Their detailed handwork characterizes many aspects of the establishment they represent. Though the contemporary use of khatchkars as gravestones have strayed from their original purpose, khatchkars have been an exclusive aspect of Armenian culture since the 9^th century.

The carvings reached their peak between the 12^th and 14^th centuries and have remained cultural icons since. Most notably located in the historic region Nakhichevan (currently occupied by Azerbaijan), khatchkars are common throughout the Armenian Nation.

Home to the world’s largest khatchkar cemetery, the city of Old Jugha in Nakhichevan, was the nerve center of khatchkar production and distribution. Since being arbitrarily placed under Azeri control, during the Soviet-era, the area’s native Armenians have been depopulated, leaving behind precious artifacts of what the city once was. In an effort to erase all traces of Armenian-ness, the Azeri government has implemented a campaign to destroy, remove, and pave over culturally significant sites.  The destruction of khatchkars has brought condemnation from the European Union, UNESCO, as well as several other international organizations and diplomats.  However, the occupation and demolition continues.

Upper Part
Heavenly figures are commonplace along the top portion of traditional khatchkars. This horizontal strip signifiesparadise or the house of God where individuals attain salvation. Depictions of birds, angels, saints and Christ himself are prevalent along the commonly protruding heading of the khatchkar.

Center Part
No khatchkar is complete without a cross. Universally found in the center of the stone, the cross itself represents Jesus Christ, arms spread, crucified. This shows Christianity’s role as the holy mediator between the heavens above and the earth below. Therefore, the formation and alignment of the khatchkar as a whole suggests that Jesus is the link between eternal life and humanity.

Lower Part
Earthly decorations are customary alongside the large spherical (or triangular) emblem that is universal among khatchkars. This represents earth, the mortal home of mankind. Natural figures such as leaves are customary near the edge of the stone. These leaves symbolize the link the khatchkar as a whole shares with the natural world. It is said that the stone receives nutrients from the soil that it is erected upon because it is a part of the earth.

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (A.W.)—Abdullah Demirbas is a man on a mission. The mayor of Diyarbakir’s central district strives to restore some of the city’s multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character through a series of initiatives to renovate places of worship, adopt multi-lingualism, and encourage those with roots in the city to return.

I sat down with Demirbas in his office in Diyarbakir on Oct. 23.

“For decades, we were told, ‘People [of different cultures] can’t live together, so we won’t tolerate difference, we will make them all the same,’” Demirbas laments. “Ours is an effort to restore what was lost during the state’s campaign to erase different identities, faiths, and cultures in the city.”

From the moment a visitor enters the city, signs of this multi-cultural approach manifest themselves, literally. Diyarbakir is the first city in Turkey to welcome its visitors with signs in Armenian.

“We could have done it in Turkish and Kurdish only. But these lands do not belong to the Turks and Kurds alone. They are also the lands of Armenians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans,” the Kurdish mayor explains.

These signs are not just for visitors, but constitute an effort to change mindsets. “We want the people living in the city to realize that historically, Diyarbakir has always been a multi-cultural city,” he notes.

More than 100,000 Armenians lived in the Diyarbakir province in 1914. Although mostly peasants living in villages like Palu and Lice, the majority of the tradesmen in the province were also Armenian. In turn, Armenian craftsmen and artisans constituted a significant presence in the province.

The Armenian Genocide shattered this vibrant community. Diyarbakir witnessed one of the most violent and comprehensive campaigns of massacre in the Ottoman Empire, with most Armenians being killed outside the city walls. The Armenian wealth was confiscated by the authorities and local elites and, within a few years, the centuries-old Armenian presence in the province was erased.

Demirbas does not mince his words when talking about the Armenian Genocide. “Our grandparents, incited by others, committed wrongs. But we, their grandchildren, will not repeat them. Not only that, but we will also not allow others to repeat them,” he says. “We learned from the past. Those lessons inform our actions in the present, and will continue informing them in the future.”

The mayor insists that he does not believe in “dry apologies,” but actions that demonstrate genuineness and sincerity. He sees the renovation of Surp Giragos as one manifestation of this approach. “Today, we are not simple asking for forgiveness in a dry fashion,” he notes. “I am a Kurd. And I want for Armenians what I want for the Kurds.”

“What is your message to the Armenians who were uprooted from their ancestral lands?” I ask him. He changes his posture, looks at me straight in the eyes, and says, “Return! At least come and find your homes and your lands. If you can find your old houses, renovate them! Have a home here too. This is your motherland. Other lands cannot and will not be your motherland. Come to your lands. We want to correct the past wrong. This is our message!”

Demirbas has suffered dearly for his initiatives and for being an outspoken critic of the Turkish state. Twenty-three lawsuits have been filed against him, he says, asking for 232 years of imprisonment. “I am the only mayor in Turkey who was forced out of his post. I was imprisoned for two years for my opinions and policies, but when I returned, I was re-elected with an even bigger margin,” he points out.

Diyarbakir, a predominantly Kurdish region, promises to become an oasis of multi-culturalism in a desert of denial and oppressive policies. The strategy of embracing all cultures—as opposed to struggling solely for Kurdish autonomy and rights—could serve as an example for other Kurdish-dominated municipalities in the southeast.

Demirbas’s efforts are not lost on the international community. The European Union and the U.S. have encouraged Diyarbakir’s initiatives and restoration efforts. The EU provided a grant to highlight the city’s historic and cultural heritage. The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, U.S. consuls in Istanbul and Adana, and embassy staff attended the Oct. 23 mass in Surp Giragos. The consuls also attended the consecration of the church the day before. “Our multi-cultural approach is in line with theirs,” the mayor notes.

