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Research Publications of the University of Minnesota
Studies in the Social Sciences
Number 14
ARMENIAN LEGENDS AND FESTIVALS
By
LOUIS A. BOETTIGER, M.A.
Published by the University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, January, 1920
Copyright 1920
by the
University of Minnesota
PREFACE
The author of the study which follows responded to the lure of
his task for both theoretical and practical reasons. He seemed,
because of his intimate personal relationship to Armenian life, to
be peculiarly qualified to study and interpret a cross-section of
that country's life. It is particularly urgent that we as Americans
have authentic studies of Armenia and Armenian social life. Heretofore
there has been a striking lack of such materials readily accessible in
English. Because of the not inconsiderable immigration which reaches
us from Armenia, and because also there has been a call for the United
States to act as mandatory for this country under the peace treaty,
we should penetrate more deeply into the Armenian heart than we have
been able to do so far, if we are to carry through successfully
our job either as assimilator or as friendly guardian. Moreover
there is incumbent upon the United States in particular the duty of
understanding a country like Armenia, since we have been foremost in
proclaiming the doctrine of the rights of small nationalities. Those
are the practical purposes from the standpoint of social politics
which have given rise to and confer full warrant upon this study.
Of no less importance, however, is the contribution which
Mr. Boettiger's study makes to theoretical sociology. He has sketched
out for us the picture of a refractory culture which refuses to
amalgamate with or yield to or be permeated by rival cultures. The
social history of this sturdy people offers us a very clear-cut
example of what really makes a society or a nation. Not mountains,
not dynasties, not blood, but common interests, common traditions,
common beliefs; in short, mental community.
The theoretical joins with the practical service of this study if
it can strengthen our understanding that only as our own blood and
that of our Armenian friends reach the place where they boil at the
same temperature, or are cooled by the same application of reason,
can we minister to each other or carry out the new partnership which
may lie immediately ahead of us in the reestablishment of peace and
the reorganization of world comity.
Arthur J. Todd
CONTENTS
Pages
Introduction 1-2
Part I. Legends
Chapter I. The geography of Armenia 5-8
Chapter II. Ancient historical legends 9-23
Section 1. The legend, of Haic 9
2. The legend of Ara and Semiramis 10
3. Historical background of the legend of Ara and
Semiramis 11
4. The legend of Vahakn 14
5. The historic background of the legend of Vahakn 15
6. The period of national integration 17
7. Legends of Artasches and Artavasd 20
8. Conclusions 22
Chapter III. Legends of the conversion to Christianity 24-38
Section 1. Pre-Christian mythology and religion 24
2. Legends of Abgar, Thaddeus, and St. Bartholomew 27
3. Legends of Rhipsime and Gregory 29
4. The Armenian church as a social force 34
Chapter IV. Locality legends 39-44
Section 1. Ararat 39
2. Khor-Virap and Erzerum 43
Chapter V. Interpretation and conclusions 45-48
Part II. Festivals
Chapter I. The Gregorian church 51-55
Chapter II. Pagan folk festivals 56-66
Section 1. Vartavar and the Festival of Mihr 56
2. The Day of the Dead and Vartan's Day 58
3. Fortune-Telling Day 62
Chapter III. Christian folk festivals 67-78
Section 1. Christmas, Easter, and New Year 67
2. Special church ceremonies 71
Chapter IV. Private festival occasions 79-90
Section 1. Baptism 79
2. Betrothal 80
3. Marriage 83
4. Funeral 87
Chapter V. Summary 91-96
Conclusions 92
Bibliography 99-100
INTRODUCTION
The study which follows has a very definite objective apart from
the mere gathering of materials, namely, to interpret as far as
the subject-matter would permit, the social life of the Armenian
people. The legends and festivals described have thus been selected
from a larger mass of material with this principle in mind. I have,
therefore, omitted such as seemed to me to be of little or no social
value. Also, in full accordance with this plan, I have chosen to
include certain church ceremonies which give rise to such festivals,
and are of such social importance that I considered them an organic
part of my subject. Otherwise I think I have kept within the strict
confines as indicated by the title of this study.
