"ABC of Georgia" section: Tabakim.

"ABC of Georgia" section: Tabakim.

Let us remind you that in this section we are talking about concepts and objects related to Georgian history and traditions. Today the words of the day are "tabhi", a tray carried by Kinto, food vendors and just very cheerful guys. On a large wooden cooking tray they placed mountains of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and also eggs, fish - whatever! For convenience, the head was wrapped in a special kinetic blanket, which kept the balance of the heavy tobacco. The Kintos were able to move freely and quickly with their baggage, leaving both hands free, although they sometimes carried their goods on carts drawn by donkeys. Kinto didn't just sell, they frantically advertised their product, and loudly invited buyers. It was urban slang, sometimes akin to nonsense, but quite understandable and attractive. For example, "Agora, agora, Alexander is great", "Cherries, Spanish cherries", "Antonovsky apples", "Pepper, pepper, apricot", "Look here, buy something" - these and other calls, according to the recollections of writers of everyday life, were occasionally heard on the streets of the city. When he saw that one of the buyers showed interest in his product, the Kinto immediately took the tabahs off his head or stopped the donkey and started bargaining. At the same time, he was not at all averse to scamming a hapless townsman - Kinto had a bad name in general. To overweigh the buyer, to stun him before this powerful pressure - this is exactly how the working method of the Tbilisi Kintos looked. They also made a living as a merchant - they bought food products from the villagers in quantities and sold them at inflated prices. One of the issues of the newspaper "Kavkaz" talked about the Quinto group, which had a monopoly on the sale of cheese. They waited on peasants around Tbilisi, bought their goods, often using force and threats.