The Turkish state, on the other hand, is far behind, argues Demirbas. “There was no representative from the state today [in Surp Giragos]. But they will come. They will have to. And it all depends on our struggle,” he says. “I was thrown in prison, my 16-year-old son has joined the PKK and is on the mountains, and [the state] will harass me again, they will imprison me again, even something worse might happen to me, but I act based on my convictions. And one day they, too, will come.”

The preceding article originally appeared in The Armenian Weekly on November 05, 2011.
Visit ArmenianWeekly.com for further coverage of Khatchig Mouradian’s visit to Western Armenia.

By: Maro Siranosian

The petroglyphs, or rock engravings, of Ughtasar can be found all over Yerevan; they are inscribed onto silver jewelry, painted onto coffee cups, traced into hand-made pottery, and they adorn the walls of cafes. Reaching the actual petroglyphs of Ughtasar (“ught” meaning camel and “sar” meaning mountain, due to the resemblance of its peaks to the humps of a camel) can be a bit of a challenge, and as with most of Armenia’s noteworthy sites this provides half of the trip’s excitement and intrigue.

Located in the Syunik mountain range about 20 miles from Sisian in southern Armenia, the petroglyphs can only be accessed by an uphill climb in a Soviet-era UAZ. UAZ stands for Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, or the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant where the sturdy Russian 4×4 is manufactured. The trek up the mountain is much like riding Disneyland’s beloved Indiana Jones Adventure 200 times without stopping. Your slight, unassuming Armenian driver will be transformed into a superb navigator at the helm, maneuvering through ditches and over large boulders with ease as you bounce around the back of the UAZ desperately trying to absorb some of the pristine scenery without knocking your head against the window too many times. At some point after the first hour of driving you have no choice but to get out of the vehicle and continue on foot, as the road becomes too steep for even the tank-like UAZ to scale it with so many passengers. This is the part of the trip when some members of your party, possibly your father or mother, will start cursing the moment they agreed to come here with you in the first place; this was, after all, supposed to be a vacation.

After you pass the worst of it and can climb back into the car, it’s only a short drive to the lake and the petroglyphs at the top of the mountain. The first glimpse of the small, crystalline glacial lake makes the drive worth it, no matter how much you may have been knocked around: it is glass-like and still, providing a perfect mirror of the sky and the surrounding peaks, and over 2,000 decorated rock fragments extend to the foot of the mountain.  If the sun is shining, the rocks glisten with a greenish iridescence. The petroglyphs, some believed to date back to the Paleolithic Era (12,000 BCE), are carved onto dark brownish-black volcanic stones left behind by an extinct volcano. Although the site was discovered in the early 20^th century, it was not really studied until the 1920s and again in the late 1960s; it is still not fully understood today.

The carvings on the rock fragments depict hunting scenes, a wide array of animals, spirals, circles and geometric shapes, and even zodiac signs. Research suggests that the area served as a temporary dwelling for nomadic cattle-herding tribes, and studies of the rock carvings indicate that they were in use for hundreds of years, with peoples of later eras adding their ownengravings to the stones. According to the research of Hamlet Martirosyan, the pictograms of Ughtasar represent a writing system called “goat writing”.

Many scholars believe that this was due to the large number of goats drawn on the stones, but according to Martirosyan it is because in the ancient Armenian language, the words “goat” and “writing” were homonyms (words of differing meaning that sound the same). They would use these homonyms to express concepts through pictures, thus the abstract concept of “writing” (which in ancient Armenian can be expressed with words like “shar” – arrange, “sarel” – compile, “tsir” – a line) found its reflection in the representation of a goat (“zar”), because the words for “writing” and “goat” sounded the same.  As English speakers, we can think of it as representing the pronoun “you” with a picture of a ewe (a female sheep). Goats are a prevalent theme on the stones, possibly because the word “dig” in ancient Armenian meant goat and was close enough to “diq,” the ancient word for gods.  By combining abstract signs with the images of animals and people in horizontal or vertical rows, prehistoric engravers were able to convey specific messages.

The true beauty of Ughtasar lies in its seemingly untouched nature. You won’t find traces of khorovadz (barbeque) fires next to the lake or trash sprinkled among the rocks; there isn’t a visitor center selling mugs and postcards; there are no tour guides hounding you to listen to the history of the petroglyphs. You are free to roam the mountainside and sit among the prehistoric graphic expressions, pondering what might have caused ancient Armenians to scale the uninviting peaks and leave their mark. At about 10,500 feet above sea level, the air is some of the cleanest you’ll breathe in Armenia outside of a climb to the top of Mount Aragats, Armenia’s highest point. Due to its elevation the climate is always crisp and patches of snow speckle the mountain year-round.

Today, the mountain perch hosts annual spiritual gatherings and retreats. Surrounded by the marks of peoples past, modern visitors partake in the same natural beauty, serenity, and mystery that the lake has provided for thousands of years.

When you finally reach Sisian again after practically tumbling down the mountainside, you feel like you’ve just returned from a trip to the moon or some equally far-flung and unreachable place. You feel as if you’re waking from a dream, a dream whose constant jerking scenery caused you to fall from your bed, hitting your head a few times along the way.  You are left with some amazing bruises to help you recall it instantly for days to come.

Haytoug: Can you tell us a little about yourself? Some background on where you’re from and how you got involved in art in general?

