A Hunt in the Garden of Eden: On the Trail of One Hymn in the Films of Parajanov

• In Event: Sergei Parajanov between National Liberation and Cosmopolitan Coexistence

Abstract

The Georgian hymn “Shen khar venakhi” (“You are a vineyard”) appears twice in Sergei Parajanov’s films: in the “royal hunt” sequence in The Color of Pomegranates (1969) and later in the “Requiem for Niko” chapter of the short film Arabesques on the Theme of Pirosmani (1985). Typically cited as a transparent marker of Georgian identity or as one element among many in these films’ masterfully layered soundtracks, this hymn in fact operates much more ambiguously. By hearing “Shen khar venakhi” not as an expression of national identity or a subversive religious message, but rather as a multivalent icon of state power and erotic drive, we can better understand Parajanov’s use of traditional music across his œuvre: at once ironic, sentimental, and attuned to contemporary political resonances.

Author

• Brian Fairley, U of Pittsburgh