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Treasures of NAASR's Mardigian Library:
Armenian Christmas Special Installment
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Although we just recently published an installment of Treasures of NAASR's Mardigian Library focusing on the first printed Bible in Armenian (click here to read), we were eager to present just in time for Armenian Christmas a brief “holiday bonus” installment, featuring a single item acquired in 2019: Inchpēs zardarel tōnatsaṙě = Ինչպէս զարդարել տօնածառը (How to decorate the Christmas tree), a 20-page booklet written by “Zaruhi” and published in Tiflis in 1910.
In doing so, we also have the opportunity to honor the memory of an important figure who was part of the rich Armenian cultural legacy of Shushi in Artsakh and in Tiflis (Tbilisi) in Georgia.
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Inchpēs zardarel tōnatsaṙě is written as a short story set in an orphanage, with the teacher, Tikin Haykanush, working with a group of children to create decorations while also teaching them about Armenian Christmas traditions. The youngest orphan, Varduhi, interrupts with curious questions such as, Why decorate a tree in winter, especially one with needle-shaped leaves? The teacher explains how the tradition of decorating trees came to Armenians from Europe while also highlighting the significance of celebrations like Easter in Armenian culture, and that “the Armenian New Year is not in January but a little earlier, at the beginning of winter, on Navasard.” Also present is Margarit, Haykanush’s daughter, a student who had accompanied her mother to care for the orphan children.
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Haykanush, leaving for a meeting, asks Oriord Gayane, an educator trained in Germany to guide the children in crafting ornaments. The book provides illustrations showing the items being created by the children. Later, Margarit gives out almonds, pistachios, and raisins to fill the children’s handmade baskets. In a festive atmosphere, the children sing, Margarit plays the piano, and Oriord Gayane sings along. When Tikin Haykanush returns from her meeting, she is delighted to see the children singing so beautifully with Gayane and Margarit. | |
Later, after finishing their crafts, the group enjoys tea together. Margarit and Gayane then go to Margarit’s home, where they continue to sing and play the piano. Haykanush and her husband, Rostom, join them from another room. Haykanush remarks to Rostom, “Do you see how beautifully they perform?” Rostom responds, “If our church had singing like this, it would be filled with worshippers.” Tikin Haykanush encourages him, saying, “If you’re happy, show your appreciation.” Rostom smiles and gives two coins—one to each of the performers. Margarit takes the coin, saying she will save it for the orphans. | This tiny book reads like a theatrical piece, using dialogue and characters to convey rich details about the lives of orphaned children such as Vardik, Zarmayr, Anushavan, and Satenik. It also captures the songs they sing, including Հա նազանի, նազանի (Ha Nazani, Nazani), Եայլի (Yayli), and Աստղ մի պայծառ երեւեցաւ, աւետիս (Astgh mi paytsar erewets‘aw, awetis). | |
The book opens with a photo captioned “Margarit, the friend of the orphan children,” and contains another one labeled “Margarit, 7th-year student in Tiflis, passed away on 24 October 1909.” (We understand this to mean that she was a 7th-year student at the gymnasium, meaning she was in her teens.) At the end is a drawing with the caption, “To Margarit, from the orphan children.” | |
Two portraits of Margarit, "friend of the orphan children" | |
We have been able to learn the story behind this story—a story that is based on real-life individuals. In the Tiflis-based publication Hoviv (Nov. 1, 1909) can be found the news of the death of Miss Margarit Martirosian. It mentions that Tikin Haykanush, a prominent community member, suffered the tragic loss of her daughter and highlights Margarit’s remarkable potential, evident both in her academic achievements and her community involvement, and expresses confidence that she would have carried forward her mother’s legacy. The text goes on to describe her funeral on October 27, attended by her classmates from the gymnasium, as well as many others who respected her. One of her classmates attempted to give a speech but fainted before finishing it. |
Inchpēs zardarel tōnatsaṙě was first published as part of an issue of Aghbiwr (December 1909), the first Armenian illustrated children’s magazine, published in Tiflis from 1883 to 1918 by Տիգրան Նազարեան = Tigran Nazarian. We may speculate that the story was popular enough that it was subsequently published as a stand-alone booklet.
The author of Inchpēs zardarel tōnatsaṙě, “Zaruhi,” was, in fact, Tigran Nazarian himself (see Bakhtiar Hovakimyan, Hayots‘ Tsatskanunneri Baṙaran).
