Kidnapped Caucasian Style

There is this film called Kidnapping, Caucasian Style from the 1970's about "an athlete, activist and beauty" (sounds a bit like me, but isn't, I was too young then :) ) being kidnapped for marriage, which is an old "beloved" tradition of the region. The film is totally kitsch complete with this "students'" song about bears rubbing their backs on the axis of the world to make it go round.

When I heard about the marriage kidnapping I thought it was a slight joke of sorts, or at least not really mainstream these days. I went to a hair salon today and the woman who was waxing me, when talking about my "kartuli kmari" or Georgian husband* she asked the normal questions, kids? Where did we meet? etc. The tables then turned and I started to ask as well. After learning that she had three children and was only four years older than myself I was curious when she had started being the baby-maker. Apparently she was kidnapped when she was 19 by a friend of hers, not a close one, just a friend and definitely not a boyfriend, and before she knew anything he had had his wicked way with her and she was pregnant. As this was the first man in her life she didn't really understand the consequences at first. He told her that you are my wife now despite the fact that she didn't want to be and her parents didn't want her to be. This conversation was in Georgian-English and the quest for getting the word "kidnapping" was quite amusing. She was explaining, I supplied the word kidnapping, she didn't understand; then I did a demonstration of what is happening in Iraq with people getting kidnapped and she understood. I was a bit in shock as this is at the hair salon of the super posh gym where I go. She is half Finnish and half Georgian so her family is not totally from back country but she was indeed kidnapped, Caucasian style. To add to the fact of being a kidnapper and a bit of a rapist, the man apparently is too proud to work as Georgians want to be managers and not workers. So he got himself a wife to be the worker for him. Slave and wife at once.



* There is no word in Georgian for boyfriend, or partner really. Just husband, spouse or friend. Girlfriend is even trickier as they don't exist, they are wives, spouses or prostitutes, or fiancee, but no girlfriend.