Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity (review)

Armenian Folk Arts, Culture, and Identity is a collection of several essays by various Armenian artists, researchers, and scholars. The essays are well written and beautifully illustrated, but rely on written sources, especially those by native researchers, more than on ethnography. The book is divided into six chapters. The first describes the origins of Armenian culture, presented through a comprehensive treatment of archeological sites and artifacts.

The second and the final chapters deserve the greatest applause. The second chapter is devoted to the symbols of Armenian identity, as found in ancient myths, today's festivals, and everyday Armenian culture. These symbols—all of which, the authors argue, are constructed and imagined rather than essential—can be summarized as being the world as a garden, the sacred mountain, the temple, writing and the book, and finally the Khackar (a freestanding, upright, rectangular cross stone found in cemeteries to commemorate an Armenian's conversion to Christianity). The three chapters that follow introduce other aspects of Armenian arts and culture: settlement and dwelling patterns, artifacts and artisans, and personal adornments.

The last chapter presents material on the fights, feasts, and festivals of Armenians in relation to their identity. For example, the figure of the blacksmith was not treated in the section on artisans but rather within the framework of fighting, because the blacksmith works with iron and makes statuettes, belts, and weapons. On the other hand, the coppersmith, who produces decorative artifacts, is treated in a chapter on artisans and artifacts. Likewise, objects such as the zurna, a wind instrument, and the wedding tree, a rod or a sword decorated with ribbons, fruit, and frankincense, stand as symbols of feast and festival to celebrate the joy of the newlywed couple.

All the contributors place more weight on the artifacts than on the people who make or use them in everyday life. Some of the artifacts presented are from personal collections, but most come from museums in the present-day Republic of Armenia. The well-done photos and information on these artifacts will be of particular interest for those in museum studies. Archeologists, historians, art historians, and area specialists will also benefit from the book, because history is such an important facet both in the preparation and the presentation of the text. This approach, however, leaves the folklorist to wonder what the condition of art and culture is today. Every artifact presented in the book serves as a reminder of bygone ages. In short, the historical approach taken seems to imply that Armenian identity, history, and culture are stuck in the past.

Although there is some general ethnographic data on living Armenian culture and identity, readers are not given any in-depth information as to when the fieldwork was conducted and what the scope of fieldwork was. A very successful ethnographic treatment of art both in the past and in the present is Henry Glassie's Turkish Traditional Art Today (Indiana University Press, 1993), which is based on the artisans' and people's views and presents history as a positive creative force in the present moment. In contrast, Armenian Folk Arts, Culture and Identity has neither the same aura nor the same flavor for folklorists. Nevertheless, the jargon-free language, style, and conceptual organization of Abrahamian and Sweezy's book make it an important contribution to the study of art, culture, and history, and it establishes a good dialogue with its readers. Especially for those who are interested in a general knowledge of the Armenian people, this book is certain to become an important source.