Bei Ru: I was born and raised in Los Angeles – my parents moved to the U.S. in the mid-1970s from Lebanon. As a kid, my parents would play a lot of Armenian music in the house. We visited Armenia when I was 6, and my folks took me and my siblings to see orchestral concerts and operas. I think all of that nurtured my love for music. I also started taking piano lessons around the time of our Armenia trip, and stuck with it for about ten years. When I was 15 I started getting more and more into hip-hop and DJ’ing, which is what I eventually started to pursue. I got a job at a local dry cleaners and saved up enough money to buy a set of turntables, a mixer, an amp and some speakers. After DJ’ing house parties and clubs for some years, I bought a small Casio keyboard and started working on creating my own music.

H: Is your foundation based on formal training or did you develop your talent in other avenues?

B: The years of piano lessons definitely helped, and DJ’ing gave me a better understanding of the structure of contemporary music, so I guess it was ultimately a combination of training and experience.

H: How would you describe your style?

B: I think it’s a combination of all the music I’ve been exposed to and still listen to. I’m just a fan of real, soulful music, no matter where it comes from. I really just try to add certain elements of whatever style fits a particular piece of music.

H: Can you tell us a little about Bei Ru? When did you start doing what you do, what kind of music do you create and what are some key projects that you’ve worked on?

B: I started out working in a group called the Backwash Foundation with a couple of friends who were vocalists. After working in a group for a few years, I started to branch out and work with other vocalists and musicians, mainly hip-hop and R&B based. I released a remix project of Jay-Z’s American Gangster album in 2008, where I took his acapella vocals and added my own music to it. It was really well-received and was even published in the legendary hip-hop magazine The Source, as one of the best remix projects of that year. That definitely gave me the push to take it even further and come up with the ideas that lead to the beginning of Little Armenia.

H: Your album Little Armenia reveals that you do not stick to a singular genre but are instead more global with your music, can you talk more about that and the different types of music you explore.

B: My tastes in music tend to shift every now and then. I think it’s crucial that any musician be open to every genre of music, no matter the style. It’s really all the same when it comes down to it. I listen to a lot of jazz, hip-hop, funk, soul, rock, folk, classical, electronic, you name it. I’ve definitely always been partial to Armenian music, and that’s one of the main reasons I decided to make the Little Armenia album. I wanted to try and use Armenian music as the foundation to work around and add my own touch to.

H: For many people, finding motivation to be creative and developing original concepts is not easy. Where do you find your inspiration?

B: My inspiration really comes from everywhere. I think musically speaking, there’s a certain energy you get from listening to a song that moves you. When you surround yourself with that type of energy, it cultivates your own inspiration. That’s something I try to stay immersed in, that energy; and music is just one facet of it. Sometimes it happens by just looking at the sky or making eye contact with someone you passed on the street. It’s just a matter of how you take that feeling and express it through your own outlet.

H: What role do you think music (and the reinterpretation of it) plays in Armenian culture, especially for us today in the Diaspora?

B: Music has always been a huge part of our culture. Armenians in the Diaspora tend to gravitate towards whatever popular music is big in their respective countries. It’s not a bad thing at all, but many times people tend to forget their own culture’s music. Many Armenians I spoke to told me they don’t listen to Armenian music, but they loved Little Armenia. I think that a lot of Armenians in the Diaspora have lost touch with their music, mainly because contemporary Armenian music brings up thoughts of pop influenced dance tunes that you’d hear at a wedding. I wanted to show people that there’s a whole world of beautiful Armenian songs and melodies out there that I simply presented in a different light, with my own ideas and concepts.

H: What are some recent and upcoming projects we can expect from you?

B: I’ve started work on a follow-up to Little Armenia. I initially planned on it being a one-shot thing, but after all the love and support it’s received and the fact that I had a blast making it, I couldn’t resist the idea of a follow-up album. It’s not quite a sequel, more of a continuation. I’m also working on some collaborative projects with various vocalists as well as a project with an instrumental band, all of which I’ll be revealing more about in the next few months.

H: How can people get in touch with your company if they want to collaborate or want you to mix at an event?

B: People can contact me through my website, beirumusic.com. Thanks to everyone for all the kind words and support they’ve been sending my way! To anyone who hasn’t yet heard Little Armenia, you can sample the entire album on iTunes or Amazon if you just search “Bei Ru”. I hope you enjoy… Peace.

A Sample of Bei Ru’s Work…

Haytoug: Can you tell us a little about yourself? Some background on where you’re from and how you got involved in calligraphy in general.

Rouben Malayan: I was born in Yerevan in the spring of 71. Went for four years to Terlemezian college of art (painting), continued to the academy (graphics) and in May 93 left Armenia to Israel. 16 years in Tel Aviv, 2 years in Amsterdam, now I am trying my luck back home in Hayastan. Many questions, few answers, but its an ongoing process of reconnection and I was prepared for it before I made the leap forward. Its challenging but very interesting experience. Two years ago I had a request from the Editor of upcoming “The Encyclopedia of World Calligraphy” to contribute to the edition by drawing samples of Armenian script. It was a challenge since I have not practiced calligraphy extensively and my interest in the art of writing was part of a larger issue of typography in graphic design. But it was clear to me that calligraphy is where it all begins. I was fascinated with what I have found when I began to look for answers. Some of it can be found here http://15levels.com/art/armeniancalligraphy/

H: Is your foundation based on formal training or did you develop your talent in other avenues?

RB: I was lucky to be born to a family of an artist, so from the day one I was exposed to the world of art. My father taught drawing in the Academy for over 40 years and I had the privilege to learn from one of the best teachers of the old generation. Academic background in fine art is essential for anyone who seriously wants to develop and I caught few good years in the college and academy, before we began to loose our teachers, one by one. Today almost nothing is left of once glorious art education we had in Armenia. Its mediocre at best.

H: How would you describe your style?

