HOW TO KEIPI
The Keipi is a special tradition from the Republic of Georgia that takes experiential dining to new heights.
Imagine a long table filled with delicious food and wine, bustling with the conversation of friends, family, and strangers. This is the fusion of a dinner party and poetry. Here's your starter guide to the Keipi. Don't hold back, make a toast!
The Keipi has a structure to it, but no worries, we’ll explain how it all works.
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Fill the table: A Keipi is a celebration. What kind of celebration doesn’t involve eating and drinking? Before you start toasting, make sure you at least have something you can drink and people to toast with.
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Pick the Tamada: The Tamada is the toastmaster, the one who leads the Keipi. This can be the oldest and wisest person at the table, or maybe just whoever has the most gusto.
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The Tamada makes the first toast: The theme of the first toast should be to something sublime that unites everyone gathered (Love? Courage?). In Georgia, a very traditional Christian country, the first toast is always offered to God. A toast spans anywhere from a few words to ten or fifteen minutes.
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Everyone says gagimarjos: Gagimarjos means “to you the victory” in Georgian. The old tradition in Georgia is to finish an entire glass of wine with every toast. But don’t worry, just a sip of water will do (or anything else).
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Someone gives a Sadgegrdzelo: A Sadgegrdzelo is a toast given to the same theme. If the toasting theme is “life” for example, one might make a toast to a newborn child, or something that makes them feel alive. This is everyone’s chance to be a poet by adding words to the toasting theme.
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The Tamada makes the second toast: When it feels right, the Tamada introduces the next toasting theme. Perhaps it’s "family," or "humor" -- it’s the Tamada’s call. And then, more Sadgegrdzelos to the new theme. The process is repeated again for the third toast, fourth, etc.
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That’s the Keipi in a nutshell: In Georgia a Keipi usually goes through 16 toasting themes. Feel free to improvise, the Keipi is a creative thing! There’s only one rule you cannot break: toast five must honor “the departed”. In Georgia you can’t actually have a Keipi without making it to at least toast five.
Consider getting a group together for a private Keipi, or sign up for a seat at a community Keipi. Ask one of us more about the Keipi and we’ll be happy to give you a rundown, and maybe even a toast as well. Gagimarjos!