It must, therefore, be evident that neither Part One on legends,
nor Part Two on festivals, is exhaustive, and this is necessarily
so, not only because of my selective plan, but also because much of
the work on this and kindred subjects has been done by the French,
and is available only on the continent. All of the sources used are,
however, original in two possible constructions of the term; that
is, they are the works of Armenians who have lived for many years in
their native land, or of foreigners, generally French or English, who
have traveled through the country and gathered their material first
hand. A large portion of this matter I have been able to check up
and add to through my wife, an Armenian, who lived in Constantinople
most of her life, and who is naturally versed in the folk-lore of her
native land. While this has been the chief source of my interest,
it is not the only one, for during my three years' work in Beirut,
Syria, I became acquainted with many Armenians.
To describe a legend, or a festival, and to tag it Armenian, is about
as purposeful and enlightening as to explain Plato's idea of social
unity to a person who has no picture of Greek civilization. I have,
therefore, found it necessary to fit these legends and festivals into
the particular settings that seemed to me most natural. The legends
that date from pagan times are meaningless apart from their historical
background; the church legends and festivals are without value apart
from their religious-historical setting, while such legends as those
of Ararat require a description of the natural environment to which
they belong. The conclusions and interpretation which this study gives
rise to, as well as the manner in which I have organized and attempted
to weave the material together into a unified fabric, are my own.
Most of the books used have been supplied by the Case Memorial
Library of Hartford Theological Seminary, and I owe the Reverend
M. H. Ananikian of that institution my thanks for his gracious
cooperation in suggesting materials and providing me with them. I am
also deeply indebted to Professor J. W. Beach for his painstaking
criticism and valuable suggestions, and for the corrections
and suggestions offered by Professor W. S. Davis and Professor
A. E. Jenks. To Professor A. J. Todd I am especially grateful,
for it was under his direction and supervision that this study was
carried out.
Louis A. Boettiger
PART ONE
LEGENDS
CHAPTER I
THE GEOGRAPHY OF ARMENIA
Armenia is a huge plateau, a westward extension of the great Iranian
highland, bounded by the Caucasus Mountains on the north, the Taurus
Mountains and Kurdistan on the south, the Persian lowlands on the
southeast, and the Black and Caspian seas. The average height of
the plateau is 6,000 feet. As it ends abruptly at the Black Sea on
one side, so on the other it breaks down in rugged terraces to the
Mesopotamian lowlands; on the east it sinks gradually to the lower
levels of Persia, and on the west to the plains of Asia Minor. The
chief mountain ranges run from northeast to southwest, rising above
the general level of the plateau to an altitude ranging from 8,000
to 12,000 feet and culminating in Ararat, the lofty summit of which
stands 17,000 feet above sea level. Broad, elevated, and fertile
valleys range themselves between the mountains, the main lines of which
are determined by the four chief rivers of the country, the Tigris,
the Euphrates, the Aras, and the Kur. All four rise in the plateau,
the two former emptying into the Persian Gulf, and the latter two
into the Caspian Sea. The Euphrates divides the country into what is
known as great and little Armenia, or Armenia major and Armenia minor,
Armenia major on the east and Armenia minor on the west. Although the
valleys are generally broad expanses of arable land, grass covered
and treeless, the gorges of the Euphrates and Tigris can not be
surpassed in grandeur and wildness. The winters are long and severe,
and the summers short, dry, and hot. In the city of Erzerum the range
of temperature is from -22 deg. to 84 deg., and snow is usually present in
June. [1]
In consequence of the long and severe winters the villages are
built on gentle slopes of the hillsides in which the houses are
excavated. Robert Curzon, who traveled through the country about 1850,
has written the best description of them. [2] A rectangular plot of
ground about the size of an English acre is laid out and excavated to
a depth of seven or eight feet at the back side, decreasing gradually
with the slope of the hill to a depth of about two feet. After a
careful leveling of the ground, trunks of straight trees are cut
and arranged in rows for the support of the ceiling, which consists
of cross-beams interspersed by a wooden frame-work upon which the
removed soil is laid to a considerable thickness. The walls are made of
stone. In entering the habitation at the lower slope of the hillside,
one is obliged to descend three or four steps to the outer door,
which opens to a passage six to ten feet in length, at the end of
which is a second door, constructed of wood like the first. This door
swings to through the operation of a curious wooden weight passed over
a kind of pulley, in order to keep the outside cold from entering the
inner chamber. The inside of the door is usually covered with a rough,
