Difficult projects that test limits and require persistence have long held special appeal. Among many such efforts, the work connected to Tamar Mamaladze and her extensive collection of Georgian folk music stands out as particularly meaningful.
In 2014, ethnomusicologist Nino Razmadze mentioned that the Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology held rare expedition materials from Mamaladze, including sound recordings and written documents. This news caught immediate attention for someone already gathering folk song recordings since 2010.
A visit to the institute led to a meeting with archivist Nikoloz Gurgenidze, who confirmed the materials existed and noted the institution’s openness to projects that would share them more widely. An offer to help publish the collection was made carefully, and while the archivist showed understandable caution—perhaps due to the proposer’s young age of 19 and limited professional ties—the discussion closed with optimism that collaboration could begin.
Delays arose from the institute’s relocation and related technical issues, but interest in the project never faded, and conversations with colleagues continued. It later became clear that some of Mamaladze’s recordings had been passed to the Tbilisi State Conservatoire for digitization in the early 2000s by another researcher, Manana Shilakadze. Within the close-knit community of traditional music enthusiasts, unpublished archival items often circulate privately, allowing a number of her expedition recordings to reach personal collections. Those tracks helped the Adilei ensemble refresh its repertoire and bring several rare songs back into performance.
A return visit to the institute in 2020, this time with experienced colleague David Shugliashvili, renewed talks about publishing the archive, yet practical results remained out of reach for various reasons. The following year, a position at the State Folklore Centre opened new possibilities. During planning sessions with director Giorgi Donadze, studying Mamaladze’s materials was listed as a top priority and received full support. Contact with the Institute of History and Ethnology was then made on behalf of the Centre, and the project finally launched in 2021 after years of preparation.
The initial phase focused on digitizing all available magnetic tapes, flexible records, and manuscript pages—nearly 30 hours of audio and around 5,000 pages in total. Additional previously unknown recordings surfaced by chance in the conservatoire and in David Shugliashvili’s personal holdings. Reading through the expedition diaries revealed the enormous scope of Mamaladze’s fieldwork. She had documented more than 1,000 tradition bearers across many regions. This sparked deeper curiosity about both her life and the singers whose voices preserved national musical heritage, leading to a new goal of uncovering their personal stories.
Before tracing her footsteps across the countryside, efforts turned to locating any remaining family members. A colleague and friend of Mamaladze, Nanuli Maisuradze, shared that she had lost a young child and no other direct descendants were known. Many advised that finding even distant relatives who might hold personal items from someone who died in 1972 would be nearly impossible. Still, it seemed unlikely that such important work could leave no trace. After asking around in professional circles without success, a conversation with ethnomusicologist Nunuka Shvelidze provided a lead: years earlier she had heard about Mamaladze from her conservatoire classmate Rusudan Chichinadze.
Contact with Chichinadze revealed that as a student she had shared an apartment with a young woman from Zestaponi named Mamaladze, who was related to Tamar. This detail proved useful because the family originally came from the village of Khevi in the Chokhatauri area, making it unlikely that many unrelated Mamaladzes would live in Zestaponi.
Further inquiries began through the local Facebook group “Zestaponi da Zestaponelebi” and personal connections to the region. Responses came quickly that same evening: only one person with the surname lived there, a woman also named Tamar, and her phone number was provided. A call confirmed she was indeed a relative—specifically, the renowned Tamar Mamaladze had been her grandfather’s cousin.
The very next day a team from the Folklore Centre visited her home in Zestaponi. Initial expectations were modest, yet the relative had carefully kept two photo albums, a diploma, work documents, and other papers belonging to Tamar Mamaladze. After warm conversation about family history, the materials were generously entrusted for further study, and the group returned to Tbilisi. Additional biographical details later emerged from her official file at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire.
Attention then shifted to the descendants of the singers and storytellers Mamaladze had recorded. A strong sense of gratitude drove visits to roughly 140 villages together with colleagues and friends. These meetings allowed deeper insight into the lives of the tradition bearers. The journeys, spanning a year and a half but reaching back decades through the recordings, brought many touching moments and remarkable tales.
Families were often moved to learn that someone still remembered their grandparents’ contributions. Encounters frequently involved tears of joy and heartfelt recollections of the past. One standout gathering took place in the village of Kedlebi in the Khulo district, where Mamaladze had documented bagpiper Rostom Jimsheradze in the 1950s. The local guide had alerted the family, so relatives traveled from Batumi and Beshumi to join. They explained that when visitors came seeking “Neney’s” stories—Neney meaning mother in Upper Adjara—they could not stay away. A respected bagpiper named Temur Ardzenadze from nearby Dandalo also attended. The event was filmed, capturing Rostom’s children singing followed by dancing that included his grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson all participating together.
This extensive effort has culminated in a multi-volume publication planned for release by the end of the year. It will include Tamar Mamaladze’s monograph, scholarly articles, expedition diaries, audio materials, and accounts of the people she documented. Many individuals contributed, among them Teona Rukhadze, Nana Mzhavanadze, Tamar Asatiani, Ilia Jgharkava, Lika Lolashvili, Ketevan Margiani, Maya Lomia, Kakha Changashvili, Teona Benashvili, Ani Kveladze, Keti Latsabidze, Nunuka Shvelidze, Nana Kalandadze, Mariam Ebanoidze, Roma Kalandadze, Merab Lomidze, and Giorgi Devdariani.
Special appreciation goes to those who assisted in locating descendants of the old singers across the regions. The completed project will finally bring long-hidden knowledge from archive shelves into public view, offering great value to both scholars and performers of Georgian traditional music. The work has reinforced the importance of remembering the names and experiences of those who safeguarded this cultural heritage for future generations.