Statue celebrates Georgia's mother tongue

The Deda Ena statue on the right bank of the Mtkvari River, near the Dry Bridge in Tbilisi, is a commemorative monument to the Georgian language. Deda Ena means Mother Tongue. April 14 is the Day of the Mother Tongue, marking the 14 April 1978 protests to retain the Georgian language as the official language in Georgia. The Mother Tongue statue was created from 1981-1983.

Elguja Amashukeli and Nodar Mgalobishvili designed the statue. Elguja Amashukeli (1928-2002) also designed the silver Mother of Georgia statue that overlooks the city on Solalaki Ridge, and the Vakhtang I Gorgasali equestrian statue at Metekhi church near Tbilisi’s Old City.

MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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