red-dyed goatskin. Directly before the inner door is a wooden platform
raised some two feet above the ground and known in Turkish as the
"Salamlik," the hall of reception of the head of the family. Chairs
and tables it possesses none, only divans richly draped with Kurdish
stuffs placed against the stone walls that bound the two sides of
the platform. The floor is carpeted with tekeke, a kind of grey felt,
and the walls are decorated with swords, knives, pistols, and other
weapons. On the other two sides, the Salamlik is bounded by wooden
rails to keep away the sheep and cattle which occupy the greatest
proportion of floor space, and whose breathing helps materially to
keep the chamber warm. The other members of the household are confined
behind the stone wall where the space is sometimes split up into
two or more chambers for the various families of the patriarchal
household. One of these rooms is the common eating-room, and is
provided with an open hearth, fireplace, and chimney which leans
forward over the fireplace and draws up the smoke through a hole in
the turf-covered roof. A great stone is placed over the chimney to
keep children at play and grazing animals from falling through. In
traveling through the country on horseback, particular care must be
taken lest the horse step through an old chimney hole and break his
leg. The windows are funnel shaped holes through the ceiling spanned
with oiled paper.
Such is the Armenian household in which the people live day and night
during eight winter months of the year in the coldest section of the
country, as Erzerum and Mush. That many of the evenings were passed in
listening to the tales and gossip of a wandering minstrel, or to the
legends and folk-beliefs of the grey-haired members of the family,
there can be no doubt. That the national tradition was passed on in
this manner from the aged to the younger, to be again passed on in
their turn, is a matter of as much certainty as that part at least
of this same tradition has been preserved through the continually
recurring storms of the passing centuries. The recounting of national
legends and folk-lore is a chief means of amusement even in the warmer
sections of the country, where the climate makes a free community life
possible. How much more place, then, must it have had in these colder
sections where only the head of the family ever left the household
in winter-time, and then only in case of absolute necessity.
As has been suggested, this style of dwelling-place is not common to
all parts of Armenia. In some places the houses are built entirely
above ground, usually of stone, and sometimes, especially in the
case of the poorer inhabitants, of mud. Though the winters are not so
long or severe as in the district of Erzerum, they are nevertheless
sufficiently cold to require a fire six or seven months of the
year. The characteristic feature of every living- and dining-room is
the large "toneer" or circular fireplace dug out to a depth of three
to four feet in the center of the room. Here the fire is built in the
morning, usually with "tezek," the most common variety of fuel which
is a sun-baked mixture of straw and sheep or cow dung. The bread is
baked and the meals are cooked in the "toneer" and when it is time
to eat, the members sit about the open space, letting their feet
hang over the fire to keep warm. In the hut described by Montpereux,
there was but a single opening in the roof which served for window
and chimney at the same time, and which was often carefully sealed
up with straw to keep out the cold. [3] This author has given a clear
picture of the common family fireplace and sleeping chamber in which
each person fell asleep as best he might upon rugs and skins, keeping
as near the "toneer" as possible. And if the traditions, legends, and
folk-lore that will make up the body of this thesis are the common
possession of the people, as I have reason to believe them to be,
in spite of drastic measures taken to suppress them, how better could
they have been told and retold than while lounging about the "toneer"
during long winter evenings before sleeping time? [4]
In what other respects the natural environment of the people moulded
the common life, one can only conjecture. That the cold winters
and deep river valleys have tended to the formation of isolated
communities, clannishness, and provincialism, as is contended by
some writers, has not generally been true. Tidal waves of conquering
civilizations have passed over the country too frequently to make
such an influence possible. [5] Furthermore the people are bound
together by a national religion, whose chief officials are chosen
by the lay members and priesthood of the many communities. [6] These
representatives to the national religious assemblies return to their
own people brimming with news and reports of political as well as
religious and social matters. Such facts together with a common
ancestry, a common tradition, and a common language have moulded
a nation, and not a thousand differentiated groups among a people
who were once a nation. They have tended to solidify and unify the
national character, and it is just this process of solidification
that gives significance to the whole fabric of beliefs, legends,
and festivals of the people.
