KS Yerevanian, History of the Armenians Of

Home , Lokma, Nakharar, Tibareni, Tiran of Armenia

K. S. Yerevanian, History of the Armenians of Charsanjak, Beirut, 1956 Translated into English by Aram Arkun, November 2009 [[email protected], [email protected]]

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A QUICK DRAFT TRANSLATION—if this is to be published, further polishing, regularization, and review is necessary; in some places I have added either question marks or CHECK to denote a phrase worth rechecking; some words may be Kurdish and were not found in Armenian or Ottoman dictionaries]

Introduction By Arshag Albôyajian, September 15, 1956 Bois de Bologne (Lebanon)

Numerous volumes were prepared for many regions of Armenia by compatriotic unions or other organizations. They present the geography and history of a region; the past and the life of the Armenians living there; their habits and customs; the roles they played in various arenas, as well as the terrible history of their collective annihilation. Some twenty such works have been published up until now, with greater or lesser success, and others are being prepared. The present volume dedicated to Ch`arsanjak will have its place in these ranks. The latter will be valued particularly because the author, patriotically putting all his energy to the preparation of this work, has been able to provide nearly seven hundred pages of fresh material on a secondary—if not tertiary—district like Ch`arsanjak. He has succeeded in producing a useful volume on a practically ignored Armenian district which does not have a history. He gives to us the description of this district lost among Kurdish areas, which perhaps at one time purely Armenian, was prosperous and then lost its importance, and became backwards. He provides completely new and personal information, because the author of the book has travelled all corners of the district step by step and span by span. GET MORE LATER….

Several Words By Kévork S. Erevanian GET LATER?

For History By the Central Executive of the Pan-Ch`arsanjak Compatriotic Union Fresno, September 10, 1956

LATER?

Part I Ch`arsanjak

Section 1 Physical Location and Borders

Chàrsanjak is located at the northeastern end of Kharpert (or Mamuret-ül-Aziz) province, and forms part of the district of Dersim, occupying its southern plains area. Its borders are: from the north, Dersim; from the south, the Aradzani or Murad River; from the east, the regions of Havav and Bulanêk of Palu district; from the north-east, Perri River; and from the west, Ch`mshgadzag (see the map). Chàrsanjak is four to five thousand feet above sea level. Although it is in the plains area of Dersim, it contains small mountains and mountain chains. From the south, [there is] the Chàlkhadan and Sallar mountain chain, which stretches up to Khazan Dere and reaches the border of the Aradzani with its famous downhill slope, which is called It Yokuşı (Dog Slope). This vexatious ascent lasts one hour for travelers. From the west, the Kharachòr mountain chain, which begins from the areas of Vasgerd and Pashaghag and extends until Pertag. In the central portion of Chàrsanjak, a branch of the Mntzur mountain chain accompanies the Mntzur River until the latter joins the Perri River. There are large and small hills in the central portion of Chàrsanjak whose slopes are cultivatable and fertile. It is surrounded on four sides by tall mountains, and with its extensive area forms a beautiful mountain plain.

Section 2 The Name

Chàrsanjak or Karach`ôr: There are various ideas and points of view about this. Fr. Ghugas Vartabed Injijian ascribes the origin of the word Chàrsanjak to “êsd krots` Chèhar Sanjak,” that is, four districts. Mr. A[rshag]. Albôyajian, however, gives the following explanation. “This name, in our humble opinion, must be Persian, probably created in the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries; and I do not think that it is connected with the name Fourth Armenia [Chòrrort Hayk`], which even Armenians did not use because it was foreign and given by foreigners.” Injijian in his geography (Geography of the Four Parts of the World [Ashkharhakrutìwn chòrits` masants` ashkharhi], Venice, 1806, Volume I, p. 226) adds next to the names Chàrsanjak=Chèhar Sanjak the word Karach`ôr with an “or,” which makes it the equivalent of the previous two names. Mr. A. Albôyajian continues: “Although it is a bit of temerity on my part, I consider this word Karach`ôr a corruption of the words Kàràtzor—Chòrs tzor [Four Valleys] taking valley here in the meaning of district, as it has been used in our oldest literature, such as the seventy valleys Dikran [Tigran] the Great left to the Persians.” According to Injijian, the name Chàrsanjak was given to this territory because it had four districts:

1. Medzgerd or Mazgerd 2. Saghman 3. P`eri or Perri 4. Pertag

Injijian writes: “Though these are separate districts to be called with one name four districts, perhaps in translation of the old name Fourth Armenia, because the four sanjaks practically all are in Fourth Armenia which is an old province of Armenia Major. It is a two days journey to Gaban [Geban] Maden. The government of these four districts is also in the hands of the Kurds, who are practically independent. Each major town has eight hundred homes of Armenians and Kurds. Each has fifteen or twenty villages, inhabited by Armenians and Kurds, [and] their land is fertile.” Fr. Ghevont Vartabed Alishan, in his work Topography of Armenia Major [Deghakir Hayots` medzats`] (which is the geography of Armenia) when he speaks about Kharpert (page 42) considers Jabagh Chur, Palu, Chèhar Sanjak, Chmshgadzak “and other districts [vijagk`]” as its parts. Alishan writes the following about Chàrsanjak: “To the west of Palu at the right of the Murad to its mixing with the Euphrates, there are four little districts [vijagk`], those called Chèhar Sanjak or Karach`ôr; and they are Saghman which is the land of Saghman in the Middle Ages, Pertig, Medzgerd, and Perri, which was called land of Khoznay in the past, and to the west of all of them along the Euphrates is the land of Ch`mshgadzak, which now is called Chìmishgezeg; the city of the same name along the tributary streamlet of the Murad was formerly called Herapolis, and it took on its new name from being the birthplace of the emperor Hòvhannés Chmshgig. Outside of the city there is Garmir Sarug, where Hòvhannés the married priest [kàhanay], martyred in Palu, built a church which was destroyed out of envy by his enemies.” Thus, we can conclude about the examination of the name Chàrsanjak that Chàrsanjak—Four Sanjaks—or Karach`ôr--Kàràtzor—are the same, and through the union of four districts (Perri, Pertag, Medzgerd and Saghman), they receive the name Chàrsanjak which has come into general use in our day.

Section 3 Orography

The small mountain chains found in Chàrsanjak by extending from the north to the south delimit its plains areas. From the Khràn mountains to the south, Tzorag, Masdan, Hayvat`li, Géôk`t`ép`é [Turkish Göktepe], Urtz, Basu, Paghnik`, Khushin [this village is also occasionally called Hushi elsewhere in this volume], and Hoshé, with their spacious expanse, form the plains area. From the west, Khr`nég, Ismayél, Lusadarich`; from the northwest, Vasgerd, Pashaghag; from the south, Chàlkhadan, Dérmêrchi, Sallar, Khazan Déré; and from the east, from above Hoshé up to Baghnadun, the Gollan area, form the mountainous area. One of the two mountain chains particular to Chàrsanjak is [along] the path of Perri’s river from the east, which starting from K`ghi stretches to Pertag, while from the west, the mountain chain that accompanies the Mntzur (Muzur) River up to Zeri village. On the southern part of Perri the Chàlkhadan mountains, which stretch from east to west, rise up like ramparts.

Section 4 Hydrography

Two chief rivers run through Chàrsanjak: the first is the Perri or Miws Kayl River; the second, the Mntzur or Muzur River. The Perri River springs from the Piwragnean (Bingöl) Mountains, and passing in front of K`ghi, from the northeast of Dersim it enters Chàrsanjak. After passing in front of the Baghin, Tìl, Khsuhi, and Paghnik` villages, and delimiting the plain of Perri, it goes towards the west and past Zéri village near Chàt` it unites with the Mntzur (Muzur) River. The well known American-Armenian writer Mr. Vahan Chùkasêzian in his private memoirs, while describing the Perri area, calls the Perri River the Ôrôr River, according to historian Professor M. Minasian. In 1901, the author of the work Dérsim printed in Tiflis—Antranig—writes (p. 132): “Perri is built on the right bank of the Lêch`êk Chày.” Fr. Ghugas Vartabed Injijian, in Geography of the Four Parts of the World writes thus about K`ghi: “GET LATER In the geographical map Hayasdan ew tratsì ergirner [Armenia and neighboring countries] composed by Ardashés Apeghian, we see at the southwestern side of K`ghi a village named Ôrôr in front of which a streamlet passes and joins the K`ghi River which hpasses in front of K`ghi. Similarly, at the northwestern side of K`ghi there is Lêch`êk village, in front of which a streamlet flows named Lêch`êk which joins the K`ghi River. Thus the places called Lêch`êk and Ôrôr belong to the two small streamlets of those names which pass through K`ghi, which, joining with other streamlets, take on the name K`ghi River in front of K`ghi; after entering Chàrsanjak the latter is called Miws Kayl River or Perri River. Many small streamlets and rivulets join the Perri River. This river finds its conclusion in front of Perri, where its average width reaches fifty meters. From K`ghi to Baghin, the river is rapid and eddying. In the plains area of Chàrsanjak it becomes calm and continues on its way. In the summertime, its water is very clear and cold, and is drinked. In many places it has a depth of five to ten meters. Fords or huner arise in the summer which are called in the popular tongue gechùd. In any case it is a necessity to be aware of these crossings in order to avoid unexpected danger. Travel on the river is done with a raft (kàllak`), which is formed from fifteen to twenty goat or other animal skins (dig) and can carry six people and some goods. The fall and especially the spring rains turn Perri’s river truly wild. A man is frightened when he approaches its bank. With its foaming and rapid course, it hisses like a dragon whose sound dominates to a certain distance. When this river floods its width reaches up to one hundred meters. Of course its depth also increases proportionately. When the Perri River reaches this angry state, it is not possible to joke with it. In urgent circumstances, the raft is used on condition that the one using and running it is experienced. Travelers undertaking these unusual trips having prepared for every danger and after saying “make the salt and bread lawful (halal),” leave their loved ones. The journey under these conditions is both wearisome and dangerous, and one that very few can endure. After leaving the shore of the river the raft slides hundreds of meters and the traveler turns into a plaything for the waves’ current. During the first days of December the edges of the river slowly begin to freeze, the completion of which takes place in January. Experienced men only after confirming the tracks of the feet of fox on the ice from one bank to the other will consider the solidity of the ice safe in order to cross along the path of these tracks. [*Footnote: The fox reveals its natural cunning in this situation too. He does not walk until he confirms the solidity and thickness of the ice with his ear. This is how an animal leads a true being, man.] The transportation of animals and goods also is carried out. Unfortunately, as throughout Turkey, similarly in this region natural resources are not used. For example, it has never been thought to use the course of this and similar bodies of water and irrigate arid lands. The indifference and disregard are proven by the lack of an ordinary bridge. It was only in 1916 that the Germans built a wooden bridge from in front of Perri to the watermills of Hoshé. Potters (bardakji [Turkish]) of Perri brought the clay pitchers and jars, and baked earthenware, that they had made on rafts along this river to Géban Madén, and sold them there along with other types of goods. This aided in the trade and communications of the region. During the summer, the river of Perri became very important for the inhabitants and animals of Perri and the surrounding villages. The river not only provides drinkable water, but also serves the needs of laundry and other things. The Perri River is famous for its tasty fish, among which the best types are the yellowbelly and the trout. There were also snake fish (conger eel), dog fish, etc. in this river. According to tradition sometimes a man fish had been seen—that is, from the trunk up, a man, but from the trunk down, a fish. The Perri and Hoshé inhabitants would relate that they had seen a water girl [mermaid] sitting on the “Khavakh Kàr” in front of Perri combing her long hair with her fingers, who as soon as human beings appeared would dive below the surface of the water. This tradition was passed down from generation to generation. Mntzur River (Muzur Su). This is the second large river of Chàrsanjak. It originates in the western mountains of Dérsim, form the base of Mntzur, and flows south, passing from the west of Medzgerd and by Zeri until Chàt` village, where it joins the Perri River. The chief source of the Mntzur is found near Zernag village of Dérsim. It gushes out from a rock of two square meters so powerfully and frothing that the observer is left with the impression of the milky white foam of milk. Aside from winning the amazement of the former, it also leaves him shaking in fear. The second main source is near Ziarat` village, and is so profuse that it turns five to six mills. These two main springs and around forty small ones in nearby areas by mixing with each other form the Mntzur (Muzur) River. The water of this river is very sweet, and cold, and it is so clear that an observer from above can even see the floor of the river. It has many types of fish, of which the “Ala Balêk” is famous. The Mntzur River is rapid. It descends and passes between rocks. Near Zeri village there is an old bridge which became the slaughterhouse for the intellectual elite of the region, and about which we will speak in time. Chàrsanjak, aside from these rivers and springs, has thousands of large and small springs and sources. Every village has its own spring, some with one, and others with more. Gardens, orchards, and fields are blessed with a network to bring water. A traveler from village to village on his way would find clear waters, one surpassing the other, which turn Chàrsanjak into a rich region of vegetation.

Section 5 Vegetation

The mountains, valleys, and fields of Chàrsanjak are covered with green vegetation. The land is very fertile. It has extensive pastures. The mountains, in general, are covered with hazel trees and other kinds of trees which provide inexhaustible sustenance to animals. The meat of animals nourished with the green and fresh leaves of the hazel tree, and satiated with cold water have an exceptional quality and taste. The forests are full of pear, walnut, and pine trees, and all kinds of wild fruit bearing trees. The turpentine tree, whose resin creating sap has the smell of incense and heals the wound of a cartridge, is cut open with a knife like the hazel. Milk comes forth, then it turns into gum. Its green leaves are used for making salty and acidic; they have the flavor of incense. [There are the] almond tree, pistachio tree (type of hazel [??]), Ghuzuljukh [kızılcık, cornelian cherry], jujube, buckthorn, shêkòk` [a kind of wild pear], pear, apple, mars, tàrghi (which is hard like the common box tree), bodzegh, pàtàtùg [Sambucus nigra, or Elder/Elderberry], mulberry, plum, common juniper tree, Norway spruce/white fir, ilghun [???=ılgın, Tamarisk in Turkish], sarkhun, and sabin or savin [red cedar] trees. Thanks to the plentiful trees in Chàrsanjak’s forests, the inhabitants never have any shortage of firewood. Hazel logs crackle in all hearths. The stock of sawn hazel wood is prepared for the ovens of Perri—soba—from autumn. The load of wood of one beast of burden brought by Kurds in Perri—around 100 kilograms—is worth five tahegans [piastres]. Wood of the Lombardy poplar, white poplar (Abele tree), and willow are used for construction. The beams of ceilings are prepared from local hardwoods. A good type of Lombardy poplar is found one hour distant from Hoshé village in Déng village which is at the left shore of the Perri River. Déng is a Kurdish village on the shore opposite the fortress of Tìl. Cut and dried beams are piled at the edge of the river. Then they are tied in squares (which they called apàt`) and slid into the river. Sitting on them, the Kurds transported them to Perri and elsewhere. White mushrooms which are well known grow on the mountains of Vasgerd village. Chàrsanjak is an agricultural territory. Ninety percent of its population is farmers. Aside from the trade and artisan class of Perri and Medzgerd, all the Armenians of sixty villages pursued farming. This area is one of the foremost in the Dérsim region with its plentiful and rich vegetation. The laborer of Chàrsanjak was a skilled farmer. Although he sowed, cultivated, and reaped with primitive tools, through his stubborn, energetic, and inventive measures he worked to produce the greatest result possible. He was forced to mightily labor in order to provide for the needs of his family and animals. The government on the one hand, and the begs and aghas of the region on the other, squeezed out the blood of these laborers like leeches. In May, the sown [crop] which had risen one or two span high gave rise to a wondrous view, nourishing the soul and renewing the spirit. In August, it was as if handfuls of gold had been spilled on Chàrsanjak’s soil. The laborers began work as busy as bees with threshing floor and grain. Chàrsanjak chiefly produced wheat, in many varieties. For example, white wheat, ménjékì, ashura, shigon, khara-khrchig, dévédishli, etc. Of these, ménjékì is used to produce cracked wheat, while the others, in general, for flour. Barley, millet, glgl [CHECK wild senna], lentils, kùshnay {spurrey}, bôy, fit, chickling vetch or bitter vetch, chickpeas, broad bean (fava), sesame, purging or cathartic flax, castor oil plant, and common hemp are also grown. In the wheat fields, ergoted rye [delice in Turkish] sprouts on its own; if its grains are ground with wheat out of inattentiveness, the bread made from this mixed flour will cause a terrible headache, and can even make the subject crazy. This grass has the same effect on animals. There is also the plant called kòra, which resembles wheat, but contains in place of wheat grains a black dust. If this kòra is not removed before threshing or grinding, the flour will turn black and the taste of the bread [made from it] will also change. The following greens, all of which are edible, grow in the fields and mountains: kùshmart, artichoke, white felted thistle, léyléghatsìg, dwarf mallow or round dock (jênjêghhatsìg), wood sorrel or cuckoo bread or oxalis (t`t`êr`gich`), hashdig, krzik` [?=krzi, cactus or torch thistle], etc. [a further list GET LATER] Lale bendin is a plant from whose cut root milk exudes. If somebody with enterocele drinks this juice early in the morning, his intestine will be pulled upward and the hole will close. It is a first rate proven remedy for enterocele. As this juice is extremely bitter it must be mixed with ordinary milk so that it does not congeal. Gum is also prepared from the milk of lale bendin. The plants gullêk and lêvinj grow in the mountains. They cook sweet pilaf with gullêk, while lêvinj is used as a medicine for belly aches. Godom [garden cress, bitter cress, or withlow grass] and water parsley (or water parsnip) grow on edges of the walls of mills and along springs. They provide wonderful salad greens for the villagers. In many of the villages of Chàrsanjak there were private, regular vegetable gardens where squash, eggplants, tomatoes, beans, peppers, parsley, anisette, gutà [a type of melon which is often called the Armenian cucumber in English], cucumbers, purslane, onions, garlic, mint, basil, apples, and radish were grown. Among the villages of this area, the gutà of Hoshé was renowned. It was cultivated in private fields. In the summer, Perri’s market would be filled with piles of those cucumbers, which were on the average an arm’s length, either straight or round; two to three would be sold for 10 paras. It has a very sweet taste. The êndatsù (seed bearing) gutà which was 1.5 meters long and one span [nine inches] high, when ripe had the taste of a melon. Chàrsanjak abounded not only with watermelons and sweet tasting melons, but also with musk or sweet melon [shamam], which had yellow and green lines and a sweet fragrance. These fruits were very plentiful and fully satisfied the needs of the people. Chàrsanjak’s pastures were also celebrated. They were often found on the great expanses of plains or valleys. The grass left over from the summer season would be dired by the villagers as winter provisions for the animals. Vineyards. Not all villages have vineyards, but Perri’s orchards had great renown. Then came the orchards of Hoshé, Ismayél, Basu, and Vasgerd. Viticulture was fairly advanced in Perri. Khràj, Arkhaj, and Sep`déré had large and well cultivated vineyards. Fruits. At the beginning of spring, the fruit of the Chàrsanjak residents was the khavêndzil brought from the mountains of Dérsim. Khavêndzil would grow/sprout up after the melting of the snow, two or three span [=18 or 27 inches] long. It had a tender stalk, two fingers thick. It was eaten by being peeled, and had an acidic/sour taste. It can be considered to be Chàrsanjak’s orange. After this in their turn ripened and arrived the mulberry, grape, apple, pear, shêkòk`, plum, apricot, fig, pomegranate, almond, prìnch` [the fruit of the Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose, Water Elder, European Cranberry bush, Cramp Bark, or Snowball Tree), or the white beam tree, chess apple tree, or Oriental nettle tree], alochà [wild plum], blackberry, and khngaloch` [a type of choice hawthorn]. At Ismayelts`va Mountain, at Alujga, Giwnésh [Güneş], Arek, are found CONTINUE LATER? The Snowball Tree,

Section 6 Animals

The domesticated animals of Chàrsanjak include the horse, cow, ass, mule, goat, sheep, ox, buffalo, and dog. Nearly every village has buffalo. These animals were used for agricultural work. There were many excellent and noble choice steeds, especially with the tribal leaders and aghas. The chief means of transportation were the ass, horse, and especially the mule. Every city or village family had its milk-giving cow, goat, and sheep. As a source of meat, the goat most of all would be slaughtered. The meat of the çepiç [year old male goat, Turkish], kid, and goat was considered superior to that of sheep. There were few sheep in Chàrsanjak. In the fall, the butchers of Perri would have sheep of the kind called “mor`” brought from Erzerum for khavurma [frying]. Among the wild animals, the wolf, fox, jackal, hyena, and snsar are worth mentioning. In the wintertime, packs of wolves swarmed around the villages. In the summer, they would attack flocks of sheep. For defense, shepherds kept with their flocks huge watchdogs which frightened the wolves. During winter the villagers hunted fox and snsar [or sênsar; sansar in Turkish means marten or polecat] whose meat was greatly esteemed. The meat of one black snsar was at that time worth one to two Ottoman gold coins. Those villagers who had many cattle were considered rich. The kâhya [steward, village leader, Turkish] and notables each had three to four pairs of buffalo, five to six pairs of oxen, ten to twenty cows, two to three horses, five to six mules, and eight to ten asses in their stables, and 100-200 goats, 50-60 sheep, and numerous lambs, kids, and calves in their kòz [pen]. A chicken pen existed next to the stable, and in it were roosters, hens, and geese. Eggs were quite plentiful and practically free. Thirty were worth barely one kurush. There were many wild doves and turtledoves which made their nests under the roofs of houses, and in the openings of churches, monasteries, walls, and ceilings. Hunting and eating them was considered a sin. The mountains and valleys of Chàrsanjak were full of partridges whose calls were heard everywhere. Partridges were also not hunted, but sometimes people kept this bird in cages for the sake of its song. Despite the abundance of birds that could be hunted, hunting was not advanced. This had two reasons: first, not only was the possession of a hunting weapon injurious for an Armenian, but also it was considered an unforgivable crime; secondly, the plenitude and cheapness of domesticated meat providing animals and fish neutralized the need for hunting. An interesting scene was revealed when in wintertime, everywhere was covered with snot. Partridges in flocks would perch on rocks, and if the village was nearby, would rush inside houses in order to find food. IN such circumstances, youth would go outside and through various ingenious methods hunt live partridges. Aside from swallows and sparrows, one thousand and one kinds of colorful birds flew and sang in the fields and vineyards, from the wren to the nightingale. No one has been able to count the number of types. If somebody would ask a Chàrsanjak inhabitant how many kinds of birds existed in your land, I am sure that he would answer: “What do I know? There are so many kinds of birds in Chàrsanjak that it is not possible to count their kinds and quantity.” The spring was “Mardi innin, léylégê punén [March comes in, the stork {goes out}of his nest].” The number of storks was great. They placed their nests on the roofs of high houses and on the unreachable heights of trees. We have often seen this bird of the spring in the air, with the snakes that it killed and held in its beak. The numbers of black crows, kites or buzzards [urur], and other carrion eating birds of prey are also great. Their presence often and spontaneously aids the health of the people, because in Chàrsanjak the corpses of dead animals (ass, horse, dog, cat, or mule) would be thrown outside of the village in a field and left there. The carrion eating birds in a short time would clean them, thus freeing the villagers from foul smells. Chàrsanjak was rich in types of mice. As the houses were generally built of earth, wholes in the walls would become natural nests for these animals which were useless for us. Aside from tasting our foods, they became a means of transmitting diseases. The mouse and rat often made their presence felt publicly. This earthen structure of residences created a favorable environment also for snakes, especially black and large snakes. It was said that they were the protectors of the house, and every house would have to have that undesirable and uninvited guest. In fact these black snakes were harmless, and aside from being frightening, would do practically no serious harm to the inhabitants. At nights, when hearing blowing and whistling, or when dirt fell from the ceiling, they would say “it is the landlord” without being frightened. I remember one summer when we boys were playing in the veranda of my uncle, suddenly we saw that a black ball fell from the ceiling next to us. At first we thought that it as a ball of string made of hair. A little later we withdrew, seeing them move and separate themselves from each other. This ball began to become untied and expand. Hearing our yells upon this, my aunt came and calmed us down, saying that “it is the landlord.” Collecting them, she took them. What had fallen was the next of a snake, and in it were its offspring. These snakes were not only considered the “landlord” but also the “bereket [“blessing; good fortune”] of the house, and nobody intentionally would do them harm, because the elders would advise thusly. There were many types of poisonous snakes in the fields and mountains. There were also scorpions, lizards, and govêdzudz (a kind of lizard, black and green in color), which jumped on men’s faces and scratched. Until seven drums [davul] did not make their terrifying sounds, this frightful creature would not let go of the place it clawed. There were numerous turtles, both of land and of water. The fields were full of moles and hedgehogs. In Lake Yeran of Perri there were leeches used to take blood. All types of frogs abounded, and their croaking in unison, especially during the quiet solitude of the night, deafened our ears. While passing through fields, one would witness the exercise of ch`ék`ch`ékìs. They would jump from branch to branch with clever leaps. Among all this, the people would be terrified of the hoot of the owl. Woe to him on whose house at night the owl would make its lamentation carrying sad news, moving three times. Immediately it would be interpreted that somebody in this house must indisputably die. The same prejudice existed about the yelping of dogs When a dog near a house yelped with his mouth opened to the sky, this was considered a prelude to imminent misfortune. Surviving Perri inhabitants recall that in the years 1914-15, an owl continually hooted all night on top of Hüsni Bég of Perri’s mansion.

Section 7 Climate

Chàrsanjak, with its geographical position, is found in a temperate zone. There time has a precise course from which there can be no departures. The seasons are distinguished distinctly from one another. Winter is winter, summer, summer, while spring and fall are transitional periods. Winter. On December 1, already everywhere is covered with snow. It is extremely cold for three months. The weather is cloudy and continually it snows. In the fields over one meter of snow sits. By January, the Perri and Mntzur Rivers nearly completely freeze. In the mountainous areas, storms and snow storms are plentiful. All the roads of the village and city are closed. If the weather is bright, they only travel from a distance of several hours when the snow has frozen and has become “êr`ghij” (footnote: when the snow freezes and men can walk on the frozen snow without sinking). At wintertime, the muleteers traveling from Perri to Kharpert know the favorable days of the season and only travel in caravans at that time. Sometimes they encounter unforeseen and unexpected difficulties during snowstorms. We call thse in our tongue “pùkì pr`nvil.” The snow fiercely falls at that moment; the wind creates frightful and terrifying minutes in every direction; sight and hearing are condemned to uselessness; man finds himself in hellish conditions. Snow being sifted from the sky mixed with the snows on the ground create a chaotic state. May God help those stuck in such snow. Only the experienced ones can defeat this fateful agony. In such circumstances created by nature, it seems that animals with their instinctive abilities surpass the natural lord of the animal world, man. During these storms, mules familiar with the place unfailingly lead the human beings sitting on their backs. Spring. The first week of March almost always begins with abundant rains mixed with hail; thunder and lightening succeed one another. March 10 to 15 is the period of melting of the snows. The change in atmosphere is so quick that even the frozen earth in the ground, that thick layer of snow and ice, completely loosens in five to ten days and melts. The waters of rivers, streams, and springs greatly overflow. Mountain, valley, and field are flooded with water, and communication between villages ceases. After these short downpours, the warm rays of the vivifying spring sun impart life and spirit to the earth. Barely a week after these days, the fall sowing and grasses sprout. The first brush of the green of the fields make the earth beautiful with green. The weather is bright, clear, and clean. The large and small creatures of the animal world greet the sun with limitless longing. Village and countryside are revivified; everywhere there are glad movements and frolicking. Everything greets reborn life, like prisoners released from prison. How pleasant it is to watch and hear the calves, lambs, and kids frolic and their sounds. Try to look at their so sweet, deep, and innocent eyes, with their nostrils wide open and erect in the air, as they breath in deeply the life-giving air. Turley spring, that queen of seasons, is good everywhere and adorned. However I think that if the spring of other areas is compared with that of Chàrsanjak’s marvelous spring, it will yield in front of its eminence. In April and May, Chàrsanjak with its mountains, valleys, and plains, is adorned and turns into a land similar to paradise. It is as if nature is conducting a show of its beauty. There everything is sweet. The air is sweet, especially the air in which is mixed the fragrance of multicolored flowers, which can make a man drunk. The smell and sight of the flowers of the almond, apricot, and other sweet tasting fruits’ flowers is heady. The games and running of village children, their cries and smiles will lengthen your life…it is the charm of the bliss of the gurgling streamlets’ clear blue, under the shade of trees thick with leaves, that it seeks. During the days of spring, Chàrsanjak turns into a cradle of flowers, a nest of birds, and the source of life. Is it not appropriate to repeat our grandmothers’ saying, full of curses: “Enemy, may your eye go blind; why did you make us scattered here and there, and deprived us of our heaven-like birthplace?” Summer. Just as the winter is very cold the summer is very hot. If the shade of trees and the existence of cold springs were less in Chàrsanjak, we would suffer greatly from it. The summer is the season of work. Only he who labors well in summer has the right to enjoy winter. The villagers of our area, large and small, and with their animals, breathlessly work. Chàrsanjak’s sun is strong. Sometimes the heat reaches 36 degrees [Centigrade]. However the heat of the summer becomes harmless thanks to our water, trees, and wind. Fall. The falling of leaves begins in the month of September. Everybody is worried abou the winter. Autumn is a period of preparations. November turns the imminent winter palpable. Dark clouds assemble in the sky. The weather grows cold and rains mixed with hail become frequent. Sometimes winter, without waiting for December, begins in November. The climate of Chàrsanjak is extremely severe. This greatly affects the character of the population. There is little room for falsehood among the Chàrsanjak inhabitants. For them, a friend is always a friend, and an enemy, an enemy.

Section 8 Mineral Wealth

If we take Ch`arsanjak and Dérsim as a united and independent region, we can say that this district is rich with mineral wealth. Up to our times, the primary mineral substances found in Dérsim are gold, niter [or saltpeter, which is potassium nitrate], salt, and petroleum.

1) Gold mine. This mine is found near Duzhig Baba Mountain, barely forty or fifty steps away form Halvori’s St. Garabed Monastery, towards the south. The mine is very large and important. It is said that one-tenth of the soil of this area is clean and fine gold. According to some, the exploitation of this mine began during the period of Roman rule. As proof, stones of melted gold are presented that remained near the mine. Others insist that this mine was exploited by the Mirakians, immediately after Roman rule or a little later, and had minted coins from the mined gold in their name. Some of this money has been seen in Dérsim. Though its weight is not known, supposedly its size was that of a horseshoe. They also say that a huge number of these coins was found on the Sovuk Pùnar road of Khuzu Chan, but the Turkish government seized them. It is said that gold, silver, copper, and lead mines are found in various areas of Dérsim, which however remain in a virgin state. 2) Niter mine. Niter [Footnote: Niter—Güverçile—Azotate de potasse] generally is plentiful in Dérsim. Around Izol or Khràn, a mountain is a complete niter mine. Aside from these mountains, in numerous caves and caverns in various parts of Dérsim, naturally ready niter in spheres is to be found, with which the Dérsim inhabitants prepare gunpowder for themselves. 3) Petroleum mine. Lofty Dérsim, in its bosom, alongside countless resources, also has petroleum, which can in the future form its sole fortune. However at present it remains insignificant and completely unusable. This mine is a spring mixed with water which issues forth in Terchan, two hours distant from Mamakhatùn, towards Erznga. 4) Salt mine. Dérsim is also very rich in salt. It has six main salt mines. Kemir-Tuzlası, Ağa- Tuzlası, Plimur-Tuzlası, Vartenig-Tuzlası, Medzgerd-Tuzlası, and Duğla-Deresi.

The Medzgerd Tuzlası is two hours distant from Medzgerd towards the west. It has white and clean salt, which is used throughout Chàrsanjak and nearby districts. Aside from the abovementioned mines, there are certainly other mines in the Dérsim and Chàrsanjak moutnians which to this day remain unseen to the eyes of the experts. Towards the western part of Perri is found a fairly large hill which is called Hoghtar Mountain. They extract from it a white and crumbling clay called gaghji. By dissolving gaghji in water, they are able to whiten the walls of houses, the floors of rooms, and flour containers. It has a sweet and pleasant odor. They also extract from Hoghtar Mountain a clean and crystallized soil which is used as sticky dirt, especially for children. Natives call it “artar hogh” [just soil]. After cauterizing it over a fire, it is placed in the crib of newborns, and the child lies on top of this soil, after its heat is reduced to a moderate temperature. Clay mines are found near many villages of Chàrsanjak. This dense and sticky clay has a grey color and a sweet fragrance. This clay is the soap for the landlady of Chàrsanjak, which is used in order to wash the head during baths. Êr`b’s soil was rare, with a white color. It was used in the preparation of rùb [or rùp`; a syrup made of grape juice] and basdegh [dried, rolled mats of fruit], as well as to neutralize the acidity of the essence (or syrup) of the grape. There were also calcite (or lime stone) mines of sufficient quantity for local needs. Mineral Waters. Chàrsanjak had its famous and historical spring, near Baghin village, eight hours distant from Perri towards the northwest, at the right bank of the Perri River. In order not to confuse it with Palu’s Baghnadun, it was called Khrànu-Baghin. In 1910, when I was ten years old, we went from Perri to Baghin’s spring. We left with several families, riding mules. We passed the villages of Paghnik`, Khushi, and Ghayach` on our journey, and in the evening reached Masdan, where we stopped to pass the night. The muleteers, Armenian and Kurdish acquaintances of Masdan, watched over us at night because they feared the bandits of Khràn. We continued on our way early in the morning. The plains area ended, and the mountainous route began. We were among the [Kurdish] tribe [ashiret] of Khràn. We passed thick forests of hazel trees. Going up and down hill and on narrow paths, we advanced and reached the Kurdish-populated village called R`êchig, and from there going a lot downhill we arrived at Baghin. The Perri River appeared between two huge mountains, and being squeezed and foaming, barely was able to open its path. We settled ourselves next to the mineral spring in a cave; there were also a few tents. This very deep valley between two mountains had a very narrow opening. Opposite, Gollan Mountain rose like a wedge, while on the right side, Baghin Mountain, which seemed to bound up to join its neighbor facing it. The horizon was so limited that we only saw three hours of sun daily. It seemed as if these twin mountains were cut in half with a knife, in order to give a path for the roaring river. After passing the first night in fear and fright, the next morning we went to the basin of hot water. From the cave towards the river, barely fifty steps distant, the ground had the appearance of frozen volcanic lava. After walking on the surface of a monolithic, pitted black rock, we reached the edge of a promontory, where man involuntarily stops seeing under his feet the profound valley where the river with great noise foams, hitting the rocks. In order to reach the pool, which was found in the natural cavity of a boulder, it was necessary to advance with great care and very slowly, in a sitting position, because if one slipped, the fall would be terrible—from a height of one hundred meters towards the depths of the river. The pool was approximately two meters wide, three meters long, and as deep as one man. The water was very hot. Many were not able to endure it, and came out after a quarter hour. It had a sharp and powerful smell, an odor of sulfur and iron mixed. The water flowed fairly plentifully, and fell from the edges of the basin into the river. This mineral water has a curative and salutary nature for many illnesses. All sick people who came as if pilgrims were cured there, especially those suffering from joint pains [rheumatism, etc.]. There are many topics needing scientific study in this mineral water. The ground leading from the pool towards the side of the mountain, as we said, had something very strange and mysterious; it was as if you were walking on copper—a dull clamor reverberated with the sound of your footstep. Innumerable holes existed from which hot water burst out, and around which many types of statuettes were formed like stalactites. This flat rock stretched one hundred meters to the north, where with a small decline it reached the fortress of Baghin. A sandy entrance led to the river. The fortress which was fifty meters from the river was a monolithic rock which with impenetrable sides rose and stretched towards the west. In front of the entrance to the fortress we saw a stone with the size of a huge door, on which there were inscriptions engraved. Unfortunately I cannot recall the type of letters. After 1915, the Turks threw that stone into the river in order to make it disappear. The entrance door was round. We ascended on stairs and reached an arch-shaped hall. There were places cut like seats into the stone on both sides of the hall. From the entrance to the hall no cracks existed. After the general entrance a second staircase went up and led to a larger and taller hall, whence several paths left towards the interior of the mountain. This area was forbidden to interested walkers, with the excuse that the traveler could get lost in inappropriate and dead-end paths. Next to the room on the first floor was a circular well which was connected by a path to the river, in order to obtain water especially during times of war. Nobody knew when and who created this stone mountain in this fashion. According to the information provided by the native people, it was built in the time of the Genovese. At the northeast of the fortress, a certain distance away, the ruins of a bridge thrown to the two banks of the river remained still. Opposite the basin of mineral water at the left side of the river the Gollan Mountain stood erect. It was 100 meters above the surface of the river. It was impossible to step foot there—it was that steep. It was rocky and endowed with numerous large and small caves. In these caves many thousands of wild doves, who would fly to this or that shore in flocks, had made their nests. A little above the caves, the sight of the verdant hazel trees was enchanting and wonderful. There stags and hinds lived who grazed freely like herds of goats. The Dérsim region has many mineral springs, of which the most famous were Khuzuchani at Khùtì Dérési, and the mineral water called Sôvuk Su at P`érgini-Chày, which, considered as a place of pilgrimage, was called Surp-Ag [Holy Spring, in Armenian] as it cured all types of illnesses. They came from all over Dérsim on pilgrimage for this mineral water, and there they would be treated for many diseases. The local people had a special belief in these mineral waters and springs. Not aware of their scientific composition and characteristics, they regarded them each as a place of pilgrimage.

Section 9 Communication [/Transportation]

There were no regularly built roads on Chàrsanjak’s territory. A network of narrow and irregular roads connecting the villages with the cities existed, which in the summer were full of dust, and during the days of rain, full of mud. The roads of the villages of the plains are each one a path which passing by the edges of the fields spread in several directions. The roads going through mountains and passes turn practically unnoticeable at the start of spring, a period of snow and rain. The footprints of man and beast are completely erased. Local inhabitants would open a new path, which gradually would become defined. Chàrsanjak was a sort of isolated area, being deprived of ties of communications with surrounding provinces. The Kharpert-Erzerum road went via Palu; the Kharpert- Erznga [Erzincan] path, from Agn to Arapgir; the Kharpert-Khôzat` route, via Ch`mshgadzag. For this reason, Chàrsanjak remained deprived of crossroads. It is possible to divide Chàrsanjak’s chief roads thus: the Perri-Kharpert line which divides into two, one passing by Perri’s western vineyards reaches Zéri, and from the Muzur bridge goes towards T’ézêkan, and Abdôtsìk`, and in front of Kharaba Urèg it crosses the Aradzani, and marking sometimes the left and sometimes the right sides of the Adéd valley, it reaches the city of Kharpert. This road lasts twelve hours. The second, from the east of Perri, crossing the Perri River, rises until the incline of Chàlkhadan; from there to the south it bends towards Khazan Déré, and via the decline of It Yokuş it reaches the village of Basdag, on the shore of the Aradzani, whence, via boat, it passes the Gémi-Akhor` village, and continues its way, cutting through the plain of Kharpert to arrive at Kharpert’s Mezré. The Perri-Pertag road from the bridge of Muzur passes Vasgerd, Pashaghag, and Marjumag, and, with a decline, reaches Pertag. The road from Perri to Dérsim has several arms, of which one goes via Perri, Paghnik`, Khushin, Mrzan, Tzorag, Blan, Mokhêndi, Kùrk, and Khêzl-Kìlisé. The Perri, Basu, Khuzuljugh, Danaburan line leads to Shordan, and Medzgerd. The third goes from Perri to Ismayil, Khaludar, Khr`nég, Shamtsìk`, Havség, Svjogh, Sorpian, Khajar, and Lusadarich`, and from there to Halvori Monastery, and Khôzat`. The Perri-Palu line crosses the Perri River, and reaches Hoshé-tzor, Jafêkan, Havav, and Palu. As we noted, all of these roads were rough, narrow, and rocky, so that a loaded mule in places could barely pass. Thanks to this condition of the roads, Chàrsanjak’s transportation was conducted with load bearing animals—ass, mule, and bérgir. In Chàrsanjak, loads were not placed on oxen and buffalo. The aghas [notables] of Paghnik`, Khushi, Basun, and a few villages of the plains had a few buffalo carts, with which they transported tzandz (harvested bundles) to the threshing floors. One of the main paths for transportation was the Perri River. In the summertime, clay pitchers, pots, and water jars made by the potters of Perri were placed on specially built rafts—kàlak`--and they would be transported by the river’s current to Géban Madén, Malatya. They also transported with the current of the river beams and joists to be used for construction. The Perri River had its famous kàllak`khagh, which served the transportation of the villages scattered on the left and right banks, except in the winter. The kàllak`khagh [Footnote: The kàllak`khagh was that point at the edge of the Perri River where the water’s current was more peaceful and deep, and was favorable and suitable for the use of rafts] was always in a state of effervescence. On the two banks of the river would be piled goods to be transported—grain, legumes, and at the same time flocks of goats and sheep. In 1916, a wooden bridge was built by the Germans on this line, which in 1925 was destroyed and driven away by the unprecedented flooding of the river. The transportation of commercial goods from Perri to Kharpert was conducted via caravans of muleteers, while wheat and oil were transported from the surrounding villages to Perri with asses and mules.

Part Two

Section 1 The Historical Past of the Armenians of Ch`arsanjak

Chàrsanjak, with its geographical position, forms part of that historical territory where the Armenian nation, six centuries before Christ, received its formation and characteristics. Consequently, the history of the Armenians of Chàrsanjak is as old as of the coming into being of our national life. The existence of the Armenians of Chàrsanjak as a people indigenous to the realm [ashkharh] of Dzop`k` [Sophene] during its twenty-five centuries, was subject to social and political vicissitudes as well as earthshaking incursions. The most ancient history of the Chàrsanjak Armenians is rich with its glories and heroic episodes, struggles of inconceivable force, and epic incidents of struggle. The spiritual makeup of the Chàrsanjak Armenians was great; its will to survive powerful; [and] its ability to endure, unbreakable. It was overwhelmingly faithful to Armenian sanctities [holinesses], and did not even spare its life in their protection. Although we are not aware of the most ancient history of Chàrsanjak, the Armenians of Chàrsanjak who lived from its recent past until 1915, as true offspring of their ancestors, transmitted to us the perfect type of the ancient Chàrsanjak inhabitant, with his language and customs. This volume, History of the Armenians of Chàrsanjak, is the first page for all old and new Chàrsanjak inhabitants. Chàrsanjak, from its start of existence until the present period of time, has not had a separate history presenting its ancient past. All our investigations in this direction have been extremely difficult. However it was necessary to find ancient Chàrsanjak, this graceful hearth found in the realm of Dzop`k`. We found that ring of the golden chain which, fitted in the necklace of Dzop`k`, extends to Dzop`k` and Fourth Armenia. Behold how we become familiar with our ancient history, thanks to the great philologist A[rshag]. Albôyajian’s following study.

History of the Realm of Dzop`k` After the Entry of the Armen Upper Class to Armenia

Before Christ, starting in the sixth century, the Armenian nation finally received its physiognomy after the Armen upper class entered Armenia. A new civilization began to spring forth on the Armenian plateau, which accepted as its planks those peoples which, with indigenous or immigrant tribal mixtures, gave birth to the Armenian nation, and who possessed a civilization which blossomed in Armenia or outside of it. We do not have much definite information about this final formation of the Armenian people—which took place during the most confused period of Near Eastern history. It is not improbable that with or after the Armens other Iranian [Eranian] peoples also entered Armenia and mixed in with the locals and became dominant throughout this whole land. It was in this period that tribal states or a primary principality probably became evident in mountainous positions or valleys, surrounded by small ethnarchies. These principalities—whose position appears to have been very modest and secondary—were able to maintain their existence and perhaps in a very small measure, advance. However in this period, the population of Armenia had neither national nor state union, but, on the contrary, ethnographically and in terms of state bodies, was in a much divided condition. No one nation and no single state or union of states existed on the Armenian plateau. Instead there were mountain groups which barely represented any authority, but through their rebellions and raids caused trouble to neighboring lands, on every suitable occasion. These were half-civilized principalities which probably were struggling for their independence, though unfortunately we have very little information from this complicated period (see Arshag Albôyajian, Badmagan Hayasdani sahmannerê [The Borders of Historical Armenia], Cairo, 1950, p. 9). It is a reliable historical truth that the Armenian plateau finally was subjected to the Persian yoke in the time of Cambyses (529-522 BC), while after his death it revolted when Gaumata attempted to usurp the throne as Smerdis. Darius I (512-486) for this reason, in 519 and 518 invaded Arminia, in order to subdue it (see ibid., p. 10). Herodotus in saying “Arminia” understood that territory which stretched from the Euphrates to Gorjayk`, including the upper Tigris area (see Badmagan Hayasdani sahmannerê, p. 10), which is only the present southern Armenia. In other words, the provinces of ancient Dzop`k` and Aghdznik` in the regions of the lower Aradzani and upper Tigris embody Arminia, which must have formed a part of a Persian satrapy. In the Persepolis inscription, wherein the Persian Empire is divided into twenty- four satrapies, during the time of Dareh (512-486), Arminia was the seventh satrapy. In the Naqsh-e Rustam inscription the number of satrapies increases to twenty-eight, in which Arminia occupies the nineteenth place, while in the Behistun inscription twenty- three provinces are remembered, in which the eleventh place is occupied by Arminia. In the following periods the number of satrapies and their borders were also subject to change. Herodotus (lived 484-425) writes that there were twenty satrapies, in the eighteenth of which he says lived the Matieni, Saspieri, and Alarodians. In the thirteenth, lived the Armens, Bagdiatsìner, and other peoples, and in the nineteenth, the Moschi, Tibareni, and other Pontic populations (Herodotus, III, 92). Consequently, according to [Heinrich] Hübschmann (Hin hayots` deghvoy annunnerê [Old Armenian Toponyms, 1907], p. 11], it is proven that the Armens had not yet entered the Euphrates River valley but had settled in Dzop`k`. The satrapy of Arminia, according to Herodotus, extended north up to the Black Sea; to the west up to the upper Tigris; to the east, until the land of the Saspieri, Alarodians, and Matieni (that is, the eighteenth satrapy). The Armenians did not hold this province alone—with them lived the Chaldians six centuries before Christ (See H`[agop]. Manantian, K`nnagan desutìwn hay zhoghovrti badmutèan [Critical History of the Armenian People], volume 1, page 42). The Armenians are remembered with the name Armen as the seventh western province, in the ranks of the tribute paying peoples of the Zend [Zoroastrian] religion (Lassen, Ritter, Kat`êrjian, Karakashian, and other writers). It is clear from various indications that in the periods of Darius (512-486) and Herodotus (484-425 BC), the western borders of the Armenian population were formed by Malatya in the south, and Armenia Minor in the north, in the upper valleys of the Alis River. When Xenophon in the years 401-400 passed through Armenia, the Kentrites [or Centrites] River (Bohtan Su, a tributary of the Tigris) was the border of the Carduchians (who no longer submitted to the Persian king) and Armenia (which still was under Persian control). Contrary to Xenophon’s assertion that Armenia was divided into two satrapies, H`[agop]. Manantian (K`nnagan desutìwn I, p. 65) and Léô [Aràk’el Krikori Papakhanian], (Hayots` badmutìwn [History of Armenia] vol. 1, p. 331) insists that it was one satrapy, and that Tiribach` [sic? Tiribazos] was the “hiwbarkòs” (vice-governor) of western Armenia, and was noted as “friend of the king.” Some think that Tiribach` had a higher position than an ordinary satrap because he enjoyed the privilege of helping the Persian king of kings mount his horse and of holding that horse’s stirrup. He also had the privilege of minting money, which is confirmed by coins which have been found. Later Tiribach` was transferred to Ionia, where he met a tragic end. Western Armenia included the neighboring land of the Aradzani River (Murad Su), and the eastern land extending from the Kentrites to the Araxes Rivers, so that the Armenians had spread towards the East. According to H`. Manantian (K`nnagan desutìwn I, p. 66), Western Arminia included the Aradzani valley and the plain of Moush up to Armenia Minor and the Black Sea. The land had a mixed population, the constituent elements of which were numerous, and in the Achaemenid period preserved their distinct national character, each with its special language or dialect. They were at various levels of cultural development. They all in the future were to be assimilated to the Achaemenids. No information has reached us about this period, especially concerning Dzop`k`. We only know that before and after Tigran the Great, it was a state separate from true Armenia for a long time, and for this reason could both be considered and not be considered a part of Armenia; some foreign historians left it in this uncertain state. For example, Strabo separated “Dzop`k` and Other Armenia” from Armenia, and Plutarch used the form “Dzop`k`-Armenia,” though it was a land of Armenia. According to Strabo, the capital of Dzop`k` was Carcathiocerta. Some think that this name must be Argathiocerta. By saying Dzop`k` Cassius Dio and Eutropius mean Dzop`k` Major. Cassius Dio says that the royal treasures, according to Pàwsdos, are in the Ankegh fortress of the House of Ankegh, and neighboring the fortress of Pnapegh of Dzop`k` Major. There is no doubt that when in olden times they said Dzop`k` in a general fashion, they understood it in a broad manner, so that it included Dzop`k`, Dzop`k` Major, and lands between these two.

* * *

Alexander of Macedon opened a new page in the history of Near Asia with his Asiatic expedition. He conquered all of Asia Minor with the exception of Cappadocia, Armenia, and the Pontus. Truly, barely had a part of Cappadocia been occupied, when news arrived that Darius with a huge army was approaching him. Therefore leaving the occupation of Cappadocia, Armenia, and the Pontus to the future, he rushed to oppose Darius. In the two battles of Issus and Arbela (October 331), he defeated and scattered the Persian army, and conquered the vast Persian state. Armenians too fought in these two battles against Alexander. With Alexander’s premature death, the plan to march through Armenia towards the Black Sea and invade the Caucasian lands remained unfinished. Alexander’s state was dissolved because his generals fought amongst themselves. Thus, between 323 BC and 301, the long lasting fights that followed the battle of Issus between Alexander’s generals, and, from 301 and 282, the continued struggle between Lysimachus and Seleucus, became a propitious occasion for some Asian peoples to obtain their independence. We can include the Armenians among the latter. Just as Alexander was not able to occupy Armenia, his successors were unable to subdue the Armenians, who, taking advantage of the destruction of the Persia state and the inability of Alexander’s successors to focus on Armenia, proclaimed independence after the battle of Arbela (331), and strengthened their positions in the following disorderly period. The chief evidence that Armenia remained unsubjugated is that there is no mention of Armenia in the divisions of 325, 324, and 315 after the death of Alexander the Great. Armenia, taking advantage of the prevailing situation, had become a completely independent country. Independent Armenia, unfortunately, did not form a single state, but was divided into two—one being Armenia Major, and the other, Dzop`k`, which extended from the triangle formed by the Euphrates and Aradzani Rivers towards the south and the east. Its capital was Carcathiocerta, on the upper stretch of the Tigris. The Seleucids occupied Dzop`k` which was so close to their borders in 301/300, and subjected this small kingdom, whose rulers minted money, to their suzerainty. According to Dr. H`[arutìwn]. Asdurian (Badmutìwn hayots` [History of Armenia], 1942 [1947?], p. 48), it was probably here that Alexander sent Mihran from Babylon in 331 as satrap. Dzop`k` probably had its own princes from a long time ago, who are unknown to us. Strabo (XII, 3, 18) perhaps for this reason said “The realm of Sophene always had kings or native princes, who were allied often to those often called the kings of true Armenia, but also acted alone.” After being subject to Seleucian suzerainty, the following were mentioned as kings of Dzop`k` or western Armenia. Oront or Orontis, who was the commander of the Armenian cavalry in the battle of Arbela (331 BC). Arsham or Arsapés (230-210 BC), a coin of whose has been found. Xerxes or Shavarsh (210-200 BC) who was the son of Arsham and previously had rebelled against Antiochus the Great (223-187) and then reconciled with him, becoming his in-law by marrying his sister Antiochia, and receiving as dowry eastern Armenia. When he revolted a second time, he was killed by his wife. He was succeeded by Zareh (193-158), who was a contemporary of the founder of the Ardashesian dynasty of Armenia Major—King Ardashes. Strabo, speaking about Zareh, says that he ruled Dzop`k`, Acilisene, Odomantis, and several other districts. In that time period, according to Strabo, Armenia was small, because it barely included the four provinces of Fourth Armenia, Aghtznik`, Duruperan, and Ayrarad, divided between two kingdoms. But it grew quickly thanks to Ardashés and Zariatrés [Zareh], who seized many lands of adjacent nations, as Strabo describes in detail (Badmagan Hayasdani sahmannerê, p.13). Ardashésh wanted to attach Dzop`k` to his state and for this purpose wanted to create an intrigue against the Armenian kingship of the realm of Dzop`k`, and attach it to his state after Zareh’s death. However, this did not succeed because the king of Cappadocia, Ariarathes V did not want to see this small kingdom between his state and Ardashés’ land annihilated, and instead raised to its throne with his military aid the legal heir, Meruzhan, or Morphilig (158-148). Ariarathes in reward received the fortress of Tomisa at the head of a bridge which was at the left back of the Euphrates. Ariarathes by establishing himself here cut off the crossing. Meruzhan was succeeded by Artanes, who was a contemporary of Dikran the Great (95-55 BC). Dikran the Great attacked the land of Dzop`k`. “Cappadocia wasunable to even protect itself, so that it was not able to send aid to its former protégé” (from Sdepànos Piwzantatsì). In addition, Cappadocia was forced to sell the fortress of Tomisa back to Dzop`k`, and not permit that it be united with Armenia in 94 or 93 BC (Theodore Reinach, Mihrdat, pp. 103, 106, 260, 263). But he was not able to do any more. Dikran the Great succeded finally in dethroning Ardashés in 94, and joining Dzop`k` to Armenia. Thus concluded the kingdom of Dzop`k`, which probably also ruled over Malatya and Kharpert (Dr. Asdurian, Badmutìwn hayots`, p. 51). This kingdom, as it has been seen, was not absolutely independent, because it was forced in 301 to recognize Seleucid suzerainty. In 220, Armenia Major was subject to the same situation because Antiochus III (the Great) unexpectedly attacked Armenia on the pretext that King Ardavaz or Ardavazan had helped his enemies. Ardavazan, in the depths of old age, complied, accepting Antioch’s suzerainty while keeping his throne. In this way, the kingdom of Dzop`k` from 310, and the kingdom of Armenia Major from 220 to 190, remained under Seleucid suzerainty. In 190, when Antiochus was defeated by the Romans in Magnesia, the kings of Armenia Major and Dzop`k`, respectively Ardashés and Zareh, overthrew Seleucid suzerainty and became independent kings. Rome quickly recognized their positions in order to weaken the Seleucids. Defeated, Antiochus was forced to resign from the lands found on the other side of the Taurus, upon Rome’s demand. According to the information provided by Strabo, there were three kingdoms formed in Armenia, of which one was Dzop`k`, on the southwestern side of Armenia, with Arshamashad as its capital. However this kingdom only lasted until Dikran II (95-55 BC). Dikran II “ruler of true Armenia, dethroned Artanes of Dzop`k` the descendant of Zariadris, who had the southern parts and also more western ones [of Armenia]” (Strabo, p. 532), and occupied his lands. During the Armenian-Roman war, when Dikran II was defeated and asked for peace, he gave up Dzop`k` among many lands ([Theodor Mommsen, Hròm. Badm., pp. 38-130). Only true Armenia remained in the hands of Dikran the Great, without Dzop`k`, which however was always considered an inseparable part of Armenia (Badmagan Hayasdani sahmannerê, p. 49). Though Armenia, after the defeat of Dikran the Great, retained its native kings, it turned into a kingdom defended or patronized by Rome, whose leader could only ascend the throne with Rome’s consent. Though Dikran the Great only was able to transform Armenia for a short time into a glorious state, and insert Dzop`k` too in the Armenian union, this time period was sufficient so that Armenians consider Dzop`k` an inseparable part of Armenia. In truth, Dzop`k` quickly was separated from Armenia because Dikran the Great was defeated by Rome, not only losing the countries he conquered outside of Armenia, but also being forced to again give up Dzop`k` to Dikran Junior, who had reconciled with his father through Pompey’s mediation. This ungrateful son of Dikran received the kingdoms of Dzop`k` and Gortuk`, and received the promise from Dikran that he would be appointed his successor on the throne of Armenia (Hàr[utìwn]. Asdurian, Hayasdan ew Hròm [Armenia and Rome], p. 85). But, Dikran Junior, dissatisfied with Pompey’s arrangements, plotted against both his father and Rome by siding with the Parthians. Pompey put him in chains and snet him to Rome (61 BC). Dikran the Great at this time himself occupied Dzop`k` and Gortuk` (Hròm ew Hayasdan, p. 87). But Pompey did not leave it to him, and gave Dzop`k` to the king of Cappadocia, in reward for his loyalty. Corbulo in 64 BC occupied eastern Dzop`k`, which had the Euphrates as its border. A little later, in 66, the emperor Nero elevated Dzop`k` to a kingdom, and entrusted it to Prince Sohaemus of the house of Emesa, according to Tacitus (13-17), placing soldiers in Dzop`k` to defend it (Mommsen and Hübschmann, ibid., p. 29). Soon after, Dzop`k` became a Roman land, and Armenia Major was squeezed into new borders, and became a plaything between two powerful neighboring states, Roman and Parthia. In 115, the emperor Trajan even turned Armenia into a Roman province. In 117, after Trajan’s death, Armenia ceased to be a Roman province and again became a semi-independent state under Roman authority with its native kings (Mommsen, pp. 52-305; Gutschmid, Trans, 47; Hübschmann, p. 30). In the time of Emperor Adrianus (117-138), Cappadocia occupied and governed Dzop`k` (Guterbock, p. 31). After this date, the Romans and the Sasanids several times took and gave back Armenia (see Badmagan Hayasdani sahmannerê, p. 58). In those periods where Dzop`k` was united to the Armenian kingdom, we see that it was not in complete union and was separated from the other provinces. In 297, after the terrible defeat endured by the Persians, the emperor Diocletian considered it useful to Roman interests to strengthen the borders, and for this reason to subject to Rome’s true rule Dzop`k`, Ankegh Dun, Aghtznik`, and Gortuk` districts, and the Mesopotamian Dzawték` (Hayasdan ew Hròm, p. 261). The latter were governed as Roman satrapies and were called—though not completely true—the Trans-Tigrisian districts (ibid., p. 261), having Armenian princes at their heads. It is clear thus that in Fourth Armenia semi-independent small principalities existed from very ancient times, and they always, no matter how many changes they were subjected to, retained their existence. And it is clear that the land that the Armenians considered Armenia, which appears to have expanded from a nucleus, had within its borders regions which in character differed from the general union of the land; and it seems that in ancient times they did not have any Armenian population, but only later became Armenized, keeping the simple traces of their ancient non-Armenian or special character. Unfortunately we do not have documents for ancient times and only at the end of the Arshaguni period do we have literary information from which we can conclude shakily that Dzop`k` was divided between small Armenian principalities. Thus indisputably, the two writers belonging to the fifth century, Akatànkeghos and Pàwsdos, confirm that during the period of the Arshagunis, Armenia had four pteshkhutìwns, which politically were practically independent principalities under the suzerainty of the Arshagunis. These pteshkhutìwns were large lands at the borders of Armenia and for this very reason the pteshkhs [march lords or viceroys] were called “border defenders.” One of these four pteshkhs was the pteshkh of Dzop`k`, which, according to Marquart, was at the southwestern border in the region opposite of Assyria [actually upper Mesopotamia]. The geographical position of these pteshkhutìwns, as well as their particular importance among the Armenian feudal lords (nakharars) as “kaheréts`” or elder princes in the “royal temple” (Akatànkeghos, XXVI; Pàwsdos III), to the degree of being called king (Pàwsdos, V-XXVI), gives the right to even suppose that they ruled over regions which formerly were not Armenian and only later had been inserted into Armenia’s environment. Thus these lands—Dzop`k` among them—were subject to Armenian suzerainty and yet retained their special and particular positions and character until the end of the Arshaguni period (compare Hàgop Manantian, Féotalizmê hin Hayasdanum, Arshagunineru u marzbanutèan shrchan, Erevan, 1934, pp. 34-38), and most probably remained free of the ordinary taxes which the nakharar [noble] houses were obliged to pay the Arshaguni kings (ibid., p. 89). As is understood from Pàwsdos, Dzop`k`, attached to Armenia, always kept a separatist and centrifugal nature. Indeed, Dzop`k` as a pteshkhutìwn, formed a type of kingdom within a kingdom, and probably, according to the feudal orders of our nakharars, had principalities subject to it, that is, to the pteskh of Dzop`k`. Dzop`k`’s centrifugal tendencies revealed themselves in various historical events. Thus, Pàwsdos transmits to us the story of a large rebellion in the fourth century in time of Arshag II (AD 351-367). There, the historian partially recalls the rebelling provinces and districts, in the course of which he writes, “The lord of Antzid, with a certain prince of Dzop`k` Major, left the king of Armenia and went to Saghamud” (p. 206). Dzop`k` Major, Ankegh Dun, Antzid, and Aghtznik` participated in the general rebellion which arose in the time of King Bab (Manantian, ibid., pp. 85-7, and compare Hübschmann, ibid., p. 64), which Mushegh Mamigonian the sbarabed [commander-in- chief] suppressed (see Pàwsdos, book V, chapters VIII to XIX). Armenia Major, until the Arabs entered history around the middle of the seventh century, always retained its national independence or local autonomy, but unfortunately Dzop`k` did not because it quickly was subjected to Roman administration. When in 387, Shabuh III (383-388) and Theodosius the Great (3790395) decide to partition Armenia, the Romans receive the western portion which was only one-fifth of the country. Dzop`k` was in this portion, and so Hashdeank` and Palahovid districts were removed from King Arshag III’s portion and united with Dzop`k`, Ankegh Dun, and Dzop`k` Major, called the Roman “satrapies” or “Nations.” When in 390 Arshak III, the king of Roman Armenia, died, no new king was chosen, and the Comes Armeniae was appointed the leader of this region, but the administration remained in the same fashion (Guterbel, pp. 21-26; Hübschmann, pp. 34-35). The Persians followed the Byzantines’ example in 428, ending the kingdom of Armenia. Armenia was divided between two states which ruled their respective portions according to the rules of the land, only appointing in place of a king a count or marzban. This situation continued until the time of Khosrov I (531-578) and Justinian (527- 563), with only a few changes. Thus, in 488 the right of succession through inheritance of the satraps, and in 528 the position of count of Armenia were annulled. A general (Magister militum) was appointed for the satrapies and Armenia Major with two subordinate dukes who were for the satrapies, i.e. Dzop`k`, and were located in Martyropolis (Np`rgerd) and Gt`rìj. The administration or government of the part of Armenia under Byzantine domination, which later was formed out of the provinces called Upper Armenia and Fourth Armenia, were subject to radical change, because it was seen that Armenia Major’s administration under the count (Comes) of Armenia was too weak to defend the country against attacks. The Count of Armenia had no army under his control, and during times of war was forced to ask for aid from military commanders under the authority of the Magister Militum per orientem (the general for the East) in nearby provinces. Consequently, in 528, Emperor Justinian eliminated the position of Comes and appointed a special military commander over First and Second Armenia, Pontus Polemoniacus, Upper Armenia, and the “Nations” (Fourth Armenia) with the title Magister militum per Armeniam et Pontum Polemoniacum et gentes. At the same time Justinian established a civil administration in Armenia Major and placed at the head of the province a chairman (Prasses) as governor (Hübschmann, ibid., pp. 37-38). A duke who governed from the city of Ardazeson in Khortzean district of Fourth Armenia was subordinate to the latter (Hübshcmann, ibid., p. 69). In 536, Emperor Justinian subject the Armenian lands to new divisions, and formed four districts, known as First, Second, Third and Fourth Armenias. Fourth Armenia, which primarily was found in an arc formed of the Euphrates and Aradzani, was composed of what the Romans called, probably due to its mixed population, “land of the Nations.” During this new reorganization of 536, the right of the satraps to be the civil governors of their territories was eliminated, and the satrapies were joined together to form the new district of Fourth Armenia. It appears from this definition that Fourth Armenia, which was newly formed from the land of the “Nations,” was composed of the mixed populations of the areas of Khôzat`, Perri, and Dérsim—that is from Melitine to the Tigris and even up to Martyropolis (Mufarkin), including lands beyond the Tigris too. After 591, Dzop`k` Major was divided from Fourth Armenia, and with the large part of Aghdznik` and Mesopotamia, formed the district of Upper Mesopotamia; in its stead, the districts of Khortzean, Baghnadun, and Mzur (Mntzur) of Armenia Major (what was later called Upper Armenia) were taken and joined to Fourth Armenia. Until the formation of the province of Fourth Armenia, five native satraps or nakharars preserved their existence (Hübschmann, p. 39):

