Folklore Studies Department

The task of the Department is:

1. To deal with issues of the intangible oral culture of Armenians and neighboring peoples, in particular, with the philological study of creative works belonging to different genres of folklore and with issues of comparative folklore. The following stages of the constituent elements of philological study include field and archival/bibliographic work, the compilation and research of various manuscripts of individual genres of folklore, the recording/collection and research of various stories of folk epics and epic series (starting from the epic episodes attested in the 5th century), the compilation and analysis of a wide variety of collections of various original texts of medium and small (formulaic) genres, the history of folklore collection and folklore studies, the study of the interrelationships of folklore and fiction literature, folklore and linguistic thinking.
2. From the temporal perspective - to deal with 5–21st centuries.
3. To develop folk studies in Armenia, contributing to the influx of relevant personnel and natural generational succession.
4. The Department carries out its work in the following forms of activity: field, archive, library, bibliography, office.
5. The output of the Department is measured by quality scientific publications (monographs, collections, articles), which must be relevant and innovative, using modern methods and laboratory analyses, events participated in and organized (conferences, seminars, etc.), field and laboratory work, effective development of international relations (attraction of foreign resources, access to laboratories, participation in international scientific conferences), personnel inflow, defense of theses, provision of professional opinions.

 

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The past and present of the Department 

Introduction

Since the formation of the Academy of Sciences in Soviet Armenia, the main research on Armenian folklore culture was conducted until 1960 at the Department of Armenian Folklore of the Institute of Literature after Manuk Abeghyan, headed by the prominent philologist and literary critic, Aram Ghanalanyan, Ph.D. On March 3, 1960, the Department was transferred to the newly founded Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, forming one of its three main directions, along with archaeology and ethnography. As Aram Ghanalanyan (, Honored Worker of Science of the Armenian SSR since 1967, and Academician of the Armenian SSR since 1977,) remained at the Institute of Literature, the transferred Department was headed by Artashes Nazinyan, Ph.D. (1924-1999).

The Department included the Armenian folk dance and theatrical performance group (headed by Srbuhi Lisitsyan, Doctor of Arts, Professor, members: Zhenya Khachatryan, PhD, Emma Petrosyan, Doctor of Arts). This Department was called the “Department of Armenian Folklore”. On its basis, the two folklore Departments currently operating at the Institute were formed: the Department of Theory and History of Folklore (formerly the Department of Documentation of Folklore Sources) and the Department of Armenian Folklore Textology.

 

Documentation of Folklore sources

In 1971, a working group was formed to scientifically fund, process and document folklore archival materials using the latest methods, on the basis of which the Department of Documentation of Folklore Sources was created. This Department was founded and headed by Sargis Harutyunyan (Doctor of Philological Sciences), who had previously been a junior researcher at the Institute of Literature after Manuk Abeghyan (1959-1960), then a junior (1960-1962) and senior (1962-1972) researcher at the still “united” folklore Department of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, under the leadership of Artashes Nazinyan. The staff of the Department of Documentation of Folklore Sources founded by Sargis Harutyunyan included Roza Grigoryan (PhD in Philology, later - Doctor of Philological Sciences), Verzhine Svazlyan (PhD in Philology, later - Doctor of Philological Sciences), Svetlana Vardanyan (later PhD in Philology) and Arusyak (Venera) Sahakyan (PhD in Philology). In 1972-1973, the Department was replenished with young graduates of the Philological Faculty of Yerevan State University who had defended their theses in folklore studies, including Esther Khemchyan (later PhD in Philology), Raisa Khachatryan, Zhanna Khurshudyan and Hrachya Vardanyan. Hovhannes Takukyan joined the youth group later.

At the initial stage, almost all researchers, folklorists and laboratory assistants of the 2 folklore Departments participated in the work of documenting and accumulating folklore sources. The work of scientific processing and mapping folklore materials proceeded in three stages. At the first stage, the accumulated folklore materials were funded and paginated, after which the folklore archive received the following appearance:

FA (Yervand Lalayan Fund), consisting of 7 parts: FAI – FAVII,

FBI (Tigran Navasardyan Fund), later transferred to the State Archive of the Armenian SSR),

FF (Mixed Fund), consisting of 13 parts FFI-FFXIII, of which only 10 parts were processed. Each part of the fund includes 9999 pages (for example: FFI: 0.001-9.999).

