Last modified: 2018-12-06 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/g/ge-lanc.gif)
![[Arms]](../images/g/ge)lanc.gif)
Flag and arms of Lanchkhuti - Images by The State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia, 3 November 2018
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The municipality of Lanchkhuti (6,315 inhabitants in 2014) is located in western Georgia, 80 km north-east of Batumi and 40 km west of Poti.
Ivan Sache, 3 November 2018
The flag of Lanchkhuti is vertically divided red-green with a white
nine-pointed star in canton and seven white horizontal wavy stripes in
the center.
The coat of arms of Lanchkhuti is "Per fess, 1a. Gules a deer's head or
a nine-pointed star argent in canton, 1b. Vert two hands issuant from
the base holding a rugby ball all or, 2. Argent three mounts vert in
base azure seven fesses wavy dimitiated argent. The shield surmounted by
a three-towered mural crown argent fimbriated sable. Under the shield a
scroll argent fimbriated sable charged with the name of the town in
Georgian capital letters sable."
[
State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia]
The ball represents leloburti, a traditional local sport.
Easter in Georgia has numerous traditions and rituals associated with
it, but for inhabitants of Guria the greatest Christian holiday would be
incomplete without an ancient Georgian game, leloburti. The village of
Shukhuti, Lanchkhuti region, has a three-century-old tradition: on
Easter, all of its inhabitants split into two teams and begin the battle
for possession of a 16-kilogram ball. The hefty sphere, stuffed with
wood shavings and sand, is blessed by the village priest, who then
throws it into the air and the game begins. Several hundred people take
part to the game with such fervor that the ball is barely visible behind
the huddle of bodies. The game, which features men, women, elderly and
children alike, lasts for several hours and ends when one of the teams
pushes the ball to a lelo - a small river.
As it is known, leloburti existed even in BC period. This tradition has
continued uninterrupted for more than three hundred years, with the only
exception being years 1941-1945, when few had time and mettle for games
in a time of war, the locals say. It is noteworthy that Communists, in
their ceaseless drive to destroy everything Christian, turned the
festive game into an ordinary sports competition and transferred it to
the 1st of May. However, the tradition was returned to its established
date in 1990.
[Georgian Journal, 19 April 2017]
Ivan Sache, 3 November 2018