Academic literature on the topic 'Folklore, armenia'

The Armenian church was quite intolerant towards any expression of pagan faith in the early periods of Christianity. Pagan gods and spirits (fairies) were either rejected or labeled as “evil” or were simply “Christianized” acquiring the necessary features to be able to survive in the realm of the new religion. This phenomenon can be observed in various folklore narrations, namely in national tales. The article draws parallels between similar phenomena in other cultures.

The article describes a study on the reconstruction of the so-called «Armenian » text in Russian poetry. Russian folklore and ancient Russian literature have already mentioned Armenian literary portrait that was finally formed in Russian literature only in the ХХ century, after the tragic events in the history of Armenia in 1915. Through applying the software complex «Hypertext search for companion-words in author's texts» to the representative corpus of the Russian language poems on the Armenian theme (65 works of different poets), lexemes marking the minimal themes of the «Armenian» text have been identified. These lexemes act as dominant components of the «Armenian» lexical combinations presented in the poems of Russian poets («Ararat», «Yerevan», «mountain», «sky», «ground», «blood», «heart», «soul», «flame», «eternal») and optional ones («hostile», «to rot», «myopic», «book», «child», «Komitas», etc.). The common lexical combinations will allow the authors to establish intertextual links, which form the basis of the «Armenian» text in Russian poetry. However, in most cases poems have no intertextual links that could signal the influence of one text on another. The coincidence of vocabulary in the texts is usually explained by geographical and historical realities, as well as a poetic tradition.

The article discusses the ideological, social and cultural conditions that made possible the formation and development of "rabiz," a form of ur- ban musical folklore, in the 1960s. Rabiz is described as an undesired result of the Socialist modernization process. It had received certain im- portant aspects from the preserved forms of pre-Soviet urban culture but for some of its key features owes to the soviet cultural policy of the 1930s and the socio-cultural tendencies of the Soviet Armenia of the 1960s and 1970s. Rabiz was a side effect of the industrialization and urbanization of the 60s and was then radically transformed and degraded during the process of post-Soviet deindustrialization.

The purpose of this article is to show the downward evolution of the epic heroes, from the gods to the heroes of joke. The great heroes of the first Armenian epic – ethnogonic tradition, Hayk, Aram and Ara, are obviously epicised images of ancient native gods, who, after changing the religious system of people – the introduction of Iranian pantheon, moved to a lower level of epic heroes. The same phenomenon is observed after the adoption of Christianity: the god Vahagn in the second ancient epic “Vipasank” appears as the son of King Tigranes, and a variant of the name of the god Mihr (Mher) are worn by two heroes of the third epic “Daredevils of Sasun” (“David of Sasun”). Some gods and heroes, especially after Christianisation, were demonised, and some passed into a fairy tale. In the Hellenistic era, in Armenia, as in some other countries, kings were deified: e.g., Tigranes the Great was deified as Vahagn. Strangely enough, this phenomenon was repeated in the USSR: Lenin and Stalin, one might say, were deified. Аt the same time, they became the heroes of epic works and fairy tales. However, the era of Khrushchev and the condemnation of Stalin’s “cult of personality” put an end to the Soviet heroic epic: Stalin was demonised and then another genre of folklore became relevant – political joke (anecdote). The new leaders of the USSR were its main target, but Lenin and Stalin continued to stay as important characters.

