{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_38129/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_38129","id":"gutenberg_38129","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38129","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Festivals -- Armenia (Republic)","Folklore -- Armenia (Republic)","Legends -- Armenia (Republic)"],"text":"Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by The\nInternet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n          Research Publications of the University of Minnesota\n\n                     Studies in the Social Sciences\n                               Number 14\n\n                     ARMENIAN LEGENDS AND FESTIVALS\n\n                                   By\n                        LOUIS A. BOETTIGER, M.A.\n\n\n\n                Published by the University of Minnesota\n                       Minneapolis, January, 1920\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                             Copyright 1920\n                                 by the\n                        University of Minnesota\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe author of the study which follows responded to the lure of\nhis task for both theoretical and practical reasons. He seemed,\nbecause of his intimate personal relationship to Armenian life, to\nbe peculiarly qualified to study and interpret a cross-section of\nthat country's life. It is particularly urgent that we as Americans\nhave authentic studies of Armenia and Armenian social life. Heretofore\nthere has been a striking lack of such materials readily accessible in\nEnglish. Because of the not inconsiderable immigration which reaches\nus from Armenia, and because also there has been a call for the United\nStates to act as mandatory for this country under the peace treaty,\nwe should penetrate more deeply into the Armenian heart than we have\nbeen able to do so far, if we are to carry through successfully\nour job either as assimilator or as friendly guardian. Moreover\nthere is incumbent upon the United States in particular the duty of\nunderstanding a country like Armenia, since we have been foremost in\nproclaiming the doctrine of the rights of small nationalities. Those\nare the practical purposes from the standpoint of social politics\nwhich have given rise to and confer full warrant upon this study.\n\nOf no less importance, however, is the contribution which\nMr. Boettiger's study makes to theoretical sociology. He has sketched\nout for us the picture of a refractory culture which refuses to\namalgamate with or yield to or be permeated by rival cultures. The\nsocial history of this sturdy people offers us a very clear-cut\nexample of what really makes a society or a nation. Not mountains,\nnot dynasties, not blood, but common interests, common traditions,\ncommon beliefs; in short, mental community.\n\nThe theoretical joins with the practical service of this study if\nit can strengthen our understanding that only as our own blood and\nthat of our Armenian friends reach the place where they boil at the\nsame temperature, or are cooled by the same application of reason,\ncan we minister to each other or carry out the new partnership which\nmay lie immediately ahead of us in the reestablishment of peace and\nthe reorganization of world comity.\n\n\n    Arthur J. Todd\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                 Pages\n\nIntroduction                                                       1-2\n\nPart I. Legends\n\nChapter I. The geography of Armenia                                5-8\n\nChapter II. Ancient historical legends                            9-23\n\n    Section 1. The legend, of Haic                                   9\n            2. The legend of Ara and Semiramis                      10\n            3. Historical background of the legend of Ara and\n               Semiramis                                            11\n            4. The legend of Vahakn                                 14\n            5. The historic background of the legend of Vahakn      15\n            6. The period of national integration                   17\n            7. Legends of Artasches and Artavasd                    20\n            8. Conclusions                                          22\n\nChapter III. Legends of the conversion to Christianity           24-38\n\n    Section 1. Pre-Christian mythology and religion                 24\n            2. Legends of Abgar, Thaddeus, and St. Bartholomew      27\n            3. Legends of Rhipsime and Gregory                      29\n            4. The Armenian church as a social force                34\n\nChapter IV. Locality legends                                     39-44\n\n    Section 1. Ararat                                               39\n            2. Khor-Virap and Erzerum                               43\n\nChapter V. Interpretation and conclusions                        45-48\n\nPart II. Festivals\n\nChapter I. The Gregorian church                                  51-55\n\nChapter II. Pagan folk festivals                                 56-66\n\n    Section 1. Vartavar and the Festival of Mihr                    56\n            2. The Day of the Dead and Vartan's Day                 58\n            3. Fortune-Telling Day                                  62\n\nChapter III. Christian folk festivals                            67-78\n\n    Section 1. Christmas, Easter, and New Year                      67\n            2. Special church ceremonies                            71\n\nChapter IV. Private festival occasions                           79-90\n\n    Section 1. Baptism                                              79\n            2. Betrothal                                            80\n            3. Marriage                                             83\n            4. Funeral                                              87\n\nChapter V. Summary                                               91-96\n\n    Conclusions                                                     92\n\nBibliography                                                    99-100\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe study which follows has a very definite objective apart from\nthe mere gathering of materials, namely, to interpret as far as\nthe subject-matter would permit, the social life of the Armenian\npeople. The legends and festivals described have thus been selected\nfrom a larger mass of material with this principle in mind. I have,\ntherefore, omitted such as seemed to me to be of little or no social\nvalue. Also, in full accordance with this plan, I have chosen to\ninclude certain church ceremonies which give rise to such festivals,\nand are of such social importance that I considered them an organic\npart of my subject. Otherwise I think I have kept within the strict\nconfines as indicated by the title of this study.\n\nIt must, therefore, be evident that neither Part One on legends,\nnor Part Two on festivals, is exhaustive, and this is necessarily\nso, not only because of my selective plan, but also because much of\nthe work on this and kindred subjects has been done by the French,\nand is available only on the continent. All of the sources used are,\nhowever, original in two possible constructions of the term; that\nis, they are the works of Armenians who have lived for many years in\ntheir native land, or of foreigners, generally French or English, who\nhave traveled through the country and gathered their material first\nhand. A large portion of this matter I have been able to check up\nand add to through my wife, an Armenian, who lived in Constantinople\nmost of her life, and who is naturally versed in the folk-lore of her\nnative land. While this has been the chief source of my interest,\nit is not the only one, for during my three years' work in Beirut,\nSyria, I became acquainted with many Armenians.\n\nTo describe a legend, or a festival, and to tag it Armenian, is about\nas purposeful and enlightening as to explain Plato's idea of social\nunity to a person who has no picture of Greek civilization. I have,\ntherefore, found it necessary to fit these legends and festivals into\nthe particular settings that seemed to me most natural. The legends\nthat date from pagan times are meaningless apart from their historical\nbackground; the church legends and festivals are without value apart\nfrom their religious-historical setting, while such legends as those\nof Ararat require a description of the natural environment to which\nthey belong. The conclusions and interpretation which this study gives\nrise to, as well as the manner in which I have organized and attempted\nto weave the material together into a unified fabric, are my own.\n\nMost of the books used have been supplied by the Case Memorial\nLibrary of Hartford Theological Seminary, and I owe the Reverend\nM. H. Ananikian of that institution my thanks for his gracious\ncooperation in suggesting materials and providing me with them. I am\nalso deeply indebted to Professor J. W. Beach for his painstaking\ncriticism and valuable suggestions, and for the corrections\nand suggestions offered by Professor W. S. Davis and Professor\nA. E. Jenks. To Professor A. J. Todd I am especially grateful,\nfor it was under his direction and supervision that this study was\ncarried out.\n\n\n    Louis A. Boettiger\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPART ONE\n\nLEGENDS\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE GEOGRAPHY OF ARMENIA\n\n\nArmenia is a huge plateau, a westward extension of the great Iranian\nhighland, bounded by the Caucasus Mountains on the north, the Taurus\nMountains and Kurdistan on the south, the Persian lowlands on the\nsoutheast, and the Black and Caspian seas. The average height of\nthe plateau is 6,000 feet. As it ends abruptly at the Black Sea on\none side, so on the other it breaks down in rugged terraces to the\nMesopotamian lowlands; on the east it sinks gradually to the lower\nlevels of Persia, and on the west to the plains of Asia Minor. The\nchief mountain ranges run from northeast to southwest, rising above\nthe general level of the plateau to an altitude ranging from 8,000\nto 12,000 feet and culminating in Ararat, the lofty summit of which\nstands 17,000 feet above sea level. Broad, elevated, and fertile\nvalleys range themselves between the mountains, the main lines of which\nare determined by the four chief rivers of the country, the Tigris,\nthe Euphrates, the Aras, and the Kur. All four rise in the plateau,\nthe two former emptying into the Persian Gulf, and the latter two\ninto the Caspian Sea. The Euphrates divides the country into what is\nknown as great and little Armenia, or Armenia major and Armenia minor,\nArmenia major on the east and Armenia minor on the west. Although the\nvalleys are generally broad expanses of arable land, grass covered\nand treeless, the gorges of the Euphrates and Tigris can not be\nsurpassed in grandeur and wildness. The winters are long and severe,\nand the summers short, dry, and hot. In the city of Erzerum the range\nof temperature is from -22 deg. to 84 deg., and snow is usually present in\nJune. [1]\n\nIn consequence of the long and severe winters the villages are\nbuilt on gentle slopes of the hillsides in which the houses are\nexcavated. Robert Curzon, who traveled through the country about 1850,\nhas written the best description of them. [2] A rectangular plot of\nground about the size of an English acre is laid out and excavated to\na depth of seven or eight feet at the back side, decreasing gradually\nwith the slope of the hill to a depth of about two feet. After a\ncareful leveling of the ground, trunks of straight trees are cut\nand arranged in rows for the support of the ceiling, which consists\nof cross-beams interspersed by a wooden frame-work upon which the\nremoved soil is laid to a considerable thickness. The walls are made of\nstone. In entering the habitation at the lower slope of the hillside,\none is obliged to descend three or four steps to the outer door,\nwhich opens to a passage six to ten feet in length, at the end of\nwhich is a second door, constructed of wood like the first. This door\nswings to through the operation of a curious wooden weight passed over\na kind of pulley, in order to keep the outside cold from entering the\ninner chamber. The inside of the door is usually covered with a rough,\nred-dyed goatskin. Directly before the inner door is a wooden platform\nraised some two feet above the ground and known in Turkish as the\n\"Salamlik,\" the hall of reception of the head of the family. Chairs\nand tables it possesses none, only divans richly draped with Kurdish\nstuffs placed against the stone walls that bound the two sides of\nthe platform. The floor is carpeted with tekeke, a kind of grey felt,\nand the walls are decorated with swords, knives, pistols, and other\nweapons. On the other two sides, the Salamlik is bounded by wooden\nrails to keep away the sheep and cattle which occupy the greatest\nproportion of floor space, and whose breathing helps materially to\nkeep the chamber warm. The other members of the household are confined\nbehind the stone wall where the space is sometimes split up into\ntwo or more chambers for the various families of the patriarchal\nhousehold. One of these rooms is the common eating-room, and is\nprovided with an open hearth, fireplace, and chimney which leans\nforward over the fireplace and draws up the smoke through a hole in\nthe turf-covered roof. A great stone is placed over the chimney to\nkeep children at play and grazing animals from falling through. In\ntraveling through the country on horseback, particular care must be\ntaken lest the horse step through an old chimney hole and break his\nleg. The windows are funnel shaped holes through the ceiling spanned\nwith oiled paper.\n\nSuch is the Armenian household in which the people live day and night\nduring eight winter months of the year in the coldest section of the\ncountry, as Erzerum and Mush. That many of the evenings were passed in\nlistening to the tales and gossip of a wandering minstrel, or to the\nlegends and folk-beliefs of the grey-haired members of the family,\nthere can be no doubt. That the national tradition was passed on in\nthis manner from the aged to the younger, to be again passed on in\ntheir turn, is a matter of as much certainty as that part at least\nof this same tradition has been preserved through the continually\nrecurring storms of the passing centuries. The recounting of national\nlegends and folk-lore is a chief means of amusement even in the warmer\nsections of the country, where the climate makes a free community life\npossible. How much more place, then, must it have had in these colder\nsections where only the head of the family ever left the household\nin winter-time, and then only in case of absolute necessity.\n\nAs has been suggested, this style of dwelling-place is not common to\nall parts of Armenia. In some places the houses are built entirely\nabove ground, usually of stone, and sometimes, especially in the\ncase of the poorer inhabitants, of mud. Though the winters are not so\nlong or severe as in the district of Erzerum, they are nevertheless\nsufficiently cold to require a fire six or seven months of the\nyear. The characteristic feature of every living- and dining-room is\nthe large \"toneer\" or circular fireplace dug out to a depth of three\nto four feet in the center of the room. Here the fire is built in the\nmorning, usually with \"tezek,\" the most common variety of fuel which\nis a sun-baked mixture of straw and sheep or cow dung. The bread is\nbaked and the meals are cooked in the \"toneer\" and when it is time\nto eat, the members sit about the open space, letting their feet\nhang over the fire to keep warm. In the hut described by Montpereux,\nthere was but a single opening in the roof which served for window\nand chimney at the same time, and which was often carefully sealed\nup with straw to keep out the cold. [3] This author has given a clear\npicture of the common family fireplace and sleeping chamber in which\neach person fell asleep as best he might upon rugs and skins, keeping\nas near the \"toneer\" as possible. And if the traditions, legends, and\nfolk-lore that will make up the body of this thesis are the common\npossession of the people, as I have reason to believe them to be,\nin spite of drastic measures taken to suppress them, how better could\nthey have been told and retold than while lounging about the \"toneer\"\nduring long winter evenings before sleeping time? [4]\n\nIn what other respects the natural environment of the people moulded\nthe common life, one can only conjecture. That the cold winters\nand deep river valleys have tended to the formation of isolated\ncommunities, clannishness, and provincialism, as is contended by\nsome writers, has not generally been true. Tidal waves of conquering\ncivilizations have passed over the country too frequently to make\nsuch an influence possible. [5] Furthermore the people are bound\ntogether by a national religion, whose chief officials are chosen\nby the lay members and priesthood of the many communities. [6] These\nrepresentatives to the national religious assemblies return to their\nown people brimming with news and reports of political as well as\nreligious and social matters. Such facts together with a common\nancestry, a common tradition, and a common language have moulded\na nation, and not a thousand differentiated groups among a people\nwho were once a nation. They have tended to solidify and unify the\nnational character, and it is just this process of solidification\nthat gives significance to the whole fabric of beliefs, legends,\nand festivals of the people.\n\nAs a nation, the Armenian people are exclusive, but this is an entirely\ndifferent matter. For three years I have had occasion to observe groups\nof students belonging to different nations, chiefly Egyptians, Syrians,\nGreeks, Jews, Persians, Turks, and Armenians, and the latter always\nshowed a most persistent determination to confine their friendships\nand social intercourse to themselves. Perhaps this is due to the fact\nthat nearly all of the nations above mentioned have at one time or\nanother dominated the Armenians; perhaps it is due to the persecution\nthey have recently suffered, which, though it has been a sufficiently\nimportant fact to result in serious social and psychological changes,\nhas by no means been characteristic of the history of the people,\nas it has been, for example, of the Jews; or perhaps it is due to the\nsolidarity and oneness of the people as a whole. I am inclined rather\nto the latter explanation, and may perhaps be able to prove it so.\n\nNevertheless, the singularity of the physical environment has placed\nits irremovable stamp upon the people. The words that best describe\nthe country are not trees, hills, forests, gently flowing streams,\nsuch words as commonly express American landscape, but rather,\ngorges, mountain ranges, broad river valleys, treeless expanses of\ncountry. There is space to make one think of other worlds and other\nshores, and there are mountains suggestive of strength, that rise\nmajestic above the plateau, to fill one with awe and wonder. Religious\nthe people are naturally, but more than that, they are thoughtful,\nreflecting, considering. No writer that I have read but has spoken\nof the Armenian as intellectually alert and capable. That this\nthoughtfulness, this robust element in their idealism is in part the\nstamp of physical nature, there can be little doubt.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nANCIENT HISTORICAL LEGENDS\n\n\nSECTION 1. THE LEGEND OF HAIC\n\nArmenians do not call themselves Armenians nor their country\nArmenia. They are descendants of Haic, as the legend goes, who was\nthe son of Togarmah, the son of Japhet, who was the son of Noah, and\nthey call their country Haiasdan after the patriarchal progenitor of\ntheir people. [7] Haic dwelt in the plain of Shinar and was a prefect\nor director in the building of the tower of Babel. He was beautiful\nas a god and strong as a giant, mighty in battle and especially adept\nin spear throwing. In the days of his youth, Bel or Nimrod, who was\nthe patron god of Babylon, established himself over all and wished\nto be worshipped. But Haic refused to obey, and taking his sons, who\nnumbered about three hundred, his daughters, his sheep and cattle,\nhe journeyed north until he came to the land of Ararat. Bel tried in\nvain to persuade his rival to come back.\n\n\"Thou hast departed and hast settled in a chill and frosty region,\"\nurged the Assyrian god. \"Soften thy hard pride, change thy coldness\nto geniality; be my subject and come and live a life of ease in my\ndomain.\" [8]\n\nBut Haic refused the cordial invitation, which so much angered Bel\nthat the latter brought his army to force the Armenian hero into\nsubmission. Haic, however, was victorious, for he slew Bel with an\narrow from his own bow. The place where Bel was buried is called\n\"Kerezman,\" meaning grave, and is pointed out to this day. Armenians\nsing songs and tell stories of the great beauty and valor of Haic. He\ndied at the age of four hundred in about 2028 B.C. [9]\n\nThis oldest of Armenian legends, quaint and simple as it is in\naccounting for the beginnings of a people, savours of the Old\nTestament and is suggestive of the Assyrian invasion which took\nplace about the ninth century before Christ. It is significant that\nthe Armenians refused the protection of Bel, and that in the very\nbeginning of their legendary history, they insisted on standing\nfirm and maintaining their independence, for no single quality is\nmore characteristic of this people than a proud, haughty, even at\ntimes disdainful independence. It is also suggestive that their\npatriarchal hero was no saint, but a mighty giant, beautiful as he\nwas strong, whose greatest pride was in the throwing of a spear,\nfor his descendants have not been a peaceful people. To be sure,\nthey were the first nation to be converted to Christianity, which\nwould say little for their firmness and independence, were it not\nthat the priest with the cross was followed by a powerful king with a\nsword at the head of an army that had learned to fight as the Romans\nfought. [10] The songs that were sung in memory and honor of Haic\nare seldom sung to-day unless it be in some remote village where the\ncivilization of the Turk has not yet pressed, and there are few such\nvillages if any. For many of them breathe of a national spirit not\nbeseeming a subject nation, and have been suppressed for many years.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 2. THE LEGEND OF ARA AND SEMIRAMIS\n\nDating back to the Assyrian invasion which took place during the\nseventh and eighth centuries before Christ, one of the oldest of\nArmenian legends, that of Semiramis, queen of Assyria, and Ara, king\nof Armenia, is told. [11] Ara was very beautiful, and Semiramis having\nheard speech of his beauty for many years, wished to possess him. But\nshe dared do nothing for fear of Ninus, protector over Armenia. After\nthe death of Ninus, however, the queen sent messengers to Ara, with\ngifts and offerings, with prayers and promises of riches, begging\nhim to come to her at Nineveh and either wed her and reign over all\nthat Ninus had possessed, or fulfill her desire and return in peace to\nArmenia with many gifts. But when the messengers had been turned away\nrepeatedly, Semiramis became angry, and taking her army she hastened\nto Armenia. The battle was fought on the plain of Ara, called after\nhim Ararat; and although the queen had given careful orders to her\ngenerals to devise some means of saving the life of Ara, the Armenian\nking was slain. She found the dead body among the others that had\nfallen, and ordered her servants to place it in an upper chamber in\nher castle. And when the Armenian army again arose to drive away the\nfoe and avenge the death of Ara, the queen said, \"I have commanded\nthe gods to lick his wounds and he shall live again.\" She tried to\nbring Ara back to life by witchcraft and charms, but the body began to\ndecay and she commanded her servants to cast the corpse into a deep\npit and to cover it. And having dressed up one of her men in secret,\nshe caused the following proclamation to be spread among the people:\n\"The gods have licked Ara and have brought him back to life again,\nthus fulfilling our prayers and our pleasures. Therefore from this\ntime forth shall they be the more glorified and worshipped by us,\nfor they are the givers of joy and the fulfillers of desire.\" And\nshe erected a statue to the gods, making it seem as though they had\nbrought Ara back to life again. This news was spread over all the\ncountry of Armenia, and having satisfied the people, she put an end\nto the fighting. The twelve-year-old son of the king was taken by the\nAssyrian queen and appointed ruler over Armenia. She called him Ara,\nin memory of her love for Ara the Beautiful.\n\nTo Semiramis is attributed the building of the ancient city of\nVan on the shores of the beautiful lake of Van, where she made\nher summer residence until the time of her departure. [12] She\nmight well have lingered there, for the Armenians have a proverb,\n\"Van in this world, paradise in the next.\" Nevertheless, Semiramis\nand Ara are mythical characters, although the latter is spoken of in\nthe history of St. Martin as having lived along about 1769 B.C. [13]\nAs regards the popular belief in the legend, however, there is not\nthe slightest doubt. This is proved by the fact that even to-day the\ncity is called \"Sham-iram-agerd\" by the Armenians, meaning the city\nof Semiramis. Lynch says that Ara and Semiramis are Tannuz and Istar,\nthe Adonis and the Aphrodite of the Hellenic myth, and that the quest\nof the Assyrian queen may be connected with the introduction into\nArmenia of the worship of Istar whose name is mentioned in one of the\ncuneiform inscriptions at Van. [14] However, the results of modern\nscholarship are by no means conclusive on this point, as we shall see.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE LEGEND OF ARA AND SEMIRAMIS\n\nMoses' history was read by St. Martin who became exceedingly interested\nin Van, and in the cuneiform inscriptions spoken of. It was due to\nhim that the French government dispatched a mission to Armenia in\n1827, under the direction of a young German Professor, Friedrich\nEdward Schulz. Schulz was murdered by the Kurds, a thing which\nrarely happens in Armenia, and his work was left incomplete. He had\nsucceeded, however, in making copies of forty-two inscriptions, which\nwere published in 1840, and proved to be remarkably accurate. Shortly\nafterward, orientalists made great discoveries in the Mesopotamian\nvalley, but the inscriptions at Van did not tally with any syllabaries\ndiscovered up to that time, nor could they be translated in any known\nlanguage. A number of them were found to be Assyrian, but the great\nmajority were peculiar to Van, and entirely baffled the students. Not\nuntil 1880 were they finally unravelled. M. S. Guyard discovered at\nthat time that the concluding phrase of many Vannic texts represented\nan imprecatory formula found in exactly the same place in Assyrian\ncounterparts. This discovery enabled Professor Sayce, of Oxford,\nto decipher the inscriptions at a rapid rate.\n\nAmong the important facts discovered were that the nation was a\nrival nation of Assyria, and that its people were called Khaldeans,\nor children of Khaldis, much in the same way as the Assyrians reflected\nthe name of their god, Assur. The country was a theocracy and Khaldis\nwas supreme. In the tablets, his wrath was invoked against whomever\nshould destroy them. The capital city was Dhuspus, modern Van, which\nis the Disp, or Tsp of Armenian writers, and the Turuspa of Assyrian\nannals. The Assyrians styled the kingdom Urardhu, or Urarthu, which\nis the name appearing in the Bible in the familiar form Ararat.\n\nThe earliest inscriptions date back to the ninth century before\nChrist, and as the language is neither Semitic nor Indo-European,\nthe people could neither have been Assyrians whose language was\nSemitic, nor Armenians, whose language is Indo-European. The first\nmention made of Urardhu was in the reign of Ashur-Nazir-Pal (885-860\nB.C.) whose successor, Shalmanasar II (860-825 B.C.) was the first\nAssyrian king to invade Armenia. [15] Raffi, however, (the son of the\nfamous Armenian poet) speaks of an account given by Assur-Nazir-Haban\n(1882-1857 B.C.) of one of his victories. \"They\" (i.e., the people\nof Ararat or Urarthu), he said, \"fled to the impregnable mountains\nso that I might not be able to get at them, for the mighty summits\nwere like drawn swords pointing to the skies. Only the birds of\nheaven soaring on their wings could reach them. In three days I was\nthere spreading terror in places where they had taken refuge. Their\ncorpses like autumn leaves filled the clefts. The rest escaped to\ndistant inaccessible heights.\" [16] This, clearly, is a much older\nrecord than any that Lynch found trace of, and although Raffi cites no\nauthority for the quotation, I presume that it has been taken from a\nrecent discovery. If this be true the Khaldeans were a very ancient\npeople. One of the tablets shows that King Memas was the principal\nauthor of the magnificent canal which conducts the water of the river\nKhoshab to the suburbs of Van, and which is to-day called \"Shamiram-Su\"\nor river of Semiramis. [17] The line of Vannic kings is traceable as\nfar down as 644 B.C.\n\nMost of these inscriptions are to be found on a huge isolated rock,\nsituated in the curve of the bay, and known as the \"rock of Van.\" [18]\nAmong them are inscriptions left by Xerxes (485 B.C.), the Persian\nconqueror whose father's empire (Darius, 521-486 B.C.) succeeded the\nloose Scythian rule.\n\nBut the ancient Khaldean kingdom had already vanished when Xerxes'\nvictorious army overran the country, for shortly after the great influx\nof Scythians and the break-up of Assyria, came another horde from the\nwest, perhaps to fill up the void left by the Scythian ravages. It is\nat this time that the Armenian people are first heard from, and it is\nthis horde, therefore, that is regarded as the foundation stock of\nthe Armenian people. They seem to have been an Indo-European people\nresiding in the territory north of the Black Sea, for, coming from\nthe west they must have entered Asia from Europe by crossing the\nstraits. The ancient Khaldeans were assimilated to some extent,\nbut for the most part, they were driven to the north and south,\nwhere they have left traces that have been recognized and recorded\nby Xenophon and Herodotus. [19]\n\nThat the civilization and culture of the ancient Khaldeans were\nutilized is beyond doubt. Their most ancient cities, Van, Armavir,\nwere foundations of Vannic kings, while recently it has been disclosed\nthat the city of Hajk, southeast of Van, shows some of the familiar\nfeatures of a Khaldean settlement. But their supreme god during the\npre-Christian era was not Khaldis, but the Persian Ormuzd, which\nindicates that the Persians exercised an even greater influence.\n\nHow then could Semiramis ever have come to Van in quest of an Armenian\nking, since it seems that the Scythians had already conquered Assyria\nbefore the great influx of Armenian hordes? Nor does it seem that the\ncity of Van was built by the Assyrian queen, for the inscriptions\nmake no mention of her name. King Memas who, in the view of Lynch,\nconstructed the famous canal, was in all probability the author of\nthe garden city. The belief, according to Lynch, as already stated,\nis that this legend is the Armenian version of the old Hellenic myth of\nAphrodite and Adonis, taken over during the domination of the Seleucid\ndynasty which followed the conquest of Alexander about 325 B.C. [20]\n\nBut this is unreasonable. That a myth should be taken over by a subject\npeople and the characters rechristened is not difficult to understand,\nbut that the name of one of them should be applied to the ancient\ncity is very improbable to say the least. Furthermore, the legend is\nflavored rather strongly with Persian voluptuousness, and is not at\nall suggestive of Greek delicacy and refinement. Nor is the fact that\nthe horde overran the country after the destruction of Assyria in any\nway conclusive, for if there were any assimilation at all, as there\nmust unquestionably have been, the Khaldean culture and history was to\nthat extent the actual possession of the Armenians. Even intermarriage\nwould perhaps be unnecessary, for what Irishman who has been in the\nUnited States two months does not speak of Benjamin Franklin and George\nWashington as his forefathers? It is to be noted also that to this day\nthe canal spoken of is called \"Shamiram-Su\" or river of Semiramis, by\nall Armenians. [21] On the whole it seems to me conclusive, therefore,\nthat the legend of Semiramis and Ara has its roots in Armenian history,\nand is not at all a version of the Hellenic myth.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 4. THE LEGEND OF VAHAKN\n\nThe legend of Vahakn, king and god of Armenians, is very clearly\nattributable to the Greek period, which followed the Persian conquest\nunder Xerxes. Vahakn was deified because of his great valor and made\nthe fire-god of the Armenian people. [22] He was called \"Vishapakagh,\"\nuprooter of dragons, since he cleared Armenia of monsters and saved\nit from evil influences. His exploits were known in the abode of the\ngods as well as in Armenia. The most famous of them was the theft of\ncorn from the barns of King Barsham of Assyria, from whom he ran away\nand tried to hide in heaven. Because of the ears he dropped in his\nrapid flight, there arose the Milky Way which is called in Armenian\nthe \"track of the corn stealer.\" [23]\n\nMoses of Khorene writes as follows:\n\n\n    Concerning the birth of this king the legends say,\n\n\n        \"Heaven and earth were in travail,\n        And the crimson waters were in travail,\n        And in the water, the crimson reed\n        Was also in travail.\n        From the mouth of the reed issued smoke,\n        From the mouth of the reed issued flame,\n        And out of the flame sprang the young child,\n        His hair was of fire, a beard had he of flame,\n        And his eyes were suns.