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Photo of Tigran Nazarian, from Gharabaghi mamuli patmut‘yun (1828-1920) | |
Nazarian (Shushi 1858-Tiflis 1926) is a fascinating figure and more than deserving of further study. He was born in the city of Shushi in Artsakh. His father, Hakobjan, was a merchant, while his mother, Zaruhi, came from the prominent Hakhinian family. It is evident, then, that the penname Zaruhi derives from his mother. | Tigran attended the private school of the linguist Galust Papazyan in Shushi, where he studied Classical Armenian, French, German, and Russian. He began writing and translating plays at an early age and also performed in them. In 1879, he established a publishing office in Shushi. | In 1881 he moved to Tiflis, where he became a prolific publisher of various works, including the educational magazines Աղբիւր = Aghbiwr (1883-1918) and Տարազ = Taraz (1890-1919), and other notable publications such as Կովկասի Առաւօտ = Kovkasi Arawōt and Գեղափնջիկ = Geghap‘njik (1907-1912). He was also a translator—for example, his translation of two stories by Hans Christian Anderson, Երկու վէպիկ, “Սոխակ” եւ “Խոզարած” = Erku vēpik, “Sokhak” ew “Khozarats,” was published in Tiflis in 1882. Nazarian established the Արօր = Arōr publishing house in Tiflis that between 1884 and 1893 issued 86 books. Nazarian was a member of the Armenian Publishing Society of Tiflis and his writings also appeared in the publications Մշակ = Mshak, Մեղու Հայաստանի = Meghu Hayastani, among others, sometimes employing the pennames Շուշեցի = Shushets‘i or Արցախեցի = Arts‘akhets‘i. | Tigran Nazarian's publications Aghbiwr (Vol. 2, No. 1 [Jan. 1884]) and Taraz (Vol. 13, No. 28 [Aug. 1, 1899]). NAASR Mardigian Library, from the collection of Harry Kolligian and the collection of Rev. Haroutune & Samuel Toumayan. | According to sources we have consulted, beginning in 1908 Nazarian was involved with a Lisbon-based entity that he called, in Armenian, Միջազգային Արւեստի Գրականութեան Խաղաղութեան Մնայուն Կօմիտէ, which translates to something like “International Standing Committee for Art, Literature, and Peace.” We have not been able conclusively to determine more about this, but we speculate that it refers to a sub-entity of Le Bureau International de la Paix. | In 1915, in Tiflis, he established a shelter for refugees and started a kindergarten called “Vaspurakan.” According to a report in the London periodical Ararat: A Searchlight on Armenia (Jan. 1916), “It is a remarkable fact that when cholera and spotted fever were raging in Tiflis last summer, not one case was reported among the refugees of Nazarian's shelter. This was due to the location of the restaurant-shelter in the spacious vineyard and to M. Nazarian’s special precautions that absolute cleanliness should prevail throughout the grounds. The Catholicos has seen this splendid work which is being carried on by M. Nazarian, and has taken the organization under his protection.” | While he was engaging in this vital humanitarian work, he was also continuing to host an important literary salon that was long at the center of Tiflis's intellectual life and where, for example, the Futurist writers Kara-Darvish (Hagop Genjian) and Vasily Kamensky spoke (see Krikor Beledian, “Kara-Darvish and Armenian Futurism,” in International Yearbook of Futurism Studies. Vol. 4 [2014]). | In 1919, Nazarian traveled to Europe, where he contributed reports to Ապագայ = Apagay (Paris) and other newspapers. In 1925, he returned to his homeland to organize the Karabakh Aid Committee aimed at the reconstruction of Karabakh. He passed away on September 11, 1926, in the Mikayelyan Hospital in Tiflis, and is buried in the Vera Cemetery in that city. | |
Sources Consulted for This Feature
Note: transliteration of Armenian done according to Library of Congress system
Books
Ս.Դ. Ավագյան = S[mbat] D[archʻini] Avagyan, Ղարաբաղի մամուլի պատմություն (1828-1920) = Gharabaghi mamuli patmut‘yun (1828-1920) [History of the Press in Gharabagh], Erevan, 1989
Բախտիար Հովակիմյան = Bakhtiar Hovakimyan, Հայոց ծածկանունների բառարան = Hayots‘ Tsatskanunneri Baṙaran [Dictionary of Armenian Pseudonyms], Erevan, 2005
Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան = Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran (hator 8) [Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol. 8], Erevan, 1982
Periodicals
“Մահագոյժ Օր․ Մարգարիտ Մարտիրոսեան” = “Mahagoyzh Or. Margarit Martirosean,” Հովիւ, ազգային, հասարակական եւ գրական շաբաթաթերթ = Hoviw, azgayin, hasarakakan ew grakan shabat‘at‘er‘t, Vol. 4, No. 41, November 1, 1909, pp. 653-654
Զարուհի = Zaruhi, "Ինչպէս զարդարել տօնածառը" = "Inch‘pēs zardarel tōnatsaṙě," Աղբիւր= Aghbiwr, Vol. 27, No.12 (December 1909), pp. 313-328
Տարազ = Taraz, Vol. 21, No.10 (October 1910), p. 1
Ararat: A Searchlight on Armenia, Vol. 3, No. 31 (January 1916), pp. 306-307
Ս. Ս. Նազարյան = S. S. Nazaryan, “Տիգրան Նազարեանի կյանքը եվ գործունեությունը” = “Tigran Nazareani kyank‘ě ev gortsuneuyt‘yuně,” Տեղեկագիր Հասարակական Գիտություններ = Teghekagir Hasarakakan Gitut‘yunner, 1965 (No. 3, March), pp. 35-43
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NAASR's Treasures of the Mardigian Library is compiled by Ani Babaian and Marc A. Mamigonian. | |
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