In the second stage, the materials were processed according to the folklore materials processing system (Armenian system) compiled by Isidor Levin. A card was filled out for each archival folklore unit beginning with the Latin-letter point, in front of which the name of fund, page, serial number of the material, place of origin and recording of the material, year of recording, writer (gender and age group), narrator (gender and age group), numerical value of the genre, form of the source (handwritten, typewritten or printed), etc. were written.

In the third stage, the completed cards were sent to the Republican Computing Center, where they were processed using computer quantitative analysis methods, and recently the folklore recordings collected by the Institute’s researchers (Sargis Harutyunyan, Esther Khemchyan) were digitized.

The archival materials were processed according to semantic and subject groups. The final result of the processing is summarized in one large-scale journal, which is kept in the Department of Theory and History of Folklore.

The work of the second stage was carried out by the following working group: Alvard Ghaziyan (coordinator), Esther Khemchyan, Raisa Khachatryan, Tamar Gevorgyan, Vera Avagyan. The work of the third stage was carried out by Raisa Khachatryan, Esther Khemchyan and Hovhannes Takukyan.

In parallel with the work of the second stage, work was carried out on compiling a catalog of the motivic dialect of 16,000 Armenian folk songs and plays (scientific supervisors: Isidor Levin (Doctor of Philological Sciences) and Sargis Harutyunyan (Doctor of Philological Sciences). The working group included Rosa Grigoryan, Verzhine Svazlyan, Arusyak Sahakyan, Svetlana Vardanyan, Hrachya Vardanyan, and Zhanna Khurshudyan. Based on the motivic dialect of the songs and plays, a collection of songs with up to 5 variants was compiled.

 

From the 2000s to the present

After fulfilling its main task, the Department of Documentation of Folklore Sources was renamed the Department of Theory and History of Folklore in 1991. Until 2018, it was headed by the eminent philologist-orientalist, chief researcher of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (1994), corresponding member of the NAS of the Republic of Armenia (2000), Honored Scientist of the Republic of Armenia (2009) Sargis Harutyunyan. In 2023, the subdivision was renamed the Department of Folk Studies, which is headed by Tork Dalalyan (PhD in Philology).

 

The main directions of the Department are:

- Collection work,

- Compilation and publication of original folk texts,

- Recording, publication and study of "Sasna Tsrer" (“Daredevils of Sassoun”) epic,

- Interdisciplinary comparative research in mythology and religious studies,

- History of writing and research of Armenian folklore,

- Study of individual folklore genres,

- Compilation of folklore collections,

- Study of the interrelations between folklore and fiction,

- Collection and study of memoirs of eyewitnesses of the Armenian Genocide and Turkish-language songs dedicated to the Armenian Genocide (the founder of this direction in our country is folklorist, Doctor of Philological Sciences Verzhine Svazlyan, whose studies have been translated into different languages ​​and published abroad),

- Publication of the scientific heritage of famous Armenian folklorists-ethnographers.

 

Folklore collection work

Folklore collection was carried out through regularly organized complex and targeted scientific expeditions and individual business trips. A large number of materials of various folklore genres were recorded from different regions of the Republic of Armenia (Shirak, Syunik, Gegharkunik, Tavush, Ararat Valley, Lori, Artsakh, etc.) and from Armenian-populated places outside Armenia (Kessab, Hamshen, Diaspora Armenian communities), which replenished the folklore archive of the Institute, serving as a stable material base for various types of folklore research. Most of the results are currently centralized in the folklore archive of the Institute and have been processed since 1970 using ECM, and later using modern computer digitization methods. From the 2000s to the present day, almost all researchers of the Department have been involved in folklore collection work.

 

Compilation and publication of original folk texts

This work began at the Institute of Literature and continued later: Aram Ghanalanyan's collection of Armenian proverbs and sayings ("Armenian Proverbs" («Հայկական առածանի», 1951) and a collection of folk tales (“Armenian Legends” («Ավանդապատում», 1969), Manik Mkrtchyan's "Armenian Folk Songs of Emigration" («Հայ ժողովրդական պանդխտության տաղերը», 1961, 1979), etc.

In 1965, the original scientific collection of "Armenian Folk Riddles" («Հայ ժողովրդական հանելուկներ»)  compiled by Sargis Harutyunyan was published at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, and in 1989, the collection of "Armenian Folk Military and Soldier Songs" by Alvard Ghaziyan.

Since 1959, the scientific multi-volume collection of “Armenian Folk Tales” has been compiled and published under the joint editorship of Academician Joseph Orbeli and Artashes Nazinyan. To date, 18 volumes have been published, of which 4 volumes were compiled by the researchers of the Department: Verzhine Svazlyan (VI, XII, XV) and Roza Grigoryan (VIII). In 1970, the scientific collection of “Armenian Folk Lullabies and Children’s Songs” («Հայ ժողովրդական օրորոցային և մանկական երգեր») by Roza Grigoryan was compiled and published, and in 1972-1986, the five-volume study and original texts by Grigor Grigoryan entitled “Armenian Folk Epic Songs and Historical Song Folklore” («Հայ ժողովրդական վիպերգերը և պատմական երգային բանահյուսությունը») were published.

In 2006, the original texts of the scientific collection of “Armenian Magic and Folk Prayers” («Հայ հմայական և ժողովրդական աղոթքների») compiled and edited by Sargis Harutyunyan were published.

 

Recording, publishing and studying the legends of "Sasna Tsrer"

Since the 1950s-1960s, a new movement has begun in the direction of recording, publishing and studying the Armenian folk-epic "Sasna Tsrer". In 1956, Joseph Orbeli's study "The Armenian Heroic Epic" («Հայկական հերոսական էպոսը») was published, and in 1960, Grigor Grigoryan's monograph "The Armenian Folk Heroic Epic" («Հայ ժողովրդական հերոսական էպոսը»).

In 1970, a special expedition was formed at the Institute (headed by Sargis Harutyunyan) to discover new legends of “Sasna Tsrer”, which recorded more than 80 new legends from different regions of Armenia in 3 years (1970–1972). The valuable part of those was published in the 3rd-4th volumes of “Sasna Tsrer” (volume C in 1979 and volume D in 1999, the compilation and publication of the tales was carried out by Sargis Harutyunyan and Arusyak Sahakyan). On their own initiative, new legends of the national mythical epic were discovered and published by Grigor and Vahagn Grigoryans (“David of Sassoun”, 1977). Roza Grigoryan collected and published 8 new legends and the same number of variants (2000).

In 1975, Arusyak Sahakyan's monographic study "A Critical Comparison of the Legends of the Sasna Tsrer" («Սասնա ծռերի» պատումների քննական համեմատություն») was published, and in 1977, Sargis Harutyunyan's 10 selected legends of the “Sasna Tsrer”, along with a study.

 

Mythology

The foundation for a serious and fundamental scientific study of Armenian mythology and epic folklore in modern times was laid by Sargis Harutyunyan (“The Dragon Battle in Sasna Tsrer” («Վիշապամարտը Սասնա ծռերում», 1981), “The Ancient Armenian Epic World” («Հայ հին վիպաշխարհը», 1987), “Armenian Mythology” («Հայ առասպելաբանություն», 2000:)). Later, research in this direction was deepened by Armen Petrosyan: “The Myth of Aram” («Արամի առասպելը», 1997) and “The Ancient Origins of the Armenian Epic” («Հայկական էպոսի հնագույն ակունքները», 1997), “The Armenian Epic and Mythology” («Հայկական էպոսը և առասպելաբանությունը», 2002) in Russian and English, “Aramazd. Cult, Image, Prototypes” («Արամազդ. պաշտամունք, կերպար, նախատիպեր», 2006), “Issues of Armenian Prehistory: Myth, Language, History” (2015, in English). He actively participated in the international conference dedicated to “Sasna Tsrer”. Tork Dalalyan devoted short studies to the mythological examination of the characters of the first written Armenian epic, the mythological novel "Vipasank", and to the study of the mythological characters of Armenian medieval figures ("Mythological Aspects of Mesrop Mashtots' Activities, Worship and Sanctuaries" («Մեսրոպ Մաշտոցի գործունեության դիցաբանական հայեցակետերը, պաշտամունքը և սրբավայրերը», 2001): "On the Genealogy of the Character of Queen Satenik in the Armenian Epic" («Հայոց վիպական Սաթենիկ թագուհու կերպարի ծագումնաբանության շուրջ», 2002 ), "The First Branch of the Vipasank Epic and the Origin of the Thunderous Legendary Dynasty" («Վիպասանք էպոսի առաջին ճյուղը և ամպրոպային դյուցազնատոհմի ծագումը», 2008). In 2012, Lusine Ghrejyan's booklet "The Myth of the Twins and Its Different Manifestations in the System of Armenian Epic Tradition" («Երկվորյակների առասպելը և դրա տարբեր դրսևորումները հայ վիպական ավանդության համակարգում») was published.

 

Studies of the History of Armenian folklore

From the very beginning of the establishment of the Department, studies dedicated to the history of Armenian folklore have been published, such as Sargis Harutyunyan's "Manuk Abeghyan: Life and Work" («Մանուկ Աբեղյան. կյանքն ու գործը», 1970), Verzhine Svazlyan's "Sargis Haykuni" (1973), Svetlana Vardanyan's monograph in Russian, entitled "Tigran Navasardyan's Contribution to Armenian Folklore Studies" («Вклад Тиграна Навасардяна в армянскую фольклористику», 1991), and "The Life and Work of M. Miansaryants" («Մ.Միանսարյանցի կյանքը և գործը», 2004).

In 2010, Sargis Harutyunyan's "Philosophical Essays" educational manual dedicated to the history and theory of Armenian folklore studies was published.

 

Studies of individual genres of folklore

Starting from the 1960s, separate studies have been published in different years, dedicated to various genres of Armenian folklore and the study of individual problems, such as Sargis Harutyunyan's "Armenian Folk Riddles" («Հայ ժողովրդական հանելուկները», 1960), "The Genre of Curse and Blessing in Armenian Folklore" («Անեծքի և օրհնանքի ժանրը հայ բանահյուսության մեջ», 1975).

In 2008, Yerazik Harutyunyan's study "Armenian Folk Mourning Songs" («Հայ ժողովրդական սգո երգերը») was published, in 2009 - Nvard Vardanyan's "The Tale of Armenian Reality: A Genre-Typological Examination" («Հայոց իրապատում հեքիաթը. ժանրային-տիպաբանական քննություն»), in 2010 - Raisa Khachatryan's "The Poetics of Armenian Folk Songs" («Հայ ժողովրդական երգերի պոետիկան»).

 

Publication of folklore collections

The scientific series "Armenian Ethnography and Folklore" (hereinafter AEF) was founded in 1970, It plays a major role in the systematic publication and study of folklore and ethnographic materials. The work is carried out with the active participation of the twin Departments. A separate direction is formed by local collections of folklore materials written down from individual Armenian ethnographic regions, along with research and annotations: "Armenian Folklore of New Nakhijevan" by Khachik Porksheyan, (AEF 2, 1971), "Hark (Msho Bulanikh)" by Bense (AEF 3, 1972), "Archak" by Serine Avagyan (AEF 8, 1978), "From the Folklore of Echmiadzin and Ashtarak" by Astghik Nazaryan (AEF 9, 1978), "Kizlyar" by Gevorg Gevorgyan (AEF 10, 1980), "Nor Bayazet" by Gedeon Mikayelyan (AEF 11, 1980), "Gegharkunik" by Roza Grigoryan (AEF 14, 1983), "Artsakh" by Alvard Ghaziyan (AEF 15, 1983), "Musa-ler" by Verzhine Svazlyan (AEF 16, 1984), "Talin" by Raisa Khachatryan (AEF 19, 1999), "Lori" by Tamar Gevorgyan (AEF 20, 1999), "Tavush" (AEF 21, 2000) and "Ijevan" (Dzoropor)" (AEF 25, 2008) by Ester Khemchyan.

In addition to the series, the following books have been published separately: "Cilicia: The Oral Tradition of the Western Armenians" («Կիլիկիա. Արևմտահայոց բանավոր ավանդությունը», 1994) and "The Folklore of the Armenians of Constantinople" («Պոլսահայոց բանահյուսությունը», 2000) by Verzhine Svazlyan,  "The Folklore of the Armenians of Baku" («Բաքվի հայոց բանահյուսությունը», 2004) by Alvard Ghaziyan and Svetlana Vardanyan, "The Armenians of Karadagh. Folklore" («Ղարադաղի հայերը, բանահյուսություն», 2009) by Hovhannes Hovsepyan, "Dialect, Folklore and Song Art of the Hamshen Armenians Converted to Islam" («Կրոնափոխ համշենահայերի բարբառը, բանահյուսությունը և երգարվեստը», 2009) by Sergey Vardanyan.

Recently, in 2013, with the funding of the State Science Committee, the work "Kars. Armenian Folklore Culture" was published, which was carried out by the authors' group: Sargis Harutyunyan (group leader), Svetlana Vardanyan, Esther Khemchyan, Lusine Gretsyan, Marine Khemchyan. And in 2015, the work "Moks. Armenian Folklore Culture" was published by the same authors' group: Sargis Harutyunyan, Esther Khemchyan, Marine Khemchyan, Anna Poghosyan.

 

Study of the interaction between folklore and fiction

The problem of studying the interrelations between folklore and fiction has been raised and researched since the 1930s by Aram Ghanalanyan ("Proshyan and Folklore" («Պռոշյանը և ժողովրդական բանահյուսությունը», 1938), "Abovyan and Folklore" («Աբովյանը և ժողովրդական բանահյուսությունը», 1940), "Folk Origins of Сreativity of Isaakyan" («Իսահակյանի ստեղծագործության ժողովրդական ակունքները», 1955), "Folk Origins of Sayat-Nova's Creativity" («Սայաթ-Նովայի ստեղծագործության ժողովրդական ակունքները», 1963), "Tumanyan and Folklore" («Թումանյանը և ժողովրդական բանահյուսությունը», 1964). In 1954, Artashes Nazinyan published the monograph "Soviet Armenian Literature and Folklore" («Սովետահայ գրականությունը և ժողովրդական բանահյուսությունը»). In 2011, the monograph "Paruyr Sevak and Folklore" («Պարույր Սևակը և ժողովրդական բանահյուսությունը») by Armen Sh. Sargsyan, a researcher of the Department, was published.

 

Current research areas of the Department

The current areas of study of the Department include:

- Comparative mythology, epic folklore (Armenian-Iranian novel), medieval culturology, comparative linguistics, Armenian-Caucasian epic relations (carried out by Tork Dalalyan, Head of the Department, PhD in Philology);

 - Comparative mythology, ancient myths in the Armenian epic tradition, Armenian and Indo-European linguistics, Armenian prehistory, study of the mythologies of the Armenian Highlands, history and culture of the Kingdom of Van, modern Armenian folklore (carried out by Armen Petrosyan, Chief Researcher, Doctor of Philological Sciences);

- Genocide studies, folklore of Cilicia, Musa-Der, Armenian folklore of Constantinople, American Armenian oral tradition in the course of time (carried out by Verzhine Svazlyan, Honored Scientist of the Republic of Armenia, leading researcher, Doctor of Philological Sciences, professor);

 - Ethnography and folklore of Kessab, folklore of Vagif, Diaspora studies, Armenian legends of the Antioch region (carried out by  Hakob Cholakyan, leading researcher, Doctor of Historical Sciences);

 - Armenian folk satirical tales and jokes (anecdotes) (carried out by Armen Sh. Sargsyan, leading researcher, PhD in Philology);

- Typological and comparative study of stable formulas of Armenian folk tales, Historical and epic characters of the East in Armenian folklore, Tavush folklore (carried by Esther Khemchyan, senior researcher, PhD in Philology);

- Armenian folk tales, Armenian folkloric culture of Vaspurakan (carried out by Marine Khemchyan, senior researcher, PhD in Philology);

 - Armenian folk tale, Armenian folk songs, atypical stories of the myth "Sasna Tsrer" (carried out by  Arusyak (Venera) Sahakyan, senior researcher, associate professor, PhD in Philology);

- History of Armenian Folklore, Stages of Formation and Establishment of Tbilisi Armenian Folklore Thought (carried out by  Svetlana Vardanyan, senior researcher, PhD in Philology);

- Ritual Elements in Armenian Folk Tales (carried out by Lusine Hayriyan, researcher, PhD in );

- Armenian Folk Oaths, Etymology (carried out by Lusine Ghrejyan, researcher, associate professor, PhD in Philology);

- Armenian Real-Life Fairy Tales, Ritual-Song Folklore, Songs of the Wedding Ritual Series (carried out by Nvard Vardanyan, researcher, associate professor, PhD in Philology);

- Folklore of Hamshen Armenians Converted to Islam, Oral Culture of Hamshen Armenians (carried out by Sergey Vardanyan, researcher);

- The novelistic features of the Moks legends in the heroic epic "Sasna Tsrer" (carried out by Anna Poghosyan, junior researcher).