\" [24]\n\n\n    With our own ears did we hear these words sung to the accompaniment\n    of the harp. They sing moreover that he did fight with the dragons,\n    and overcame them; and some say that his valiant deeds were like\n    unto Hercules. Others declare that he was a god, and that a great\n    image of him stood in the land of Georgia, where it was worshipped,\n    with sacrifices. [25]\n\n\nThe wife of Vahakn was Astghik, the goddess of beauty, a\npersonification of the moon, corresponding to the Phoenician and\nSidonian Astarte. This is suggestive of Greek influence, for Venus, the\nGreek goddess of beauty, was also the wife of a fire-god, Vulcan. [26]\n\nThe flight of Vahakn before the Assyrian king is certainly more\nsuggestive of the fear in which the Assyrians must have been regarded\nthan of the valor of their god. The originators of the legend were\ngood psychologists, however, in regarding the instincts of fear and\nof pugnacity as compatible. For even the slayer of demons must some\nday face his superiors in strength, and when he does, will he not be\nafraid? In fact he would be more afraid than another, for he could\nnot well impute more mercy to his superior than he himself had shown\nto his inferiors.\n\nThe vein of humor is too rich to be left unnoted. If the Greeks could\nlaugh at their gods, and even mock them, the Armenians could also\nmake sport of them. For what could be more delightfully humorous than\nthe picture of a bearded god, a slayer of dragons, whose hair was\nof flame and whose eyes like suns, stealing corn from the Assyrian\nking and dropping the ears from his shoulders in his hasty flight\nacross heaven? The character thus brought out, together with the\nrichness of imaginative quality, especially in the song of his birth,\nthe wholesome and unveiled anthropomorphism (wholesome because it is\nunveiled), and the correspondence between the Greek fire-god Vulcan\nwhose wife was Venus, the goddess of beauty, with the fire-god Vahakn\nwhose wife Astghik was also goddess of beauty, stamp the legend with\nits unmistakable origin in Greek mythology.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 5. THE HISTORIC BACKGROUND OF THE LEGEND OF VAHAKN\n\nThe Greek period from which this legend dates began with the defeat\nof the Armenian king Vahy, who was overcome by Alexander the Great\nsomewhere about 328 B.C. [27] The Greeks chose their own representative\nto rule over the province, who at the time of Alexander's death was\nSeleucus. Historians have taken the name of this governor to indicate\nthe dynasty of Greek supremacy which followed; i.e., the Seleucid\ndynasty. This method of the Greeks of selecting their own man to\ngovern a subject people, which was of course in pursuance of their\npolicy of superimposing their own culture upon all subject nations,\nwas contrary to the policy of the Parthians, Romans, and Persians,\nwho allowed the Armenians to maintain their national independence\nprovided they permitted the use of their armies and duly paid their\ntaxes. And it is this policy of the Greeks that accounts for the fact\nthat large portions of Greek mythology and religion were taken over\nby the Armenians.\n\nAlthough the period of political supremacy was short-lived, the\ninfluence of Greek culture continued to permeate the social life\nof the people through the reign of the Arsacid kings. [28] In 246\nB.C. Arsaces, a Parthian, made himself master of the Parthians,\nPersians, Medes, Babylonians, and lastly Armenians. [29] His grandson,\nArsaces the Great, conquered as far as India, and after seating himself\nsecurely upon the throne of Persia, placed his brother Valarsace upon\nthe Armenian throne, so founding the Persian and Armenian Arsacid\ndynasties (150 B.C.). [30] The Persian Arsacidae became extinct in\nA.D. 226 when they were overthrown by the Persian Sasanidae, whereas\nthe Armenian Arsacidae line continued up until A.D. 428, when the\nArmenian kingdom was divided between Persia and Rome by Shapuh,\nthe Persian monarch, and Theodosius II. [31] This makes a period\nof 578 years (150 B.C.-A.D. 428) during which Armenia was governed\nby her own line of kings, and enjoyed the liberties of national\nindependence. To be sure after the conquest of Lucullus and Pompey\n(66 B.C.) Armenia became tributary to Rome, but the right of succession\nremained with the Armenian royal family, even during Roman supremacy,\nso that the national life was in no manner interfered with. [32] The\ngreatest Armenian king of the Arsacidae line was Tigranes the Great,\nwho extended his domains by conquest and established himself in his\ncapital, Tigranacerta, with a court of matchless splendor. [33] He\nis spoken of by historians as a king of kings, and as having ruled\nwith a pomp, splendor, and pride never before known. Defeated by\nPompey within the walls of his own capital city, his kingdom became\ntributary to Rome.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 6. THE PERIOD OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION\n\nThe continuity of the period of the Armenian Arsacidae makes it the\ntime when the process of national solidification and unification was\ncarried out to the point that made Armenia a nation, and beyond this\npoint. Raffi asserts that the introduction of Greek culture during\nthe Arsacid dynasty not only changed the religion of Armenians,\nbut also so affected their language and customs that they became\ndifferent from the Persians, which is proof that a process of social\nreadjustment was going on. [34] It was during this period that the\nwandering minstrels spoken of by Langlois journeyed from one end of\nthe nation to the other, singing their songs, repeating the national\nlegends, relating the news of the world and the court gossip which\nprobably made up the largest portion of it.\n\n\n    Les chants de l'antique Armenie rappellent principalement des\n    evenements la plupart heroiques et legendaires, accomplis a des\n    epoques tres differentes, ce qui donne a penser qu'ils ont du etre\n    composes a diverses reprises, par des rhapsodes dont les noms\n    ne nous sont point parvenus. Les sujets traites dans ces chants\n    demontrent clairement qu'ils n'ont ete inspires ni a des pretres\n    paiens, ni a des poetes qui auraient vecu sous leur influence,\n    en vue d'etre recites dans des fetes religieuses ou en face des\n    autels. Au contraire, on reconnait de prime abord que ces chants\n    sont l'oeuvre de bardes nationaux, ayant un libre acces dans les\n    palais des souverains et a la cour des satrapes. C'est ce qui\n    fait supposer que ces poemes sont peutetre dus a des menestrels,\n    a la solde des rois et des nobles et ayant pour emploi de celebrer\n    leurs vertus et leurs prouesses. [35]\n\n\nThis is putting the case conservatively, for Moses speaks often of\n\"les chantres\" and \"les chants.\" They traveled as far as Persia and\nreturned, for it is related by the Italian Countess Evelyn Martinengo\nhow a wandering minstrel, who had just returned from that country,\nwas entertained by an Armenian patriarchal family living in the\nkind of underground habitation described in the beginning of this\nthesis. [36] No one was ever more welcome than the minstrel. He was\nassigned to the guest chamber usually prepared especially for him,\nand always the best chamber in the household. His head and feet were\nwashed for him by the wife of the patriarch, and at meal time all the\ndelicacies of the household were spread before him. All guests were\nwelcome, but no guest more welcome than the minstrel. They must have\nlistened to his tales in a kind of petrified awe, and heard him sing\nhis songs in speechless enjoyment.\n\nIt was a practice among the minstrels of the time to compete with\neach other in public, and it is related how two minstrels entertained\nby a Persian prince were led out upon an open grass plot and seated,\none facing the other. Five thousand people made a circle around the\ncompetitors while the rivals contended in song and verse, riddle\nand repartee. Each began where the other left off, until finally one\nfailed to perceive the drift of his adversary, and answering at random,\nthe spectators proclaimed him beaten. The triumphant bard was led to\nthe vanquished, whose lyre was taken from him and broken. Robed in\na prince's mantle, the victor was taken to the highest seat in the\nbanquet hall.\n\nThat the people were the judges of the contest, indicates how well\nthey must have been acquainted with the current folk-songs, legends,\nand tradition. How generally and frequently the custom of minstrel\ncompetition was practiced throughout Armenia is not known, but it\ncertainly is proof, besides Moses' own statements to the same effect,\nthat the national legends and folk-songs were the possession of the\ncommon people. And what is more important, this same body of legends,\nfolk-songs, and tradition did more than any other one thing to weld\nthe sentiments of the people into a single national sentiment, which\ncrystallized into a real patriotism, a real loyalty and devotion\nto any cause that was a national cause, because it was the natural,\nspontaneous expression of the life and thought of the people, and no\nmean, artificial thing superimposed from outside. [37]\n\nThere are other reasons for giving this period the social importance\nthat I have ascribed to it. The conversion of the people to\nChristianity about the third century after Christ was achieved in\nno sentimental fashion, but, as I believe, in a manner in which it\nalone could have been done, namely, at the point of the sword of their\nown king, Tiridates, who was converted from paganism to Christianity\nby Gregory the Illuminator. The traditions in connection with this\nimportant event will be told later. Suffice it to say at this point\nthat the whole process of conversion was carried out so thoroughly\nand completely, that it may be described as a national volte-face,\nand therefore did not result in the disintegration, civil strife,\nand social chaos that would unquestionably have been the result\nhad the process been carried out by means of peaceful penetration\nand propaganda.\n\nThe third and last argument in support of the social and national\nimportance of the period of the Arsacid kings is in respect to the\nalphabet which was compiled by St. Mesrob Maschtotz. St. Mesrob was\na former secretary of the king, and desired to extirpate the last\nremnants of paganism in the province of Akoulis, but in the absence of\nan alphabet he was unable to carry out any scheme of propaganda. He\ntherefore besought the king, Vramschapouh, to put an end to this\nstate of things and the latter, in response to the request, placed\nall available material at the disposal of the saint. The task was\naccomplished in 404, somewhat at the expense of the future devotees\nof the language, for the alphabet contains thirty-eight letters. [38]\nNevertheless, most of the sounds of foreign languages were represented,\nmaking it particularly useful as a foundation language for other\nlanguages. St. Mesrob, with a body of translators trained by himself\nand St. Sahak, then proceeded to the translation of the Bible,\nwhich was not completed until 433. Liturgies and song-books quickly\nfollowed. To be sure the effect of the invention of the alphabet and\nthe distribution of the various religious publications that followed\nwere not felt during the period of the Arsacidae, for the Bible was\nnot published until after the break-up of the kingdom in 428, when it\nwas divided between Persia and Rome. But the important point is that\nthe time had come when the need for an alphabet was making itself very\nstrongly felt, and this could not have been true of a diversified,\nheterogeneous population.\n\nFor the three reasons above mentioned, i.e., first, the work of\nminstrels, second, the Christianizing of the nation, and third,\nthe invention of the alphabet, all occurring during the successive\nreigns of the Arsacid kings, I should ascribe to this period (150\nB.C.-A.D. 428) the integration of the Armenian people into a national\nunit. [39] Christianity must have come as a disrupting force, as a\nterrible shock, necessitating a complete social readjustment, but the\nfact that the readjustment was made shows that the people were ready\nfor it. For better or for worse the yoke of Christianity was fastened\nto the neck of the people, and with it they had to replow the social\nsoil. The job was a good one, for the Armenian church has been the\nchief power during the last ten or fifteen centuries in keeping alive\nthe streams of national life, and in holding the people together in\nthe face of invasion and repeated attempts at proselytization by the\nPersians and by the Greek and Roman Catholic churches.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 7. LEGENDS OF ARTASCHES AND ARTAVASD\n\nThe legends of Artasches and Satenik, and of Artavasd, the son of\nArtasches, belong to the Arsacid period, for Artavasd and Artasches\nare Armenian kings of the Arsacid dynasty, according to Moses. [40]\nThe Alans who, according to the legend, were a neighboring people\nresiding in the mountain region in the vicinity of Georgia, spread\nthemselves over Armenia while Artasches, the Armenian king, collected\na great army and forced the Alans to retreat across the river Kur\nwhere they pitched camp. The son of the Alan king was taken captive\nand brought to Artasches, which forced the former to seek peace on\nwhatever terms the Armenian king might wish, provided only his son\nwas returned in safety. But Artasches refused, whereupon the sister\nof the captured boy came to the river bank, and standing upon a great\nrock spoke to the camp of Artasches by means of interpreters saying:\n\"Oh brave Artasches, who hast vanquished the great nation of Alans,\nunto thee I speak. Come, hearken unto the bright-eyed daughter of\nthe Alan king and give back the youth. For it is not the way of\nheroes to destroy life at the root, nor for the sake of humbling\nand enslaving a hostage to establish everlasting enmity between two\ngreat nations.\" [41] Artasches, having heard of these sayings went\nto the river bank and having seen that the girl was beautiful,\nand listened to her words of wisdom, wished to marry her. His\nchamberlain considered it a wise stroke of policy, and therefore\nwent to the Alan king, soliciting the hand of the princess for his\nmaster, whose oaths and assurances of peace he vouched for, together\nwith the promise to return the boy. The king of the Alans answered,\n\"From whence shall brave Artasches give thousands upon thousands,\nand ten thousands upon tens of thousands in return for the maiden?\"\n\nWrites Moses:\n\n    Concerning this, the poets of that land sing in their songs:\n\n\n       \"Brave King Artasches\n        Mounted his fine black charger,\n        And took the red leathern cord\n        With the golden ring.\n        Like a swift winged eagle\n        He passed over the river\n        And cast the golden ring\n        Round the waist of the Alan Princess;\n        Causing much pain to the tender maiden\n        As he bore her swiftly back to his camp.\"\n\n\n    Which being interpreted meaneth that he was commanded to give\n    much gold, leather, and crimson dye in exchange for the maiden. So\n    also they sing of the wedding:\n\n\n       \"It rained showers of gold when Artasches became a bridegroom,\n        It rained pearls when Satenik became a bride.\"\n\n\n    For it was the custom of our kings to scatter coins amongst the\n    people when they arrived at the doors of the temple for their\n    wedding, as also for the queens to scatter pearls in their\n    bride-chamber. [42]\n\n\nThe couplet quoted is still sung by the Armenians, and it is still\ncustomary for the bridegroom to scatter money on his way to the\nchurch, and though it may be for queens to scatter pearls, the\nArmenian bride is not to be outdone. She is given a partly opened\npomegranate which she throws at the door of the bridegroom upon the\narrival at the bridegroom's home after the ceremony at the church,\nthe bits of pomegranate scattering themselves about as pearls.\n\nAfter fifty-one years of a very prosperous reign, Artasches, who was\nvery much beloved by his people, died. The funeral procession was a\nmost magnificent one, and many of the people killed themselves, out\nof love for their dead king, according to the custom of the time. And\nwhen the body was laid in the grave they threw precious jewels, gold,\nand silver after it. Nor did the lamenting and suicide stop after\nhis burial, for upon the grave of their dead king the nobles and\nthe people continued to kill themselves. So great was the slaughter\nthat Artavasd, son of Artasches, and king after his father's death,\naddressed the spirit of his dead father, saying, \"Behold, thou art\ntaking all with thee; dost thou leave me to rule over ruins and the\ndead?\" The words given by Moses of Khorene are: \"Now that thou art\ngone, and hast taken with thee the whole land, how shall I reign over\nthe ruins?\" [43] Whereupon the spirit of Artasches cursed him and said,\n\n\n        \"When thou ridest forth to hunt\n        Over the free heights of Ararat,\n        The strong ones shall have thee,\n        And shall take thee up\n        On to the free heights of Ararat.\n        There shalt thou abide,\n        And never more see the light.\" [44]\n\n\nThese words together with those of Artavasd spoken to his father's\nspirit were sung by the singers of the time. [45]\n\nOne day while out hunting Artavasd was seized by some visionary terror\nand lost his reason. Urging his horse down a steep bank he fell into\na chasm where he sank and disappeared. Old women told how he was\nconfined in a cavern and bound with iron chains which his two dogs\ngnawed at daily in order to set him free. But somehow at the sound\nof the hammers striking on the anvils, the chains were continually\nstrengthened, and it was customary among the blacksmiths of the time\nto strike the anvil three or four times to strengthen, as they said,\nthe chains of Artavasd. And so the tradition was kept up by singers and\nblacksmiths; the blacksmiths and old women having consigned the jealous\nking to the world's nethermost regions, while the singers left him\nto the solitude of Ararat in accordance with the curse of Artasches.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 8. CONCLUSIONS\n\nSuch are the ancient legends of Armenia, in their respective historical\nsettings: the legends of Haic, of Semiramis and Ara, of Vahakn,\nof Artasches and Satenik, and of Artavasd. All of them antedate the\nChristian era, and some of them by many centuries. Each one of them\nis told by Moses of Khorene. But as to origin and probable historic\nroots Moses was silent, for he was writing a history. He constantly\nlaments the absolute dearth of material and sources and begins his\naccounts of these legends with the words \"This is as it is told,\"\nor \"the singers say,\" indicating that his only sources for them\nwere the songs and reports current among the people during his own\ntime. The legends of Haic and of Semiramis and Ara are told by Moses\nas though he believed them historic fact, but of course Moses had no\nmaterials to serve as a basis of criticism. He is careful to quote\nMar Apas Catina as his only source for this material. The other three\nlegends are regarded as such. Artavasd is spoken of as an historical\nking who lost his reason while riding horseback and fell into a deep\nchasm. The practice of suicide at the death of Artasches, his father,\nwas a pagan custom. The curse of the spirit of the dead father, the\nchains, the dogs, and the anvils were of course recognized as the work\nof ingenious fancy. In view therefore, of the questionable character\nof Moses' sources these legends have very little historic value. They\ndo, however, have a high social value inasmuch as the common knowledge\nof them among the people was the only ultimate source at the disposal\nof the historian.\n\nThe second conclusion is that these legends formed a very important\npart of the larger mass of tradition and songs that served to cement\nthe people into a nation. Just how important, it would be difficult\nto say, but the fact that they were current at the time Moses wrote\nindicates that they were current and passed on from generation to\ngeneration during the whole period of the Arsacidae kings. And as\nthe people had no alphabet during this whole period, they must have\nbeen passed on by song and word of mouth. This was a time of special\nactivity on the part of the minstrels and singers, and therefore\nthe development of the national consciousness characteristic of the\nperiod must have been brought about in a large measure through the\nmedium of these legendary beliefs.\n\nFurthermore these legends are known by the Armenian people to-day\nand are taught in the schools that are not too severely under the\nrules of Turkish and Russian censorship. Naturally enough, they are\na source of great pride since they breathe national independence and\nloyalty. But of course, the Turks and Russians have suppressed all\npublic singing of songs, and public teaching of history and legend\nthat may possibly be construed as partaking of the national spirit.\n\nIt may be argued that these legends slumbered between the covers\nof Moses' history during the centuries known as the dark ages, and\nthat they had no social value until the contagion of the European\nspirit of the Renaissance awoke the legends and the people at\nthe same time. But the mere dearth of record is no proof of this\nRip Van Winkle theory. There is at least one reliable authority\nsufficient to disprove it, viz., Grigor Magistros, a scholar of the\neleventh century who wrote that he heard the Artasches epic sung\nby minstrels. [46] Besides the unreasonableness of the supposition,\nthere is the added fact of an independent Armenian kingdom known as\nthe Bagradouni dynasty, whose capital seat was at the famous city\nof Ani. This kingdom included greater Armenia and continued from\nA.D. 887 to 1079. [47] But 1079 does not mark the end of Armenian\nindependence though it marks the destruction of Ani, for Reuben,\na member of the royal family, made his way into Cilicia in the year\n1080, and rallying a handful of Armenians about him, overpowered the\nGreeks and founded what is known as the Rupenian Kingdom of Cilicia,\nwhich continued during a period of 300 years. So that here again is a\nperiod of very nearly five hundred years (889-1380), during which time\nthe Armenian people enjoyed national political independence. [48] And\nthis during the very period of the dark ages, about which we know so\nlittle! We could not, therefore, for a moment suppose the traditions\nand legends to have had no social importance during these centuries,\nfor such an assumption would be in flat contradiction to the witness\nof Grigor Magistros, and to the facts of Armenian history.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nLEGENDS OF THE CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY\n\n\nSECTION 1. PRE-CHRISTIAN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION\n\nThe second body of legends which I wish to consider is\nchiefly concerned with the introduction of Christianity into the\ncountry. These, together with the traditional beliefs centered about\nthe chief geographical feature of the land, Mt. Ararat, constitute\na group bearing a very distinct religious stamp. For this reason,\nand also because they have a later origin, they are to be marked\noff very distinctly from those already taken up. In view of their\nreligious bearing I shall introduce them with a brief account of the\nvarious forms of pagan worship that preceded the Christianization of\nthe people.\n\nThe chief religious influences have been the Assyrian, the Persian,\nand the Greek. It seems, however, that a kind of monotheism prevailed\nbefore the gods of any of these were taken over. The very ancient\nArmenian kings planted groves of poplars around their cities and the\nworship was carried on in these groves. [49] An altar was placed among\nthe trees, where the first male descendant of the royal family (and\nperhaps other families) offered sacrifices to the one God, while the\npriests derived oracles from the rustling of the leaves. Even now the\npoplar groves are held in uncommon regard. This is a survival of the\nold belief that they were the dwelling place of God, and of the later\npractice of consecrating children in them. The belief that God dwelt\namong the leaves must have been suggested by the slightest trembling\nof the leaves, even at the gentlest breeze, and one can well imagine\nthe people looking up at them in the impressive silence of the forest\nwith an awe and wonder no other environment could possibly induce. The\nArmenian for poplar, \"Sossi\" is used to-day as a name for girls, and\nthe poplar tree, although not held sacred by Armenian people to-day,\nis certainly regarded with great reverence. [50]\n\nThe influence of Persian worship is more clear. Aramazd, the architect\nof the universe, lord and creator of all things, was the chief\nArmenian god, and is unquestionably the Persian Ormuzd named in the\ninscription of Xerxes on the rock of Van. Armenians have given him\nthe title of \"father of the gods,\" and the qualifications \"great,\nand strong, creator of heaven and earth, and god of fertility and\nof abundance.\" The Greeks identified him with Zeus. [51] There were\nnumerous sanctuaries erected in his honor, and at the annual festival\ncelebrated in his name, white animals, especially goats, horses,\nand mules, were sacrificed and their blood used to fill silver and\ngolden goblets. [52] Tir, or \"Grogh\" meaning in Armenian \"to write\"\nwas his attendant spirit, whose chief business it was to watch over\nmankind, recording their good and evil deeds. [53] Upon the death of a\nperson \"Grogh\" conducted the soul of the departed before his master,\nwho opened the great book, and balancing the good and evil deeds,\nassigned a reward or punishment. Grogh is also the personification\nof hope and fear, and the expression \"may Grogh take you\" is still\nvery commonly used among the people, especially by servant girls\nand those whose language has not undergone the purification of a\nseason of \"Sturm und Drang.\" It is interesting to note that this\nand some other expressions owe their survival to usage among women\nrather than among men, which is not difficult of explanation when one\nconsiders the social restrictions that women are generally subject\nto. \"Viele Seiten des alten heidnischen Glaubens sind in dem heutigen\nVolksglauben, besonders bei den tiefer stehenden Volksschichten, bei\nalten Bauerinnen, als ueberbleibsel der Vergangenheit erhalten.\" [54]\n\nThe god Mihr represented fire, and was the son of Aramazd. [55]\nHe guided heroes in battle, and was commemorated by a festival held\nin the beginning of spring. Fires were kindled in the open market\nplace in his honor, and a lantern lit from one of these fires was\nkept burning in his temple throughout the year. [56] It is still a\nfestival among the people, although it has a different significance,\nand will be described more in detail later on. This is practiced not\nonly by the Armenians, but also by the Syrian Maronites who reside\nin the Lebanon. I have seen the mountainsides literally aglow with\na thousand fires in celebration of a Christian festival that has\nits roots in the pagan ceremony in honor of Mihr. The practice of a\ncontinually burning lantern was also carried over by some branches\nof the Christian church.\n\nBoth Persians and Armenians were worshippers of Mihr (fire-worship),\nalthough there was a very distinct difference between the two. The\nArmenian sacred fire was invisible, whereas the Persian was material\nand kept up throughout the whole year. It is for this reason that\nthe Armenians called the Persians fire-worshippers. The only visible\nfire-god worshipped by the Armenians was the sun, to which temples\nwere dedicated, and after which the Armenian calendar month \"Areg\" was\nnamed. [57] The \"Children of the Sun\" as they were called, offered the\nmost persistent opposition to the introduction of Christianity, and a\ncommunity of them continued their worship in the face of persecution\nafter Christianity became the religion of the state. The phrase \"let\nme die for your sun,\" and the oath \"let the sun of my son be witness,\"\nare language survivals of this particular worship.\n\nThe Greek worship, introduced first during the Seleucid dynasty, and\nemphasized and encouraged by the line of Arsacidae kings up to the\nintroduction of Christianity, exercised an even stronger influence\nthan the Persian. Many of the Greek divinities were rechristened\nand adopted by the people. Chief of these was Anahit, \"Mother of\nChastity,\" known also as the \"Pure and Spotless Goddess,\" who was the\ndaughter of Aramazd, and corresponded to the Greek Artemid and the\nRoman Diana. [58] She was also regarded as the benefactress of the\npeople. Writes Agathangelus: \"Through her (Anahit) the Armenian land\nexists; from her it draws its life, she is the glory of our nation and\nits protectress.\" [59] Images and shrines were dedicated to her name\nunder the titles, \"The Golden Mother,\" \"The Being of Golden Birth.\" A\nsummer festival was celebrated in her honor at which a dove and a\nrose were offered to her golden image. The day was called \"Vartavar,\"\nmeaning \"the flaming of the rose.\" The temples of Anahit and the golden\nimage were destroyed with the conversion of the people to Christianity,\nbut the festival has continued as a regular church festival under\nthe same name \"Vartavar\" though of course with a different meaning.\n\nThe second and third daughters of Aramazd were Astghik, the goddess\nof beauty, and Nane, or Noone, the goddess of contrivance. [60] The\nformer was the wife of Vahakn, the mythical king-god, the legend in\nrespect to whom has been told, and corresponded to the Phoenician\nand Sidonian Astarte. It is stated by Raffi that the goddess of\ncontrivance was a necessary power to womankind, for then as now woman\nhad to make big things out of small. Sandaramet, the wife of Aramazd,\nwas an invisible goddess and personification of the earth. Her master\nsent rain upon her, and brought forth vegetation. Later she became\nthe synonym for Hades. Perhaps the best summary of Armenian worship\nas existing before the Christian time is that given by St. Martin.\n\n\n    La religion Armenienne etait probablement un melange des opinions\n    de Zoroastre, fort alteres par le cult des divinites grecques. On\n    voyait dans les temples de l'Armenie un grand nombre de statues\n    de divinites, auxquelles on faisait des sacrifices d'animaux,\n    ce qui ne se pratiquait point dans la religion de Zoroastre, qui,\n    a proprement parler, n'admettait pas l'existence d'autre divinite\n    que le temps sans bornes, appele Zerwan. [61] Les plus puissants\n    des dieux etaient Aramazd (Ormuzd), Anahid (Venus), Mihir (Mihr),\n    ou Mithra. On y adorait encore d'autres divinites inferieures.\n\n\nAnahit, however, was goddess of chastity, and did not therefore\ncorrespond to Venus. [62]\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 2. LEGENDS OF ABGAR, THADDEUS, AND ST. BARTHOLOMEW\n\nThe first connection that Armenians had with Christianity occurred\nin the reign of King Abgar, whose capital was at Edessa (now Ourfa)\nduring the time of Christ's teaching in Palestine. [63] The story\nis legendary and very popular. Abgar was called a great man because\nof his exceeding meekness and wisdom. As the result of several\nsevere military campaigns, the health of the king began to give\nway. This led to complications which developed into a very painful\ndisease. It was at this time that Abgar sent two of his messengers\nto the Roman governor, Marinus, to show the Roman a treaty of peace\nthat had been made between Ardasches and his brother of Persia, who\nhad quarreled and had been reconciled by their kinsman Abgar; for the\nRomans suspected that Abgar had gone to Persia in order to collect\nand direct a Persian-Armenian army against the Romans. [64] To clear\nhimself of all suspicion, therefore, those two messengers were sent\nto show the treaty of peace to the Roman governor. On their return\nthe messengers went up to Jerusalem in order to see Christ, having\nheard of his wonderful deeds. And when they returned to their king,\nAbgar, they told of the works of Christ, at which the king marveled,\nand believed him to be the very Son of God. The king, because of his\nsickness, sent Christ a letter asking him to come and heal him of\nhis disease. The letter is quoted as follows:\n\n\n    The letter of Abgarus to our Saviour Jesus Christ. \"Abgarus,\n    a prince of the world, unto Jesus the Saviour and Benefactor,\n    who hast appeared in the City of Jerusalem, Greetings.\n\n    \"I have heard of thee, and of the healings wrought by thy hands,\n    without drugs and without roots; for it is said that thou givest\n    sight to the blind, thou makest the lame to walk, and thou cleanest\n    the lepers; thou curest those who have been long tormented by\n    diseases, and raisest even the dead. And when I heard all this\n    concerning thee, I thought that either thou art God come down from\n    heaven that workest these things, or the Son of God. I have written\n    unto thee, that thou shouldst trouble thyself to come unto me,\n    and heal me of my disease. I have heard also that the Jews murmur\n    against thee, and think to torture thee. My city is a small one,\n    but it is beautiful, and it is sufficient for us twain.\" [65]\n\n\nThe messengers delivered the message to Jesus in Jerusalem, to which\nthe gospel bears witness in the words, \"There were some amongst the\nheathen that came up to him.\" But Jesus could do no more than to send\na letter in reply.\n\n\n    The answer to the letter of Abgarus, written at the command of our\n    Saviour by the Apostle Thomas: \"Blessed is he who believeth on me,\n    though he hath not seen me. For it is written concerning me thus:\n    'they that have seen me believed not on me, but they that have not\n    seen me shall believe and live.' And concerning that which thou\n    hast written unto me to come down unto thee, it is needful that I\n    fulfill all that for which I was sent; and when I have fulfilled\n    it I will ascend unto Him that sent me. And after my ascension I\n    will send one of my disciples, who shall heal thee of thy disease,\n    and give life unto thee and unto all that are with thee.