As a nation, the Armenian people are exclusive, but this is an entirely
different matter. For three years I have had occasion to observe groups
of students belonging to different nations, chiefly Egyptians, Syrians,
Greeks, Jews, Persians, Turks, and Armenians, and the latter always
showed a most persistent determination to confine their friendships
and social intercourse to themselves. Perhaps this is due to the fact
that nearly all of the nations above mentioned have at one time or
another dominated the Armenians; perhaps it is due to the persecution
they have recently suffered, which, though it has been a sufficiently
important fact to result in serious social and psychological changes,
has by no means been characteristic of the history of the people,
as it has been, for example, of the Jews; or perhaps it is due to the
solidarity and oneness of the people as a whole. I am inclined rather
to the latter explanation, and may perhaps be able to prove it so.
Nevertheless, the singularity of the physical environment has placed
its irremovable stamp upon the people. The words that best describe
the country are not trees, hills, forests, gently flowing streams,
such words as commonly express American landscape, but rather,
gorges, mountain ranges, broad river valleys, treeless expanses of
country. There is space to make one think of other worlds and other
shores, and there are mountains suggestive of strength, that rise
majestic above the plateau, to fill one with awe and wonder. Religious
the people are naturally, but more than that, they are thoughtful,
reflecting, considering. No writer that I have read but has spoken
of the Armenian as intellectually alert and capable. That this
thoughtfulness, this robust element in their idealism is in part the
stamp of physical nature, there can be little doubt.
CHAPTER II
ANCIENT HISTORICAL LEGENDS
SECTION 1. THE LEGEND OF HAIC
Armenians do not call themselves Armenians nor their country
Armenia. They are descendants of Haic, as the legend goes, who was
the son of Togarmah, the son of Japhet, who was the son of Noah, and
they call their country Haiasdan after the patriarchal progenitor of
their people. [7] Haic dwelt in the plain of Shinar and was a prefect
or director in the building of the tower of Babel. He was beautiful
as a god and strong as a giant, mighty in battle and especially adept
in spear throwing. In the days of his youth, Bel or Nimrod, who was
the patron god of Babylon, established himself over all and wished
to be worshipped. But Haic refused to obey, and taking his sons, who
numbered about three hundred, his daughters, his sheep and cattle,
he journeyed north until he came to the land of Ararat. Bel tried in
vain to persuade his rival to come back.
"Thou hast departed and hast settled in a chill and frosty region,"
urged the Assyrian god. "Soften thy hard pride, change thy coldness
to geniality; be my subject and come and live a life of ease in my
domain." [8]
But Haic refused the cordial invitation, which so much angered Bel
that the latter brought his army to force the Armenian hero into
submission. Haic, however, was victorious, for he slew Bel with an
arrow from his own bow. The place where Bel was buried is called
"Kerezman," meaning grave, and is pointed out to this day. Armenians
sing songs and tell stories of the great beauty and valor of Haic. He
died at the age of four hundred in about 2028 B.C. [9]
This oldest of Armenian legends, quaint and simple as it is in
accounting for the beginnings of a people, savours of the Old
Testament and is suggestive of the Assyrian invasion which took
place about the ninth century before Christ. It is significant that
the Armenians refused the protection of Bel, and that in the very
beginning of their legendary history, they insisted on standing
firm and maintaining their independence, for no single quality is
more characteristic of this people than a proud, haughty, even at
times disdainful independence. It is also suggestive that their
patriarchal hero was no saint, but a mighty giant, beautiful as he
was strong, whose greatest pride was in the throwing of a spear,
for his descendants have not been a peaceful people. To be sure,
they were the first nation to be converted to Christianity, which
would say little for their firmness and independence, were it not
that the priest with the cross was followed by a powerful king with a
sword at the head of an army that had learned to fight as the Romans
fought. [10] The songs that were sung in memory and honor of Haic
are seldom sung to-day unless it be in some remote village where the
civilization of the Turk has not yet pressed, and there are few such
villages if any. For many of them breathe of a national spirit not
beseeming a subject nation, and have been suppressed for many years.