RB: I am a realist. And I love form. Somehow I have little envy for people who have a rich perception of color, since I am a graphic artist; I see the world in shapes, contours, light and shade, but rarely color. My father was a great colorist, but you can’t be good at everything. But I think once I have the right conditions, I will go back to experimenting with color.

H: Can you tell us a little about 15 levels? When did it start, what kind of things do you do and what are some key projects that you’ve worked on?

RB: When I wanted an online portfolio, I looked for a suitable name for the domain, something abstract but with a meaning for myself. It was the years (1997) when electronic music was making it’s first steps and a German DJ Riz Mazlen was recording under the label of “Neotropic”. She released an album called “15levels of magnification” which I loved. So there was the name I was looking for. Basically it became the test field for my design ideas, changed its appearance for countless times, but today I am very satisfied with the way it looks. I was among the first generation of graphic designers who went digital when it became clear its the only way forward. For past decade I have been working for broadcast, art directing commercials, TV channel branding and promos in Israel and Netherlands. Now I am the creative director of a post production and 3D animation agency based in Erevan – “Triada Studio” ( www.triadastudio.com ). They have a lot of talent and a bright future, no doubt.

H: Can you tell us about some of the Armenian genocide awareness posters you have designed

RB: In Amsterdam (2000), I found myself living in a predominately Turkish neighborhood of the city. I realized how small and underprivileged was the Armenian community, which was almost entirely assimilated at some point. Turks have the advantage of numbers and politics are influenced by voters. Holland is a democratic country, has a good education system, people know and remember history. But they knew little about the Armenian genocide and the atrocities Turks committed against the Armenians. The idea was born to educate the general public using graphic posters which are accessible to everyone. We called on designers to participate in the project and with help of few Dutch and Armenian friends published five winning posters (one in Turkish). On the morning of April 24th we placed them wherever we could in the city. It was an amazing feeling to see our work draw attention. I want to believe the project contributed to the efforts to have Armenian genocide recognized by the Dutch parliament. The project can be found here:  http://ArmenianGenocidePosters.org/

H: For many people, finding motivation to be creative and developing original concepts is not easy. Where do you find your inspiration?

RB: First and foremost, our own culture. So many beautiful works of art, thousands of years of history, without roots we have no future. These days it’s very easy to get absorbed in the mainstream flow of popular culture, which has very low standards when it comes to quality and originality. Everything is done and redone, copied without any discrimination. So to me, only art which passed the test of time has a real artistic value. In short, for me it stops with the Avant-garde.

H: What role do you think art and design plays in Armenian culture, especially for us today in the Diaspora? And in Armenia?

RB: I think we need a very different approach today. For Diaspora our language is “the last line of defense” so to speak. And I mean the Armenian which is not polluted by slang. Its so irritating to hear Armenians speak some sort of mutation. Our language is beautiful and rich, it needs to be treated as such. And written language is inseparable from spoken one. We have serious issues with contemporary typography in Armenian which is an essential element in visual communication. Now and then we see some problems being dealt with, thanks to the positive and constructive approach of people who haven’t given up on it. Sadly the new generation is absorbed by subculture which has very little to do with anything Armenian, or anything really valuable. There always will be the forces of destruction and as long as we keep creating quality work to counterbalance it – we are good. People should realize that our intellectual and cultural potential is all we have. From that (eventually) will come unity.

H: What are some recent and upcoming projects we can expect from you?

RB: The book on the Art of Armenian Calligraphy, is what I want to keep working on, the idea is to collect into one beautiful volume the best and the most interesting material, most of which is inaccessible because its been long forgotten in the libraries scattered around the world. I’d love to go do research in BnF (The National Library of France) but I need a grant for it. Venice, Vienna and London have fantastic libraries as well. And its only a tip of the iceberg, so much more is yet to be re-discovered. I think the time is ripe to bring about a positive change in the education system and revive the studies of Calligraphy as a discipline in the school. Our children should learn to write a beautiful version of our letters, rather than the most primitive one. Its only changing the sample, imagine, how simple yet effective a change like that can be? There are school books which are still used in Persia, where Armenian Classical Education is taught. I have written an article on it which was published in Asbarez and Armenian Weekly. http://asbarez.com/90950/the-art-of-calligraphy-script-in-its-purest-forms/

H: How can people get in touch with your company if they want to purchase any work?

RB: – or just search for me on the web. I’d love to exhibit my works, if any assistance will be offered; I’d love to share what I have done.

Expressing yourself is probably one of the most important things you can do in your life. Photography is magic. Since it started about 200 years ago it still hasn’t left us. Mediums like film and music owe a lot of their method to photography. For me personally, I love capturing moments, things that move, things that need to stand still to be more appreciated. To me photography is all about the details.

The creation of details that aren’t appreciated to their maximum potential at their very moment of existence. Things that need to live on passed their moment of occurrence. Things in need of being shared, remembered, or cherished. Photo is also about feeling; love, hate, passion, beauty, ignorance.

A picture is captured, but so much is remembered, and photography is the only art form that can gather so much detail from a single moment of what’s really there, the truth, and re-present it in such a reflective and clearly understood and digested form.

I started working with photography from the age of 17. I got into because of my passion for filmmaking, but the magic of it just stuck with me. I left it aside for a while, then in 2009, while I was a student at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, I picked it up again. Black and white photography is true magic in my opinion, because it never ceases to amaze me. Digital is fun, and you can do a lot with it, it really let’s you be as creative as possible, whereas with film you end trying to make the image come out before you think of experimentation.

The black and white photos you see below are from my time at Art Center. Two of them are from a series called Armerica: a documentary of Armenian-American immigrant businesses.