\" [66]\n\n\nThis letter was duly delivered to Abgar, with the image of the Saviour,\nwhich was still kept in Edessa at the time of Moses' writing. The\nlegend concerning the image is somewhat as follows. One of the three\nmessengers sent to Jesus with the letter of Abgar was an artist who\nwas told to paint a portrait of Jesus in case the latter found it\nimpossible to take the journey. The artist tried in vain to paint a\ngood picture, and having noticed him, Jesus took a handkerchief and\npassing it over his face a most exact likeness was stamped upon it,\nwhich he gave to the artist to be given to the king.\n\nThe quaint ending of Abgar's letter is worth the whole legend. What\ncould be simpler or more seductive than the invitation, \"My city is\na small one, but it is beautiful, and it is sufficient for us twain.\"\n\nThe tradition of the Armenian church, or the Gregorian church, as it\nis more commonly called, acknowledges St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew\nas the original founders, who are therefore designated as the first\nilluminators of Armenia. [67] Concerning the recognition of the\ntradition of St. Bartholomew, which includes his apostolic journeys,\nhis preaching, and his martyrdom in Armenia, all Christian churches\nare unanimous. The name Albanus given as the place of his martyrdom, is\nthe same as the name Albacus, hallowed by the Armenian tradition. His\nmission covered a period of sixteen years (A.D. 44-60). There is\ndifference of opinion, however, in regard to the dates.\n\nThe traditions about St. Thaddeus vary. Some suppose him to have\nbeen the brother of St. Thomas, and according to these, he traveled\nto Ardaze by way of Edessa. There is an anachronism, however,\nin this tradition which would transfer the mission of Thaddeus to\nthe second century. According to a second tradition he is not the\nbrother of Thomas, but one St. Judas Thaddeus, surnamed Lebbeus, who\nalso is said to have established a sanctuary of worship at Ardaze,\na circumstance admitted by the Greek and Latin churches. The Armenian\nchurch places the time of this mission as a period of eight years\nfrom 35-43. That this has been done to lay a strong foundation for\nthe claim of apostolic origin may be suspected, especially in view\nof the belief that apostolic origin is essential to every Christian\nchurch, in order, as stated by Ormanian, \"to place her in union\nwith her Divine Founder.\" The church, however, has us at its mercy,\nfor conclusive evidence one way or another is lacking. Nevertheless,\nthe fact of Thaddeus' mission to Armenia wherever and whenever it\nmight have occurred, is undisputed. [68]\n\nThe matter is not especially important except to theologians with\ntheir doctrines of \"apostolic origins.\" What is perfectly clear is\nthat both these men did their work in comparative silence, and that\nthey did not make very much headway, for if they had there would\nhave been less doubt concerning the traditions. The great work\nwas done by King Tiridates, and Gregory, who converted him about\nA.D. 301. The traditions concerning these men are among the most\ncherished possessions of the Armenian church.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 3. LEGENDS OF RHIPSIME AND GREGORY\n\nThese traditions have their historical setting in the reign of\nTiridates, and of Chosroes the father of Tiridates. [69] Just as\nthere was an Arsacid dynasty in Armenia, dating and originating in\nthe Parthian conquests and supremacy, so also was there an Arsacid\ndynasty of Persia. The Persian king at the time of Chosroes was a\nkinsman of the latter, called Ardavan, who was overthrown (A.D. 227)\nby a Persian prince of the province of Fars, named Ardashir. [70]\nHis dynasty, a very powerful one, known as the Sassanid dynasty,\nsupplanted the Arsacid dynasty of Persia. Chosroes of Armenia,\nfearing future difficulty with the new Persian monarch, ardently\nsupported his dethroned kinsman. The next year (228), therefore,\nhe led a huge army beyond the frontiers of Persia, and laid waste\nher provinces to the gates of Ctesiphon. [71] The war was continued\nfor ten years, during which time the Armenian capital, Vagharshapat,\nwas filled with the booty of successful raids. The reigning Caesar,\nSeverus, also alarmed by the success of the new Persian king,\nheaded a Roman army against Ardashir. Realizing the jeopardy of his\nposition, the Persian resolved to put Chosroes out of the way by\nwhatever means possible. A Parthian of the royal blood, Anak by name,\nconsented to execute his king's desire, and went with his family to\nVagharshapat as a refugee. A friendship sprang up between himself and\nhis future victim, enabling him to execute his purpose, which he did\nin company with his brother while preparation was being made for a\nspring campaign. But the murderers were cut off in their escape by\nArmenian horsemen and precipitated into the Araxes, while the dying\nking gave orders to massacre the family of Anak. Only two of the\nchildren were rescued, one of whom was Gregory, the Illuminator,\nfounder of the Armenian national church, called also the Gregorian\nchurch. The child Gregory was taken to Cesarea where he was educated\nin the tenets of Christianity. [72]\n\nArdashir died shortly after the murder of his foe, and thus failed\nto follow up his advantage except for a few raids into Armenian\nterritory. Tiridates, a child at this time, was the oldest son of\nChosroes, and as heir to the Armenian throne was the chief obstacle in\nthe way of the ambitions of his uncles, whose treatment of the young\nking compelled him to take refuge in Rome where he was educated. [73]\nHaving distinguished himself by personal bravery in a Gothic campaign,\nhis nation's dominions were restored to him by the support of a\nRoman army, for during his absence Armenia was invaded by Shapur,\nthe successor of Ardashir. The Persian king had taken advantage of the\ndisputes of Tiridates' uncles. The remainder of the story is legendary.\n\nGregory had been informed in the meantime of his father's deed,\nand seeking to make such amends for it as he could, he journeyed\nto Rome, where he attached himself as a servant to the exiled king,\nTiridates. The latter, after his victory over the Persians and his\nre-accession to the Armenian throne, entered the temple of Anahit\nin company with his faithful servant Gregory, to offer sacrifices of\nthanksgiving. A feast followed the ceremony, at which many guests were\npresent, and Tiridates, who must have known of Gregory's attachment to\nChristianity, commanded the latter to make an offering of garlands to\nthe great goddess. Gregory refused. The king was angry. \"How dare you,\"\nexclaimed the king, \"adore a god whom I do not adore?\" Persuasion\nand finally torture were used to coerce the pious and firm-minded\nyouth, but to no avail. In the meantime, Tiridates had been informed\nas to Gregory's identity, i.e., that he was the son of his father's\nmurderer, whereupon the king commanded that Gregory be cast into a\ndeep pit where he was left to perish. [74]\n\nFor thirteen years Gregory languished in his well, and was only\nsaved from death by the ministrations of a widow who resided in the\ncastle of Artaxata just by the pit. This was done in great secret,\nfor Tiridates had issued an edict which admonished his subjects to\nbeware of the resentment of the gods, of Aramazd, Anahit, and Vahakn,\nand following the practice of the Romans, to lay hands on all offenders\nagainst the gods, chief of whom, evidently, were the Christians. They\nwere to be bound hand and foot, brought before the gate of the palace,\nand if found guilty their lands and chattels were assigned to their\naccusers. [75]\n\nWhile Christians were being robbed, and Gregory was slowly perishing\nof misery in his prison well, there arrived at Vagharshapat a Roman\nvirgin of exquisite beauty, named Rhipsime, in company with her nurse\nGaiane, and thirty-three followers who were also virgins. They had fled\nfrom the Emperor Diocletian, who had selected Rhipsime for his spouse,\nafter a most careful search of his kingdom for the most beautiful of\nwomen. [76] Rhipsime, unfortunately had taken a vow of chastity, and\nthere was nothing to do but to flee. Meanwhile an ambassador from Rome\narrived at the court of the Armenian king bearing a letter in which\nTiridates was informed of the flight of the virgin to his land, and\nbidden to discover the refugees, to send Rhipsime to Rome, and to kill\nher companions. The emperor added, however, in truly generous fashion,\nthat he might himself marry her if he was overcome by her charms.\n\nThe band was found, Rhipsime was recognized, and the king sent an\nescort of litters to bring them to his court. As Diocletian suspected,\nthe Armenian king also fell in love, for the maiden, having refused\nthe pomp of a royal equipage, was forced to appear before him\nin court. The Armenian's suit was likewise a failure. Rhipsime\nwould marry, provided he became Christian, which the king took as\nmockery. Again the girl succeeded in escaping, but she was tracked,\novertaken with her companions, bound with cords, and put to death with\ngreat cruelty. Both Rhipsime and her nurse Gaiane are commemorated on\nthe calendar of saints, and at Etchmiadzin, the religious center of\nthe nation, there are three edifices; the largest and most important\nbears the name of St. Gregory, while the other two respectively bear\nthe names of the two saints, Rhipsime and Gaiane.\n\nAgathangelus relates the legend in his Histoire du Regne de Tiridate\nbut unfortunately the book has been tampered with and now contains much\nquestionable material. [77] There are mentioned ominous thunderclaps,\nopenings of heaven, divine voices exhorting Rhipsime to stand firm\nin her faith, and the transformation of Tiridates into a grass-eating\nboar which was the punishment for his great crime. The sister of the\nking, Khosrovitukht, had a vision, in which she was told that the only\nremedy was to send for a prisoner named Gregory, who had been cast\ninto a well some thirteen years before. A rope was let down into the\ncavern, and to the astonishment of all, there emerged a human form,\nblackened to the color of coal. It was none other than Gregory. He also\nsaw visions and heard divine voices speak through curious openings in\nheaven. Strange columns of fire and flaming crosses of light appeared\nto him in the places where Rhipsime and Gaiane suffered martyrdom;\nand there appeared a great deal more to him which is recorded, even as\nthere must have appeared yet more which is not recorded. The result of\nall of this was that Gregory ordered the construction of two chapels,\none to be erected in honor of Rhipsime, the other in memory of Gaiane,\nboth of which are still standing in Etchmiadzin. Etchmiadzin means,\n\"the place where the Only-Begotten descended\" for it was at this\nplace that Gregory beheld his miraculous vision. Having prayed for\nthe healing of the king, the horns fell from the royal head, and\nTiridates, now a Christian, shared in the work of constructing the\nchapels. [78] He ascended Ararat and returned with huge blocks of\nstone which he laid at the portals of the chapels in expiation of his\nsin. It was customary among Armenians to place huge blocks of stone\nat the entrance of a church by way of offering. Dubois de Montpereux\nsaw a number of such stones, six or seven feet high, in front of the\ncathedral at Etchmiadzin, but Lynch found no trace of them. [79]\n\nSuch are the legends of Gregory and of Tiridates' conversion to\nChristianity. In all justice, the highly imaginative material\nwhich was probably the work of an enthusiast, and in all certainty\na surreptitious insertion in the work of the historian, should\nbe distinguished from the less fanciful material concerning the\nimprisonment of Gregory and the martyrdom of the virgins, which though\nlegendary, may probably be connected with the events of history.\n\nAlthough Dubois de Montpereux recognizes that all traditions point to\nthe conversion of Armenia as having taken place before the conversion\nof Constantine (in 312), he does not consider this as probable, for\nTiridates, as a tributary king, and imitator of the Romans in all\nthings, could not have had the courage to take so important a step\nexcept in following out the policy of the emperor. [80] Gregory,\naccording to the view of Dubois, remained in his prison well until\nConstantine accepted Christianity, when the Armenian king called for\nhim and was converted as a matter of diplomacy after listening to\nhis exhortations.\n\nBut this is not accepted by modern writers, any more than it was by\nthe ancient historians. Bryce places the conversion at 302, and states\nthat the so-called conversion of Constantine happened either twelve\nor thirty-seven years later, according as one reckons to the battle\nof the Milvian Bridge, or his baptism. [81] Armenia, therefore,\nwas the first country that adopted Christianity as a religion of\nstate, a matter of no small pride to the Gregorians, and it has been\nmaintained as the national religion ever since in a form so intact as\nto surpass the dreams of the most ultra-conservative. And this, too,\nin the face of attacks by Persian fire-worshippers who attempted\nto force their religion upon the people, Greek and Latin popes,\nMohammedan khalifs, and Turkish sultans. Ormanian, former Armenian\npatriarch at Constantinople, who gives the date as 301, considers the\nexistence of the churches of St. Rhipsime and St. Gaiane with their\ninscriptions as positive proof, and mentions also the testimony in\nthe writings of Eusebius, who cites the war of the year 311 which\nthe Emperor Maximianus, the Dacian, declared against Armenians on\naccount of their, at that time, recent conversion. [82] The critical\nstudies made since the journey of Dubois (1837) are conclusive at\nleast in this, that the conversion of Tiridates and of the nation\ncould not have taken place later than the year 302, and there is no\ndoubt therefore of the claim that the Gregorian church is the oldest\nnational Christian church of the world.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 4. THE ARMENIAN CHURCH AS A SOCIAL FORCE\n\nThe conversion of the people followed close upon the conversion of the\nking, for Gregory was a temple-building priest not without ambition,\nand the king was an acknowledged hero. The business of converting\nthe nation was not a matter of priests and preaching as suggested\nby Dubois; [83] as indicated before, it was rather a matter of fire\nand sword. Ormanian supposes that it was due to the work of the\nChristian communities already established, whose work was stimulated\nand encouraged by the king's conversion. [84] \"Indeed,\" he says, \"the\nalmost instant conversion of the whole of Armenia at the beginning\nof the fourth century, can not be explained but by the preexistence\nof a Christian element which had taken root in the country.\" And\nagain, \"The first nucleus of the faithful, by its steadfast energy,\nat length succeeded in gaining the mastery over both obstacles and\npersecutions.\" This does not seem to me to be correct, for in the\nfirst place the Christianity of the first, second, and third centuries\nwas not the Christianity of Gregory; it was one of the many forms of\nworship killed by Gregory; and in the second place there are sufficient\nrecords to prove the wholesale destruction of pagan temples, images,\nidols, and inscriptions as carried out by the king and saint, and of\nthe use of the sword in forcing the people to change their faith. [85]\n\nFirst, then, what was the Christianity of the first centuries? It\nis clear that the ideal was one of communal simplicity of life. That\nit was opposed to all hierarchies and established priesthoods there\ncan be no question. The irksome round of daily toil was idealized\nin the fellowship of a common faith, the central point of which\nwas the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Hence baptism was the\nall-important event, for through baptism the Holy Spirit descended\ninto the human heart even as into Christ when he was baptized by\nJohn in the Jordan. Jesus was no God come to earth in human form by\na miraculous conception; he was the son of Joseph and Mary. Feeling\nhis kinship with God he was baptized, which ceremony was merely\nsymbolic of the Indwelling Spirit. These early Christians have been\ncalled adoptionists, for the ceremony of baptism is said to represent\nthe adoption of the individual by God, or by the Holy Spirit, both\nexpressions having been used synonymously. Simple and pure, it seems\nthat the adoptionists came as near carrying out the spirit of the\nteachings of Jesus as any Christian sect that ever existed. [86]\nBut how utterly opposed, how perfectly contradictory to the brick\nand mortar religion of Gregory! That the adoptionists were objects\nof persecution by the orthodox church is a certainty, and it was\nvery probably this sect that was referred to in \"that stubborn\nheresy of their native land\" mentioned so frequently by Armenian\nwriters. The following picture was clearly set forth in a disputation\nbetween two Armenian church-men occurring at the close of the third\ncentury. \"Tell me,\" says Archelaus, \"over whom it was that the Holy\nSpirit descended like a dove? Who is this one whom John baptized? If\nhe was already perfect, if he was already the Son, if he was already\nVirtue, the Holy Spirit could not have entered into him. A kingdom\ncan not enter into a kingdom.\" [87] What is also to the point is the\ncelebrated formula of Nice (325) at which the nature of Christ was\ndefined as essentially and continuously divine. \"Christ a very God,\nbegotten of God, but not a creature of God; Son of God, of one nature\nwith God; who came down from heaven and took flesh, and became man,\nand suffered and ascended unto heaven; who was before he was begotten,\nand who has always been.\" The decision was in absolute contradiction to\nthe adoptionist faith, and it was legislated by this august council,\nthat the members of such faith, who were called Paulicians, after\ntheir leader Paul of Samosata, should be rebaptized before admission\nto the church. [88] The recalcitrants were driven to the mountains,\nwhere they increased in number as in strength until the persecution\nof the ninth century. Both Agathangelus and Faustus of Byzantium were\nsilent concerning these people, and, one suspects, advisedly so.\n\nSuch was pre-Gregorian Christianity. How ridiculous to suppose that the\nconversion of the nation was due to the firm roots already established\nby the Christians when the Christians themselves had to be converted!\n\nOn the contrary, it was the right of might that established the new\nreligion. The troops of the capital city were led by the king and\npriest in such an image- and temple-smashing campaign as was never\nbefore seen. Proceeding down the Araxes valley, the temple of the\ngod Dir was levelled to the ground; the temple of Anahit was stoutly\ndefended but to no avail; the temple was burned. One after another\nof the most famous sanctuaries were destroyed; temples of Aramazd,\nof Mithra, of Nane, and of Anahit, many of which were defended by the\nvanquished until overpowered. [89] Shrines of Vahakn and of Astghik\nwere laid to waste to be replaced by Christian churches which grew\nup over the ruins as if overnight; and if a temple was destroyed, it\nwas only to build a Christian church in its stead. So construction\nfollowed in the wake of destruction, the old was supplanted by the\nnew, and when all armed resistance was beaten down, the king and\npriest continued the work by preaching.\n\nWhen the work was fairly under way the ambitious priest journeyed to\nCesarea in Cappadocia where he got himself ordained. This Gregory was\nno meek-spirited adoptionist. He was the son of Anak, of royal blood,\nambitious, zealous, suffering and doing all things to gain his ends.\n\nIn view, therefore, of the actual character of preexisting\nChristianity, and of the methods employed in converting the people, how\ncan one reasonably suppose that the \"instant conversion of the whole\nof Armenia to Christianity can not be explained but by the preexistence\nof a Christian element which had taken root in the country\"?\n\nThe state-authorized religion, however, did take root in the country,\nand became inextricably interwoven with the self-consciousness of\nthe nation. It became the organ of national expression, and for many\ncenturies has been the very backbone of the people. If the molten\nmetals of national life had hardened during the reign of the Arsacidae\nkings they were at the time of the conversion in a molten state, ready\nto be remolded. This did not require much time. Old festivals were\ncarried over intact, except that they were given a new meaning. The\nold national traditions, legends, and folk-lore were in the common\npossession of the people, and there was no reason for discouraging\nthem. In fact the Armenian church even more than the state encouraged\nthem, for it recognized in them a source of solidarity and national\nunity, as essential to the life of the church as its hierarchies,\nliturgy, and calendar of saints. So much then was old; part of the past\ncarried over into the present to be carried over into the future. What\nthen was new? First the legends and traditions, already mentioned,\nimbedded in the immediately past events of the new order. Legends of\nAbgar, of Gregory, of Thaddeus, of Rhipsime, of Tiridates, passed like\nmagic fire from person to person, creating a common sentiment which\nmade the foundations of the new church absolutely secure. How firmly\nthis foundation was established is indicated by the reaction of the\nchurch to the decisions at the Council of Chalcedon, where the dogma\nof the dual nature of Christ was affirmed, in perfect contradiction\nto the Nicaean dogma, and by the reaction against the Persian proposals\nto accept fire-worship as the state religion.\n\nI shall consider the second point first. As already stated, the year\n428 marked the end of the Armenian Arsacid dynasty. The nation was\ndivided between Persia and Rome at this time, largely as a result of\ninternal dissensions. In the year 450 the Persian king sent a letter\nto the Armenian princes, setting forth the excellence of fire-worship\nand the foolishness of Christianity, and summoned the Armenians to\naccept the Persian religion. [90] A council of bishops and laymen was\nheld and a reply of unanimous refusal was drawn up. \"From this faith\nno one can move us, neither angels nor men, neither sword nor fire,\nnor water, nor any deadly punishment.\" [91] A rather impertinent\nreply from a subject nation to one which dominated it; but thoroughly\ncharacteristic of the Armenians. The Persians did use fire and sword,\nand defeated the Armenians in the plain of Avarair under Mount Ararat\n(451). But they did not gain their end. An old historian wrote of the\nbattle, \"swords of slayers grew dull, but their necks were not weary,\"\nand the Persian high priest having seen the utter hopelessness of\nhis project wrote, \"these people have put on Christianity, not like\na garment, but like flesh and blood.\" [92]\n\nAlready, only one hundred fifty years after the conversion, the\nfoundation of the church was secure. This of course was made possible\nby the completeness of the work of its founders; but this in itself\nwould not have been sufficient. A common favorable sentiment had\nbeen created, which grew up under the natural conditions of life,\nand inasmuch as the legends described are part of the common beliefs\nof the people, it may be inferred that they played an important role\nin the formation of this sentiment. The church, on the other hand,\nhas incorporated these legendary beliefs in its ritual and ceremony,\nand in that way has given them the necessary sanction by which they\nare passed on from generation to generation. They thus form part of\nthe permanent social tradition of the Armenian people.\n\nThe security of the church at this early time (450) was indicated\nnot only by the reaction of the nation to the Persian proposals of\nfire-worship, but also by the reaction to the decision of the Council\nof Chalcedon, at which, as stated, the dual nature of Christ was\ndogmatically affirmed, in contradiction to the dogma established at\nthe Council of Nicaea (325), accepted by the Armenian church. But at\nthe time of the Chalcedonian council, the Persian difficulties were\ntaking place, the battle of Avarair having occurred during the same\nyear, and it was not until 491 that the Armenians held a synod of\ntheir own which assembled at Vagharshapat, in order to take decisive\naction. [93] The decisions of the Council of Chalcedon were rejected\nand the action was repeated at subsequent synods. Of the three sees\nor patriarchates, the Roman at Rome, the Greek at Alexandria, and\nthe Byzantine at Constantinople, the latter was gaining in power,\nand it was at the Council of Chalcedon that the precedence of the see\nof Constantinople was recognized. Naturally, neither the Roman nor\nGreek sees acknowledged the decision of the council, but later both\nGreek and Latin churches revoked their opposition, and recognized it\nas the fourth OEcumenic Council. But the Armenian church would have\nnothing to do with Chalcedon, in spite of Greek and Latin approval,\nand since that time she has stood alone, absolutely independent\nof Greek and Latin churches. Ormanian states: \"She set herself to\nresist every new dogmatic utterance said to emanate from revelation,\nas well as any innovation which could in any way pervert the primitive\nfaith.\" [94] The \"primitive faith\" may be a slight stretch of point,\nbut the fact that the Armenian church adopted an absolutely independent\npolicy, which separated her from all other Christian churches, and\nto which she has steadfastly adhered in spite of persistent Greek and\nLatin influence and efforts at domination, is in clear support of my\nassertion that the social foundations of the church were firmly and\nsecurely established as early as 450, only one hundred fifty years\nafter the work of Gregory and Tiridates.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nLOCALITY LEGENDS\n\n\nSECTION 1. ARARAT\n\nThere is a third and last body of Armenian legends more closely related\nto the second group discussed than to the first, and yet marked off in\nsome respects from the second as well. They have a distinct religious\nstamp like those we have just finished describing, and they are all\nrelated in some way to the stories of the Old Testament. The legend of\nHaic is related to the Old Testament, for Haic was the great-grandson\nof Noah, but it clearly belongs to the first group taken up, for the\nreason that it has to do with the origin of the Armenian nation. The\nfirst body, including Haic, and the legends of Semiramis and Ara,\nVahakn, Artasches and Satenik, and Artavazd, are all concerned\nwith ancient Armenian kings, real or mythical, and all go back to\na time before the introduction of Christianity. Vahakn was deified,\nbut that does not exclude him since he was first a king. The second\ngroup, including the legends of Abgar, Rhipsime and Gaiane, Gregory,\nThaddeus, and Tiridates, are all concerned with historical figures,\nreal or supposed, and there is no doubt about their historic reality,\nwith the exception of Rhipsime and Gaiane. But what marks them off from\nthe other groups is that they are all concerned with the introduction\nof Christianity into the country. Those of the third group have no\nhistoric value whatever. They are legends based upon legends that date\nback to a period even more remote than the legend of Haic, and their\nsocial value does not approach that of the first two groups. They\nare all connected in some way, either with the Old Testament legend\nof Noah, or with the legend of the origin of man. No traveler ever\npassed through Armenia without hearing of one or more of them.\n\n\"In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark\nrested upon the mountains of Ararat.\" [95] Every Armenian, and others,\ntoo, believe that this is the Ararat of Armenia, or Masis as it is\ncalled, and it is true that there is absolutely nothing to disprove\nsuch a belief. James Bryce has given a careful consideration to\nthe question, and states in conclusion that full liberty is left to\nthe traveler to consider the \"snowy sovereign of the Araxes plain\"\nto be the true Ararat. [96] There are several points that may be\nnoted. First, there is nothing in the statement of Genesis to show\nthat the Ararat mentioned was a mountain called by that name; it seems\nrather that Ararat was a section of country, for the passage states\nthat the ark rested \"upon the mountains of Ararat.\" In the second\nplace, the mountain is not called Ararat by Armenians, but Masis. And\nthirdly, there is no independent Armenian tradition of the flood so\nfar as is known, for it can not be shown that the modern tradition\nis older than the Christian era.\n\nThese facts would be conclusive evidence that Armenian Ararat is\nnot the traditional Ararat of the Old Testament, were it not, first,\nfor the fact that there was in the region of the mountain a province\nof Airarat which in all probability corresponds to the biblical\nArarat. Secondly, the biblical Ararat unquestionably corresponds\nto the Assyrian Urarthu which is the section of country about Lake\nVan and Mount Ararat. So that, although not absolutely conclusive,\nthe Armenian tradition enjoys a very high degree of probability.\n\nIn this connection the legend of the village of Nakhitchevan is worth\nnoting. It is situated just to the north of the mountain on the left\nbank of the Araxes. Armenians believe it to be the place where Noah\nfirst landed, and as proof, the name of the village, which means,\n\"the first place of landing,\" is cited. One might suppose the name to\nhave been given by the Christians after the conversion to Christianity,\nwere it not that Ptolemy places in the same spot a city named Naxuana\nwhich is the exact Greek for the Armenian name. Also Josephus, fifty\nyears before Ptolemy speaks of the place, as quoted by St. Martin:\n\"Les Armeniens appellent ce lieu l'endroit de la descente parce\nque c'est la que l'arche trouva un endroit de salut, et qu'encore\nactuellement les indigenes montrent ses debris.\" [97] Tavernier who\ntraveled through the country along about 1700 speaks of Nakhitchevan as\nthe \"oldest city of the world\" and gives the tradition. [98] But many\nJews, who undoubtedly gave the village its name, lived in Armenia,\nlong before the Christian era.\n\nSituated on a broad plain four or five thousand feet above sea\nlevel, Ararat rises majestic and solitary to a height of 17,000\nfeet. There are no lesser peaks or ranges to destroy the grandeur\nof the effect. Except for its companion, Little Ararat, which rises\nbeside it on a common base to a height of 12,840 feet, it stands\nalone as monarch of the broad plain it surveys. Little Ararat is in\nthe form of a perfect cone, whereas Ararat is broad-shouldered and\ndome-shaped, supported by huge buttresses and capped with snow a\nconsiderable distance down the slope through the entire year. It is\ntruly symbolic of strength and majesty.\n\nSuch is the mountain about which a thousand legends cluster. Marco\nPolo says of the mountain: \"There is an exceeding great mountain\non which it is said the ark of Noah rested, and for this cause\nit is called the mountain of the Ark of Noah.\" In 1254, a little\nbefore Marco Polo's time, a Franciscan friar, William of Rubruck\npassed by the mountain upon which the ark is said to have rested,\nwhich mountain, he said, could not be ascended, though the earnest\nprayers of a pious monk prevailed so far that a piece of the wood\nof the ark was brought to him by an angel, which piece, he said,\nis still preserved in a church near by as a holy relic. He gives\nMasis as the name of the mountain and adds that it is the Mother of\nthe World. According to a Persian tradition it is called \"Cradle of\nthe Human Race.\" Still more interesting is the account by Sir John\nMaundeville, part of which runs as follows: \"Fro Artyroun go men to an\nHille, that is clept Sabisocolle. And there besyde is another Hille,\nthat men clepen Ararathe: but the Jews clepen it Taneez, where Noas\nSchipp rested: and zit is upon that Montayne and men may see it a\nferr in clear wedre: and that Montayne is well a myle high. And sum\nmen seyn that they have seen and touched the Schipp; and put here\nFyngres in the parties where the Feend went out when that Noe seyd\n'Benedicta.' But they that seyn such Wordes seyn here Willie, for a\nman may not gon up the Montayne for gret plenties of Snow that is alle\nweys on that Montayne nouther Somer ne Winter: so that no man may gon\nup there: ne never man did, sithe the time of Noe: Saf a Monk that be\nthe grace of God brought one of the Plankes down, that zit is in the\nMynstre at the foot of the Montayne. And beside is the Cytes of Dayne\nthat Noe founded. And faste by it is the Cytee of Any, in which were\n1000 churches. But upon that Montayne to gon up this monk had gret\ndesir; and so upon a day he went up and when he was the third part\nof the Montayne he was so wery that he mighte not furthere, and so\nhe rested him and felle to slep, and when he awoke he fonde himself\nliggyie at the foot of the Montayne. And then he preyde devoutly to\nGod that he wold vouch saf to suffre him gon up. And an angelle cam\nto him and seyde that he scholde gon up; and so he did. And sithe that\nTime never non. Wherefore men scholde not beleeve such Woordes.