Ilusha Tsinadze - Sabodisho (საბოდიშო)

http://www.ilusha.com SHADDOW PUPPETS: Andrew Benincasa MUSICIANS: Jean Rohe - voice, Ilusha Tsinadze - guitar, Richie Barshay - percussion, Chris Tordini - bass, Liam Robinson - accordion, Rob Hecht - violin STORY: Back in the day (maybe about 800 years ago, maybe more), and even to this day, some Georgian folk believed that if a person got sick with certain illnesses, it meant that the Batonebi spirits ("the Lords") had come from over the Black Sea to inhabit the person. Boils would appear, the person would get cranky, complain, demand you leave him alone to feel pathetic in solitude. Michael Berman and Ketevan Kalandadze wrote about Batonebi in their book Georgia Through Its Folktales: "Bat'onebi are to be obeyed without question, as resistance only enrages them. Nonetheless, their hearts can be conquered with tenderness and caresses; They are said to enjoy gentle songs and the bright sound of instrumental music. The blisters from chickenpox and the redness from measles are said to be signs of the arrival of the bat'onebi. As a rule, such infectious diseases, called "the Lords" (bat'onebi), or "the Angels (angelozebi), "visited" a person once in a lifetime only, and therefore contracting such a disease was regarded as a sacred duty, a service to God." This inhabitation, or possession, was done by a good spirit, a sort of Infecting Angel. To then heal the sick person, the family would decorate the room in bright colors, lay a table with fruits, ignore his protestations and curses, and sing songs that would please the Batonebi and induce them to leave the body. 'Sabodisho' is one of those songs. I gave this song and story to my friend Andrew, a writer and puppeteer, and he wrote this version, drawing his ideas from Georgian stories, from the news, and from the life around him. Folk stories, just as folk music, exist to be re-told, not just preserved, and constantly changed to become original, to speak to the world around us now. CREDITS: Sabodisho is a traditional Georgian healing song (from Guria) arranged by Ilusha Tsinadze for his CD, Mother Tongue / Deda Ena Puppeting, filming and editing by Ilusha Tsinadze and Andrew Benincasa Band Filmed by Alex Engel and Tony Hernandez Video and audio ©2011 Ilia Tsinadze (Katsik Music ASCAP) All Rights Reserved.