Sarco

Sarkis Iknadossian immigrated to the United States from Aleppo, Syria with his wife in the late 1970’s. After opening a small convenient store in Montebello, California Sarkis was quickly shut down because of the opening of a 7/11 market across the street.

Sarco

After re-establishing his family closer to the Armenian Community, in Glendale, Sarkis decided to open a household supply store in what is known today as Little Armenia, in Hollywood.

In addition to selling common household appliances, Sarkis also repairs kitchen and household electronics, such as vacuums, electric stoves, and toasters. Sarkis says that in recent years their business has once again fallen victim to competition coming from bigger stores and companies. Already past the age of retirement, Sarkis and his Wife continue to work despite their lack of energy to compete.

‘Round The Clock Cleaners

‘Round The Clock Cleaners has been owned and operated by the Kasparian family for over 20 years. The Kasparian’s immigrated the United States in the early 1980‘s, during the Lebanese Civil War. Their business became the very resource for their establishment in the United States. The location you see is currently managed by the Kasparian son, Johnny Kasparian. The family has also opened a few other locations that cater to various parts of the Pasadena and greater Los Angeles area.

Round the Clock

The Accordion Man was taken at the 3rd street promenade on a sunday evening. Summer of 2009.

The Accordian Man

In December of 2009 I ventured on to Armenia with the Birthright Armenia program. I spent most of my time there volunteering at Bars Media Documentary Film Studio and Manana Youth Center. Bars Media has been responsible for documentary films ranging in topics ranging from the Karapagh war, Tightrope Dancers in Armenia, and Donkeys in Lamu, Kenya. Their latest project The Last Tightrope Dancer in Armenia is what I worked on for the most part, translating dialogue for subtitles in English and promoting the film in the festival circuit.

Manana Youth Center is an after school center for kids in Yerevan that offers classes in Photography, Filmmaking, and Animation. I had a lot of fun working with them as a teachers assistant and helping out with whatever random tasks they needed.

Armenia was a great experience. I learned a lot from being around a completely different atmosphere for those 4 months. I took a lot of photos on my trip, but these two stuck out the most for me. One is probably very recognizable, the Mabib Babig statue in The Free Republic of Artsakh (Nogorno Kharapagh).

Mamig and Babig

The other is an old soviet car I would pass by on my way to the bus stop on a daily basis. I call that one A Daily Sight.

A Daily Sight.

_______________

Editor’s Note: High resolution print copies of the photos in this blog can be purchased from this author for $45. Mammig and Babig and a Daily Sight are available for $55 . For more information, visit Avo’s website at avojohn.com or email/call him at: avojohn@me.com/818-251-6008. For more information about Birthright Armenia check out birthrightarmenia.org

Haytoug: Describe yourself in 5 words.

Antranig Kzirian: Committed. Creative. Adaptive. Persistent. Stubborn.

H: Where did you get the inspiration to pursue your field?

A.K.: The Armenian oud tradition of the Eastern United States strongly motivated me to explore and study the oud and the role Armenians played historically in mastering it.  Growing up I also incorporated various influences into my understanding of music and performing on the instrument.  I believe that traditions must be kept alive but also developed and grown so that they remain a living, breathing part of our perception of art and life.

H: Please describe your proudest achievements.

A.K.: Working with great musicians in various genres and learning as much as I can while striving to be a flexible musician.  Working with Viza, Aravod, History, Ara Dinkjian, Serj Tankian, Gor, Sonya Varoujan, and several musicians from all over.

H: Do you think identity is something that must be preserved or something that can evolve?

A.K.: Both – we must preserve but also help it evolve and survive in its surroundings.  Adding our own experiences and seasoning helps to keep identity fresh and current while still maintaining core values that we hold dear as Armenians and people of good conscience.

H: What are your thoughts about Armenian culture today in the Diaspora? In Armenia? Where is it headed? What do you see your role as?

A.K.: I see Armenian culture as dynamic – especially given the richness and complexity of the Diaspora.  I believe it’s headed in a positive direction generally, but we must work hard to make sure not to disqualify or marginalize certain components of our diverse art and music history. I see my role as trying to preserve one piece of the puzzle as best I can.

H: What does the future hold for you?

A.K.: More writing, performing, recording and collaboration. Raising awareness of the Armenian oud tradition.

Haytoug: Describe yourself in 5 words

Ara Soudjian: Mexican/Armenian filmmaker living in Los Angeles. (let’s count Los Angeles as one word.)

H: Where did you get the inspiration to pursue your field?

A.S.: My inspiration came from my Mother, who was an actress, and Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.

H: Please describe your proudest achievements.

A.S.: First, winning two 2008 MVPA (Music Video Production Association) awards for best music video under 25k (Serj Tankian’s Money) and best Hip-Hop video (Wiz Khalifa’s Say Yeah). Second, producing content for the ANCA (Armenian National Committee of America). Third meeting my wife at an AYF Kebab night in Orange County! (Most important!)

H: Do you think identity is something that must be preserved or something that can evolve?

A.S.: The customs, language, history must be preserved but I also believe that a person’s identity can evolve over time.  We are human after all….

H: What are your thoughts about Armenian culture today in the Diaspora?

A.S.: The Armenian culture today in the Diaspora has evolved from 10 years ago. I feel that our culture is strong. I don’t think it’s as strong “culturally” as it was in the past, but I do believe we are stronger on the activism front. I believe we have assimilated, which is only natural. Some people may say that a lot of young Armenians can’t read or write the language. The white genocide is upon us, etc. Is that bad? Some would say so…but there are those who don’t speak the language but are still active in the community.

I would prefer having young “active” Armenians who care about our community and country any day over those who speak the language and do nothing positive.

H: What does the future hold for you?

A.S.: A successful filmmaking career along with a successful marriage and some future AYF-ers.