\" [99]\n\nThe legend of the monk is usually given in a form which confirms still\nmore the sacredness of the mountain. St. Jacob, as the monk was named,\ntried three successive times to climb the mountain. Each time he fell\nasleep intending to resume his journey the next morning, only to wake\nup finding himself at the same point he had started from the preceding\nday. An angel came to him after the third time, and told him that God\nhad forbidden mortal foot ever to tread on the sacred summit, but that\nhe should be given a fragment of the ark in which mankind had been\npreserved as a reward for his devout perseverance. [100] This treasure\nis still preserved at Etchmiadzin and the saint is commemorated by\nthe little monastery of St. Jacob, which till 1840, when a tremendous\nshaking of the mountain showered the little monastery with rocks of\ndestruction, stood above the valley of Arghuri on the slopes of Ararat.\n\nThe little village of Arghuri, the single village on the mountainside,\nwas the city of Noah's vineyard, and contained a little church which\nis said to hallow the spot where Noah first set up an altar. [101]\nBut this village, too, was completely destroyed by the avalanche of\n1840. Not the slightest trace of it remains, though only three years\nbefore its destruction, Dubois de Montpereux visited the little city\nand described it together with the church of Noah, Noah's vineyard,\nand the monastery of St. Jacob. [102] In the garden of the city were\nplanted pear trees, apple, plum, cherry, apricot, peach, and nut\ntrees. This very garden was the site of the first vine on which the\nold patriarch became drunk, and the inhabitants showed Dubois some\nbits of creepers to prove it. \"Dieu,\" they said, \"pour punir les\nceps qui avaient ainsi entraine le pauvre patriarche dans le peche,\nles condamna a ne plus porter de raisins.\" Naive, yes, but very\nsweetly so. And the church, the people said, marked the place where\nNoah offered his first sacrifice after the deluge. Except for the\ngarden of Arghuri, wrote Dubois, this great mountain was absolutely\ndestitute of verdure; an old stunted willow, wound about with snow and\nice was the only other exception to this. According to the legend,\nit marked the spot where a board of Noah's ark had taken root and\nsprung up into a living tree which the people venerated. One was not\npermitted to take away even the smallest of its feeble branches.\n\nAll of this was blotted out so completely by the shower of falling\nrocks and boulders that it is hard to imagine the places as ever\nhaving existed. The primeval willow, the vineyard, the sacred church,\nand the little monastery of St. Jacob have left not the slightest\ntrace. The bell of the old church is no more heard; the Christian\nservice is not chanted any longer on the sacred mountain of the Ark.\n\nOf the numerous other legends associated with the mountain I shall\nmention only two. One of them regards the summit of the mountain as the\nsite of Chaldean star-worship, and asserts that a pillar with a figure\nof a star stood upon it. [103] According to the same legend, twelve\nwise men stood beside the pillar to watch for the star of the East,\nwhich three of them followed to Bethlehem. The other is in respect\nto the spring situated above the spot where stood the monastery. A\nbird, called by the Armenians tetagush, feeds on the locusts which\nare such a plague to the country, and curiously enough, the bird\nis attracted by the waters of the spring. When the locusts appear,\nthe people carry their bottles to the spring and filling them with\nthe peculiarly charmed water, take them back to their fields where\nthey are placed on the ground to attract the tetagush. The people of\nSyria and Palestine were much in need of tetagush and Ararat spring\nwater during the spring and summer of 1915, for the swarms of locusts\nnot only devoured the crops but also the leaves and barks of the trees.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 2. KHOR-VIRAP AND ERZERUM\n\nOn the bank of the Araxes, in the plain of Armenia, and in full view\nof Ararat are located the monastery of Khor-Virap and the chapel of\nSt. Gregory close beside it. An Armenian inscription is cut in the\nwalls of the portico of the monastery which marks the spot where a\nmonk, Johannes by name, appeared twice after his death saying that he\nhad seen Gregory the Illuminator. The chapel of St. Gregory covers\nthe traditional well into which he was thrown and imprisoned for\nthirteen years by King Tiridates. Dubois descended into a sort of\ntunnel, fifteen or sixteen feet below the pavement of the chapel,\nwhich is part of an old fortress, and was shown the worn stones of\na niche where the saint prayed, as evidence of the thirteen years,\nquite as though other pilgrims who knelt in the same place could\nnot have assisted somewhat the pious work of the saint. [104] The\nspot is only a few steps from the famous temple dedicated to the\nprincipal god of the Armenians, Aramazd, and it seems clear that\nthe pagan king intended to make a sacrifice to his gods in casting\nthe young fanatic into the well. The temple was called Achelichad,\nmeaning \"many sacrifices\" because of the many offerings here given up\nto Aramazd. With the era of Christianity, the name Achelichad gave way\nto the name Khor Virap, meaning dry well. Gregorius Magistros, already\nmentioned, brought the body of the saint from Constantinople and placed\nit in the bottom of the well, where it served to cure sick pilgrims.\n\nThere is a tradition that the Armenian city of Erzerum, not far\nfrom the source of the Euphrates, marks the vicinity of the Garden\nof Eden. The Persian king Khosref Purveez is said to have encamped\nin the neighborhood and to have received a message from the prophet\nMohammed during his sojourn, in which he was offered the protection\nof Islam if he would embrace the faith. But the king spurned the\nproposal and tossed the letter into the Euphrates. Nature, horrified\nat the sacrilege, dried up the flowers and fruits of the ancient\ngarden and even parched up the sources of the river itself. And so\nthe last relic of Eden became waste. [105]\n\nIn the same connection, there is a plaintive Armenian elegy, composed\nin the person of Adam, who, sitting at the gate of paradise and\nbeholding cherubim and seraphim enter the garden, makes the following\ndefence: he did not eat the forbidden fruit until after he had\nwitnessed its fatal effects upon Eve, when, seeing her despoiled of\nall her glory, he was touched with pity and tasted the immortal fruit\nin the hope that the Creator, contemplating both in the same plight\nmight with paternal love take compassion on them. But in vain. \"The\nLord cursed the serpent and Eve,\" pathetically cries Adam, \"and I\nwas enslaved between them.\" The elegy closes most touchingly,--\"When\nye enter Eden, shut not the gate of paradise, but place me standing\nat the gate. I will look in a moment and then bring me back. Ah! I\nremember ye, O flowers and sweet smelling fountains. Ah! I remember\nye, O birds, sweet singing, And ye, O beasts.\" [106]\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nINTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS\n\n\nBecause these legends are for the most part based upon older legends,\nand also because some of them are known only locally, they can not be\nsaid to have played so important a role in Armenian social life as the\nfirst two groups of legends. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose\nthat all of the Ararat legends have merely a local value. Ararat\nis the center of the nation, the grand geographical feature of\nthe country, and many of the beliefs clustered about it are held in\ncommon. In fact there is a very old belief which considers the sacred\nmountain to be the center of the world, and to-day it is the common\npoint of meeting of the boundaries of Russian, Turkish, and Persian\nArmenia. And this is no accident; it is because of the veneration\nin which the mountain is held, and consequently, the realization\nof the importance the mountain gives to any territory in which it\nmay be located. The belief that Ararat is the mountain of the Ark,\nthe legend of Noah's vineyard, and the legend of St. Jacob are very\ncommonly accepted. The primeval willow, the church of Arghuri, the\nlegend, or perhaps one should say, the superstition of the tetagush,\nand the legend of the wise men in search of the star of the East,\nenjoy a more restricted circulation. Furthermore, it is natural to\nsuppose that the legends centered in the destroyed city of Arghuri have\nnot been told as frequently as of old, and are therefore dying out\ngradually, although they seem still to be very much alive. A legend\nor tradition that is objectified in an old willow, in a monastery,\nor in a garden, is likely to die out gradually with the destruction of\nits object. But some of them will never die out, object or no object,\nas for example the legend of the devout monk who tried to gain the\nsummit of Ararat in order to see the holy Ark. There is something in\nhis waking up each successive morning only to find himself at the same\npoint he had started from the preceding day, which will keep its hold,\nwhether there be a monastery erected in his name or not. And if the\nvineyard has been destroyed the people may very soon find another. In\nfact I should be surprised if in traveling through the mountain region\nof Ararat, I was not shown the legendary vineyard. This, however,\nwould more likely be true of a legend that had a commercial value\nto the community because of the frequency of travelers, which could\ncertainly not be said of Ararat legends. The same general valuation\nmay be placed upon the Erzerum legends. A legend of this sort is\nnot believed to be true, unless the legend upon which it is based\nis commonly believed in, and it is certainly safe to suppose that a\nmajority of the Armenian people accept the Old Testament legends. This\nis important, for when a legend is not a matter of implicit belief\nby a people it has little social value. The elegy of Adam can not be\nproperly said to be a legend at all.\n\nThe preceding pages point out certain points of resemblance, and\ncertain points of difference between the two words, legend and\ntradition, which require to be brought out at this point, first,\nbecause of vague and loose current usage, and second, in order to\nestablish my own use of these terms. In the first place they are\nbeliefs, and here lies the secret of their social value. Let them\nbe disbelieved in and they may furnish material for entertaining\nafter-dinner conversation, but they no more have the power of welding\na people together into a nation, a caste, or a sect; they no longer\nhave the power of creating a common sentiment among a large number\nof people or of creating a national consciousness.\n\nAnd in the second place, both the tradition and the legend are passed\non from person to person, and from generation to generation. When a\ntradition is defined as a belief that is handed down orally from father\nto son, it is not at all differentiated from the legend which is also\na belief, and which may also be passed on orally from generation to\ngeneration. Neither does a legend or a tradition change its character\nwhen the meaning is represented by symbols cut in rock, inscribed on\npapyrus, or written on paper. The event of inscription is very often\na part of their history.\n\nBut when it comes to a question of historic value we mark the\nparting of the ways. A tradition, used in the sense with which we\nare concerned here, is always rooted in an indisputable historic\nfact. Consider the traditions of Islam that are centered about\nthe prophet Mohammed. They may have a thousand variations, may have\nembodied falsehood after falsehood in the course of their transmission\nfrom place to place, and from generation to generation, as most of\nthem unquestionably have, but they are traditions, nevertheless,\nbecause they are associated with a character who is an undisputed\nhistoric figure. The refusal of St. Gregory to offer garlands to the\ngoddess Anahit, and his imprisonment in the well during a period of\nthirteen years is a tradition because the belief is associated with\na historic character. Compare this with the beliefs concerning Haic,\nVahakn, Semiramis and Ara, and the distinction is clear, for these\ncharacters are all mythical. Artasches and Artavasd are generally\nrecognized as historical kings, and are so spoken of by Moses. As such\nthe beliefs concerning them should be classed as traditions. However,\nMoses as a historian has been relegated to a secondary position by\nCarriere, who gave the work a critical examination. This would make\nthe beliefs concerning Artasches and Satenik and Artavasd purely\nlegendary, unless further research establishes more reliable sources\nof which we do not know. The first group therefore are legends.\n\nIn regard to the second group of beliefs all having to do with\nthe introduction of Christianity, Bartholomew, Thaddeus, Gregory,\nand Tiridates are unquestionably historic; Rhipsime and Gaiane are\nmythical; the historic authenticity of Abgar is also questionable. We\nshould therefore speak of the legends of Rhipsime, Gaiane and Abgar,\nand of the traditions of Bartholomew, Thaddeus, Gregory, and Tiridates.\n\nThe Ararat and Erzerum group are of course legends with one or two\nexceptions. The belief concerning the scorning of the proposal of\nMohammed by the Persian king who was encamped on the Euphrates as\nexplaining the barrenness of the Garden of Eden certainly has to\ndo with an historic figure, and perhaps two. But it is a legend,\nnevertheless, because both the prophet of Arabia and the Persian king\nare accidental rather than fundamental to the belief. The fundamental\nbasis of belief is the legend of the Garden of Eden. The elegy of Adam\nin explanation of his sinful conduct is neither legend nor tradition,\nand the belief concerning the tetagush and the spring of Ararat is\na superstition. It results in a distinct type of conduct marking it\noff from both tradition and legend.\n\nI have stated my conclusions at various places, and it would be\npointless repetition to summarize them all. I shall therefore sum up\nonly the important ones. The first is that the legends and traditions\nof Part One are an important part of a larger body of Armenian legends,\ntraditions, folk-songs, and folk-lore, and that their social value lies\nin the power they have of creating a national sentiment. This national\nsentiment is the direct result of a social process accomplished through\nthe medium of the traditions, legends, and folk-songs spoken of. An\nanalysis of the national sentiment of ancient Armenia would lead us\nto the conclusion that it was made up of at least three elements:\nfirst, a sentiment of loyalty to the state; secondly, a sentiment\nof reverence amounting almost to worship for the past glory of the\nnation; and thirdly, a sentiment of love for the country.\n\nThe last sentiment is an especially real experience to all\nArmenians. Objectified as it was at first in the vast plains, the\nbroad river valleys, the mountain ranges, or simply in the soil that\nbrought forth its vegetation, it came to be objectified in a spirit\nof independence and in the ideals of freedom and strength. These two\nobjects of the national sentiment of love, the one material, the other\nimmaterial, are not, however, to be dissociated in the social mind,\nas I have dissociated them on paper. They are inseparable, the material\nand the spiritual, and simply do not exist apart from each other. Only\nthe emphasis varies, symbolized in one case by the peasant's kissing\nhis native soil, and in the other by the far-away look toward the\nsummit of some distant mountain. And when this sentiment of love is\nthe most important of those sentiments that go to make up a national\nsentiment, that is, when it dominates all the others, holding them\nin subjection, there has come to be a national self. A continuous\nstream of consciousness envelopes the national self, and inasmuch\nas it implies a highly-organized and well-developed national self,\nnational-self-consciousness is the larger term. It may be objectified\nand examined especially at a time of injustice from without, and even\nat the time of an obvious act of injustice by the state which usually\nresults in civil strife. The latter case is illustrative of how one of\nthe sentiments that make up the national sentiment may be under the\ndomination of another, the sentiment of loyalty to the state being\nsubordinate to the sentiment of love for the country in this case.\n\nThat the national self is organic, i.e., that it is functional, a\nvital, living thing which grows and dies is clearly brought out by\nthe second group of legends considered. This is the second general\nconclusion. The legends and traditions mentioned in this group are\nof course again part of a larger body, all of which have to do with\nthe introduction of Christianity into the country. The important\npoint is that from this larger body of beliefs there resulted a new\nnational sentiment, new because something had come to be incorporated\nwithin it which was not there before. This something was a sentiment\nof loyalty to the church, evidenced in the readiness to uphold and\nprotect the church with all its recognized encumbrances of hierarchies\nand paraphernalia against all foreign intrusion, whether peaceful\nor military in character. With the destruction of the state, this\nsentiment of loyalty to the church largely absorbed the sentiment\nof loyalty to the state. Reverence for the past glory of the nation\nwent on unchanged except in so far as the church intensified it as\na means of intensifying the whole national sentiment.\n\nA loosely organized, heterogeneous group of people can not boast of\na national sentiment, nor of the united action necessary in times\nof national crisis, as when a people go to war. This united action\nis only possible where the diverse sentiments of a more or less\nheterogeneous people have been woven into a national sentiment of the\nkind spoken of. This weaving process, as I have shown, is essentially\na social process, and the materials by means of which it is carried\non are largely such as I have been describing, namely, the legends,\ntraditions, and folk-lore that have somehow grown up among a people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPART TWO\n\nFESTIVALS\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE GREGORIAN CHURCH\n\n\nAs the materials of Part One are part of a larger mass of legends,\ntraditions, and folk-lore, the social value of which lies in their\npower of creating a national or group sentiment, so the festivals\nand ceremonies to be taken up in Part Two are part of a larger mass\nof festivals, ceremonies, and rites whose social value lies in the\nfact that they constitute a necessary vehicle of expression for this\nsame national sentiment. The festivals are a necessary counterpart\nof the legends, as the latter are a necessary counterpart of the\nformer. Activity is one of the most fundamental of nature's laws. The\nsentiment of love for an individual dies eventually in the absence\nof some formal mode of active expression. But be the action ever so\nlittle a thing, such as the laying of flowers upon the grave of the\ndead, the visiting of a shrine, or the sight of some hallowed spot\nof sacred memory, the sentiment is kept alive. To be sure a sentiment\nmay smoulder for a lifetime, even as a national sentiment may slumber\nfor centuries without a mode of expression, and then all of a sudden\nburst forth into a flame, or awaken into life at a mere suggestion from\noutside. Bereft of statehood, the sentiment of loyalty for the state\nhas slumbered for centuries within the breast of the Armenian people,\nbut how often, how too sadly often, has it not suddenly awakened into\nhot, new life only to be pacified into slumber again. But the last\nglow, the little flicker at the end is all that separates the living\nembers from the dead ash.\n\nHow the Armenian church recognized the truth of this by putting\ninto operation a thousand various modes of action in which the new\nnational sentiment that it created has kept itself alive and fresh,\nmay well serve as an object lesson to many another church. She did\nnot make the mistake of imposing an entirely new body of festivals and\nceremonies upon the people; she utilized the past and carried over a\nnumber of pagan festivals absolutely intact, which she clothed with\na new meaning slowly recognized by the people. These form the first\ngroup to be considered. In the course of time she created certain new\nfestivals which constitute the second group. And then she identified\nherself with all of the ceremonies of common life, such as betrothal,\nmarriage, and funeral ceremonies.\n\nIn this way the Armenian church has become absolutely and inseparably\nidentified with the life of the people, and the people in turn\nhave been held together into a nation which has continued to give\nits artists and artisans to the world. [107] What is Armenia? The\nnational Gregorian church; much as Louis XIV, when asked \"What is\nthe state?\" replied, \"I am the state.\" This is unquestionably an\nexaggerated view, but not as much so as might be supposed, since\nthe social life of the people is so completely bound up with the\nchurch. The only betrothal and marriage recognized is that sanctioned\nby the church. Whenever there is a common danger, as has been the\ncase repeatedly during the past twenty years, the people flock to\nthe church for protection. Such secret revolutionary propaganda as\nhas been carried on has been done largely through the church. The\nyoung Armenian who returns from his academic life in Paris, a\nsceptic if not an unbeliever, and certainly opposed to the dogma and\nultra-conservatism of his church, does not alienate himself, for he\nrealizes his utter impotence in any kind of work for his people should\nhe do so. In spite of the division of Armenia into three slices,\nTurkish, Persian, and Russian, the church has retained its hold,\nand if the position of the people as subject to Turkey, Persia,\nand Russia has placed her (the church) at a decided disadvantage in\ncoping with the ever constant influence and propaganda, schools, and\nmissionaries of the Greek, Latin, and Protestant churches, she has not\nat all given in, for the number of Catholic Armenians amounts to only\n3 per cent of the number of orthodox Armenians, while the number of\nProtestant Armenians is only 1 per cent. [108] Considering, as I say,\nthe utter helplessness of the church in combating outside influences,\nthese figures indicate how closely the life of the people is identified\nwith her. Perhaps her very helplessness has been a source of strength.\n\nThese facts together with such little practices as I have mentioned\n(and I might also note the custom of the Armenian peasant of crossing\nhimself daily at the altar of his community church before beginning his\nday of toil) [109] are sufficient to show that the church has been the\nchief means of keeping alive the currents of national life, that it is\na national church, and that it has identified itself with the common\nlife of the people. The festivals and ceremonies which constitute\nthe second part of my paper thus form the vehicle of expression of\nthe national sentiment, and are all connected with the church.\n\nThe participation of the laity in church matters, especially in\nthe election of its officials, is a chief reason for the essential\noneness of church and people. Priests, bishops, and patriarchs,\nwho constitute the three chief grades in the religious hierarchy,\nare chosen by the people. [110] The approval of higher authorities\nis necessary in most cases, but this only slightly detracts from\nthe importance of the role of the people. A married priest is the\nreligious head of every parish, and he is elected either by a direct\nprocess of voting or by a deed of presentation. The religious council\nof the diocese proceeds to examine the ability and qualifications of\nthe candidate, who is ordained if his examination proves successful;\nif unsuccessful, a new candidate must be presented, for a bishop can\nnot of his own initiative ordain a priest. The laity have no voice\nin the election of the celibate priesthood, which is only natural\nsince the celibate priests are not in any way connected with the\nlife of the community. Furthermore, they do not constitute a very\nimportant element, for when Ormanian wrote in 1911, there were only\n400 celibate priests as against 4,000 married priests. [111]\n\nThe married priest is very closely identified with his community. He\nnot only makes a regular practice of visiting the various households\nof the parish, but he is sole confessor of the people. [112] As he\nofficiates at masses and church ceremonies and promotes a general\nparticipation in the festivals, so also no betrothal, marriage,\nbaptism, or funeral can be sanctioned without his presence. He is as\nwell a kind of marriage agency, employment agency, and relief agency,\nacting always of course in cooperation with the council of elders of\nhis parish. A priest called at the home of an Armenian lady I know,\nand remarked casually that he was aware she had a daughter, whom he\nwas very anxious to see, for there were two young men of the community\nwho were very desirous to marry. So the people inform the priest of\ntheir need and the priest does all in his power to help them. He does\nnot receive a regular compensation, being absolutely dependent upon\nthe voluntary offerings of his flock and the voluntary fees received\nfor official services rendered. [113] This works out sometimes to\nhis advantage, but more often not, depending generally on whether\nhis parish is poverty stricken or well-to-do.\n\nThere are several very curious usages practiced by the married\npriest. He is recruited from all classes of society, but more often\nthere is a succession from father to son. [114] The conditions\ndemanded, besides parochial election, are acquaintance with\necclesiastical and liturgical matters, an exemplary life, and the\nconsent of his wife. After his ordination he must fast for forty\ndays. He then prepares himself for his first mass by a life of retreat\nin the church, restricting himself to a vegetable diet for twenty-four\nhours. [115] The wife, who enjoys a certain precedence in society,\nobserves a customary abstinence in the absence of her husband. One week\nor at least three days before the celebration of the mass, he keeps\naway from home, passing the nights within the church. He may engage in\ndomestic or even professional work so long as this does not interfere\nwith the duties of his calling. Should his wife die, he may not marry\nagain unless he lays aside his priestly robe, nor may a priest ever\nmarry a widow. These practices are not dead letters, except that the\ncustom of sojourning within the church for three nights before mass\nhas, in Constantinople at least, been reduced to a single night.\n\nThe bishops are chosen as chiefs of dioceses by the council of the\ndiocese, six sevenths of whose members are laymen, the remainder\nbeing ecclesiastics. [116] The patriarchs, including the Katholikos,\nthe supreme authority of the church whose seat is at Etchmiadzin, the\nreligious center of the nation, are chosen by an electoral assembly\nof the religious heads (bishops or archbishops) and lay deputies who\nare nominated by the dioceses as a whole. [117] The eight members\nof the synod, which is an advisory body to the Katholikos, and the\nseven oldest members of the congregation at Etchmiadzin have equal\nshare in voting. The electoral assembly, so constituted, chooses two\ncandidates, one of whom is selected by the Czar. The Czar, after his\nselection is made, sends a deputy to meet the successful candidate,\nwho is decorated and escorted with due ceremony to Etchmiadzin where he\nis officially ordained. There are only two patriarchates besides the\nsee of Etchmiadzin, i.e., those of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The\ncorresponding patriarchs are likewise chosen by a national assembly,\nsix sevenths of whose members belong to the laity. The patriarchs\nof both Jerusalem and of Constantinople acknowledge the supremacy\nof the Katholikos of Etchmiadzin, who is thus head of the church,\nthough not infallible.\n\nThe site of Etchmiadzin is the old capital city, Vagharshapat, the\nruins of which are all but washed away; and it marks the spot where\nSt. Gregory in his vision saw the descent of Jesus Christ. Etchmiadzin\nmeans, \"Descent of the Only Begotten.\" The particular spot is\ncommemorated by the central altar of the Cathedral, which is the chief\nchurch of the nation. This Cathedral is situated in the center of a\nhuge court bounded in the form of a large rectangle by the cells of\nthe monks, the long refectory building, the library, the theological\nseminary, and the residence of the Katholikos. Outside this rectangle\nare ranged buildings and open spaces, including the garden of the\nKatholikos, the court for pilgrims, the printing establishment, and\ndwellings for various uses, all of which is bounded by a huge wall\nin the form of a still larger rectangle about 1,000 feet in length\nand 700 feet in width. [118] The chapels of the martyrs are some\ndistance from the monastery, the church of St. Gaiane, commemorating\nthe spot of her martyrdom, being about one fourth of a mile distant,\nwhile the church of St. Rhipsime, which likewise honors the spot of\nRhipsime's martyrdom, is about three fourths of a mile distant. The\nbuildings now standing can hardly be those built by the saint. [119]\n\nEtchmiadzin has been for many years a place of pilgrimage for the\nfaithful. There is not only the sacred Cathedral where Jesus Christ is\nbelieved to have appeared; there is also the chamber of holy relics\nin the rear of the Cathedral which is perhaps the chief attraction\nand glory of the place. The most important of the relics here kept\nis a hand of St. Gregory, or rather right arm, \"atch,\" as it is\ncalled, now preserved in a silver case, and which was considered at\none time to be a necessary appanage of the patriarchal dignity. The\npoor hand of the saint has been the cause of many peregrinations in\nconsequence. [120] One patriarch seized it and carried it off with him\nin order to justify his claims. Another restole it and brought it back\nto Etchmiadzin, while others have pretended possession of the holy\n\"atch,\" in order to make good their claims. It was with this relic\nas well as with the holy chrism that consecrations were performed,\nwhich made possession of it a necessary condition of the patriarchal\nauthority. Another much revered relic is the fragment of the ark,\nwhich the angel who appeared to St. Jacob gave to him as a reward for\nhis perseverance in attempting so impossible a task as the climbing\nof Ararat. Still another is the head of the \"holy spear\" which was\nthrust into the side of Christ by the Roman soldier at Golgotha. [121]\nThere are others of lesser importance, some of which are believed to\npossess the power of effecting cures.\n\nSuch in brief are the broader and more important facts relating to the\nchurch, which has thus come to sanction the festivals and ceremonies\nthat make up the second part of this thesis. These, as I have said,\nnaturally divide themselves into three groups, first those that\nhave been taken over bodily from the past; second, new festivals and\nceremonies created by the church; and third the ceremonies of common\nlife with which the church has identified itself. In the first group\nare included the midsummer festival of Vartavar, the spring festival,\nthe festival in commemoration of the dead, Fortune-Telling Day, and\nthe festival of Vartan's Day. All except the last have their origin\nin pagan festivals; each one has been taken over by the church and\nmade its own.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nPAGAN FOLK FESTIVALS\n\n\nSECTION 1. VARTAVAR AND THE FESTIVAL OF MIHR\n\nVartavar, meaning \"flaming of the rose,\" was celebrated in pagan\ntimes in honor of Anahit, goddess of chastity, at midsummer. The\ncentral act of the festival was the offering of a dove and a rose to\nher golden image. With the introduction of Christianity the temple\nand the image were destroyed, and it may be noted that upon the site\nof the Temple of Anahit in Vagharshapat was built the Cathedral of\nEtchmiadzin. This would lead to the strange conclusion that in the\nvision of St. Gregory, Jesus Christ descended upon a pagan temple. The\nfact seems to be that this marvelous vision was seen by a pious monk\nwho published a life of St. Gregory some two or three centuries after\nthe Illuminator's death. [122] But the festival became the \"Festival\nof the Transfiguration of Christ,\" although the name Vartavar still\nremains, and doves are still set flying. [123]\n\nThe festival is celebrated differently in various places. Upon the\nmountains of Armenia every family brings a sheep for sacrifice, adorned\nwith colored papers and pigments, and as the sheep approach the shrine,\nlighted candles are fixed upon their horns. [124] Sheaves of grain,\nfruit, flowers, and doves are also brought as sacrifices, while dust\nfrom beside the altar is carried home to children as a talisman to\nhelp them to learn their A B C's. In the absence of a church on the\nmountainside, which is usually the case, a large white tent with\ncrosses is put up beside some sacred spring, with which the country\nabounds. The spring is necessary, for on this day the people amuse\nthemselves by throwing water upon each other. For this reason the day\nis often called Armenian Water Day. After the doves are set flying,\nthe priest sprinkles the people, and they in turn sprinkle water over\neach other. This practice probably dates to the legend of the deluge,\nthe Universal Baptism with which God cleansed His sinful earth. The\ndove and the baptism are also suggestive of the baptism of Jesus by\nJohn in the waters of Jordan. This part of the festival is probably\nan addition to the pagan rite, for the sprinkling of the water is\nsymbolic of love and forgiveness; it is carried on with much laughing\nand merry-making. The festival includes also a kind of fair, for the\npeople have to show what progress they have made during the year in\nart and the various handicrafts. Races, competitions, and games are\nheld, and the victors are crowned with wreaths of roses, so that even\nthe rose continues to have an important place in the festivities as\nit had in pagan days. The sprinkling of water, the games, the races,\nshow how happy a time the people must have on this day; the exhibition\nof the year's accomplishment in handicraft and art points out the more\nserious side; while the essential religious symbolism is very clearly\nemphasized. What may also be noted is that there is entertainment for\nall, old and young, serious and frivolous. The pious-minded may sit\non the mountainside contemplating the religious aspect of it all;\nthe gay and light-hearted may sprinkle water over each other; the\nyoung and strong may run races and play games; men and women of a\npractical turn of mind may visit the fair and note the progress made\nduring the year; and children may roll about on the mountainsides or\ngather roses, for these are in full bloom at this time.