual dishes, even a ball).

Priest Saba and others drink wine from a Kvevri, a Tile, a trophy and a ball.

After the ball is stuffed and ready, it is taken out of the yard. People throw it to each other in the street before they reach the local church, where it rests until the game starts and the game always starts later that day at 5pm.

The creator of the ball weighs it. In 2017 it was 17kg. This year it was more than 16kg.

Ball is taken to the church.

After the ball is in the church, celebrations being. In the yard of the church, there are some shows, games, singing, food, drinks. Some people go to the cemeteries and visit the graves of their loved ones, while also drinking wine, and eating easter cakes and eggs.

Feast at the cemetery.

Celebrations outside the church before the game begins.

2023 ball rests in the church with the trophy.

Slightly before 17:00 people gather around the church. Priest Saba gets the ball and a little competition begins. He throws ball to the brave ones who think they can catch the heavy ball without falling. A lot of them fail, but some are strong enough to playfully throw it back to the priest.

Priest Saba throws the ball outside the church.

This year this man managed to set the Guinness record by carying the 16kg ball on his head in 32 seconds (don't remember distance, sorry)

After this, the priest leaves the church yard with the ball together with a man holding a gun. At 17:00 sharp, the man with a gun shoots in the air, Priest Saba throws the ball into the crowd and the game begins.

There are hundreds of people involved in this game. It goes as following: Shukhuti consists of two parts - Zemo Shukhuti and Kvemo Shukhuti. Teams of these two parts compete with each other. From the centre of the city there are two small rivers on equal distance. The only rule is to the teams to get the ball to the other side of their respecting rivers.

The game begins and the ball is buried somewhere in the middle of this.

Each team pushes to their side. Sometimes game lasts for many hours. This year, the game lasted exactly an hour.

Often people lost consciousness and get injured.

The game is tense, but it gets a lot of cheers from the people who observe the game from outside. After the game starts, it is almost impossible to spot the ball until the game is over.

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This year, Zemo Shukhuti team won.

This photo depicts the moment of victory - the ball is about to cross the river.The rest of the team cross the river to get to the ball and celebrate their victory.

Later, the ball goes and rests and the family of one of the winning team.Usually, it's a family, where a person died in the past year.There is a small Easter feast.Finally, the ball ends at the cemetary, at the grave of a person who died in the past year.