Haytoug: Describe yourself in 5 words.

Eric Nazarian: I am a human being.

H: Where did you get the inspiration to pursue your field?

E.N.: My father Haik inspired me to become a filmmaker and screenwriter.

H: Please describe your proudest achievements.

E.N.: Being awarded the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for my screenplay “Giants” and making my first feature film, “The Blue Hour.”

H: Do you think identity is something that must be preserved or something that can evolve?

E.N.: I believe in the evolution of our identities.  Identity evolves with age and experience.  I’d like to believe that I can evolve as a human being and preserve and advance my spiritual, cultural and artistic identity.

H: What are your thoughts about Armenian culture today in the Diaspora? In Armenia? Where is it headed? What do you see your role as?

E.N.: I can only comment as an Angeleno.  In Los Angeles, Armenian culture is alive and well.  So many events, screenings, concerts, lectures, etc.  Armenians as well as non-Armenians have several cultural activities to choose from.  In Armenia, the culture and history lives and breathes in the faces and stories of the Armenian people, the ancient monuments and churches, and the cinematic heritage now slowly being resurrected.  The Golden Apricot International Film Festival in Armenia is doing a phenomenal job with their annual film festival.  They attract so many countries and filmmakers to participate.  I see my role as a bridge builder through cinema, making films that can hopefully be interesting to international audiences.

H: What does the future hold for you?

E.N.: I don’t think anybody can answer that question truthfully since we don’t know what will happen ten seconds from now. I’d like to think the future holds great movies, amazing sunsets, lots of “kef” music, phenomenal food and wonderful friends dancing “shoorjbar”.  Cheers to the future!

By Lori Najarian

The horrendous crimes of genocide committed by the Ottoman Government against the Armenians in 1915 will forever be a bitter truth in Armenian history, but it does not identify us as a people.

We have much to celebrate in our few thousand years of existence and, most importantly, we must feel proud to have survived through what I hope was the worst of it. However, our existence today does not mean that our fight for survival is unnecessary; on the contrary, every day we are fighting for the survival of our language, our faith, our homeland, and especially the survival of our future.

This fight, of course, cannot be won if we continue to create divisions among ourselves. It is not a fight meant to be faced only by the Armenians of the Diaspora or by those living in Armenia. As different as the struggles and concerns are for both, they are not separate; we are not separate people, and the sooner we bring down these barriers, communicate and become aware of one another’s situation, the easier it will be to find proper solutions to our problems. It is the unity we are lacking that is necessary to win this fight for survival, and for this we can always count on the treasures of our culture as a means to unite.

I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and blessed with parents who are full of Armenian soul and have been devoting their life to Armenian causes ever since I can remember. My brother and I grew up surrounded by every Armenian thing imaginable. Aside from attending Armenian Day School, my parents would take us to every Armenian event that took place. Of course, at the time, it seemed like a drag, but I love them for it and am forever grateful.

Armenian music was played not only in our house but in the car; I grew up watching our videotape collection of Armenian State Dance Ensembles and remember trying to mimic the graceful movements. Although I have been taking ballet lessons since childhood, I desperately wanted to learn Armenian dance but there was nowhere that offered this opportunity until I reached adulthood. When I heard the news of Hamazkayin bringing a dance teacher from Armenia I was among many who were thrilled. Unfortunately, our dance instructor was only able to stay for a little over a year, but it was enough to give me a good base and a great passion to pursue studying and performing Armenian Folk Dance.

Thanks to my parents’ undying support and the help of my dance instructor, I was recently given the opportunity to study Armenian ballet and character dance and graduate as a teacher and performer at the Yerevan State Dance Academy. Although I had been to Armenia several times before with my family and with Homenetmen Scouts, when I traveled to Armenia to study dance, it was different. I was no longer playing the role of the tourist.

I was excited, yet nervous to start this new chapter of my life in a completely different world. To everyone’s surprise, I adapted rather quickly to the lifestyle in Armenia. It felt as if I had been here for years. Despite the many obstacles I have faced during my time in Yerevan, I feel much wiser and have a greater understanding of certain things about this wonderful and crazy country; things that perhaps others might judge with criticism because they have not had the chance to see the ‘real’ Hayastan.

I have learned so much within the walls of the Dance Academy. Every one of my teachers has helped me gain as much knowledge in dance as possible and I am very thankful to them. Aside from the actual dance classes, the program I am enrolled in also offers classes on the history of art, music and dance. I have learned about Armenian composers, artists, choreographers and dancers. I also had the privilege of practicing with professional dancers from the various Armenian state ensembles; and, most recently, I had the honor of dancing on stage in my Motherland–an experience that words cannot describe.

Outside of school I have taken advantage of seeing Armenian plays, admiring the state dance ensembles and ballets, listening to operas and Armenian music, and so on. My life in Armenia is mostly spent being surrounded by or taking part in anything cultural. After all, it is culture that brought me here to Armenia, my home.

My coming to Yerevan to study dance has created an unbreakable bond between myself and my Hayrenik. As sad as I am to be leaving Armenia in a few months after graduation, I am also looking forward to my return to Toronto so that I may pass along every bit of knowledge I have learned about our culture to our future generations. Yes, being active politically and socially is also crucial for our survival, however, it is our culture that fills the gaps and truly connects all Armenians as one.

Celebration and awareness of our culture creates an indestructible bridge and automatically connects us all to each other. I urge all Armenians to take part in building this bridge and embracing our culture as a means to unite.