\n\nThe pagan spring festival in honor of Mihr, the god of fire, was taken\nover by the church to commemorate the bringing of the Babe Jesus to\nthe temple, where Mary sacrificed two doves according to the custom\nof purification. [125] The ancient rite consisted of kindling fires\nin the open market places in honor of the god Mihr, and of lighting\na lantern from one of the newly kindled fires, which was kept burning\nin the temple throughout the year. As now celebrated, on February 26,\nevery young man who has been married within the year brings a load\nof aromatic shrubs, making a huge pile of them in the yard of the\nchurch. A religious service is held in the open air at evening-time,\nafter which the priest sets fire to the pile. All the villagers, men,\nwomen, and children, dance about the fire, while boys and young men\nshow their agility and courage by leaping over it. When the flames\ndie down, each person carries home a glowing brand and places it on\nthe hearthstone for good luck.\n\nThe description of the festival by Abeghian shows how a general\ncelebration of this kind varies in particulars from place to\nplace. [126] On the afternoon of the 13th of February, [127] which\nis the day before the church festival of the purification, a pile of\nwood consisting usually of thorn-wood, cane, and straw is gathered\ntogether in the churchyard. The entire community comes together in\nthe church on the night of the same day, each person provided with\na candle. After the vespers all stand about the pile of shrub and\nwood, the newly married during the year making the first row. The\ncandles are lighted from the church light, and after the priest has\nblessed the pile, it is set ablaze from all sides, after which the\ncandles are put out. As soon as the fire has died down, the candles\nare relighted from the glowing embers which are regarded as sacred,\nand carried home where they are used to light a pile of shrub and wood\nthat has been gathered on the roof of the house. The young people jump\nover the fire while the young women and married women march around\nit saying, \"May it not itch me, and may I not receive any scabs,\"\ntaking care just to singe the border of their dresses. The ashes,\nas well as the half-burned wood-stuffs are preserved, or scattered\nin the four corners of the barn, over the fields or in the garden,\nfor the ashes and flames of the firebrands are believed to protect\npeople and cattle from sickness and the fruit trees from worms and\ncaterpillars. In the homes of the newly married the festival is\ncelebrated with music and dance, the young couples especially making\nit a point to dance about the sacred flames, while in some places\nspecial food is prepared in honor of the occasion.\n\nVarious prophesies are made during the festival, for example, if the\nflame and smoke blows to the east, it is a sign of a good harvest\nfor the coming year, if toward the west, a bad growth is expected.\n\nIn recent years the religious authorities at Etchmiadzin printed the\nfollowing prohibition in the church calendar: \"It is forbidden to run\nabout the fire.\" But the festival is celebrated nevertheless. [128]\nThat it originates in the pagan festival held in honor of Mihr there\nis little doubt, for the month of February corresponds to the ancient\nArmenian month Mehakan, which, translated into modern Armenian,\nMihragan, means belonging to Mihr, or more loosely, the Festival\nof Mihr.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 2. THE DAY OF THE DEAD AND VARTAN'S DAY\n\nThe festival in commemoration of the dead is celebrated on the first\nday after Easter, and may be regarded as a reaction against the\nlenten fasts. Families of Armenians, loaded with picnic baskets,\npackages of food, and bottles of wine, flock to their cemeteries\nin great numbers. Priests are paid small fees for standing over\nthe graves of the dead to chant prayers for the salvation of the\ndeparted souls. Over the graves of the recently dead stand the\nbereaved relatives of the deceased, lamenting loudly and bewailing\na fate which they know must some day be their own. A more maudlin\nspectacle could not be imagined. Here and there are seated groups\nof families eating and drinking and laughing all the more heartily\nfor the enforced abstinence of the preceding weeks; while standing\nbeside this grave or that is a priest in black robe and high hat,\nchanting a prayer for the dead, and incidentally earning his daily\nbread. Eating seems to be the chief amusement; even the mourners eat\nafter they have faithfully mourned, and the priests too come in for\ntheir shares after all possible fees have been earned. Altogether it\nis a post-lenten festival in the full meaning of the term, and much\nin contrast to the wholesome enjoyment and the light-hearted gaiety so\ncharacteristic of Vartavar. It has been witnessed in Constantinople by\nArmenians I know, who have given accounts to me. Whether or not it is\ncarried out in this manner in the villages and rural districts I am not\naware, but I should be very much surprised to learn that it was, for I\nshould certainly regard the festival in this form as a product of the\nartificiality of city life. In the absence of wholesome amusements and\nof the community solidarity characteristic of the Armenian village,\ncontact with city-bred folk would inevitably result in a shift of\nstandards of judgment and valuation, together with a break-up in\nold habits of thought and life; and as the people have no common\nplay-ground, so to speak, except the poor denuded cemetery allotted\nthem by the Turkish government, one can well excuse the ugliness of\nthe spectacle. The Armenian has Vartavar, a real festival, and need\nnot look with shame upon this festival in commemoration of the dead.\n\nThis same offering of sacrifice for the dead is carried on in a\nvariety of ways. In Armenian villages the family of the deceased\nprepares a lamb or a kid with rice, and on the day of the funeral\npieces of it are given to the attendants; given, as they say, and\ntaken, in sacrifice for the dead. The practice in Constantinople is\nsomewhat different, although the idea is exactly the same. Forty days\nafter the death of an individual, or perhaps on the anniversary of\nthe death, the bereaved family prepares a lamb or a kid with rice,\nwhich is distributed to the people in small pots, and given, as they\nsay, in sacrifice for the dead. The Greek custom in this respect is\nmost absurd. At the head of the casket, which is left open, two men\nmarch in the funeral procession carrying a wide tray filled with boiled\nwheat and sugar, and trailing a piece of black crape. After the burial\nthis is distributed to the mourners in handfuls, again in sacrifice\nfor the dead. Libations set aside and poured out in Roman days are\nillustrative of the same thing. That these practices are not Christian\nbut distinct survivals of pagan festivals and customs is very clear.\n\nThe above conclusions, namely, first that the festival as I\ndescribed it is an aberration of city life, and second, that although\nidentified with the church it is distinctly pagan in character, are\nborne out by Abeghian, whose material, as an Armenian who for many\nyears lived in the little Armenian village of Astapat, is distinctly\nfirst-hand. [129] Worship of the deceased, he says, begins immediately\nafter death. Each departed soul, and especially those of elderly\npeople, requires particular honor on the first day after death, and\nduring the ensuing year. It is for this reason a great misfortune for\nan Armenian peasant not to have a child. A still greater misfortune,\nhowever, it is to die in a strange land where there are none to care\nfor the departed soul. That a curious evolution has taken place in\nthese requirements is very clear. In the beginning, satisfactions\nof a material kind were required, something to eat and to drink, and\naccordingly the custom arose of placing bread upon the heart of the\ndead, or sanctified bread in the cavity of the mouth and incense in\nthe nostrils. Then there arose the idea of facilitating the journey\nof the departed into the beyond, and of making the future life\nof the soul a happier one. For example, Armenians generally bathe\nthe bodies of their dead in blessed water, and wash the clothes of\nthe deceased on the day following burial for the purification of\nthe soul so that it may arrive spotless at its destination. Since\nthe soul has been cleansed of all sin through the symbolic washing\nof the body and clothes, no more covering is required for the body\nthan a large white cloth. No other color is permissible. Should the\ndeceased be more than ten years of age, candles or oil lamps are\nburned during eight days over the spot where the body was bathed\nin order to lighten the way of the soul into the beyond. According\nto old beliefs, the destination of the departed soul is a place of\ndarkness, and hence two candles are placed in the hands of the dead\nimmediately after the bath in order that he may recognize his friends\nand relatives in the world beyond. At frequent intervals during the\nfirst year, food and drink are brought to the cemetery, and placed\nupon the grave. There is weeping, eating, and drinking at these times,\nand what food is left over is always placed over the grave.\n\nThe souls of the righteous are thought of as luminous, the wicked as\nblack. Accordingly the blessed are called \"spirits of light.\" [130]\nIn order to possess a bright soul one must have performed good works,\nof which giving alms to the poor is considered the most important. Such\nspirits are also called \"generous,\" \"charitable.\" It is a current\nbelief that the blackened souls become brighter through the good works\nof descendants, as well as through their prayers. Offspring are thus\nespecially desirable, and the old Armenian liturgy, the Maschtotz\nprepared by St. Mesrob, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet in\nthe fifth century, contains innumerable prayers for the dead. [131]\nThe prayers are short and their power is relative to the frequency\nof repetition rather than to the length. Some sort of short prayer\nis repeated with every thought of the dead, as for example, \"May God\nhave mercy upon his soul\"; \"May his soul become lightened\"; or only\n\"The illuminated soul.\"\n\nSeveral days of the year are set apart for particular remembrance\nof the dead. [132] At these times the departed spirits are supposed\nto come down from heaven and to roam about the vicinity of their\ngraves or in the homes of their relatives. On the eve of these\ndays it is necessary to do honor to their memory with incense and\ncandles, which are regarded as offerings. The odor of the incense\nis especially pleasant to spirits, for the incense-tree also blooms\nin paradise. [133] Saturday night is very commonly devoted to such\nintercession and worship. Incense is burned upon the hearth while\nprayers are repeated, or a flame is ignited upon a plate which is\ncarried into all the corners of the house, or barn, or wherever it\nis believed the departed spirit may be wandering. In some places it\nis customary to maintain the \"light of the dead\" throughout the night\nin order that the spirits may enter the house. If they find the house\ndark in looking through the roof window, they make away, cursing. Water\nis not drunk in the dark during these nights, for it is believed that\nto do so would be to take it away from the thirsty spirits of the dead.\n\nOn the Day of the Dead the spirits are especially honored, for they\nlove most to wander in the neighborhood of their graves. People\nactually feel themselves to be among the souls of the dead on this\ncelebration day. The latter are very happy to be thought of, and\nare especially glad to have their graves blessed by the priests. But\nto please them most one must bring wood and incense and leave it to\nbe burned over their graves. Three days the spirits remain upon the\nearth, after which they return to heaven, their visit having been duly\nhonored. If they come to find themselves forgotten, they curse their\nrelatives and fly away in despair. Occasionally they come down to be of\nservice; especially is this true of the dead father and his living son,\nfor the former is especially remembered, and his grave is regarded\nas holy. Armenians swear by the graves, or by the spirits of their\nfathers, and call upon them for help in time of especial need. [134]\n\nTavernier described the same festival in his Voyages and noticed that\nit was considered the greatest infamy to eat with a \"Mordischou,\"\nthe person who washed the dead. [135] No single festival and group of\nrelevant beliefs is more instructive in showing how much of Armenian\nfolk-belief and custom is the survival of paganism.\n\nThere is yet another festival of this group, which, however, is not to\nbe traced to paganism, and it would be a mistake to suppose that the\nchurch is connected with it in the same way and to the same extent\nas it is with the first three festivals considered. The festival is\ncalled Vartan's Day, and although the church sanctions the festival\nand sets apart a day for the celebration, it comes about as near being\napart from the church as any single festival. Vartan was the general\nof the Armenian army defeated at the battle of Avarair, spoken of in\nPart One, by the Persian fire-worshippers who endeavored to impose\ntheir religion upon the Armenians at a time when part of Armenia\nwas under the domination of Persia, and the remainder tributary to\nRome. But though defeated in battle, the moral victory, as people\nnow use the term, was Armenian, for the battle proved the utter\nfailure of the Persians to convert the Armenian people to their\nreligion. [136] Vartan saved the nation for Gregorian Christianity,\nand it is significant that the people look upon Vartan as saviour of\nthe nation rather than as saviour of their religion, showing how the\nreligion was and still is identified with the nation.\n\nIt is in his honor that the people hold a festival on the anniversary\nday of the battle of Avarair. School children sing songs and\nwreath Vartan's picture with red flowers. The belief is that this\npeculiar kind of red flower sprang up from the blood of the Christian\narmy. Recitations and national patriotic plays are given, and as the\nchildren participate in singing songs, reciting pieces, and rendering\nplays, the older people participate in attending them. [137]\n\nBesides the belief of the red flower there are numerous other beliefs\nhallowed by the day. Nightingales that fly over the battlefield are\nsupposed to sing \"Vartan, Vartan,\" and there is a species of antelope\nwith a pouch of fragrant musk under its throat which is said to have\nacquired its fragrance by browsing on herbage wet with the blood of\nArmenian heroes. [138]\n\nAltogether it is the kind of festival to give expression to the\nsentiment I have spoken of as love for the country, for its mountains,\nrivers, and valleys, and for its ideals of freedom, independence,\nand strength. In the presence of the state the festival probably\nwould be utilized to foster and give expression to the sentiment of\nloyalty to the state. There would be specially chosen speakers to talk\nof patriotism, waving of banners, and carefully designed methods of\ninstilling hatred for a real or supposed enemy, much as French school\nchildren have been taught to hate Englishmen. But in the absence of\nthe state, the sentiment expressed must be a purer sentiment, loftier\nand freer, and one can not but regret that Vartan's Day and similar\nfestivals have been suppressed by the Turkish government. And yet,\none could not reasonably expect otherwise.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 3. FORTUNE-TELLING DAY\n\nMost charming and most picturesque of festivals is that participated\nin by the romantic Armenian maidens on the early dawn of Ascension\nDay. [139] On the eve of the same day the young girls who wish their\nfortunes told, decorate a large bowl with specially selected flowers,\nafter which each girl casts a token, a ring, a brooch, a thimble,\ninto the bowl. Flowers of several kinds are then put in, and the\nbowl is filled with water drawn from seven springs. Then they cover\nit with an embroidered cloth and take it by night to the priest who\nsays a prayer over it. The most carefully and daintily prepared bowl\nis then placed out in the moonlight, open to the stars where it is\nleft until dawn. At early daybreak of the next morning, the maidens,\nfurnished with provisions for the entire day, go out of the village\ncarrying their bowl to the side of a spring, the foot of a mountain,\nor into an open field, gathering on the way various kinds of flowers\nwith which they deck themselves. Having arrived at their place of\nfestival, they play games, dance, and sing, after which they take\na beautiful little girl, too young to tell where the sun rises,\nwho has been previously chosen and gaily dressed for the occasion,\nto draw the various articles out of the bowl. The face of the child\nis covered with a richly wrought veil that she may not see what is\nin the bowl, and she then proceeds to withdraw the articles which\nshe holds in her hand one at a time. While this is done some one of\nthe party recites a charm song, and the owner of each token takes\nthe song which accompanies it as her fortune. There are thousands\nof these charm songs, most of which have been written especially for\nthe festival, of which I shall give but a few.\n\n\n                      1.\n\n        Snowless hang the clouds to-night,\n        Through the darkness comes a light;\n            On this lonely pillow now,\n        Never more shall sleep alight.\n\n                      2.\n\n        Like a star whose brightness grows\n        On the earth my beauty shows;\n            Thou shalt long for yet, and seek\n        My dark eyes and arching brows.\n\n                      3.\n\n        Long and lone this night to me\n        Passing slow and wearily;\n            Passing full of sighs and tears--\n        Love, what doth it bring to thee?\n\n                      4.\n\n        Eden's smile my vineyard wore,\n        Flowers bloomed, a goodly store;\n            Handsome youth and ugly maid--\n        This was never seen before! [140]\n\n\nThus each one carries its bit of prophesy, daintily and prettily\nexpressed, which when sung at the foot of some mountain, in the bright\neastern sunlight of the morning, while a little child is holding\ntokens beside a bowl surrounded by the group of beflowered maidens,\nmakes as complete and charming a picture as one could well imagine.\n\nMany curious beliefs, superstitions, customs, and legends are\ndirectly related to Ascension Day. It is believed, for example,\nthat on the eve of this day the water of the springs, brooks,\nand rivers lies peacefully motionless for a single moment during\nthe night. At the same moment heaven and earth, mountain and stone,\ntrees and flowers beckon and congratulate one another. First heaven\ncongratulates and kisses the earth, then one star beckons to another,\none flower to another, and so forth until all of nature's objects\nhave expressed their mutual good feeling. Even plants and \"soulless\"\nobjects receive the gift of speech and share their secrets one with\nthe other at this time. He who hides himself in a stone crevice of the\nmountainside may listen to the conversation of stones and flowers,\nand understand what they tell each other. They tell on this night\nwhat sort of sicknesses they and the springs will heal, and many\npeople endeavor to attend at this moment, but only a few succeed. [141]\n\nAt midnight the waters are believed to have the power of healing, and\npeople bathe themselves in the streams. As the children are not to be\ntroubled during the night, water is warmed for them the next morning,\nbits of grass are thrown in and the children are bathed. During the\nmagic moment the door of the cavern of \"Maher,\" the revered hero god\nwho dwells upon earth, is opened: and one may enter to see him, his\nsteed, and the \"wheel of the starred heavens\" or the wheel of fate. In\none of the national epics (David of Sassun) Maher is represented\nas the strongest of the heroes, and is supposed to dwell in a rocky\ncave in the vicinity of Van [142] (probably the rock of Van). In this\ncave all of the world's riches are heaped up, and the \"wheel of the\nworld,\" the wheel of fate which constantly turns assigning to people\ntheir destinies, stands there. Maher looks continually at the wheel\nand if it should stand still, he comes out of his cavern to ravage\nthe world. The door of the cave is made of stone and covered with\ncuneiform inscriptions. It is locked during the entire year except\nfor the night of the ascension of Christ, when it is opened during\nthe single magic moment. Whosoever perceives this moment may step\ninto the cave and take as much gold as he pleases. The idea of the\n\"wheel of fortune\" is considerably extant, although it is not always\nunderstood as separated from heaven and connected with Maher. [143]\nThat the idea of fate or of fortune is generally associated with the\nday, not only by romantic maidens, but by the people, is very evident.\n\nThe flowing waters are believed to change into gold during the silent\nminute, and if one places an object in the water and wishes at the\nsame time that it become gold, the object turns to gold. Accordingly\nthe young men and women go to the springs and rivers in order to\ndraw water, trusting their fates that they may select the happy\nmoment. Superstitions and magic are not lacking, for while one member\nof a party seats himself upon a pair of fire-tongs in the fashion\nof a rider, another performs likewise upon a long-handled spit. The\niron tools are also regarded as a necessary protection against the\ncalls that one hears behind after the water has been drawn, for if one\nshould look back perchance, he would surely fall under the influence\nof the evil spirits. The oldest of the party carries a gourd flask\nfull of wheat and barley, which is poured into the stream towards\nmidnight with the words \"I give you wheat and barley; you give me\neverything that is good.\" Thereupon he fills the gourd flask with\nwater, and the party hurries homeward to discover the gold. [144]\n\nThe fortune-telling festival is given by Abeghian as he observed it in\nhis home village, and I shall give a free translation of his account\nat this point because of a few interesting variations. In Astapet,\nthe festival is called the \"Festival of the Mother of Flowers.\" On the\nday before Ascension Day the girls and young women of the village\ndivide themselves into two groups, one to gather special sorts\nof flowers from the mountainside, while the other goes to \"steal\"\nwater from seven springs, or seven rivers. The \"thieves\" must not\nsee each other, nor must the people of the village know aught of what\nis happening. Having filled their vessels with water, each throws a\nstone into the spring and then they turn back, taking care neither\nto look about, to set down their vessels, nor to talk. They imagine\nthat the mountains, the valleys, trees, and meadows call out behind\nthem and if they should turn about they would be turned to stone. [145]\n\nAt night of the same day the \"water thieves\" and flower gatherers meet\ntogether in a garden to prepare the \"Havgir\" or magic bowl in which\nis poured the water from the seven springs, and in which seven stones\nfrom the seven sources, together with leaves of the gathered flowers\nare dropped. Each one who wishes her fortune told now throws in a charm\ntoken, such as mentioned before. Those who are not present send their\ntokens in order to have them thrown into the \"Havgir\" by others. The\nbowl is then adorned with flowers, after which the \"Vicak\" meaning\ndestiny or fate, is prepared. This consists of two pieces of wood tied\ntogether in the form of a cross, which is dressed and adorned with\njewels and pearls to make it appear as a newly-married doll-bride. The\n\"Vicak\" is fastened to the \"Havgir,\" and both are placed under the\nstars, in order that these who are the real destinies, may work the\nproper magic upon the charm tokens. [146] A few girls guard it during\nthe whole night against the young men who try to steal it.\n\nEarly the next morning the maidens gather together in the garden\nladen with food baskets and prepared to make a day of it. The \"Havgir\"\nand strangely fashioned \"Vicak\" are carried to a nearby spring, the\nyoung girls decking themselves with flowers as they go. The spring\nis decorated about with flowers, green leaves, and branches, and the\n\"Havgir\" is placed in the middle, and then after they have prepared\neverything and eaten, the oldest among them takes the \"Vicak,\" kisses\nit, gives it to another, who does likewise, and so it passes from\nhand to hand. Finally a seven-year-old girl receives it. She sets\nherself in the middle of the group and holds the \"Vicak\" while the\n\"Havgir\" stands before her. The little girl is called \"bride,\" is the\ninterpreter of the \"Vicak\" and is specially selected and dressed for\nthe occasion. When she has received the \"Vicak\" a red veil is passed\nover both, and all is ready for the central event of the festival. A\ncharm song is sung by the group, and after each stanza the \"bride\"\ndraws a token from the vessel. The preceding verse reveals the fate\nof the one to whom the token belongs. [147]\n\nThe fortune-telling festival of Ascension morning stands quite\nalone. Bodeful of the future and suggestive of the past, it can\nnot but have a serious tenor, for there are maidens whose lovers\nhave not been born, as there are also sadder ones. Perhaps they do\nnot take their verses very seriously. Whether they do or not there\nis always the charm of sunrise colors, and the out-of-doors that\nmakes it as beautiful as it is romantic. The best of the future,\ntheir brightest hope, the best of the present, warmth of sunshine\nand color, and the best of the past, their golden dreams of youth,\nare brought together on this day and given a common expression in a\nway that must charm them as it charms the observer. Festivals to be\nperfect festivals must be out-of-doors and the day must be bright.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nCHRISTIAN FOLK FESTIVALS\n\n\nThe second group of festivals comprises those newly created by the\nchurch, such as the Blessing of the Grapes, New Year, Easter, and\nChristmas. I wish also to include in this group a few of the peculiarly\ncharacteristic church ceremonies which also have a distinct festival\nvalue for the people, i.e., the ceremony of the \"Washing of Feet\"\non Maundy Thursday, \"Khatchanguist\" or the \"Blessing of Water,\" the\nconsecration of the Katholikos, and the manufacture of the \"holy oil.\"\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 1. CHRISTMAS, EASTER, AND NEW YEAR\n\nThe service of the church on any one of the festival days is\nexclusively connected with the divine mystery, so called. These include\nthe Assumption, or Immaculate Conception, celebrated by the people\nin the festival \"the Blessing of the Grapes\"; the miraculous birth,\nwhich corresponds to the Christmas festival; the Transfiguration,\nor the folk-festival Vartavar; the Redemption, to which the Easter\nfestival corresponds; and the Resurrection, including Ascension or\nFortune-Telling Day. There are other festivals celebrated by the\nchurch, such as the festival of the Holy Cross, and of the Holy\nChurch, which I omit because there is not a corresponding social\nexpression. Grand mass is said at the church, and the particular\npassages of scripture that have a direct bearing on the occasion\nare read. The Armenian calendar is curious in that many of the\nfestivals occupy a succession of days; there are, for example,\n39 days for the Resurrection, 3 days for the Transfiguration, 10\ndays for the Ascension, etc., which make up a grand total of 136\ndays in the year to which festivals are assigned. As there are 160\ndays devoted to abstinence, 117 of which are liturgical abstinence,\nthat is, days of penitence mentioned in the liturgy, there are left\nonly 112 days for the commemoration of saints, which have necessarily\nto be grouped together, since there are more than 112 saints. [148]\nBecause, therefore, of the continuity of festival days, one could not\nexpect any one of the festivals to have any social value from the\nstandpoint of the church service. But there is never any conflict\nbetween the services of the church and the festivities without,\nwhich are thus sanctioned by the church and in many cases directed\nand carried out by church officials. It has been noticed that the\nblessing of the priest was secured for the magic bowl, before it was\nplaced underneath the stars on the eve of Ascension Day.\n\nThe festival of the Virgin Mary, or the \"Blessing of the Grapes,\"\nis more actively participated in by the church. It may be designed\nto keep the people from eating green grapes, but more probably was\nintended to give a social expression to an otherwise dull and very\nmonotonous church ceremony. The people are all expected to maintain\na strict abstinence from eating grapes until the middle of August,\nthe day set apart for the festival. The grapes are then gathered\nin great quantities, some of which are carried to the church and\nplaced on a large tray, which is set at the foot of the altar. After\nthe ceremony of the church, the priest turns to the tray of grapes\nbefore him, which he blesses with his cross. The tray is then taken\nto the door of the church, where each member of the congregation is\ngiven a bunch as he passes out. The fast is thus broken with the\ntaste of \"blessed grapes,\" and there is no end of grape eating on\nthat day. During the remainder of the day every woman named Mary,\nor named with a possible attribute of the Virgin Mary, as \"Kudsa,\"\nmeaning \"saintly,\" or \"Dirouhi,\" meaning \"Mother of the Lord,\"\nkeeps open house for the friends who drop in to eat grapes and to\ncongratulate her. In rural places or villages where vineyards are\nabundant, social groups may be seen eating grapes from the vines\nwhile talking or playing as they are inclined. Grapes ripen earlier\nin some parts of Armenia than in others, and where this is true the\nfestival is merged with the festival of Vartavar. [149]\n\nFor the festival of New Year's Eve no religious cooperation whatever\nis necessary; it comes as near to being distinct from the church as\nany of the Armenian festivals. The preparation consists largely in\nmaking or purchasing gifts for the various members of the family,\nin cracking bowls of nuts and getting all kinds of dried fruits\nready. Armenian and Greek New Year's Eve fall on the same night,\nand in Constantinople there is much agitation and animation in the\nstreets. Singing and music fill the air, and as soon as dusk falls,\ngroups of boys, some carrying small lanterns, others provided with\ntom-toms or hand-organs, begin the circuit of the streets. Thus they\ngo from house to house singing the New Year's song and playing their\nhand-organs, receiving pennies as they go. After the boys have passed\nalong, the porters, watchmen, and firemen make a noisy procession down\nthe streets, they too playing hand-organs and stopping at one house\nafter another where they receive a drink, some sweets and nuts, and\nmost important of all, a tip. As midnight approaches, the excitement\nincreases; the pounding of the tom-toms becomes unbearable, all the\norgans of the neighborhood are making music, and there is such a\nnoise of singing, shouting, and laughing as can be compared only to\na night of political election. Inside the homes of the better-to-do,\nthe children are put to bed for a time while the enormous New Year's\ntable is set. Besides several specially prepared New Year's dishes,\nevery home must be provided with a dish of every kind of fruit, dried\nor fresh. Small candles are stuck around the plates, and the presents\nare heaped up on a side table. At midnight the candles are all lit,\nand the family ranges itself around the table while the eldest, usually\nthe grandmother, blesses all and prays. After the prayer she wishes\nto all the best things for the coming year, for the young ladies good\nhusbands, for the young men prosperity and good wives, happiness for\nthe little children, and comfort and health for the older ones. These\nwishes having been given, all kiss the hands of the older members of\nthe family, after which the children kiss each others' hands. The\npresents are exchanged; fruits, candies, and nuts are partaken of,\nand the fun goes on until dawn. [150] In the interior of Armenia,\ntwo elders of the church go from door to door of the more fortunate\nones on the day before New Year, carrying bags which they fill with\nthe offerings received at every house. These are carefully parceled\nout and at dusk are left at the doors of poor families who would\notherwise have no New Year's cheer.\n\nThe church makes up amply in the Easter festival for any lack of\nparticipation at New Year. Forty-eight days of rigid lenten abstinence,\nduring which time no meat is eaten, precede the festivities of Easter\nDay. The first two or three days of the Holy Week are given over to\nhousecleaning, which however must be finished by Thursday in order\nthat the people may attend the ceremonies at church which continue\nuntil Easter Day. On Thursday afternoon \"the Washing of the Feet,\"\nto be described later, commences, and the service continues until past\nmidnight. On Saturday all go to the bath, which is made an essential\npart of the week's celebrations, and on the afternoon of the same day\nthe real Easter service, called the Lighting of the Lights, begins. The\nchurch is first illuminated on Easter Eve, for on the three preceding\ndays of mourning and sorrow the altar shrine is kept closed and no\ncandles are lit. Even the congregation holds lighted wax candles while\nthe triumphal songs are chanted by the robed choir of little boys.