“Culture ritual songs of Moush field’s historical Armenia”

Abstract

Among the many songs from Moush transcribed by Komitas, there are several weddings songs, including Ver Eli, Hay!; Kharsig Ver Are!; Me Korse Tanina; and Shvage Zave. Wedding ceremonies in Moush were unique, and included many rites - the arrangement of the marriage between families, the first visit of the groom's family to see the bridge, the engagement, the first shared meal, the first visit of the groom to the bride, khoncha-pokhcha (the sending of presents by the groom to the bride prior to the wedding), dashdadronk (a gathering of the bride's and groom's relatives on the Friday prior to the wedding), azbalvatsk (the laundering of the groom's clothes for the last time before the groom is married), hinatrek (the sending of a meal of bread and fruits from the groom's home to the bride's home), gendrel/trash (the procession that leads the groom, dressed in his wedding suit, to his new home), the wedding, etc. Naturally, for the inhabitants of Moush, song and dance were an integral part of most of these traditional wedding rites. The people of Moush were superstitious. Weddings were arranged by families while their children were still in their cradles. Songs called ororotsakhaz (cradle tunes) were sung over the cradle to mark the occasion of the choice of the infant's future mate (the infant's parents would draw a musical note on the roof of the cradle while singing these songs). In some cases grooms and brides only met each other for the first time on the day of their wedding. The wedding ceremony itself was accompanied by songs, dances, and unique local rituals.