В статье представлена история записей, публикации и исследования вариантов эпоса«Ростам Зал», также обозначены ареалы и пути распространения данного эпоса. Анализируются жан-ровые особенности эпоса «Ростaм Зал»; рассматриваются жанровые признаки классического эпоса иих соотносимость с эпосом «Ростам Зал», в частности, национально-исторический фон, характер геро-изма, структурная целостность и идеологическое единство отдельных частей. Основные мотивы эпоса«Ростам Зал» сравниваются с соответствующими мотивами армянского народного эпоса «Давид Сасун-ский». Устанавливается характер общности и возможные взаимодействия. Частично рассматриваются ми-фологические мотивы и вопрос их отношения с индоевропейской мифологией.В статье впервые в фольклористике предпринята попытка систематизировать и классифицироватьвсе существующие варианты эпоса «Ростам Зал», представить особенности их распространения и ло-кализации. Хотя в прошлом проводились некоторые сравнения с армянским эпосом «Давид Сасунский»и с иранским «Шахнаме», наличие небольшого количества вариантов не позволяло исследователям про-вести полное и тщательное изучение. В данной статье же проводится всестороннее сравнение «РостамЗала» с эпосом «Давид Сасунский», также анализируются ранее опубликованные исследования. Хотя эпосбыл очень популярен в Армении и сказывался до 1970-х гг. прошлого века, он мало изучен. Большая частьисследований проводилась в начале XX в., в советское время исследований проводилось очень мало.Изучение этого эпического произведения важно не только с точки зрения фольклористики, но и с точ-ки зрения изучения многовековых армяно-иранских культурных связей и различных взаимодействий. Этои обуславливает актуальность исследования вариантов эпоса «Ростам Зал».При исследовании использовались историко-сравнительный, географический и структурно-типоло-гический методы. Мы использовали исторический метод при изучении распространения и бытования“Ростам Зала”, определили время, место и обстоятельства записей вариантов эпоса. С помощью структур-но-типологического метода выделены общие структурные единицы для всех вариантов – мотивы. Срав-нивая их, мы указали средства, объемы и возможности их реализации в тексте. The article presents the history of the recording, publication and research of variants of theArmenian-Iranian epic Rostam Zal, as well as the epic’s geographical range and spreading ways. The genrefeatures of Rostam Zal are analyzed, along with the genre features of the classic epic and their relevance to theRostam Zal epic are highlighted and discussed, in particular, the national historical background, the nature ofheroism, structural integrity, and ideological unity of the separate parts. The main motifs of the epic Rostam Zalare compared with the similar motifs of the Armenian folk epic Sasna Tsrer and fairy tales. The nature of thecommonalities and possible influences are also discussed. Mythological motifs and the question of their links withIndo-European mythology are partially considered. For the first time in folklore studies, the article makes an attempt to systematize and classify all the existingversions of the epic Rostam Zal, and to present the features of their distribution and localization. Although somecomparisons with the Armenian epic David of Sassоun and with the Iranian Shahnameh were made in the past,the limited number of variants did not allow researchers to conduct a complete and thorough study. The articleprovides a comprehensive comparison of Rostam Zal with the epic David of Sassoun, as well as a review of theprevious studies. Although the epic was very popular in Armenia and was narrated until the 1970s, it has not beenstudied enough. Most of the research was carried out in the early 20th century, with very little investigated in theSoviet period.The study of this epic work is important not only from the point of view of folklore studies, but also from thepoint of view of studying the old Armenian-Iranian cultural ties and various interactions. Therefore, the relevanceof the study of variants of the epic Rostam Zal is great.The study used the historical-comparative, geographical and structural-typological methods. We used thehistorical method when studying the distribution and existence of the epic Rostam Zal, determining the time,place of the recordings of the epic variants. Using the structural-typological method, we identified commonstructural units for all variants – motifs. Comparing them, we indicated the means, scope, and possibilities of theirrealization in the text.

Intriguing and complex traditions are preserved about Alexander and the agathos daimon house-snakes of Alexandria by Phylarchus, the Alexander Romance, ps.-Epiphanius and the Chronicon Paschale. These bear upon both a foundational myth and upon a related cultural practice. New light is shed on these traditions by some striking comparative folkloric evidence gathered in Armenia at the end of the nineteenth century. In primis, the Armenians’ practice of addressing their friendly house snakes as ‘Armenians’ suggests that the Alexandrians’ practice of addressing their own friendly house snakes as ‘Argives’ entailed a notion that they were themselves, somehow, ‘Argive’ in origin, a notion that can be evidenced in several further ways.

E.G. Pchelina (1895-1972) belongs to the galaxy of outstanding scientists who laid the foundation of Soviet Caucasian studies. She had a multi-faceted talent as a researcher and left a bright mark in archeology, religious studies, ethnography, folklore studies of the Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. Most of her works, including those ready for publication, were not published during the scientist’s lifetime. The archive, bequeathed by her to the Academy of Sciences and transferred to LOARAN in 1973 by her daughter-in-law, the highly respected M.L. Pchelina, remained inaccessible until 2019. But the results of her research, reflected in published works and available from Reports of archaeological expeditions and documents in the archives of scientific institutions of North and South Ossetia, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, were known and highly appreciated by archaeologists, ethnographers, historians. References to the materials of her archaeological collections from the Hermitage and museums of North and South Ossetia are often found in the works of modern researchers of the Caucasus. The name of the talented scientist has not been forgotten all these years. However, only now, with the beginning of work on the study of its archival heritage, it became clear what a wide scope of scientific problems is reflected in the unpublished works of the scientist, what global themes of the history of Ossetia have been studied and reflected in the monographs and articles of Evgenia Georgievna. In 2019-2021, scientific events “Bee Readings” were held in St. Petersburg, dedicated to the problems of studying the archival heritage of E.G. Pchelina and timed to the 125th anniversary of her birth. Thanks to the long-term efforts of the staff of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the staff of the Hermitage, the Museum of Ethnography of St. Petersburg, the staff of SOIGSI, the grandchildren of Evgenia Georgievna, Nikolai and Mikhail Pchelin, as well as many people who are not indifferent to the fate and discoveries of Evgenia Georgievna, work with the archive is currently being successfully conducted and gradually reveals the great importance of the research conducted by Evgenia Georgievna in the Caucasus, which will now undoubtedly be known to a wide range of researchers.