\n\nAt the evening meal of the day before Easter the lenten fast is partly\nbroken by eating fish and boiled eggs, but no meat. [151] The denial\nof the flesh recommences, however, at bedtime, for not a morsel is\neaten until Easter midday. Early dawn sees the people putting on their\nnew clothes, especially new shoes which are considered a necessity\non this day, and all, newly attired, go to church where communion is\ncelebrated. The church is usually filled with flowers and its most\nbrilliant ornaments are displayed, the service ending at midday in time\nfor the usual feast of stuffed roast lamb, the customary red eggs, and\nthe egg bread made only at Easter time. In the afternoon the men visit\nfrom house to house and something dainty is always served, a cocktail\nor a cup of coffee with sweets like Turkish delight or bonbons. The\nformula repeated by the guest upon entering a house is always the same;\n\"Christ is risen from the dead,\" he exclaims, and is answered by the\nhost with the usual formula, \"Blessed is the resurrection of Christ.\"\n\nPerhaps the boys enjoy Easter most of all. Provided with red Easter\neggs, they collect in groups, whereupon there follows a most vivacious\ncompetition to win each other's eggs by clashing them together. The\nchampion egg is used until it is broken, when a new champion is quickly\nbrought forth. This process continues as long as there are two or\nmore unbroken eggs, the game being won when all of the broken eggs are\nin the possession of the boy who holds the champion egg. Picnic day,\nor the \"Day of the Dead,\" follows Easter Day, as I have described it,\nand it is singularly strange that a \"day of resurrection\" should be\nfollowed by a \"day of the dead,\" when prayers are said and offerings\ngiven in sacrifice for the departed. But people are not mindful of\nsuch little incongruities; they are simple and carry out the festival\ncelebrated by their fathers, much as their fathers celebrated it.\n\nThe week before Christmas is likewise devoted to a thorough\nhousecleaning by the Armenian housewife, and on the day before,\nspecial dishes are prepared for the next day's feast. Again there\nis the customary bath which is observed by all the members of the\nhousehold. On Christmas Eve the abstinence of the preceding days\nis partly broken, usually with fried fish, lettuce, and boiled\nspinach. Boiled spinach is the rule because it is believed that this\ndish made up the supper of the Virgin Mary on the eve of Christ's\nbirth. At church special vespers are sung and there is much emphasis\nlaid upon special selections from the prophets which are also sung. An\nhour before dawn the sexton alone, or with a group of choir boys,\ngoes from door to door singing what is called \"the good tidings.\" It\nis the signal for the faithful to awake, don their best clothes and go\nto church again without eating breakfast. The holy bread and wine are\nnot to be profaned by the people having eaten a breakfast of ordinary\nfood, with the consequence that not a few faint during the service,\neven as at Easter time. But the ceremony is finished by half past ten,\nafter which the women go home to prepare the midday feast while the\nmen visit the homes of their friends. The never-failing formula of\nthe guest upon entering the house of a friend is, \"Christ is born and\nmanifested to-day,\" which is responded to by the host with \"Blessed is\nthe manifestation of Christ.\" Each visit lasts about fifteen minutes\nand sweets and coffee are served. At midday the Christmas feast is\npartaken of, all make merry around the table, and in the afternoon\nmore calls are paid and received. The festivities are observed for\nthree days, the third being ladies' day, which is devoted by the\nladies to giving and receiving visits. They offer their salutations\nand good wishes to each other, eating dainties even as the men. Shops\nand business places of Armenians are usually kept closed for three\ndays. [152]\n\nThere is thus considerable similarity between Easter and the Christmas\nfestivities, which is probably due to more or less sameness in the\nchurch ceremonies. These ceremonies, always well attended, are made\nattractive to the people by beautiful displays of flowers, vested choir\nboys, the charm of whose singing can only be understood by those who\nhave heard them; also by special singing, not by the congregation,\nbut by those who can sing, and with such enticing little additions\nas the Lighting of Lights. The services are thus as much and as\nreal a part of the day's rejoicings as the feasts and social visits,\nand if they are designed consciously or unconsciously to give active\nexpression to the sentiment of loyalty to the church one must admit\nthat the expression is a perfectly free and natural one. Abstinences\ndo not make the festivities attractive, to be sure, and there are\nmore unfortunate communities who can not afford so lavish a display\nas others; but flowers need only to be picked from the fields, and\nboys there are always, even in the poorest churches. The holiday\nrejoicing has somewhat more of the serious blend which is to be\ncontrasted with the more perfect gaiety of New Year's Day, and is\nprobably due to the weightiness of its religious significance of which\none is constantly reminded, not only by the services at the church\nbut also by the salutations of visitors and the necessary replies,\nalways the same. But even the gaiety of New Year is not to be compared\nwith the perfect lightness and freedom of merriment that characterize\nsome aspects of Vartavar, nor do any of the Christian folk festivals\nhave the completeness of Vartavar.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 2. SPECIAL CHURCH CEREMONIES\n\nTogether with this second group of festivals including as they do\nChristmas, Easter, New Year, and the Blessing of the Grapes, I wish\nto include a short series of church ceremonies all of which have a\nvery distinct festival value, beside their value in being singularly\ncharacteristic of the Armenian church. They are distinctly different\nfrom the festivals of the preceding section, in that the festivities\nare incidental to a ceremony peculiar to the Armenian church. The\n\"Washing of Feet,\" the \"Blessing of the Water,\" the consecration\nof the Katholikos, and the manufacture of the holy oil, are those I\ndesire to describe.\n\nThe \"Washing of Feet\" occurs on Maundy Thursday, three days before\nEaster. [153] This day is the first of three successive days of\nmourning spoken of, during which the altar is closed, and no lights\nare lit. After the mass the bishop puts away his brocaded robes,\nand kneeling in imitation of Christ washing the feet of His disciples\non the night of the betrayal, he washes the feet of the priests and\nchoristers, of whom there are usually eleven. Christ washed the feet\nof twelve, but one of them was unworthy. The service then continues\nuntil midnight, and while the ceremony is in progress, the lights are\nput out one by one, to remain out until the \"Lighting of the Lights\"\non Easter eve. If the church is a parish church in which a priest\nofficiates, a number of little boys are ranged in order for the\n\"Washing of Feet,\" which in this case is performed by the priest,\nwho anoints the soles of their feet with oil after he has washed\nthem. Each boy is given a walnut shell and before he moves from his\nplace he carefully scrapes some of the oil into his shell, and carries\nit home to place in the butter. If he does this it is believed that\nthe supply of butter will not fail throughout the year.\n\nThis same service was observed by a writer in the Survey, in a church\non East 27th Street, New York, rented by a company of Armenian folk\nresiding in that city. [154] The same symbolic \"Washing of Feet\" was\ncarried out on the evening of Maundy Thursday in much the same fashion\nas it is carried out in the home-land. The symbolism, the pageantry,\nthe color of oriental Armenian worship, the silver-mounted Bible on\nthe altar in the center, the rising steps, the crosses, the lighted\ncandles, and the incense were all there. A white-robed choir with green\nvelvet copes filed in, singing long chants. The choir was followed\nby two priests, and the priests by the bishop with his mitre, robe\nof crimson and gold, and his ivory cross held in the right hand with\na kerchief of crimson silk. A shining crozier held in his left hand\nmarked his office as shepherd of the flock; a large jewel locket and\ncross hung from his breast and was probably the gift of the Czar. The\nchoir chant that continues all the while was described as an intricate,\nrhythmless tune, now passionate, now wailing and altogether \"oriental,\"\naccompanied by a few older folk here and there who were humming in\nunison with the choir and the leader, who was beating time. Beside\nthe humming the congregation took no part in the service except that\nit stood up for the psalm and prayer. Suddenly a sound to the right\nbrought the observer's attention to an old woman lying prostrate\nin the aisle. No one helped her, no one even seemed to notice her,\nbut presently she rose to a kneeling posture and lifted her eyes in\nprayer to the altar. Again she prostrated herself, and again rose to\nlift her eyes to the altar, which performance was repeated a third\ntime before the old woman took her seat. \"Der Voghormia\" meaning\n\"Lord have mercy upon us,\" was repeated ten times by the interceding\nbishop in a voice loud and intense, and a second ten times, and a\nthird ten times. The chant quickened, and as the aged priest took the\nBible from its place and held it toward the audience the bishop gave\nhis benediction of peace to the \"four corners of the earth.\" There\nwas another chant after which the washing of the feet commenced. With\ndeep seriousness the bishop placed his staff by the altar, laid aside\nhis mitre and brocaded robes, and beginning with the aged priest,\nhe knelt beside a bowl of water to wash his feet. Ten more of those\nwho came forward shared in the ceremony. \"I can not so serve you\nall,\" he said at the close of his address, \"I am sorry. Take as\nsymbolic what is done.\" There was a short intermission, but before\nten o'clock the penitential service recommenced and continued until\nmidnight. The story of Christ's betrayal in the garden was read, and\nthe chants continued, wilder, sadder, and more wailing, accompanied\nby murmurs and occasionally by low cries from the people. As midnight\napproached the lights were dimmed one by one, and the emotion became\nmore intense. As the hour struck, the congregation rose, and with\nclasped hands joined in a closing song and prayer. There were only\na few score people present.\n\nThe prostration of the old woman reminds one of the spiritually\nwounded who lay prostrate over the floor during the times of the\nKentucky revivals, but the fact is there is nothing hysterical in\nthis particular phase of Armenian worship. The attitude is commonly\npracticed by Armenians, especially among the peasant classes. They lie\nflat touching their heads to the ground. [155] But the posture is more\npeculiarly oriental than it is peculiarly Armenian. No sight is more\ncommon in the countries of Islam than the faithful Moslem who spreads\nhis bit of carpet upon which he kneels with gaze fixed toward Mecca,\nprostrating himself repeatedly as he murmurs his prayers.\n\nAlthough the picture given by Dubois of a simple church service he\nattended in Koulpe, Armenia, is not the ceremony of Maundy Thursday,\nit has one or two strokes of native color that make it impossible to\nomit. [156] The church was poor and simple, the walls were built of\nstone cemented by clay or bad lime. Two rows of large beams neither\nsquared nor trimmed supported the earthen roof in the manner of\ncolumns. At the farther end was a kind of niche, partitioned off by\nmeans of soiled curtains, thus forming a sanctuary where stood the\npriest, clothed in torn robe, to read the prayers. All of the little\nboys of the village encircled him, kneeling and chanting or reciting\nprayers, turn by turn. The eldest placed themselves outside of the\nchoir and knelt on straw mats or on sheep's skins which marked their\ncustomary places, and kissed the earth, or murmured very low the words\nof the priest, or responded to the chanting at high pitch. The women\nheld themselves apart, their faces half veiled, filling the back of\nthe church behind the men, and, with lowered heads, were the first\nto leave.\n\nThe kneeling posture and the prostration is again clearly in\nevidence, which together with what has been said is sufficient to\nshow that this attitude, especially among the common people, is a\nvery ordinary one and is therefore to be regarded merely as a very\ngenerally recognized posture of worship, and not at all significant\nnecessarily of \"conviction of sin\" or a \"feeling of penitence,\" which\nis nevertheless suggested. The church at Koulpe must have been a very\npoor one not to have benches, but it had its little chorus of boys,\nand the people participated in much the same way as in the little\nchurch in New York, although nearly a hundred years have passed since\nDubois attended the simple service.\n\n\"Khatchahankist,\" meaning literally, \"repose of the cross,\" is the\nsecond of the four church ceremonies I shall describe. The ceremony\nmight better be named \"the Blessing of the Water,\" for that is what it\nreally consists of. In the towns of Turkey the churches devote one day\neach week to the performance of this rite, but in other churches it\noccurs at the end of a special mass, as for example on Ascension Day,\nor on the commemoration day of St. Gregory. [157] There is always a\nvery great gathering on this occasion largely because of the various\nsuperstitions connected with it. A large silver bowl of water is\nbrought and placed on a stand at the foot of the altar, after which\nthe officiating priest comes forward with relics of the Holy Cross, of\nthe saints, or a simple silver cross in his hand. The more frequently\nused relics are those of St. Gregory the Illuminator, St. John the\nBaptist, St. James of Nisibis, or St. George the Martyr. The priest\nreads prayers over the water, which are answered by the chants from\nthe choir, after which he dips the relic or the cross into the water\nthree times, finally making the sign of the cross over the bowl. The\nLord's prayer is repeated, after which a ladle is placed on one side\nof the vessel, while the priest kneels on the other, cross or relic\nin hand. Now the people crowd about, cross their faces and kiss the\ncross, and then take up the ladle to drink of the water thus blessed\nespecially for drinking purposes. It is used also for ablutions,\nfor popular belief endows the sacred liquid with curative power.\n\nSome of the prayers that are repeated and the texts that are read\nduring this ceremony are well worth noting, for they illustrate the\ncandid interest of all participating. After the reading of the texts,\nthe deacon repeats the following proclamation: \"Let us pray unto God\nwho loveth mankind and hath given for hope and refuge his victorious\nholy cross, which is armor invincible against the inworkings of Satan,\nto the end that whatsoever it touches, this water and all creatures. He\nshall through the same vouchsafe both healing and mercy.\" The priest\nthen prays: \"Bless, O Lord, this water, and hallow it with thy holy\ncross, in order that the flocks and sheep which may approach and drink\nof the same, may derive therefrom freedom from disease and sterility;\nfor from them we select sacrifices of fragrant sweetness and offer them\nas victims to thyself.\" And again the priest prays: \"Bless, O Lord,\nthis water with the life-giving powers of the cross that everyone who\nshall drink thereof may derive therefrom a medicine of soul and body,\nand a health from the diseases which afflict him.\" Again: \"Bless,\nO Lord, this water with thy holy cross, that it may impart to the\nfields where it is sprinkled profitable harvests, and that all plants\nand herbs may be more than ever increased in fruitfulness.\" [158]\nThe cross is then passed three times over the water with the words,\n\"Let this water be blessed and hallowed in the name of the Father,\nand of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.\" This is followed by a\nshort proclamation by the deacon and a closing prayer by the priest,\nafter which the assembled people receive of the magic water as above\ndescribed.\n\nThis frank personal interest is characteristic of many of the church\nceremonies. For example in the sacrament of holy communion, incense\nis offered with the prayer, \"Do thou in its stead send upon us the\ngraces and gifts of thine Holy Spirit.\" [159]\n\nOf central importance to the nation as to the religion is the ceremony\nof the consecration of the Katholikos, the supreme authority of the\nchurch, which is held in front of the Cathedral at Etchmiadzin. [160]\nPeople from near and far gather together to witness this event,\nand lest they should fail to see the central act of the ceremony,\nthe roofs near-by are all used for the greater advantage they give\nto the observer. The banner of the Katholikos is set flying from\nthe belfry tower; in front of the entrance to the Cathedral is set\na wooden dais covered with carpets and costly embroideries whereon\nthe ceremony is performed; the procession is formed and all is then\nin readiness. A service is held in the Cathedral, after which the\nprocession issues from the church, and the various state and church\nofficials including representatives from the Russian government,\nthe choir and deacons, all take their places about the platform. The\ntwelve bishops who reside at Etchmiadzin, and whose business it is\nto wait upon the Katholikos, now appear gorgeously attired, escorting\nthe central figure of the day, over whose head two attendants carry a\nrichly embroidered canopy. The patriarch falls on his knees, his feet\nbeneath his body in full accordance with the ordinary posture. One\nbishop now reads, after which another advances bearing in his hands the\nimage of a dove wrought in gold. It is the receptacle of the holy oil,\nwhich is a mixture of the sacred oil blessed by St. Gregory, sparingly\nused and carefully preserved in the treasury of the Cathedral, and\nof the specially prepared oil consecrated in Sis in Cilicia. While\none bishop is pouring the holy oil from the neck of the golden dove\nover the head of the patriarch, the other bishops gather around to\nspread the oil about with their thumbs, making at the same time the\nsign of the cross. A piece of cloth is now placed over his head, his\nface being covered at the same time by a veil which is attached to\nthe cloth. After a brief interval the newly consecrated Katholikos,\nfollowed by the bishops, officials, and procession, reenters the\nchurch in order to complete the ceremony. When the procession again\nfiles out escorting the pontiff to his residence, the choir sings,\nand the Russian band plays. Festivities continue throughout the day\nand into the night, including mainly the banquet with its toasts\nand songs by the choir, and the concert furnished by the band in the\nevening. The band is a foreign innovation, although the particular\nband observed by Lynch consisted mostly of Armenians.\n\nThe holy oil used in the consecration consists for the most part of\nthe preparation manufactured in Sis, as stated, and with which there\nis a special ceremony connected, which is of general importance,\nfor the oil is also used for the various necessary consecrations\nof all the churches. In the church at Sis is treasured a gorgeous\nsilver bowl, decorated with turrets and pinnacles, in which \"Muron\"\nas it is called, or holy oil is made every four years. Pilgrims\ncome from far to witness the event. The bowl, which holds about a\ngallon of oil is placed outside the church, and in it are placed\na hundred and one kinds of flowers amid prayers and chants. [161]\nThese flowers are stirred with the arm of St. Gregory, after which\nthe lid is put on and the mixture made to boil. [162] The privilege\nof lifting off the lid is auctioned, and it is said that L100 was\nonce paid for the distinction. The oil is then sold to the pilgrims,\nall of whom take a phial of it along to their homes where it is used\nin baptism, marriage, and burial ceremonies. It is also believed to\nhave wonderful medicinal properties.\n\nThe chief social value of these ceremonies lies in the fact that they\nbring large groups of people together under unusual circumstances,\nall of which adds importance to the various rites and festivities\nof the occasion. Especially is this true of the consecration of the\nKatholikos, which may occur twice or at the most three times in a\ngeneration. For this reason and also because of the authority and\nposition of the Katholikos, not only as head of the church, but also\nin a very real sense, as head of the nation, this ceremony is attended\nby many pilgrims from the various sections of the country. Having\nassembled, the occasion is thus made a great deal more of than if it\nwere an ordinary event. The day is a festival day in the full meaning\nof the term. Besides the services there is the banquet, the special\nchoir, and the band. The relics kept in the treasury, which it is\nprobable that most people who come have not seen before; also the\nholy churches of St. Gaiane and St. Rhipsime, which are visited by\nsmall groups throughout the day; and most of all the sacred altar of\nthe Cathedral, where Christ descended in the vision of St. Gregory,\nare special attractions. And then there is the library where many\nancient and precious manuscripts are exhibited, the institution of\nthe monastery, the garden of the Katholikos, the printing press, and\nthe seminary, all of which are of interest to the spectator. In fact\nthere is sufficient to induce the pilgrims to remain for a number of\ndays, which many of them do. The grounds are provided with a pilgrim's\ncourt surrounded by guest chambers utilized at this time. Naturally\nenough the various monuments suggest the traditions and legends with\nwhich they are connected, such as the traditions of St. Gregory,\nTiridates, the legends of St. Rhipsime and St. Gaiane, and the other\nlegends associated with the introduction of Christianity. Although\ncentered about a religious ceremony which probably lasts no longer\nthan fifteen minutes, the occasion is thus made a festival, and is\nabout as important in fostering a real sentiment of patriotism and\nof church loyalty as any other single festival.\n\nThe ceremony of the manufacture of the holy oil is not of such central\nimportance. It also, however, has the advantage of not occurring very\nfrequently, coming as it does only once in every four years. This\ntogether with the general utility of the oil in all of the various\nchurch ceremonies, plus the superstitions connected with it, is\nsufficient to induce pilgrims to make the journey to Sis in Cilicia,\nwhere the ceremony is held. It is again this assembly of pilgrims\nthat gives the ceremony a social importance. In a nation like the\nUnited States where all parts are connected by railroads, telegraphs,\nand telephones, such a pilgrimage would have comparatively little\nsocial value. Except for government centers, there are no telegraphs\nin Armenia, the telephone is known only in a few cities, and railroads\nthere are none. This lack of communication gives such ceremonies to\nwhich pilgrimages are made a very special social value which they\notherwise would not at all have. The electoral assemblies spoken of\nhave the same value, and for the same reason. The Armenian is not a\nperson to be silent, and talks even when prudence is the better part\nof valour. He criticizes, condemns, and praises openly, fearlessly,\nand carelessly, and such a gathering of pilgrims, or electors, if\nit means anything, would mean a wholesale exchange of facts relating\nto current events, opinions, and rumors with reference to politics,\nreligion, and every phase of social and industrial life.\n\nThe Blessing of the Water can not be said to have so great a social\nvalue, occurring as it does in some parts of the country once every\nweek. And yet this service is unusually well attended, largely because\nof the superstitions connected with the blessed water. Religion here\nappears to offer its biggest attraction to the less fortunate, such\nas the rheumatic, the tubercular, the dyspeptic, the epileptic, and\nthe feeble-minded. But enough facts have been mentioned to show that\nthe Armenian church is something more than an institution of cure and\nrelief. It has identified itself too completely with the common life\nby keeping alive the streams and cross currents of social activity\nto admit of such a supposition.\n\nThe ceremony of Maundy Thursday, or Washing of the Feet, is, of\nthe four I have mentioned, of the least social importance. But it\nis generally attended, especially by the women who are compelled\nby the ban of custom to complete their house-cleaning before this\nservice begins. And then too, it is the commencement of the Easter\ncelebration, and as such has a distinct festival value. I have\nreviewed them therefore in the order of their social importance. The\nconsecration of the Katholikos first; second the making of holy oil;\nthird, the Blessing of the Water, and finally, the Washing of the Feet,\nwhich complete the second group of festivals.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nPRIVATE FESTIVAL OCCASIONS\n\n\nSECTION 1. BAPTISM\n\nThe third group of festivals comprises those connected with the common\nlife of the people, including the ceremonies of baptism, betrothal,\nmarriage, and funeral. The church is vitally related to each of them,\nand they are of importance here because of their social value, which\nI shall again endeavor to point out.\n\nFirst after birth, the most important event in the life of every\nArmenian child is that of baptism, for the belief is that the\nunbaptized child has no soul. The infant is therefore generally\nbaptized on the day after birth, and when this is impossible always\nwithin eight days of birth. If the child is sick there is all the more\nreason to hurry; in this case the essential parts of the ceremony are\nperformed in the home, the remainder being celebrated at the church at\nsome later time. The very first thing to be done therefore after the\nbirth of a child is to make the necessary preparations for baptism,\nwhich are very elaborate in the case of the first-born, especially if\nthe child is a boy. [163] A girl is always better than no child at all,\nbut not much better. A godfather and godmother are selected, presents\nare exchanged between them and the parents of the child, invitations\nare sent to friends and relations, and at a fixed time the assembled\npeople form a procession to the church, led by the midwife holding the\nchild. The godfather pays all expenses, and therefore such splendor as\nthe ceremony may have in the way of special ornaments for the altar,\nnumbers of priests, and a large choir, is determined by him. After the\ngroup has properly assembled at the church, the priest takes the child\nfrom the midwife and gives it to the godfather. The profession of faith\nfollows immediately and then the priest turns to the west to abjure the\ndevil and to the east to invoke the Trinity. [164] Having placed the\nhem of his chasuble upon the babe, the priest proceeds to the sacristy\nreciting a psalm, and followed by the people. The central event now\ntakes place. The baptism consists of three immersions in the name of\nthe Holy Trinity. First water is poured over the head of the child,\nafter which the whole body is plunged into the water. Confirmation is\nadministered right after the ceremony of immersion, and takes place\nupon the altar of the church proper, before the image of the Blessed\nVirgin. The forehead, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, back, breast\nand upper part of the feet of the infant are anointed with holy oil,\nand two wax tapers are placed in the hands of the godfather while\ncarrying the child. The priest then takes the tapers and the babe,\nconsecrates and confirms him by three profound inclinations before\nthe altar, gives candles and child back to the godfather and blesses\nboth. Now the child may be called by its Christian name, which is\nusually that of a saint. [165] Led by the priest and the singing\nchoir, the procession now starts back to the home of the little one,\nstill carried by the godfather who continues to hold the candles. When\nhe reaches the door of the mother, she kneels and prostrates herself\nbefore him. He in turn delivers the child to the mother's arms who may\nnow kiss it for the first time, the child not having been kissed by\nany one from the moment of birth to the delivering over to the mother\nby the godfather after baptism. Others may now also kiss the babe,\nand each endeavors to be the first, for there is a superstitious value\nattached to the first kiss following the mother's after baptism. The\npriests and the family of the godfather spend the evening in the\nchild's home. They are served constantly by the father who does not\nhimself sit down. For forty days the mother must keep her room, and\nwalk only in such parts of the house as are exposed to the sun. [166]\nHaving completed the fortieth day she and her babe are taken to\nchurch by the grandmother. [167] On this occasion the young mother\nmust bring an offering, which in times past was a rich Persian rug,\nbut is now merely a package of tapers. She waits at the door of the\nsacristy until the priest comes and leads her in before the high altar\nwhere both mother and child receive a blessing. After this ceremony\nshe must visit the godfather and kiss his hand in token of gratitude.\n\nIf a funeral passes during the first forty days of the child's life,\nthe little one must be snatched up from the cradle and be carried\nupright. People now come to offer their felicitations. The greeting\nof the guest is always, \"May God raise the child in the shadow of its\nparents,\" to which answer is given, \"May God bless you according to\nyour desire,\" or \"May your tongue be always in good health.\"\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 2. BETROTHAL\n\nIt is the popular belief among Armenians that the practice of\nearly marriages dates from the proclamation of a Persian shah of\nthe sixteenth century, to whom part of Armenia was tributary. [168]\nThis edict was intended to wipe out Christianity, and provided for the\nmarriage of Armenian boys and girls with Persian children. In order to\nevade the edict, the Armenian parents ran secretly from house to house\nfor several nights marrying off their children to each other. The\ncustom on the part of the parents of arranging for the marriage of\ntheir children without the knowledge of the latter is supposed also\nto be rooted in this event. Whether the explanation be true or not,\nit certainly is not uncommon for children to marry at sixteen in the\ninterior of Armenia, and it is still generally true that arrangements\nfor the marriages of children are made without the knowledge of those\nmost concerned. [169] The girl does occasionally exercise choice, but\nwhen the unfortunate suitor is not desired by the parents the feeling\nof obligation on the girl's part, simply because she has lived at her\nfather's table, is sufficient to induce her to submit. [170] And the\nsame may be said of the young man, although the greater independence\nof a son gives him a little more ground for acting contrary to his\nfather's wishes, than in the case of the daughter. But even when the\nchoice of the children is accepted, the arrangements and ceremony of\nbetrothal are always carried out by the parents.\n\nThese arrangements are something as follows. The parents of a young man\nconsult his grandparents, and choose a young girl who to them seems\neligible. They then inform a woman match-maker of their decision,\nand it is her business to sound the ground, so to speak, before a\nproposal is made, since a refusal would ruin the boy's reputation. The\nmatchmaker is often a professional woman, and can therefore be relied\nupon not to make a bungle of the job. Among other things, she finds\nout what gifts the bridegroom-to-be must make to his future bride,\nwhich can of course be done only after the proposal has met with a\nfavorable response on the part of the parents of the girl. \"What can he\noffer his bride,\" is the all important question from the standpoint of\nthe girl's family. Among the rich, but in times past, gold bracelets\nbejeweled with diamonds or strings of gold pieces for adorning the\nhead or neck were common varieties of gifts. To-day silver plate, or\nexpensive heirlooms are given. After these matters have been decided\nupon, preparations are made for the ceremony of betrothal, usually\nheld in the evening. The friends of the young man are notified to\nmeet together in his house at an appointed hour with the priest who\nis given a ring which he blesses. The procession of the bridegroom's\nfriends headed by the priest now starts for the house of the bride. All\nare provided with lighted wax candles which they hold in their hands\nas they proceed down the streets accompanied by the sound of violin,\nclarinets, drum, and joyful singing. Sometimes a detour is made in\norder to lengthen the procession.\n\nHaving arrived at their destination, the father and mother of the\ngirl pretend to know nothing whatever of the reason for the coming\nof the guests, and conversation proceeds for a considerable time\nwithout the slightest allusion to the matter of chief moment. The\npriest finally makes the following statement amid profound silence:\n\"According to the law of the supreme Creator, and following the\nusages of human society, we have the happiness of demanding the\nhand of Miss X, for Mr. Y.