 Part of historical Lazeti in modern international borders of Georgia. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 2,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Adjara, Abkhazia, Mingrelia, Tbilisi | |
| Languages | |
| Laz, Georgian | |
| Religion | |
| Georgian Orthodoxy |
| Laz people |
|---|
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 |
The Laz people in Georgia (Georgian: ლაზები საქართველოში, Lazebi Sakartveloshi; Laz: ლაზეფე ოქორთურაშე, Lazepe Okorturaşe) refers to an indigenous Kartvelian-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia. There are about 2,000 Laz in Georgia,[1] mainly in Sarpi, Kvariati and Gonio villages and Batumi. Laz identity in Georgia has largely merged with a Georgian identity, and the meaning of "Laz" is seen as merely a regional category.[2] Kolkhoba is an annual Laz festival held each year at the end of August or the beginning of September in Sarpi, a village in Georgia.[3] Sopho Khalvashi was a first Georgian musician of Laz heritage who represented her home nation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
- ^ "Bedrohte Sprachen: Gefahr für Minderheiten weltweit" (PDF) (in German). Society for Threatened Peoples. March 2010. p. 54.
- ^ Minorsky, V. "Laz." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman , Th. Bianquis , C.E . Bosworth , E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2010.,
- ^ "„კოლხობა" სარფში". netgazeti (in Georgian). September 29, 2014. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018.