I find myself growing increasingly perturbed by the term “white genocide.” First of all, we can’t use the word genocide to describe a trend where Armenians living in the United States are losing their sense of ethnic identity because nobody held a yatağan to your neck and forced you to name your child a non-Armenian name or forced you to stop speaking Armenian.  Not to mention that comparing it to an actual genocide is not only disgusting but insulting to the memory of countless Armenians who perished or the thousands who survived the Turkish persecutions.  Let’s call it what it is – cultural suicide.  We can try to blame television, music, cross-cultural dating or marriage, the cultural vacuum created by capitalism or other theories but the reality is that we have no one to blame but ourselves – or as the comic strip Pogo once wrote – we have met the enemy and he is us.

We are our own catalyst of assimilation because we not only set the bar very high for being a “real Armenian” but we also fail to reach our own markers.  For instance, many Armenians consider the speaking of Armenian as being a critical element to staving off assimilation, yet who do you consider to be more Armenian – a person who doesn’t speak the language but sends money to Armenian charitable organizations, calls their member of Congress to urge support of Armenian issues, and patronizes Armenian-owned businesses or the person who does none of the stuff the first guy did but instead listens to Armenian music, speaks Armenian and associates only with other Armenians.  Popular opinion would label the first person as assimilated and the latter as Armenian. But who is doing more to advance the Armenian Cause? If you said the first guy, then move up to the head of the class.  We agree on that.  Also, of those who said the second person is more Armenian, I would want to know how extensive your own knowledge is of core topics of Armenian competency – literature, art, political history, grammar, spelling, amongst other issues and topics.  I would guess that even the kids who go to Armenian schools in America and learn to read and write the language have a reading proficiency and vocabulary that does not go beyond the 5th grade level.  But let’s move on.

Why should I care if a person speaks fluent Armenian but won’t take the time to make one phone call to a politician who can vote to contribute tens of millions of dollars for foreign aid to rebuild Armenia and Artsakh?  This question may sound tired and redundant but it’s necessary to ask and understand the answer.  After all, this discussion is important but the people who would benefit the most from participating in it, probably would never pick up an issue of Haytoug unless there was a picture of the Kardashian sisters on it.  The answer is, that we shouldn’t.  I’d rather have 1000 Armenians who are informed on American issues and process and are engaged in making a difference than 100,000 who don’t care about anything other than expanding the ghettos of their mind.

So if we can agree that a person’s true Armenian identity is defined by their commitment to preserving the culture and society of the Armenian people in Armenia and worldwide, then all the other preconditions (spoken and written fluency in Armenian, listening to only Armenian music, eating only Zankou Chicken) are irrelevant.

Having said that, I understand that an appreciation for all things Armenian isn’t exclusive from the efforts to preserve them or be an advocate for all things Armenian.  But we can’t deny a path to either by being overly judgmental of people who are trying to return to their ancestral roots or labeling people on the peripheries of our community as “white washed” or “assimilated.”  I’ve seen it happen on more than once, where a person who knew very little of their Armenian ancestry began to explore his or her roots and this led eventually to a trip to Armenia and eventually a desire to learn how to speak Armenian.  In fact, one person I’m thinking about actually moved back to Armenia to help the country develop and improve.

So what term do we use to describe this phenomenon?  Definitely not “white genocide.”  And there isn’t a term that’s familiar to us because we are too focused on the negative aspects of our community than on the positives.  Don’t worry, it’s in our nature to focus on the negative. Spending 4000 years as history’s punching bag will drive that emotional trigger deep into your DNA.  The good news is that it’s not permanent.  And just by reading Haytoug, you’ve already committed yourself to a struggle whose outcome accepts nothing less than success for Armenians worldwide.

But being involved in the Armenian Youth Federation or any other youth group doesn’t immediately absolve one of responsibility of preserving and caring for the Armenian people and land. Instead, of those who have great power and organizing tools, much is expected.  And living in a society in America which emphasizes consumer conformity more than individuality and portrays ethnicity as a liability makes it hard to adopt the aspects of American culture, which will translate into success for the Armenian people of the United States and abroad.  But it is necessary.

Yes, some assimilation or “acculturation” is necessary for success. The most important things in life are usually the hardest to do and act upon.  Preserving our passion for Armenian causes and mastering the English language and American customs are equally important tasks for success.  Let’s be honest with ourselves.  If an Armenian-American is ever going to get elected to Congress from anywhere in the United States – I guarantee you that it won’t be a garlic breathed someone who wears a lot of jewelry and listens only to Tata.  It will be someone who is articulate and acculturated and who can speak about John Adams and Abraham Lincoln with as much ease and comfort as they can talk about Gomidas or Simon Vratsian.

So rather than worrying about how we can create a society where we sell out barahanteses and Armen(chik) concerts week after week after week, let us instead think about how we, ourselves, can engage our adopted homeland on its own terms and perhaps in the process, get it to see things our way and maybe adopt or absorb the best that our culture has to offer as well.

Skeptik Sinikian is the property of Asbarez Newspaper. He is on loan to Haytoug and will be promptly returned upon the completion of this issue. Skeptik  loves baseball and baklavah.  His life mission is to educate and inform as many non-Armenians about the medicinal benefits of soujoukh sausage as he can. You can reach him for comments or questions at  SkeptikSinikian@gmail.com

By Vahe Abrahamian

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”

For as bright and innovative as the Ittahadists, Nazis and Hutus were in the murder, slaying, raping of peoples, races, religions etc, etc. They really could have turned our very own omniscient and all-knowing deity for harbingers of holocaust. In the passage above we see «Ուր էիր աստուած» himself getting a little more proactive and asking King Saul to head out in the desert and make Paul Pot look passive. This sacrosanct yarn is an example of a greater problem when it comes to nationalist topics, a complacent tendency to leave the “sacred” unquestioned.