\" The father of the girl pretends not to\nwish to accept, stating that she is too young, or that her mother\nis very desirous to keep her at home. But upon further pressing on\nthe part of the parents of the boy, the acceptance is given. It is\nnow the turn of the girl to be consulted; she, however, is nowhere\nto be found. The priest searches, and when finally discovered she\ndoes not speak a word. The former, however, knows, and offering his\nhand he says, \"If you consent, kiss the hand,\" which is straightway\ndone, for the girl has been informed beforehand that the kiss is to\nbe forthcoming. This part of the procedure takes place apart from\nthe crowd, and is followed by the presentation of the ring and the\nbenediction which must take place before the public. But since custom\nforbids the girl to appear during the entire evening, a brother or\na sister comes forward and kneels before the priest to receive the\nring. The rest all kneel at the same time, and the priest gives the\nbenediction. The ring is carried by the child to the fiancee, the\nhealth of the couple is drunk in rose-syrup, and congratulations and\ncompliments are exchanged. Whatever else is eaten or drunk, rose-syrup\nmust be at hand, for this is essential and peculiar to the ceremony.\n\nAll this while the young man is within the walls of his own\nhome. Custom forbids him to appear at the house of his bride-to-be\nuntil the wedding day, and if perchance the two should meet, he must\nturn his head away while she hides herself. Towards ten o'clock the\nparty breaks up, and each guest is given a wax candle. All try to steal\nsomething from the house before leaving, such as a bottle, a glass,\nor a spoon, and if the thieves are not caught before they leave the\nhouse, the articles are returned only at the price of a supper from\nthe head of the family. The party now returns to the home of the future\nbridegroom, accompanied by the friends and relatives of the girl. The\nprocession formed, there is the same lighting of wax candles received\nfrom the host, brightening the otherwise darkened streets, and the same\nmusic and singing to triumph over the silence of the night. The young\nman must stand upright before his future father-in-law all through the\nvisit. For him the great moment comes when the brother of his fiancee\ntakes him aside and offers him a glass of syrup prepared by her own\nhands. The whole night is passed in song and amusement. During the\nfollowing fortnight both families receive visits of congratulation,\nand at every visit the host or hostess must offer the syrup drunk at\nthe betrothal ceremony.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 3. MARRIAGE\n\nElaborate and gay as are the festivities of betrothal, the celebrations\nof marriage are so much more so that one is inclined to look upon the\nessential religious ceremony as a pretext for the merry-making. [171]\nThe interval of a month which ordinarily intervenes between engagement\nand marriage is devoted to making the necessary preparations for\nthe wedding. The bridegroom must get ready the promised ornaments,\na white wedding-dress for his bride, a fine veil to cover her face,\nand a pair of shoes, a rather strange combination of gifts. One\nwonders also why the necessary gloves and silk stockings are not\nincluded. The young lady on her part prepares her trousseau including\ngarments of various sorts, bits of jewelry, a wooden chest filled with\nher clothing, a mirror, a nuptial bed with the necessary accessories,\nand a few cooking utensils; altogether an outfit quite as varied and\nsingular as the gifts of the bridegroom, but certainly practical\nand sensible enough. Two days before the wedding, which usually\noccurs on a Sunday afternoon, invitations are sent out to friends and\nrelatives, and musicians are secured. On the eve of the ceremony, the\ngodfather invites the bridegroom with his friends to a Turkish bath,\nwhere they go to the accompaniment of music and singing. This part\nof the celebration is full of laughter and song, and is continued on\nthe forenoon of the next day in the home of the bridegroom, when the\nbarber comes to shave him in the presence of the guests and musicians,\nwho sing and play as on the preceding evening at the bath. The occasion\nis one of importance for the barber, who brings all sorts of perfumes\nwhich are purchased by the guests and poured over the bridegroom;\nhe receives not only a large fee for his service but also a double\nprice for the scented extracts. The young man is then dressed up\nwhile the priest and choir children who have arrived sing canticles.\n\nIn the meantime very similar festivities occur in the home of the\nbride, participated in by her young girl friends and relatives,\nexcept that they are not characterized by the same spirit of loud\nlaughter and rejoicing. On the eve of the wedding the girls gather\naround her to sing melancholy songs, in considerable contrast with\nthe gay, spirited music and singing taking place in the Turkish\nbath at the same time. Having shared the sadness, they place a rose\nleaf on the palm of each hand of the bride, which is covered with\nhenneh, a green Persian powder made into paste, after which each\nhand is carefully bandaged up. So the poor sad girl must go to bed,\nto sleep if she can. On the next morning her friends again arrive\nto take the bandages off her hands, to dress her, and to sing and\ndance about her. Except for the print of the rose leaf, the henneh\nleaves the hands orange red, which is supposed to be beautiful. The\nsongs and dancing are again of a decidedly melancholy tone. Her white\ndress, together with the coat of the bridegroom, must be blessed by\nthe priest, a ceremony which the church functionary performs alone,\nboth articles being sent to him early in the morning. Preliminary to\nthe day's events, and before breakfast, both bride and bridegroom,\nbeing previously confessed, go separately to church, where they take\ncommunion. This done, the festivities described follow, bride and\nbridegroom are dressed, and all is in readiness for the ceremony\nwhich occurs in the late afternoon or evening.\n\nThe bride must ride to church on horseback, and having arrived she\nis dismounted, and later remounted without touching her feet to the\nground, which rather cumbersome performance is accomplished through\nthe help of a brother or relative, who also rides the bride's steed\nwhile the ceremony takes place within, for the horse is not to\nbe left riderless. The procession to the church is accompanied by\nmusicians. Before the rail which separates the choir from the body\nof the church, two wooden chairs are placed, upon which the couple\nsit down while the people present kneel on the mats covering the\nfloor. When the time comes for the blessing of the priest, the couple\narise, step inside the choir space, and stand facing each other between\nthe high altar and two witnesses, their foreheads touching. In this\nposition they receive the sacrament of matrimony, answering in the\naffirmative the questions of the priest regarding their duties to\neach other and to their children. Of the bride is demanded perfect\nfaithfulness to conjugal duties, entire obedience to the husband\nof whom care, patience, wisdom, and love are required. The priest,\ntaking the right hand of the bride and placing it in the hand of\nthe bridegroom, says, \"According to the divine order God gave to our\nancestors, I give thee now this wife in subjection. Wilt thou be her\nmaster?\" \"Through the help of God I will,\" answers the bridegroom. The\npriest then asks the woman, \"Wilt thou be obedient to him?\" to which\nis answered, \"I am obedient according to the order of God.\" These\nquestions are repeated and replied to thrice, in evident implicit\nbelief that once would not be sufficient. Finally, the priest ties\nto each of their heads a cord and cross, which is again removed by\nhim late at night in the home with special ceremony, and it is only\nafter this performance that the couple may enter the nuptial chamber.\n\nAfter the ceremony at the church the procession starts back for the\nhome of the bridegroom's father, the bride riding upon her horse,\nmusician playing, and choir boys singing. The water-carriers, who\nhave supplied drinking water, break their jars noisily before the\nbridegroom, drenching his marriage costume and giving rather an abrupt\nsignal to the godfather whose business it is to tip them. Noisily\nthe procession moves along the streets until it arrives at the\ngate of the house. In days past it was the custom at this point in\nthe ceremony to place a sheep ready to be sacrificed at the feet\nof the young couple, the poorer people contenting themselves with\nchickens. The butcher put his knife to the neck of the sheep saying,\n\"May God thus put all your enemies under your feet, Amen, Amen.\" Then\npieces of coin mixed with raisins, pistachios, and other bits of nuts\nor dried fruits are showered over the people from the windows above,\nwhile the godfather leads the bridegroom within to the crowd of men,\nand the godmother leads the bride to the women, everybody trying\nto kiss the cross on their heads. The bride is then placed in the\nseat of honor and in her arms is laid first a little boy, and then a\nlittle girl, so that the first child may be a boy and if perchance\nthe will of God be otherwise at least a girl. Each guest now comes\nto the bride to place at her feet a fruit in season. The bridegroom\nis called \"the prince of the feast\" and must never quit his seat of\nhonor. If he does leave his chair he must place an object belonging\nto him upon his seat, and if he should at any time omit to do so,\nthe assembly makes the godfather pay the necessary forfeit, which is\nusually a dinner. Towards nine, the guests take their leave, having\neaten and sung to their uttermost desire. [172]\n\nLiving in the home of her patriarchal father-in-law, the young\nwife is subject to the severest restraints. She must wear a lightly\nfitting veil enclosing her face below the eyes, without which she\ncan not appear even in the house. [173] She wears a close fitting\nbodice fastened at the neck with silver clasps, full trousers of\nrose colored silk gathered in at the ankles by a filet of silver;\nher feet are bare, a silver girdle of curious workmanship loosely\nencircles her waist, and a long padded garment, open down the front,\nhangs from her shoulders. Not a single word must she utter to any\nmember of the household, except when alone with her husband, and then\nonly such as may be absolutely necessary, until she has given birth\nto her first child. Then she may speak to her nursling, after a while\nto her mother-in-law, later to her own mother, and by and by to the\nyoung girls of the household, but never in all her life may she have\nword with a young man not a relative. During her first year of married\nlife, she may not go out of the house except for two visits to the\nchurch. Every morning and at the end of each meal she must pour water\nover the hands of her father- and mother-in-law, and for a certain\ntime after marriage, when visitors come, she must kiss their hands,\nexcept of course, for men, before whom she may not even appear. [174]\nApart from these troublesome restraints the young wife is treated\nwith the utmost solicitude, and in some parts, even the peasant\nwife is not allowed to do outdoor work. In the mountain villages of\nPersian Armenia, however, the women do all the tilling in the fields,\nwearing their veils over their mouths as they work. [175] The author\nhere quoted states that husbands never see the mouths of their wives,\nwho not only must not speak during the first year of married life,\nor until a child is born, but also may not converse freely with their\nhusbands until six years of married life have elapsed. [176]\n\nIn such fashion the sanctity of the marriage relation is strictly\nguarded, and as one would suppose, illegitimate births are unknown in\nArmenia. Intermarriage among relations is forbidden, and until recent\nyears, divorce has been unknown. [177] As for the taboo on speech,\nit is calculated not so much as an inducement to the production of\noffspring as to preserve harmonious relations between the various\nmembers of the patriarchal household. Even the patriarch with all\nhis authority would find difficulty in preserving proper decorum of\nspeech and manners in so heterogeneous a household, if every newly\nacquired daughter-in-law were given a free rein in the use of her\ntongue. As the neophyte is made to understand his position by a\nbrutal initiation, so the young wife is kept from assuming command\nover the female household by the placing of a moral valuation upon\nthe silence which alone is compatible with the essential modesty\nregarded as the first and chief of virtues among wives. In the\nhousehold of the patriarch there is a great deal to be done in common,\nand unfortunately the occasion for mutual aid is not sufficient to\nbring about the desired cooperation. Hence singleness of command and\nauthority is a necessary condition, not only of efficiency, but also\nof peace, for it can not be supposed that so many daughters-in-law\nwould work together in harmony. It would be a mistake, therefore,\nto regard the customary silence as an inducement to child-bearing.\n\nIdentifying itself with the common events of life, such as birth,\nmarriage, and death, the church has not only given a religious meaning\nto these occasions but has also sanctioned and even encouraged the\nfestivities that accompany them. These festivities have up to this\npoint been occasions for rejoicing, with the single and significant\nexception of the melancholy singing of the bride's friends on the\neve and day of her wedding. There is a perfect naturalness about\nall the merry-making and festivals so far considered, and this is\nno less characteristic of the funeral celebrations now to be taken\nup. The description of these will conclude my treatment of the last\ngroup of festivals, which are more properly festival-ceremonies,\nor ceremonies that have been made the occasion of festivity.\n\n\n\n\nSECTION 4. FUNERAL\n\nThe funerals, as one would naturally suppose, are more ceremonious,\nmore ritualistic, and although there is now generally a minimum of\nfestivity connected with them, this has not always been so. [178]\nWhen the condition of a sick person is beyond hope, the priest is\nnotified and the person is given confession, communion, and extreme\nunction. After death the eyes and mouth are closed, the body washed and\ndressed up in the newest and cleanest clothes to be had, and the arms\ncrossed on the breast. [179] Two candles are kept burning until the day\nof the funeral, one at the foot and one at the head of the coffin. Sad,\nwooden bells are sounded, and guests are invited to pay their last\nrespects. Coffee is served to them, but without sugar, as a sign of\ngrief. Mourning women are secured, who eulogize the departed and weep\nand lament until the priests begin their chanting. The corpse is now\ntaken to the church in a special coffin which is covered with a black\nvelvet cloth adorned with small white crosses, among the wealthy, but\namong the poor the body is wrapped in linen and laid in a simple bier,\ncarried by relatives and friends. At the head of the procession, which\nmarches very slowly and chants on the way, there are carried a great\ncross and two lighted torches, followed by the priests and then by\nthe coffin. The passer-by must stop and cross himself many times. At\nthe church the coffin is laid down, and if the relatives are wealthy\neach person in the church is provided with a small wax candle which\nis kept lighted during the service. While the ceremony proceeds the\nbody is blessed with holy water and perfumed with incense, after which\nthe procession re-forms to accompany the body to the cemetery. The\nchanting is kept up all the way. At the cemetery the body is lowered\ninto its last resting-place, and the priest, after making the sign of\nthe cross on the four corners of the grave, throws three shovelfuls\nof earth into it and three more on the coffin. The people imitate\nby throwing three handfuls of dust, and the ceremony completed, all\nreturn to the home of the deceased where they partake of steaming\nbroth prepared by the neighbors and friends, and recite prayers for\nthe soul of the dead. This latter practice, as said before, is a pagan\nsurvival, as is also the chanting of mass for the departed, which\noccurs three days later, at which time broth is again distributed,\nbut this time to the poor as a sacrifice to the dead. The grave is\nblessed on the third day, again on the ninth, at the close of the\nthird month, and for the last time, at the close of the year.\n\nThe funeral of a priest is performed with much splendor. [180]\nThe procession makes a circuit of all the churches, and stopping at\ndifferent places, portions of the gospel are read. If the priest be\nof high rank, as an archbishop, or a bishop, he is carried in an open\ncoffin and in a sitting posture, dressed up in official vestments, in\nwhich position he is interred in the courtyard of the church. Farmers\nsend sheep to be killed and given to the poor as a sacrifice. The\nGreeks in Constantinople also carry their dead in an open coffin,\nbut this is because a Greek official who was a refugee prisoner in\nConstantinople at the time of the war of the Turks with the Greeks,\nendeavored to get himself carried out of the country by feigning death\nand boxing himself up in a coffin. But the Turks discovered the ruse\nand it was enacted by the sultan that thereafter all Greeks must be\ncarried to their graves in open coffins. The custom in respect to\nthe Armenian bishops, however, has no connection with this.\n\nIn some parts of Armenia, as for example in Erzerum, the snow lies\nso deep in winter-time that burial is well-nigh impossible. During\nspring-time, with the melting of the snow, coffins have been found\nperched up on tree tops. This was related by an Armenian boy I know\nof, who lived in the vicinity of Erzerum. Curious customs of the past\nhave left their marks. In Tarsus, for example, there are Armenian\ngraves ranged about a tree which is asserted to have been planted\nby St. Paul, each provided with a stone upon which has been carved a\nsymbol of the deceased, for the merchant, a representation of weights\nand measures, for the blacksmith, an anvil and hammer, for the scribe,\nan inkstand and pen, and for the industrious housewife, a distaff\nand spindle. In the cemetery of Nakhitchevan is a large building\nin which the mourners have a great repast after the funeral, and in\ncertain other graveyards, Dubois found innumerable pieces of broken\npitchers and crockery, which were probably broken, as the custom is,\nto ward off the evil spirit of the dead.\n\nThese four ceremonies complete the third and last group of festivals\ndescribed. I have called them ceremonies because fundamentally that is\nwhat they are, but they are to be distinguished sharply from the many\nchurch ceremonies I have not so much as mentioned, by reason of their\nfestival or social value which alone makes them proper subject-matter\nfor this thesis. The relation between these ceremonies as revealed in\nthe common procession, as well as in the religious ceremony necessary\nto each is due largely to the fact that they have to do with the\nmost ordinary, and yet most extraordinary of life's events, birth,\nbetrothal, marriage, and death.\n\nReviewing them from the standpoint of their social or festival value,\nit is obvious that the marriage celebration easily takes first place,\nthe betrothal festivities second, baptism and funeral third. There is\nthe rather uncouth, perhaps, but none the less spontaneous gaiety of\nthe friends of the bridegroom, not only on the eve of the wedding-day\nwhen they go to the bath, but also on the morning of the wedding-day\nwhen the unfortunate youth is assuredly cured of any addiction he\nmight have to the use of perfumes. I should imagine that the music\nwould begin to bore the young men by the time the barber arrives,\nsince the musicians also accompany the rejoicing of the night before,\nand yet it may be said that there could be nothing more convenient\nor ingenious devised to carry over a lull in the merry-making, for\nafter all, the young men could not well be singing, joking, laughing,\nand teasing all the time. In striking contrast is the melancholy\nrejoicing of the party of young women at the home of the bride. But\nwhere there is dancing and singing there can not well be weeping,\nalthough no doubt it is more natural for the bride to be thoughtful\non her wedding-day, than for the bridegroom, for it is the former\nwho leaves her home to spend the rest of her days in a very new,\nvery strange, perhaps even unkindly world. There is still another\nreason for the melancholy, in that the girl must know she is bidding\nfarewell forever to the delights and joys and freedom of childhood,\nfor although to-day she may speak and sing and make merry, to-morrow\nmorning she must be silent and prepared to pour water over the hands\nof her father- and mother-in-law. Henceforth it is for her to be\nsubmissive, obedient, docile, uncomplaining even at heart, for what\nuse will it be to complain, and though her most cherished dreams\nmay be of motherhood, does she not also have spirit, and why must\nit be broken? Is she then only a chattel to be sold into everlasting\nbondage? It is all too evident, even to the dullest of brides, that\nthe happiness of childhood is forever past, and the brighter one can\nhardly fail to feel that she has been bartered for the bit of gold\nabout her waist or neck.\n\nThere is then the very highest of social value to be attributed to both\nof these festivities, and largely because in each group of people,\nthe young men on one side, the young women on the other, there is\nperfect community of feeling, mutual understanding, and freedom\nof thought and expression. In comparison with these gatherings,\nthe mixed assembly at the house of the bridegroom after the marriage\nceremony is of little importance. The succession of events covering a\nperiod of nearly thirty-six hours, of which only a few, and perhaps\nnone at all, are spent in sleep by the members of the bridal party,\nmust certainly begin to have its effect by the time the little baby\ndoll is placed in the lap of the bride.\n\nThe betrothal party is always out for a good time, for they realize\nthat the merry-making is to be an all-night affair. There is the\nprocession with its candles lighting up the darkened streets, the music\nand singing filling all space, the humorous little artificialities in\nthe house of the bride,--real enough, at least ceremoniously, from\nthe standpoint of the family,--the syrup, the attempted stealing of\nutensils, the return procession, the singing, music, and dancing at\nthe home of the young bridegroom-to-be, without stop until dawn. All\nof this makes a rather complete occasion, even for young people.\n\nBaptism and funeral rites come nearest being pure ceremonies. But\neven the baptismal rite has its procession to and from the church\nparticipated in by all the friends and relatives of the family, and\nthough the event is an occasion neither for rejoicing nor for sorrow,\nit is important enough, occurring as it does but once in the lifetime\nof each individual. There are, to be sure, the social calls that follow\nthe ceremony. But the event can not be said to have any attraction\nfor the young; and if this is true of baptism, it is still more true\nof funerals. Nevertheless there is the distinct psychological value\nof each, calling up as they do various associations, as the baptism\nof this one, or the death of another one, and thus keeping alive\nthe deepest experiences of life. If they are crude and offensive\nto more delicate tastes, it must be remembered that a belief is\nrepresented in the concrete fashion essential to the simple mind,\na mode of representation necessary to the best of intellects even\nthough on another plane.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nSUMMARY\n\n\nSuch are the festivals treated in the second and last part of this\nthesis. Is it true that they form a vehicle of expression for the\nnational sentiment created by the large mass of social material\nof which the legends of Part One are a considerable and important\nportion? Again it will be necessary to remind ourselves of the\nchief sentiments included within Armenian national sentiment, i.e.,\nthe sentiment of loyalty to the church, the sentiment of reverence\namounting almost to worship for the ancient glory of the nation,\nand the sentiment of love for the country. It would be ridiculous\nto suppose that every festival was designed to give expression to\nsome one of these sentiments. But that these sentiments are given\nvery clear, very real outward expression in the great majority of the\ncelebrations described, should be so evident at this point as to make\nfurther exposition unnecessary. In the summer Festival of Vartavar,\nthe spring Festival of Mihr, Vartan's Day, and in the consecration\nof the Katholikos there is the proud and reverent looking back to the\ntimes when Armenia was an independent nation; the festival ceremonies\nof the third group, baptism, betrothal, marriage, and funeral, though\nthey are not positive expressions of the sentiments of loyalty to the\nchurch, are yet so completely interwoven with the church and dependent\nupon it that one is compelled to regard the feeling as something to be\ntaken for granted, while in most of the festivals of the second group,\nChristmas, Easter, Maundy Thursday, and the Blessing of the Grapes\nespecially, the sentiment is given a more positive expression. As for\nthe sentiment of love for the country, that is identified especially\nwith Vartavar and Vartan's Day. It is evident, therefore, that each\nof these festivals and festival-ceremonies forms a medium more or\nless evident as the case may be, for the expression of one or more or\nall of the sentiments that make up Armenian national sentiment. Some\nof them are not to be classified as readily as this, as for example,\nthe festival of Ascension morning, or Fortune-Telling Day, in which\nthe dominant sentiment is one of romantic love, or in the Blessing\nof the Water, where the desire for a gain in health or wealth is the\nmain psychological fact.\n\nEach one of these festivals, however, is a great deal more than the\nputting into activity of some of the above sentiments. In many of them\nthe play-instinct is clearly evident, while in a few such as Vartavar,\nthe whole self, with all its sentiments, instincts, tendencies,\nand emotions, is given the fullest and most unrestrained freedom. A\nfestival, if it is anything, is a letting loose of the reins;\nthere is nothing to hinder, nothing to keep back, nothing to hide,\nnothing to fear, and the self reaches out in a higher consciousness of\nfullness and completeness of living. As such it would be the greatest\nof fallacies to suppose any one of the festivals to be restricted to\na particular sentiment. Nevertheless, it is clear, that the festivals\ndo constitute vehicles of expression for the sentiments that make up\nArmenian national sentiment.\n\n\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\n\nThe general conclusions to which this study unmistakably gives rise are\nin respect to the national traits of the Armenian people. These traits\nhave been brought out both explicitly and implicitly in connection with\nthe various legends and festivals considered, and it is my purpose,\ntherefore, to summarize and substantiate them at this point. They\ninclude, first, the superstitiousness, second, the conservatism,\nthird, the self-sufficiency, and lastly the familism of the people.\n\nFirst of these qualities, superstitiousness, may be ascribed in large\nmeasure to geographical isolation. The country to be sure, is so\nsituated as to form a highway from Europe to the Mesopotamian valley,\nand from Asiatic Russia to the Mediterranean, and although it has been\noverrun by Assyrians, Greeks, Parthians, Romans, Persians, Turks,\nEgyptians, and still others, yet we must speak of it as isolated,\nfor the science that has brought remote countries into contact has\nnot affected Armenia to any considerable degree. Subject to a backward\nnation, lacking all modern means of communication, the country is shut\noff and the plows of civilization have not yet furrowed the social\nsoil of superstition. How general these superstitions are is brought\nout especially by the festivals described, many of which have given\nrise to a superstition or a group of superstitions. From Vartavar,\nthere came the belief that the dust from the sacred altar served as a\ntalisman for children learning their A B C's; the spring fire festival\ngave rise to the practice of taking home a glowing brand for good luck;\nthere is the belief that the blessed water will cure various diseases,\nand that the oil scraped from the anointed foot with a walnut given by\nthe priest after washing the feet at the ceremony of Maundy Thursday,\nwill keep a supply of butter throughout the year. And then there are\nthe beliefs in the miraculous power of the holy oil, manufactured with\ndue ceremony every four years at Sis; in the healing power of the\nvarious sacred relics kept at Etchmiadzin and other places, and ten\nthousand others. There are also beliefs not of a religious character\nas the above, such as the one in regard to the tetagush, the little\nlocust-eating bird, which is supposed to be attracted by Ararat spring\nwater. The same superstition obtains in other parts of the country with\nthe difference that the inconvenience of obtaining Ararat spring water\nmakes it necessary for the people to believe in the peculiar efficacy\nof other springs. These illustrations are sufficient, and although it\ncould hardly be proved that Armenians are more innately superstitious\nthan the Anglo-Saxon ancestors who believed only a few generations\nago in the power of the malignant eye, and that an innocent person\nmight pass through fire unharmed, yet their superstitious nature and\nbeliefs are present-day facts explained most completely on the ground\nof comparative isolation from the rest of the world.\n\nSecond of the national characteristics of the people clearly\nbrought out by this study is their conservatism. This may also be\ntraced in large measure to their secluded condition, but in larger\nproportion is it due to the solidarity and national consciousness,\nwhich naturally consider innovations as foreign, and intrusions of\nforeign cultures, ideals, customs, and manners as hostile. That this\nis true is indicated conclusively by the fact that in Constantinople,\nwhere Armenian culture has naturally come in conflict with that of the\nGreek, the Turk, and the European, the Armenians have not at all given\nup their ways to imitate any of the three peoples mentioned. To be\nsure they have not adhered rigidly to the old beliefs and practices of\nthe interior. Comparison has resulted in substitution, and conflict\nbetween the rational and irrational, the utile and the inutile,\nhas meant displacement, but invariably by something distinctly\ndifferent from the usages and practices current among Turk or\nEuropean. That is, Armenians are themselves centers of imitation\nby fellow Armenians who, though they follow the lines suggested by\ntheir fellow countrymen, scorn to imitate even the European, whose\nsuperiority is generally recognized in Constantinople. The Armenian,\nrecognizing no superior, has merely modified his own practices, usages,\nmanners, and customs to suit his changed environment. And therefore\nI say that the characteristic Armenian conservatism is due rather to\na strong feeling of nationality than to isolation.\n\nThe conservatism of the church has been an important element. Refusing\nto have anything to do with the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon,\nthe church became independent and has maintained a policy of the most\nrigid ultra-conservatism ever since. Says Ormanian:\n\n\n    The Armenian church would have nothing to do with this transaction\n    (Chalcedon) which was prompted by a design that had no bearing\n    on theology. She remained firm in her original resolve, and ever\n    maintained an attitude of ultra-conservatism. She set herself\n    to resist every new dogmatic utterance said to emanate from\n    revelation, as well as every innovation which could in any way\n    pervert the primitive faith. [181]\n\n\nThat this same spirit is reflected in the social life of the people\nis something one would naturally expect, in view of the important\ninfluence of the church over the entire life of the people. As the\nfather of the Alan princess replied when requested to give the hand\nof his daughter to Artasches, \"From whence shall brave Artasches give\nthousands upon thousands and ten thousands upon tens of thousands unto\nthe Alans in return for the maiden?\" so to-day the first question\nthat is asked when the hand of a young Armenian girl is requested\nin marriage is \"What can he give for his bride?\" The practice of\nwife purchase has only changed in that the required riches are given\nto the bride instead of to the father of the bride. Occasionally a\nyoung man is pressed to the point of mortgaging property in order\nto obtain the necessary funds, and it has been known that in many\nsuch cases the young bride found her treasure gone shortly after\nher marriage, her master having taken it to pay off his mortgage. So\nparents arrange for the marriage of their children, the young wife is\ndelivered up to her husband as the obedient and submissive servant,\nchildren are baptized after they have scarcely opened their eyes, and\nchurch ceremonies are conducted much as they have been for generations.\n\nThe self-sufficiency of the Armenian people has been indicated in\nthe repeated failures of missionary religions and foreign cultures to\nalter appreciably the native folkways and mores. In spite of political\nsubordination to Islam, the Gregorian church has held tenaciously\nto its ideals and has successfully maintained its independence. The\ndistinctive social tradition,--which includes the political and the\nreligious traditions,--has remained intact in the face of recurrent\ninvasion, vassalage, and persecution. The Armenian will not be\nassimilated. Death is preferable to the loss of those intangible\nrealities that make the people a distinctive group. When Haic, the\npatriarchal progenitor of the race, was invited to \"soften his hard\npride,\" and to return to the kingdom of the god Bel, the alternative,\nwar, was chosen. In the year 450, when the Persian fire-worshippers\ninvited the Armenians to change their faith, the answer again\nwas war. The reply to the decision of Chalcedon illustrates the\nsame spirit. Likewise through the centuries of the immediate past\nthe ever recurring answer to the Turk has been war. Powerless to\nassimilate the Armenian people, the Turk has had to annihilate or be\nannihilated. The self-sufficiency of the people thus reveals itself\nin the will to maintain the distinctive social tradition, regardless\nof cost or sacrifice.\n\nThe characteristic familism reveals itself not only in the customs of\nfamily life, but also in the very nature of the Armenian. In Russian\nArmenia there is a very active propaganda carried on by Russian girls\nto secure Armenian husbands because of the domesticity of the latter,\nwhich is in striking contrast to the adventurous unfaithfulness of\nthe Russian husband, whose house becomes his prison, from which\nhe therefore flees, leaving his wife and children to shift for\nthemselves. The discontented Russian may be a more attractive lover\nfor his \"Wanderlust\" and restlessness, but he is a less attractive\nhusband for the same reason. An Armenian husband belongs in his home,\nwhere he lives in the hope that some day he may be the father of\na huge household of married sons and grandsons. A young Armenian I\nknow spoke to me of his wish that some day his father might collect\nthe scattered sons and unite them and their families in a single\nhousehold. This desire is so general among Armenians as to make it\nevident that the family is the all-important social unit. No reputation\nis so great as that carried by a good family name, nor is there any\nso damning as that which goes with a bad family name. And why is the\nyoung bride kept silent for years if not to ensure the all-essential\nfamily-unity, family-solidarity, and family-continuity,--that is,\ncontinuity of family tradition, manners, and customs? And why is\nthe \"patria-potestas\" well-nigh unlimited if not for precisely the\nsame reason? Nor is the taboo upon the young bride, according to\nwhich she may not speak to any young man not a relative during her\nentire life of marriage, of no significance in this connection. It too\nprecludes family disruption, or blemish on the family name. Divorce and\ninfidelity are very rare, all family differences having no tribunal\noutside the patriarch, who considers his greatest misfortune to be a\nlack of family integrity or oneness. Thus a son who has been swayed\nby Protestantism dares not clash with his father, and has no choice\nbut to run away, while a daughter whose wishes are contrary can\nbe disobedient only at the cost of breaking the family connection,\nto prevent which she is usually ready to make any sacrifice. All of\nthis is no accident. Forced to dwell within the circle of the family\ngroup for seven, eight, or nine months during the year without so much\nas opening his door, because of the severity of winter, the life of\nthe patriarch is inevitably centered in his household, and therefore\nalso the self of each member is merged into the larger unit. This\nfamilism throws additional light on some of the conclusions I have\ninsisted upon, for nothing so fosters conservatism as a substantial\nfamily solidarity; what could be more instrumental in passing on the\nnational sentiment, and finally, what could be more favorable to the\ndevelopment of the self-sufficiency, the independence of Armenian\ncharacter? In speaking of \"familism and the well-knit family\" Ross\nsays; \"Worshippers of the spirit of the hearth, they are more aloof\nfrom their fellows, slower therefore to merge with them or be swept\nfrom their moorings by them. It seems to be communion by the fire-side\nrather than communion in the public resort that gives individuality\nlong bracing roots. The withdrawn social self, although it lacks\nbreadth, gains in depth, etc.\" [182]\n\nAny socially well-knit people possessing a distinctive social\ntradition, and characterized by a highly developed national\nconsciousness, may make its contribution to the world's work, if\nit is given the necessary freedom. As the period of the Arsacidae\nkings brought forth the golden age of Armenian literature, so greater\nachievements may follow the political independence that is hoped for,\nand for which Armenians have valiantly struggled. Lord Bryce writes\nof the Armenian race, \"It is the only one of the native races of\nWestern Asia that is capable of restoring productive industry and\nassured prosperity to the now desolate region that was the earliest\nhome of civilization.\" In the past, the energy of the people has\nbeen wasted in ceaseless conflict. Given a guarantee of territorial\nintegrity, and participation in the affairs of government with the\nhope of future autonomy, the energies of strife will be diverted to\nthe work of peace. Not until then can the high calling expressed in\nthe words of Lord Bryce be realized.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\nAbeghian, A. Der armenische Volksglaube. Leipzig. 1899.\n\nAgathange. Histoire du regne de Tiridate. In Langlois, Collection\ndes historiens de l'Armenie.\n\nAnonymous. Easter service. Survey 36:167.\n\n---- Armenian folk-lore. Fraser's Magazine (n.s.) 13:283-97.\n\nArnot, Robert. World's great classic series. Section on Armenian\nliterature and folk-lore. New York. 1901.\n\nBent, J. T. Travels amongst the Armenians. Contemporary Review 70:695.\n\nBlackwell, Alice, S. Preface to Seklemian's tales. New York. 1898.\n\nBoyadjian, Z. C. Armenian legends and poems. London. 1916.\n\nBrightman, F. E. Liturgies eastern and western. Oxford. 1896.\n\nBryce, J. Transcaucasia and Ararat. London. 1896.\n\nCesaresco, E. M. Folk-songs. London. 1886.\n\nChikhachev, P. A. Reisen in Kleinasien und Armenien. Gotha. 1867.\n\nClark, W. Armenian history. New Englander 22:507, 672.\n\nConybeare, F. C. Armenian church. Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed.\n\n---- Armenian language and literature. Ibid.\n\n---- Key of truth. Oxford. 1898.\n\n---- Rituale Armenorum. Oxford. 1905.\n\nCurzon, Robert. Armenia. London. 1854.\n\nDubois de Montpereux. Voyages. Vols. 2, 3. Paris. 1839-43.\n\nElisee Vartabed. Histoire de Vartan et de la guerre des Armeniens. In\nLanglois, Collection.\n\nEmin, M. Movses--Khorenatzi yev Hayotz Hin Veber. Tiflis. 1886.\n\nFaustus of Byzance. Bibliotheque historique. In Langlois, Collection.\n\nFortescue, E. F. K. The Armenian church. London. 1872.\n\nGelzer, H. Armenia. New Schaff Herzog Encyclopaedia.\n\nGibbon, Ed. Decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. 3. New\nYork. 1910.\n\nHodgetts, E. A. B. Round about Armenia. London. 1896.\n\nLanglois, Victor. Collection des historiens de l'Armenie. Vols. 1,\n2. Paris. 1867-1869. Contains translations of various historians\ndating from 2nd century before Christ to 5th century after Christ.\n\nLidgett, Elizabeth S. An ancient people. London. 1897.\n\nLynch, H. F. B. Armenia. Vols. 1, 2. London. 1901.\n\nMacDougall, W. Social psychology. Boston. 1916.\n\nMar Apas Catina. Histoire ancienne de l'Armenie. In Langlois,\nCollection.\n\nMesrob, St. Maschtotz. Constantinople. No date given.\n\nMoise de Khorene. Histoire de l'Armenie. In Langlois, Collection.\n\nOrmanian, M. The Armenian church. London. 1912.\n\nRadloff, W. Volksliteratur tuerkischen Staemme. St. Petersburg. 1866.\n\nRaffi, A. Article on Armenia. In Boyadjian, Armenian legends and poems.\n\nRockwell, W. Publications of Hakluyt Society. Series 2, IV, and other\nreferences under \"Armenia.\"\n\nRoss, E. A. Social psychology. New York. 1917.\n\nSt. Martin, J. Memoire sur l'Armenie. Paris. 1818-1819.\n\nSeklemian, S. Golden maiden and other tales. New York. 1898.\n\nStubbs, W. Lectures on mediaeval kingdoms. Oxford. 1887.\n\nTarde, G. Les lois sociales. Paris. 1898.\n\nTavernier, J. B. Voyages en Turquie en Perse et aux\nIndes. Vol. 3. Utrecht. 1712.\n\nTerzian, P. Religious customs among Armenians. Catholic World 71:305,\n509.\n\nTrowbridge, T. C. Armenia and Armenians. New Englander 33:1.\n\nUbicini, J. H. A. Letters on Turkey. London. 1856.\n\nVillari, Luigi. Fire and sword in the Caucasus. London. 1906.\n\nWilson, C. W. Armenia. Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] Detailed descriptions of geography and geology may be found\nin Lynch, Armenia; St. Martin, Memoire sur l'Armenie, 2. Summary\ndescriptions may be found in the New Schaff Herzog and Britannica\nencyclopedias.\n\n[2] Robert Curzon, Armenia.\n\n[3] Dubois de Montpereux, Voyages 3:400.\n\n[4] There is a belief that the toneer is sacred. \"Nur der alte T'onir,\nder offen Backofen, der von den Iraniern entlehnt ist und am fuenften\nJahrhundert schon gebraucht wird, gilt ueberall in Armenien als\nheilig.\" Abeghian, Der armenische Volksglaube p. 3.\n\n[5] Surrounded as Armenia was with almost all of the ancient\ncivilizations, including the Parthians, Scythians, Medes, Assyrians,\nBabylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, she was inevitably involved\nin continual warfare, while the central situation of the territory\nmade it a common stamping ground for hostile armies. Langlois 1:ix.\n\n[6] Ormanian, The Church of Armenia pp. 151-54.\n\n[7] Mar Apas Catina. Langlois' Collection des Histoires de l'Armenie\n1:16.\n\n[8] St. Martin, Memoire sur l'Armenie 1:281.\n\n[9] Mar Apas Catina. Langlois 1:15-18.\n\nMoses of Khorene. Langlois 3:63-64.\n\n[10] St. Martin 1:306.\n\n[11] Ibid. 1:282-3. Moses of Khorene 2:67-69.\n\nMar Apas Catina 1:26-27.\n\nThe first Arsacidae king of Armenia, Valarsace, whose reign began\nin 149 B.C. found the kingdom in general disorder and was the first\nto organize the country along national lines. As a Parthian he was\nunacquainted with the history and institutions of the people, and\ndesiring to build upon the established foundation, such as it was,\nhe sent a Syrian scholar, Mar Apas Catina by name, with a letter to\nhis brother, Arsace, king of Persia, requesting the latter to allow the\nSyrian access to the royal archives with the view of finding a history\nof Armenia. Mar Apas Catina found an old MS containing a history\nof ancient Armenia which bore the name of no author, and which was\ntranslated from Chaldean to Greek by order of Alexander the Great. It\nwas translated into Syriac by the Syrian scholar for the benefit of\nValarsace, but the MS has been lost, and there is not the slightest\ntrace of it anywhere. It must have been in existence however, during\nthe fifth century after Christ for Moses of Khorene used it as his only\nsource for Armenia's ancient history, in writing his general history\nof Armenia. The old MS being lost, the translation by Mar Apas Catina\nand the first part of the history of Moses are given as identical\nto each other in Langlois' collection of Armenian historians. The\nancient history contains the legends of Haic, of Ara and Semiramis,\nand of Vahakn, some of the songs of heroes, still sung, and other\nmatter which is strictly speaking not historical. As a history,\ntherefore, it is unreliable and unauthentic, but from the standpoint\nof the social historian it is invaluable, for a belief is as important\na fact to sociology as the dethronement of a king is to history.\n\n[12] Boyadjian, Armenian Legends and Poetry p. 33.\n\n[13] St. Martin 1:409.\n\n[14] Lynch 2:65.\n\n[15] Lynch, Armenia, chapter entitled \"Van.\"\n\n[16] Raffi, article in Boyadjian's Armenian Legends and Poetry, p. 125.\n\n[17] Lynch, chapter on Van.\n\n[18] Moses of Khorene 2:69.\n\n[19] Ibid.\n\n[20] Lynch 2:65.\n\n[21] Moses of Khorene 2:68, 69.\n\n[22] St. Martin 1:285.\n\n[23] Raffi p. 129. Abeghian pp. 49, 50.\n\n[24] Moses of Khorene 2:76. Translation from Moses, Boyadjian p. 10.\n\nMar Apas Catina 1:40.\n\n[25] Mar Apas Catina 1:41. Moses of Khorene p. 76.\n\nMoses of Khorene, called the Herodotus of Armenia, has written the best\nknown history of the Armenian people. The work has been translated\ninto Latin, Italian, French, German, and Russian. Moses lived in the\nfifth century, two centuries after the conversion of the nation to\nChristianity. He belonged to the second order of translators in the\nschool of St. Sahag and St. Mesrob, and was sent to Syria, Egypt,\nGreece, and Rome in order to complete his studies. Upon returning to\nhis country he found everything in disorder. St. Sahag and St. Mesrob\nwere dead, the king had been overthrown, and he chose the life of\nsolitude. Sometime later he was chosen bishop and requested by an\nArmenian prince, Sahag Bagratide, to write a history of his country,\nwhich task he took up with great enthusiasm. The translation of Mar\nApas Catina was his only source for Armenian ancient history. He\ncarefully differentiates hearsay from fact, never fails to stamp\na fable or legend as such, and generally quotes his authorities\nwhere he has them. Considering the limitation of his materials, and\nthe time in which he wrote, Moses wrote a really remarkable book,\nalthough the verdicts of a few critics have been unfavorable.\n\n[26] Raffi p. 129.\n\n[27] Lidgett, An Ancient People. St. Martin 1:409. Mar Apas Catina\np. 41.\n\n[28] The influence of Greek culture is chiefly indicated by the fact\nthat the pagan divinities were Greek and that many temples were erected\nto these gods and goddesses all over the country. (Agathange, Histoire\ndu Regne de Tiridate. Langlois 1:164-70.) Secondly, there were formed\nby St. Sahag and St. Mesrob in the fifth century after the conversion\nof the nation to Christianity, schools of translators, who studied in\nGreece, Egypt, and Rome and whose chief works were translations from\nthe Greek. With the conversion (301) came the necessity for a written\nlanguage, the characters of which were invented by St. Mesrob in\n404. Thereupon were organized the schools of translators whose chief\nstudy of necessity was Greek, and whose translations and original\nworks have given to the fifth century the title of \"Golden Age of\nArmenian Literature.\" (Langlois 1:xxi-xxvi, 2:vii.)\n\n[29] St. Martin 1:288, 289. Mar Apas Catina 1:41.\n\nMoses of Khorene 2:81.\n\n[30] Ibid.\n\n[31] Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 3:393.\n\nMoses of Khorene 2:155.\n\n[32] Ibid. pp. 88, 89.\n\n[33] St. Martin 1:291. Moses of Khorene p. 88.\n\n[34] Raffi p. 126.\n\n[35] Langlois 1:ix, x. These songs of which Moses of Khorene very\nfrequently speaks are classified by Langlois into songs of the first\norder, the second order, and the third order. The first are relative\nto the prowess of Armenian kings and gods; the second concern a long\nseries of military exploits accomplished against the Assyrians, Medes,\nand Persians; the third refer especially to traditions in connection\nwith the Assyrians. The birth-song of Vahakn is an illustration of\nthe songs of the first order (p. x, xi). Flint in his History of the\nPhilosophy of History, p. 42, speaks of this period of minstrelsy\nas necessarily preceding the use of letters everywhere. \"The myth\nand legend interest primitive man more than real fact. His vision is\nmore largely of the imagination than of the sense of judgment. It is\nan error to regard the rude minstrelsy which generally preceded the\nuse of letters as essentially historical.\"\n\n[36] Countess Evelyn Martinengo Cesaresco, Essays in the Study of\nFolk-Songs, chapter on Armenia.\n\n[37] The battle of Avarair under the leadership of the celebrated\nVartan, where Armenia defended her national ideals against the\nintrusion of Persia, is proof of this.\n\n[38] Ormanian p. 22. Moses of Khorene p. 158.\n\n[39] There are further proofs that may be cited. The history of English\nand French literature shows that the golden age of their literature\nfollowed a period of social integration along national lines. And\nit is true that the golden age of Armenian literature dawned with\nthe closing decades of the Arsacidae dynasty, and continued several\ndecades beyond. And finally, when Valarsace, the first Arsacidae,\nascended the throne of Armenia, finding everything in a state of\ndisorder, he organized the country along national lines. Dividing\nthe kingdom into provinces he placed his governors at the heads\nof them; he organized a standing army, appointed guardians of the\ngranaries, established courts of justice, a royal guard, and minutely\nregulated court life. What is most interesting is that he appointed two\nreporters, one to remind him in his anger, \"le bien a faire,\" the other\nto remind him of the necessity for doing justice. Ibid. pp. 82-85.\n\n[40] St. Martin 1:300. Moses of Khorene pp. 105-6.\n\n[41] Ibid. p. 106.\n\n[42] Boyadjian p. 49. Moses of Khorene p. 106. Moses as translated by\nLanglois, relates the story as legend, for after telling the tale, and\nquoting the songs he writes, \"Voici maintenant le fait dans toute sa\nverite comme le cuir rouge est tres-estime chez les Alains, Artasches\ndonne beaucoup de peaux de cette couleur, et beaucoup d'or en dot,\net il obtient la jeune princesse Satenig. C'est la la laniere de cuir\nrouge garnie d'anneaux d'or. Ainsi dans les noces, ils chantent des\nlegendes, en disant,\n\n\n        'Une pluie d'or tombait\n        Au marriage d'Artasches;\n        Les perles pleuvait\n        Aux noces de Satenig.'\"\n\n\nMoses likewise relegates the legend and songs of Artavasd to their\nproper places.\n\n[43] Moses of Khorene p. 111.\n\n[44] Translation from Moses by Boyadjian p. 65.\n\n[45] Moses of Khorene p. 111.\n\n[46] Raffi p. 42.\n\n[47] St. Martin 1:appendix.\n\n[48] Ibid.\n\n[49] Clark, New Englander 22:507, 672. Raffi p. 127.\n\n[50] That trees are worshipped even to-day, and that certain\nsuperstitions are bound up with them is clearly shown by Abeghian. \"In\nden Gegenden Armeniens, wo das Land mit Waeldern bedeckt ist, werden\nviele sehr alte und grosse Baeume fuer heilig gehalten und aehnlicher\nWeise wie die Quellen verehrt. Man brennt vor ihnen Lichter. Weihrauch,\nopfert ihnen Haehne und Hammel, kuesst sie, kriecht durch ihren\ngespaltenen Stamm durch, oder laesst magere Kinder durch ihre Loecher\nschluepfen, um die Einwirkung der bosen Geister aufzuheben. Man glaubt\ndass vom Himmel Lichter auf die heiligen Baeume kommen, oder Heilige\nsich auf denselben aufhalten. Auch die Baeume geben Gesundheit, einige\nheilen alle Krankheiten.... Um von Baeumen Heilung zu bekommen soll man\nein Stueck von seiner Kleidung abreissen und damit den Baum umwickeln\noder es auf den Baum nageln. Man glaubt dadurch seine Krankheit auf\nden Baum zu uebertragen.\" Abeghian pp. 58, 59.\n\n[51] Agathangelus p. 127. Emin, Recherches sur le Paganisme Armenien\np. 9.\n\n[52] Raffi, article in Boyadjian's Armenian Legends and Poetry.\n\n[53] Tir is mentioned only once by Agathangelus (p. 164) and he is not\nmentioned by any other Armenian writers (Langlois 1:164). Emin compares\nhim to the Greek Hermes or Mercury, probably because Agathangelus\nspeaks of him as the recorder or reporter of Aramazd. (Emin p. 20,\nnote 1.)\n\n[54] Abeghian p. 4.\n\n[55] He corresponds to the Persian Mithra and is hence of Persian\norigin and not Greek. The Greek translation of Agathangelus\nregards him as analogous to Vulcan, which Emin considers to be\nincorrect. (Agathangelus p. 168; Emin p. 20.)\n\n[56] Raffi, article in Boyadjian's Armenian Legends and Poetry.\n\nSeklemian's Tales. Preface by Blackwell.\n\n[57] \"Und auch heute pflegt man stellenweise niederzuknieen und zu\nbeten: 'O du goettliche strahlende Sonne! Dein Fuss ruhe auf meinem\nAntlitz! Bewahre meine Kinder.'\" u. s. w. Abeghian p. 43.\n\n[58] Although the Greeks have identified Anahit with their goddess\nof chastity, Artemid, the Armenian goddess is not of Greek, but of\nAssyro-Babylonian origin according to Emin. Her name \"Anahato\" in\nancient Persian means \"Spotless.\" Agathangelus p. 126; Emin p. 10.\n\n[59] Agathangelus. Langlois 1:127.\n\n[60] Raffi p. 129.\n\nBoth Nane and Astghik are mentioned by Agathangelus who speaks of the\nlatter as the Aphrodite of the Greeks. (Agathangelus p. 173.) Emin\nlikens Nane to Venus. The fact is that very little is known of\neither. (Agathangelus p. 168; Emin, p. 16.)\n\n[61] St. Martin 1:305, 306.\n\n[62] In the reigns of Artasches I and Tigranes II, many Greek\nstatues were imported from abroad, and the latter king not only\nconstructed temples for the worship of Greek divinities, but also\nordered all to offer sacrifices and to worship newly acquired gods\nand goddesses. (Moses of Khorene pp. 86-88.)\n\n[63] St. Martin 1:295.\n\n[64] Moses of Khorene p. 95.\n\n[65] Moses of Khorene p. 96.\n\n[66] Ibid.\n\n[67] Ormanian p. 3.\n\n[68] There is another legend of St. Thaddeus, according to which\nhe converted Abgar and his whole court to Christianity, curing the\nking of his disease at the same time. (Moses p. 97.) Abgar, who died\nshortly afterword, divided his kingdom between his son and nephew. The\nformer at once resumed the pagan worship while the latter was forced\nto apostatize. But the preaching and martyrdom of St. Thaddeus at the\nhand of Sanatruk, the nephew, is recorded by Faustus of Byzantium,\none of the most reliable of early Armenian historians. (Faustus of\nByzantium. Langlois 1:210. See also Lynch, Armenia 1:278, and Moses\nof Khorene pp. 98-99.)\n\n[69] Lynch 1:286.\n\n[70] St. Martin pp. 302, 303.\n\n[71] Agathangelus. Langlois 1:115.\n\n[72] St. Martin p. 303.\n\nAgathangelus p. 122.\n\n[73] St. Martin p. 304. Agathangelus p. 121.\n\n[74] Agathangelus pp. 126-33.\n\n[75] Ibid. p. 135.\n\n[76] Lynch 1:256. Agathangelus p. 139.\n\n[77] Critics have distinguished Agathangelus, the historian,\nfrom Pseudo Agathangelus, the meddler, who evidently had religious\ninterests at stake. The former lived in the fourth century, and was\nsecretary to Tiridates, who unquestionably commissioned him to keep\nthe records of the events of his reign. He is spoken of by Moses and\nother ancient historians as sincere and reliable. It is thus assumed\nthat the original work has been destroyed or lost, and that the Greek\nand Armenian texts now existing are the work of an interpolater who\ndesired to weave the straggling skeins of religious sentiment into\na single garment by establishing an historic and literary sanction\nto the religious events of the period of the conversion. There are\nmany indications of this, chief of which is the highly imaginative\nstyle of narrative, undoubtedly designed with the particular intent\nof capturing the minds of the people. (Langlois' introduction to\nAgathangelus 1:99-108.)\n\n[78] Langlois in his footnotes states that the chapel consecrated\nto St. Gaiane was constructed by the Katholikos Ezdras in the year\n630. and repaired in 1652. The church of St. Rhipsime was built by the\nKatholikos Gomidas in 618, and repaired in 1653. The main cathedral\nwas built by St. Gregory. They are situated in Etchmiadzin. (Dubois\n3:213. Langlois 1:160, 162.)\n\n[79] Lynch 1:291, note.\n\n[80] Dubois 3:276.\n\n[81] Bryce pp. 314, 315.\n\n[82] Ormanian p. 13.\n\n[83] Dubois 3:276.\n\n[84] Ormanian p. 8.\n\n[85] Agathangelus pp. 164-66.\n\n[86] See Conybeare's translation and annotation of the Key of\nTruth, the book of the Paulicians (Adoptionists) of Thonrak. This\nbook contains the baptismal and ordinal service of the Adoptionist\nchurch. (Especially pp. vi-xcxii.)\n\n[87] Conybeare p. xcvii. The original is given by Conybeare as follows:\n\"Dic mihi,\" says Archelaus, \"super quem Spiritus Sanctus sicut columba\ndescendit. Quis est etiam qui baptizatur a Ioanne si perfectus erat,\nsi Filius erat, si vertus erat, non poterat Spiritus ingredi; sicut\nnee regnum potest ingredi intra regnum.\"\n\nLynch 1:279.\n\n[88] Ibid. 1:282.\n\n[89] Lynch 1:294.\n\nAgathangelus pp. 164-66.\n\n[90] St. Martin 1: appendix.\n\nElisee Vartabed, Histoire de Vartan. Langlois 2:190-91.\n\n[91] Ibid. p. 195.\n\n[92] Lidgett, An Ancient People.\n\nThe detailed events of this struggle against the Persians are\ntold in the Histoire de Vartan et de la Guerre des Armeniens, by\nElisee Vartabed who belonged to the second order of translators and\nserved under General Vartan during the war, the history of which he\nnarrates. After the sad ending of the series of dramatic incidents that\nmade up this struggle for religious freedom, Elisee sought solitude\nand lived on herbs and roots in a mountainside cave which came to be\nknown as the \"cave of Elisee.\" Because of a growing social intimacy\nhe was obliged to find a second cave in a more remote section of the\ncountry, where he completed his work and died. His history is written\nin the style of a religious mystic, is full of dramatic imagery,\nand has come down as an Armenian classic. (Langlois 2:179-82.)\n\n[93] Lynch 1:313.\n\nOrmanian p. 35.\n\n[94] Ibid. p. 36.\n\n[95] Genesis 8:4.\n\n[96] James Bryce, Transcaucasia and Ararat p. 210.\n\nSt. Martin 1:264.\n\n[97] St. Martin 1:267-68.\n\n[98] Tavernier, Voyages 1:43.\n\n[99] Bryce, Transcaucasia and Ararat, chapter on Ararat.\n\n[100] Dubois 3:465.\n\n[101] Arghuri means \"Il sema la vigne.\" St. Martin pp. 266, 267.\n\n[102] Dubois 3:465-68.\n\n[103] Bryce, chapter on Ararat.\n\n[104] Dubois 3:468.\n\n[105] Countess Evelyn Martinengo Cesaresco, chapter on Armenian\nfolk-songs. Fraser's Magazine (n.s.) 13:283-97.\n\n[106] Fraser's Magazine (n.s.) 13:283-97.\n\n[107] Ormanian p. 224.\n\nBertrand Bareilles, preface to the French edition of Ormanian p. xviii.\n\n[108] Ormanian p. 243.\n\n[109] Ibid. p. 177.\n\n[110] Ubicini, Letters on Turkey.\n\nOrmanian pp. 151, 152.\n\n[111] Ibid. p. 173.\n\n[112] Ibid. p. 141.\n\n[113] Ubicini, Letters on Turkey.\n\n[114] Ormanian p. 170.\n\n[115] Ibid.\n\nUbicini, Letters on Turkey.\n\nTavernier 1:498, 499.\n\n[116] Ormanian p. 152.\n\n[117] Ibid.\n\n[118] Lynch, chapter on Etchmiadzin.\n\nDubois 3:362, 363.\n\n[119] See p. 30 of this thesis, note 32.\n\n[120] Ormanian p. 74.\n\n[121] Ibid.\n\nFor the relation of the church to the Turkish and Russian Governments\nsee Lynch 1:269, also Ubicini, Letters on Turkey.\n\n[122] That is, Pseudo Agathangelus.\n\n[123] Raffi p. 128.\n\n[124] Ibid.\n\n[125] Seklemian's Tales. Preface by Blackwell.\n\n[126] Abeghian pp. 72-74.\n\n[127] The 13th of February according to the old style calendar\ncorresponds to the 26th of February of the Latin calender.\n\n[128] Abeghian p. 72.\n\n[129] Ibid. p 20.\n\nThe remainder of the paragraph is a free translation of selected\nparts of pp. 20-22.\n\n[130] Abeghian p. 22.\n\n[131] Maschtotz, St. Mesrob. One third of the book is devoted to\nthis purpose.\n\n[132] Ormanian p. 189.\n\n[133] Abeghian p. 23.\n\n[134] Ibid. This and preceding paragraph are a free translation from\nselected sentences of pp. 23 and 24.\n\n[135] Tavernier 1:507-9.\n\n[136] Elisee.\n\n[137] Lidgett, Ancient People.\n\n[138] Ibid.\n\n[139] Raffi p. 158.\n\n[140] Translated by Miss Boyadjian, Armenian Legends and Poetry.\n\nAfter the first and third lines of the charm song, the following line\nis sung, which I give in the German of Abeghian:\n\n\n    \"Liebe Rose meine, liebe, liebe.\"\n\n\nand after the second and fourth lines:\n\n\n    \"Liebe Blume meine, liebe, liebe.\" (Abeghian p. 65.)\n\n\nThere are thousands of similarly constructed folk-songs treating\na variety of subjects current among the people, many of which have\nbeen collected by an Armenian by the name of Tcheras, whose book,\nunfortunately, I have not been able to obtain. Miss Boyadjian has\ncollected a few of them in her Armenian Legends and Poetry. However,\nI shall mention only such as are relevant to the festivals to be\ndescribed.\n\n[141] Abeghian pp. 61-62.\n\n[142] World's Great Classic Series. Section on Armenian literature,\nwith introduction by Robert Arnot. See David of Sassun pp. 57-79.\n\n[143] Abeghian p. 51, 52.\n\nEmin, Ancient Armenian Legends.\n\n[144] Abeghian p. 62.\n\n[145] These beliefs are analogous to those in connection with the\nbringing of healing water, or the water of perpetual life, the source\nof which is guarded by monsters, snakes, and scorpions. The hero steals\ncautiously to the source in order not to be observed by the watchmen,\nfills his vessel with water and hurries away, for the mountains and\ntrees call out to warn the guardians of the source who awake and\nfollow the hero. (Ibid. p. 63.)\n\n[146] This part of the festivities is also accompanied with song. In\nAstapet the following song is sung by way of introduction:\n\n\n    \"Holt einen grossen Meister,\n    Lasset ihn den Hochzeitsrock meines geliebten zuschneiden\n    Die Sonne sei der Stoff\n    Der Mond diene als Futter.\n    Stellt aus Wolken die Einfassung her,\n    Wickelt aus dem Meer Seidengarn,\n    Befestigt die Sterne in einer Reihe als Knopfe,\n    Naeht die ganze Liebe hinein.\" (Abeghian p. 64.)\n\n\n[147] Abeghian pp. 63-66.\n\n[148] Ormanian pp. 189-90.\n\n[149] For the ritual side of this festival, the church ceremony known\nas the Blessing of the Crops, or the Blessing of Harvest, and the\nprayers in connection therewith, F. C. Conybeare's Ritual Armenorum,\nand St. Mesrob's Maschtotz may be consulted. The social side I have\ngotten from my wife who has taken part in the festival several times.\n\n[150] A very common custom, especially in the interior villages of\nArmenia, is to give a lighted candle and an apple or orange in which\nsmall silver coins have been stuck, as gifts to the children. This\nis done by the eldest member of the family, usually the grandmother,\nat the time the younger ones come up to kiss her hand and receive\nher blessing.\n\n[151] For a description of the Easter and Christmas fasts, see\nTavernier, Voyages 1:497-98.\n\n[152] The festivals of New Year's Day, Easter, and Christmas, I\nhave described as related to me by my wife who has celebrated them\nin company with others in Constantinople. Such variations practiced\nin the interior of Armenia as I am aware of, I have indicated.\n\n[153] F. C. Conybeare, Ritual Armenorum pp. 213, 294.\n\n[154] Survey 36:167. Anonymous.\n\n[155] Tavernier, Voyages 1:496.\n\n[156] Dubois 3:441.\n\n[157] Ormanian p. 177.\n\n[158] F. C. Conybeare, Ritual Armenorum p. 224.\n\n[159] Brightman, Eastern Liturgies, chapter on Armenian Liturgy. For\nan interesting variation of this ceremony see Tavernier 1:502.\n\nClosely related to this ceremony is that of the blessing or purifying\nof a well. A well is not used until a priest has first blessed it,\nor if the water of a well becomes impure, it is necessary to purify it\nby the blessing of a priest. The latter takes a cross and a Bible and\nhaving requested the people to draw a pail of water which is thrown\naway, a second pail is drawn, over which the priest reads a psalm. The\nwater is then blessed with the cross, incense is burned over the well,\nand the pail of water is emptied back. (Maschtotz.)\n\n[160] Lynch 1:203, 204.\n\n[161] Contemporary Review 70:695. J. T. Bent.\n\nTavernier, 1:500, 501.\n\n[162] The people believe that the holy relic causes the mixture\nto boil.\n\n[163] Catholic World 11:301. Paul Terzian.\n\n[164] According to Maschtotz the devil is abjured and the Trinity\ninvoked at the gate of the church. In the course of the ceremony\nthe priest unclothes the babe and asks the godfather, \"What seeks\nthe child?\" The godfather answers, \"Faith, Hope, Love, and Baptism,\nto be cleansed from his sins and to be freed from the devils.\" The\nthree immersions are symbolical of the three days of burial of\nChrist. (Maschtotz.)\n\n[165] In the description of baptism as witnessed by Tavernier, red\nand white threads were laid about the neck of the child at this point\nin the ceremony. They represent the blood and body of Christ and are\nprobably believed to keep away the evil eye. Beads and various other\ncharm tokens are commonly used for this purpose. (Tavernier 1:500.)\n\n[166] This is probably because evil spirits dwell in darkness, while\nthe beneficent are light.\n\n[167] The similarity to the old Hebrew custom may be noted.\n\n[168] Paul Terzian, Catholic World 71:305.\n\n[169] Tavernier says that frequently two pregnant women who are on\nvery friendly terms, will engage their future offspring, trusting to\nfortune that one will be a boy and the other a girl. (Tavernier 1:505.)\n\n[170] In fact when there is a variance of choice between parents\nand daughter it is common for the girl to regard the decision of her\nparents as being her fate. \"Wenn eine junge Frau mit ihrer Heirat,\ndie sie, nach dem Willen der Eltern geschlossen hat, unzufrieden ist,\nso singt sie:\n\n\n    'Was soll ich meinem Vater und meiner Mutter sagen?\n    Das war auf meine Stirn geschrieben.'\" (Abeghian p. 54.)\n\n\n[171] Paul Terzian, Catholic World 71:305.\n\n[172] It is very evident that the expense of these festivities is a\nconsiderable item in the budget of the bridegroom's father. But it is\na matter of social pride and respectability to live up to a certain\nstandard of established usage. Accordingly many families involve\nthemselves in life-long incumbrances, not only in the betrothal and\nmarriage festivities but also in the ceremony of baptism, simply to\ncome up to a recognized norm of expenditure. (Tavernier 1:504, 505.)\n\n[173] Cesaresco, chapter on Armenian folk-songs.\n\n[174] Paul Terzian, Catholic World 71:508.\n\n[175] Bent, Contemporary Review 70:701.\n\n[176] Tavernier states that in Persian Armenia a man frequently lives\nwith his wife ten years without ever hearing her voice or seeing\nher face. Of course she does not sleep with her veil over her face,\nbut she is always careful to blow out the candle before she removes\nthe veil, as she is to rise before daybreak in order to put it on\nagain. (Tavernier 1:507.)\n\n[177] Trowbridge, New Englander 33:1 ff.\n\n[178] Paul Terzian, Catholic World 71:509.\n\n[179] This statement is in contradiction to a previous statement that\nthe body of the dead is merely wrapped in white cloth after it has\nbeen washed; (see page 60) the use of the white cloth is common among\nGregorian Armenians.\n\n[180] Paul Terzian, Catholic World 71:509 ff.\n\n[181] Ormanian p. 36.\n\n[182] Ross, Social Psychology pp. 88-89.","title":"Armenian legends and festivals","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":46138}