Svans
 Dadeshkeliani family, 19th c. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 14,000–80,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Georgia | 14,000–30,000 |
| Languages | |
| Svan, Georgian | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Georgian Orthodox Church | |
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| Georgians ქართველები |
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| Nation • Etymology • List • Studies |
The Svans (Svan: შუ̂ანა̈რ, romanized: shwanær; Georgian: სვანები, romanized: svanebi) are an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians indigenous to Svaneti, a region in northwest Georgia. They speak the Svan language and are mostly bilingual also in Georgian. Both these languages belong to the Kartvelian languages. In the pre-1930 Soviet census, the Svans were categorized as a separate ethnic group (natsionalnost), alongside many other ethnic subgroups of Georgians. The self-designation of the Svan is Mushwan, which is probably reflected in the ethnonym Misimian of the Classical authors.