The fairy-tale “Stones of Mteulety” by A. Remizov is an author’s fairy tale created on the basis of a folklore plot recorded in the Caucasus in the in 1915, and was first published in 1916 in the magazine “Ogonek” (“Spark”). A. Remizov related this fairy-tale to Georgian fairy- tales. Despite the noticeable influence of literary legends, A. Remizov retained the folkloric basis that reveals the ideas of the primitive man about the process of the soul’s transition “to that world”, to “the other world”. The image of a crystal mountain is often found in Russian fairy tales. The mountain is inhabited by a snake, whose name “Gorinich” (means “son of the Mountain”). The entrance to the “other kingdom”, which continually opens for several minutes, is in this mountain. In the tale “Stones of Mteulety” by A. Remizov the mountain-spirit acts as the master of the mountain. It is this mountain spirit that controls the rockfall and shuts the door between the kingdoms. Both the motif of matchmaking and the motif of death, as the kidnapping of the soul, can be revealed in an abduction. The motifs of abduction are disclosed both in world folklore and in the religious beliefs of different peoples. In early folkloric texts, the function of abduction is assigned to representatives of the animal world, chthonic and supernatural beings, which do not have a human appearance, and still preserve the nature of the animal-glutton. When analyzing the motif of abduction, the characters of the “hero snake-fighters” Artavazd and Amirani from Armenian and Georgian mythology, chained in the mountain caves, were also analyzed. It is established that the functions of the Snake are typical of the characters of Armenian and Georgian mythology, of vishaps and devs, in particular, whose appearance and multi-headedness also draws obvious parallels with the Snake. The analysis of the Snake-eater and its appearance leads to the notions of the Snake-abductor and of death as abduction. When analyzing the topic of the rockfall in the mountains in Remizov’s author fairy-tale, one reveals the features of a love abduction, which is one of the types of death in folklore and mythology. In the final scene of A. Remizov’s fairy-tale “Stones of Mteulety”, the mountain spirit-giant, who fell in love with the shepherdess Nina, kills her in order to connect with her in the world of the dead. Thus the features of the motif of the abducted beauty are revealed in A. Remizov’s author fairy-tale “Stones of Mteulety” and this motif genetically goes back to the most ancient notions of death.

Mevlüt Süleymanli, born in 1943, is one of the significant living representatives of the contemporary Azerbaijan novelism. He is a bright person who combines talents of a novelist, short story writer, scriptwriter, radio and television producer. He entered Azerbaijan literature in 1964 with his poem “Ellerim” (“My Hands”) which was published in the newspaper “Azerbaycan Gençleri” (“Azerbaijan Youth”). Süleymanli who was living in a village, enriched his literary works with his observations of those years. He successfully used elements of folk literature and folklore. In his works he masterfully showed his love to Azerbaijan people, language, culture and literature. In his works he mostly criticized social and ethic aspects and Soviet system.In this work, the novel “Armenian Named Letters” which expresses the view of Süleymanlı on Armenians in the form of novel, was crticised, analysed and evaluated. Özet1943 yılında dünyaya gelen Mevlüt Süleymanlı, çağdaş Azerbaycan romancılığının yaşayan önemli temsilcilerindendir. Romancı, hikâyeci, senaryo yazarı, radyo ve televizyon yapımcısı gibi çok sayıda niteliği bünyesinde barındıran bir aydındır. Edebiyat dünyasına 1964 yılında Azerbaycan Gençleri gazetesinde yayımlanan “Ellerim” şiiri ile adım atmıştır. Köyde yaşayan Süleymanlı, bu yıllara ait gözlemlerini edebi eserlerinde zengin malzeme halinde sunmuştur. Halk edebiyatı ve folklora ait unsurları başarıyla kullandığı görülür. Azerbaycan halkına, diline, kültür ve edebiyatına olan sevgisini eserlerinde ustaca dile getirmiştir. Kaleme aldığı ürünlerinde toplumsal ve ahlaki tenkitlere ağırlık vermiş, Sovyet sistemine eleştiriler yöneltmiştir. Pek çok ünlü roman ve hikâyenin yazarı olan Süleymanlı, son eseri Ermeni Adındaki Harfler adlı romanıyla edebiyat dünyasında adından çokça söz ettirmektedir. Türklerle Ermenilerin kaotik ilişkilerinin gündemden düşmediği günümüzde Ermeni Adındaki Harfler romanı üzerinde çok yönlü yorumlar yapılmaktadır.Çalışmamızda Mevlüt Süleymanlı’nın Ermenilere bakışını roman formu içinde dile getiren Ermeni Adındaki Harfler romanı incelenmiş, üzerinde tahlil, yorum, açıklama ve değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır.