Armenian Culture
Official Name:
Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun) Capital City: Yerevan (pop. 1.2 million) Government:Type: Republic with a presidential
governing system.
Head of state: President Geography:
Location: Asia, in the southern Caucasus.
Total area: 29 800 square kilometers (11 490 square miles) People:
Nationality: Armenian(s).
Population: between 3.0 - 3.8 million
Ethnic groups: Armenian 98%; Yezidi 1.2%; Russian, Greek, and other
0.8%.
Religion: Armenian Apostolic Church (more than 90% nominally affiliated).
Languages: Armenian (Hayeren) 96%, Russian,
other.
Literacy: 99%.
__Symbols
Flag: The Red emblematizes the Armenian Highland, the Armenian
people's continued struggle for survival, maintenance of the Christian
faith, Armenia's independence and freedom. The Blue emblematizes the
will of the people of Armenia to live beneath peaceful skies. The Orange
emblematizes the creative talent and hard-working nature of the people
of Armenia. Coat of arms: Eagle and Lion were chosen because of their power,
courage, patience, wisdom, and nobility in animal kingdom. Other elements
in the middle Mount Ararat and the symbols of the 4 Armenian dynasties
(Artashesian, Arshakunian, Bagratuni and Rubinian);
Five vital elements
1.The sword represents the power and strength of the nation, breaking
the chains of oppression.
2.The broken chain represents effort shown by the nation to gain freedom
and independence.
3.The wheat ears represent the hard working nature of the Armenian people.
4.The feather represents the intellectual and cultural heritage of the
Armenian people.
5.The ribbon represents the colors of the flag of Armenia.
__Background
Hayk Nahapet (Armenian: Հայկ; transliterated as Haik) is the
legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. His story is
told in the History of Armenia attributed to the Armenian historian
Movses Khorenatsi.
__Armenian folklore Epos/ David of Sasun or David of
Sassoun is an Armenian epic hero from the Daredevils of Sassoun who drove
Arab invaders out of Armenian. Baptism of Armenia / At the beginning of IV century Great Armenia became
the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion. This event with
the names of St. Gregory the Illuminator and Armenian king Trdat III the Great.
__The Armenian
alphabet Alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Armenian Language since
the year 405 or 406. It was devised by Saint Mesrop Mashtots Until the 19th century, Classical Armenian was the literary
language; since then, the Armenian alphabet has been used to write the
two official literary dialects of Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian.
Armenians are very proud of their alphabet and rightly so. It is made
up of beautiful characters which represent some wonderful, exotic sounds.
Alas, it is an extremely difficult alphabet to learn.
__Armenian musical
instruments
The zurna, is a multinational outdoor
wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul (bass drum). The duduk (Armenian: դուդուկ) (Turkish: Balaban, Mey),
traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող (Tsiranapogh) is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to
Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central
Asia.
__Armenian
Dances
Kochari (in Քոչարի) - Armenian folk mass (men) dancing. Consists of moderate and fast parts. Berd (in Բերդ - «Fortress")
- Armenian national dance. Artsakh - fire dance. Yarhushta - fighting dance
Traditions: It
goes without saying that people united by national consciousness and
culture try to leave their lives reverently worshiping the ways and
customs of their ancestors. Armenia has managed to save its true spiritual
riches - religion, culture and national centuries-old traditions which
they strictly observe both in times of joy and in grief. Today such
traditions as marriage stability, honoring of elders, strong ties among
relatives, mutual readiness and help and of course hospitality have
been preserved.
__Hospitality The hospitality of Armenian people is known all over the world. Each
time a happy event occurs people throw a party for relatives, friends,
colleagues etc. Drinking and eating is a must; if you refuse you are
not among the ones who share the joy.
__Traditional
Dwelling Traditional houses in Armenian
settlements have a number of distinctive features. The dwelling is usually
a square building with stone walls and dirt roof supported by wooden
columns. A window or a smoke duct in the roof was the only source of
light. Every house had an open hearth with clay furnace standing on
a dais. Some people used fireplaces. The internal furniture of Armenians homes remained
invariable for a long time. The most space in a traditional Armenian
house was occupied by chests, shelves with clay, copper and wooden ware
and a special kind a movable wooden barn on legs keeping grain and flour.
People used to sit on the floor on mats. They had their meals at a low
little table or from the cloth spread directly on the floor. Niches
with doors were used as cabinets. Instead of beds big wooden ottomans
stood along the walls. Traditional elements of interior were carpets,
a pile of quilts and mattresses, ancient utensils.
__Traditional
Clothes The traditional Armenian clothes are very colorful and various
The traditional man's suit consisted of silk or cotton color shirt with
low collar and side fastener and wide trousers from dark wool or cotton.
Over the shirt Armenians put on cotton or silk arkhaluk – outerwear
with low collar fastened waist down with hooks or small buttons. A heavier
item was called chukha; it was made of wool and worn with a narrow big
buckled belt.
