tamada

A tamada (Georgian: თამადა) is a Georgian toastmaster at a Georgian supra (feast) or at a wedding, corresponding to the symposiarch at the Greek symposion or to the thyle at the Anglo-Saxon sumbel. All supras, regardless of size, feature a tamada, or toastmaster: one person who introduces each toast. Georgians like to say that the tamada is dictator of the table, but it would be more appropriate to compare him to a leader or even to a teacher. Tamada traditionally ought to be eloquent, intelligent, smart, sharp-witted and quick−thinking, with a good sense of humor − since very often some of the guests might try to compete with him on the toast-making. At the Georgian table, a tamada is considered to help bridge the gap between past, present and future, toasting ancestors and descendants a...