From the depths of the red meat and waxy cholesterol infused diets of our most pious children; whose elated eyes absorbed the refracted light of apostolic, stained-glass windows come an appropriately distorted concoction. But I can assure you a diversity of opinions on the theme “White Genocide,” and I’d like to speak on behalf of the fringes and factions of the modern Armenian people.

When I refer to these fractions, I’ll leave that category vague. I want to cast a wider net here, from the Atheist types to the Consumerists. From those with an existential view of the new era, who have seen the calamity and chaos of the nations’ history, and chosen more sensible goals, like tallying Facebook friends or finishing the Criterion Collection. Or Tarantino-generation types who think Drive-in Cinema references are the height of intellectualism.

The Armenian camp isn’t just Mamikonites and Tehlerianites, and I think perhaps we should start embracing this dichotomy. I come from the atheistic, nihilistic, bleeding heart, apologist milieu, and I have some bones and marrow to pick.

The concept of “White Genocide” runs clamorously towards a new genre of Armenosploitation; A generation of consciousness, so enveloped by Armenia’s greatest tragedy that the word “Genocide” now serves as an engine rather than an enigma. Exploitation so thorough, that to many members of our human comedy, the words “Armenian” and “Genocide” have become inseparable. This exploitation sees the same chestnuts repeated ad Pavlov: the Armenian grade school reading that awful William Saroyan passage on creating a new Armenia, armchair historians referencing “the Hitler Quote” and of course, grayscale genocide event posters of somber and wrinkled grandmothers holding worry beads.  Oh, and worse yet, people who think Ararat is a good movie, and much like that film, our nationalism tends to be overindulgent.
So with all the faux-organic posturing of a plastic fruit basket, “White Genocide” appears like a ghostly King Hamlet back to foretell against a new specter; using calamity as a crutch, and recycling a term that practically dominates our entire nation’s discourse already. The set of suckers who fell for the pitch of the massacre novelty advertiser, who couldn’t quite sell “White Auschwtiz” or the “Khmer White,” and the concept is as errant as the name.

“White Genocide” implies with some patriarchal, aristocratic arrogance that there are those who can define what denigrates Armenian culture. The natural conclusion we can follow is that these elitists can also define the entire Armenian nation as a whole.  This makes serving up “White Genocide” exclusionary, and it antagonizes international influence. The pitfall is, of course, that we absorbed ideas like Darwinism, Democracy and Feminism largely from outside influence, and they have dominated previously conceived Armenian notions. Just as Armenian achievements have likely broadened other cultures, “white” culture and others have enriched our nation. So what is the true incentive? Well it’s your garden variety “Gulf of Tonkin”–a fear based power play.

Living under phantom nuclear threats, gay marriage bans and constant god-peddling in America is a nice contemporary play of conservative backlash that “White Genocide” represents. The cardiac murmur of the red blooded right-wing nostalgic who wants to serve Christianity, Conservatism, Militarism, Nationalism as one big Armenian cure-all dose of steroids. This solution is not only claustrophobic and aggressive, but it is an admission of defeat. Radicalizing our rhetoric after years of fascist, intolerant and diabolic enemies of our past is about as smart as your great-uncle picking up that Committee of Union and Progress brochure from the soapbox salesman at the Turkish Bazaar. So slowly from the rigid categorizing, stereotyping, schema-crafting inclinations, the well intentioned hope of creating an Armenian Uber-man, just creates a hollow caricature.

Popular American media has already latched on to this cartoon facsimile, serving the same sappy Christian-victims narrative we’ve so categorically reinforced. The latest “60 minutes” piece on the Armenian Genocide is this kind of calamity. CBS interviewed a priest and displayed him praying on mass graves, as if the opinion of some human hallucinogenic is at all research journalism. Here we are a nation with no shortage of researchers or scholars, and yet we are being patronized by the media as a society driven by mystics. This sort of Spielbergian Girl-in-a-pink-dress corn syrup drags down our achievements and our causes and, unless we heighten our senses, I expect it to continue.

And believe me, I know the sunken feeling of fleeting time that tingles your stomachs…I know nostalgia, and empathy and pride. It is natural reaction for those seeking to breathe life into older concepts to pray on these sensibilities, but they are selling Hobson’s choice. Eventually we must loosen our fist from the glass walls of the hourglass and realize how inevitable change will come to replace an indelible past.

Did you really expect a generation gap that saw us sipping the waters of Nasirabad to plowing the fields of Farmville to not change world view? It’s like spinning the kaleidoscope and hoping to land on the same image twice, it’s not impossible… it’s just stupid.

Our nationalism must be far more flexible, if it is really the case that we would “like to see any power of the world destroy this race, then perhaps we shouldn’t be scared of our shadows.  I would hope Armenian language, culture and history will survive on the merits of our accomplishments, but if not that, it certainly won’t survive by packaging paranoia. Rather, it will be embracing the breadth of our passions. So many of our achievements drew from rebellion and iconoclasm; Parajanov, Saroyan and Gorky have become Armenian heroes precisely because they embraced new influences in art and found themselves on the front end of entire artistic eras.

These are hoisted Armenian achievements precisely because they weren’t afraid of some enforced purview of their culture. Yet, here we are on the tail end of Soviet–Stalinism, Khomeini-Islamofascism and other cluttered political maw, and we are returning to the same intolerant assumption; having a leader guide our moral compass isn’t bad; it just needs a better navigator.

But everyone has to sit around and question the dogma once in a while. For instance, do you know what did end up happening to the prospective holocauster King Saul? Well this monarch found it a little offensive to do the Lord’s deed…and was promptly punished. “Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today.”  Now…how is that for A Shameful Act?