Western Armenians wore a waistcoat over shirt and waist length jacket
with full sleeves without fasteners in front. The belt was replaced
with long wide woven scarf wrapped around the waist several times.
Women's traditional clothes of both eastern and western Armenians were
homogeneous. The outerwear included a long dress of arkhaluk type with
a cut on chest and cuts below hips. The waist was wrapped in long folded
silk or woolen scarf. The embroidered apron and decorations were indispensable
elements for western Armenian women. On
their heads men wore caps of different styles: the fur ones were worn
in the east; knitted and woven – in the west. Women's headdresses,
especially in the east, looked like a "turret" made from cotton
fabric with ornaments tied with several scarves covering a part of face.
Western Armenian women used to wear ornate head bands with capes.
National holidays:
__Terendez (also Tyarndarach and Candlemas Day) is a feast of
purification in the Armenian Apostolic Church and Armenian Catholic
Churches, celebrated 40 days after Jesus’s birth. The celebration
of the Trndez is believed to be pagan in origin and connected with sun/fire
worship in ancient pre-Christian Armenia, symbolizing the coming of
spring and fertility. On this day people, mostly newly married couples,
are jumping over the fire, which is believed to burn the evil.
__Vartavar (also known as Vardevar or Vardavar, Armenian: Վարդավառ or Վարդնար) is a festival in Armenia where people of all ages drench each other with water.
Its name is a derivative from “vard” in Armenian, which stands for
“rose” in English.
__St. Sargis Day is celebrated 63 days before Easter, on a Saturday
falling sometime between Jan. 18 and Feb. 23. Marking the feast day
of St. Sargis, the patron saint of young love, unmarried Armenian women
eat a piece of salty bread, ideally after fasting all day, in the hope
of dreaming about their future husband. Tradition says the man who brings
them water in the dream will be the man they marry. These types of marriage
traditions are prevalent in other cultures in different forms.
__Wedding Armenian wedding is a very big holiday. The ceremony
includes betrothal, engagement and wedding itself. The tradition of
“seven days seven nights” celebration has become obsolete. The abundance
of guests at Armenian wedding is a must. The so-called “God family”
act as witnesses. As a rule, they are the closest married couple known
by the groom and the bride. The God family must be an exemplary couple.
The Godfather is to bring the most expensive wedding gift. By the way,
giving presents is a separate ceremony. The relatives of the groom and
the bride and the guests give the newly-married couple jewelry, fabrics,
household goods, and money.
Wedding is accompanied by a number of various cheerful
ceremonies. During the redemption of the bride any amount of money can
be asked, and it's a matter of Godfather's honor to find this money;
the sums are symbolical, though. The bride is taken to the altar by
her sponsor and God family bear responsibility for the new family from
the very beginning to end. At the wedding the bride is given a boy to
cuddle – it is desirable that first-born is a boy.
__Birth of Child
Traditionally (especially in rural areas) Armenian
families have a lot of children. A birth of a child, especially a boy,
is a happy event which has always been welcome. On church holidays in
front of the house where a baby was born music played and the house
was decorated with green branches – the symbol of family continuation.
The child is not shown to anybody but the relatives for 40 days after
birth.
It is accepted that a person having any happy life occasion puts his
hand on a head of his friend or relative saying “tarose kes” (“I
pass it to you” )- wishing them the same good luck.
__Wine and Cognac Every
Armenian knows that Noy set foot on the ground in this sacred place, planted the
first vineyard here. Thus began the traditional wine-making in Armenia. Well,
it really digs indicate that the wine made here yet in XI-X centuries BC On
the wine country of Nairi (one of the tribal states in Armenian Highland) wrote Strabo and Herodotus. Since
ancient times,Armenians were able to make good wine, and the technique
of cultivation of vineyards and care for them, worked out in the era of Urartu, hardly
changed for centuries.
__Armenian Genocide 24 April 1915, 1.5 million dead.
Armenian cuisine includes the foods and cooking techniques of the Armenian
people, the Armenian diaspora and traditional Armenian foods and dishes.
The cuisine reflects the history and geography where Armenians have
lived as well as incorporating outside influences. The cuisine also
reflects the traditional crops and animals grown and raised in areas
populated by Armenians.
__LAVASH - national
Armenian bread
__Basturma - is a highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef
in the cuisines of the former Ottoman countries.
__Sujuk, also soudjouk (from Turkish: sucuk) is a dry, spicy sausage in Turkish
cuisine eaten from the Balkans to the Middle East and Central Asia.
__Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines
of the former Ottoman Empire.
__Khash is a traditional dish in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran,
and Georgia. Formerly a nutritious winter food for the wealthy people,
it is now considered a delicacy, and is enjoyed as a festive winter
meal, usually by a company of men who sit around in a table, early in
the morning.
__Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry
filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic
of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of central and
southwest Asia.