1. the lord of Dzop`k` 2. the lord of Antzid 3. the lord of Ankegh Dun 4. the lord of Palahovid 5. the lord of Hashdeank`

They ruled for life, with the right of hereditary succession. These principalities retained their existence until the end of the Arshaguni kingdom, or until the fifth century battle of Vartanants`. (Footnote: Ghazar Pàrbetsì (p. 184) relates that Vartan’s associates asked for the help of the Byzantine emperor, and “to other princes and governors, to the pteshkh of Aghdznik`, and to the prince of Ankegh Dun, to Dzop`k`k and to Hashdeank`, and to Egegheats` and other princes of their own places, and to the great sbarabed [commander- in-chief] of Antioch.” Thus, in 451, these places were subject to the Byzantine Empire. The situation was the same during Vahan Mamigonian’s marzbanate, when application was made “to places near the border, to the Armenian men of the district of Andzid and Dzop`k` and Hashdeank` and obtaining from them assistance as their kinsmen” (Pàrbetsì, p. 469). Thus he speaks about the Armenian inhabitants of the Byzantine land.) In the time of King Khosrov (331-339), the following were remembered: Dzopk` Major, Prince Mar (Pàwsdos, p. 36) Dzop`k` Shahéi, Prince Nerseh (Pàwsdos, p. 36) Hashdeank`, Prince Tad (Pàwsdos, p. 36).

In the time of King Diran (340-350): Antzid, Prince Vagharsh (Pàwsdos, p. 46) Dzop`k` Major, Nahabed [patriarch] Prince Zareh Hashdeank`, Prince Knit`, of the Gamenagan house [clan]. Among the princes who went with Catholicos Nersés Bartèw to Caesarea were: Taniél, of Dzop`k` Major Prince Noy of “Miws [Other],” that is Dzop`k` Shahéi [or Shahuni]. In the time of Arshag II (359-367) Salamud, prince of Antzid, and a prince of Dzop`k` Major whose name was not mentioned, as well as Trasdamad of Ankegh Dun, were noted. Byzantium abolished these native princes and subjected Fourth Armenia (Dzop`k` or the land of the Nations) to the rule of a Chalcedonian [Greek Orthodox] governor. Then, Byzantium gained control also over Aghdznik` province, which was added to the newly formed district of Upper Mesopotamia together with the land at the south of the upper Tigris, and Dzop`k` Major. The Nimpìos River ceased to be the frontier between two states. Byzantium added to its previously occupied provinces of Upper Armenia and Dzop`k` (Fourth Armenia) Dayk`, Ayrarad, Duruperan, and Aghdznik` provinces, as well as other places. Towards the end of the sixth century, when Byzantium was at its zenith of power and territorial expanse, having added new lands to its empire, new divisions were carried out of Armenian lands, and the number of Roman Armenian districts increased from four to seven. This new arrangement was conducted by the Armenian emperor Maurice (582- 603) in 591, immediately after dividing Armenia through an understanding with the Persians. Maurice received Aghdznik`, Darôn, Ayararad, and even Georgia, including Tiflis (H. Gelzer, Kéork Gibratsì, 1891; Hübschmann, ibid., p. 232; Laurent, L’Arménie entre Byzance et Islam, p. 383) We see the former Fourth Armenia in two of these seven new divisions: 1. Fourth Armenia or Justiniana (Martyropolis, Dara, Ardzn, Dzop`k` Major, Kleisura Balaleison). One part of Fourth Armenia was joined with northern Mesopotamia. 2. The Other Fourth Armenia or Fourth Justiniana (Dadima, Arshamushad, Gtàrìj and Dzop`k` Shahuneats`, Handzit`, Tekik` (Digisene), Garin Palahovid (Bilabitene), Baghin (Baline), Khordzean, Hashdeank`. One part of Fourth Armenia was joined with Upper Armenia. Thus, these places remained in Byzantine hands until the destruction of the Persian state by the Arabs. In the second half of the seventh century, Fourth Armenia, with its capital, fell under the rule of the Arabs. After this, it became the custom to give the name Fourth Armenia to Fourth Justiniana which was under Byzantine rule, as is seen according to Gelzer (Sgz. Piwz. Panag, p. 25) from the writings of T’éôpànos, Movsés Khorenatsì, Sdepànnos Darônetsì, and others. Dzop`k`, or the country found in the arc of the Euphrates and Aradzani, which together with Upper Armenia and Dayk` practically continually remained Byzantine in the period of Arab domination, was in this Fourth Armenia formed by Maurice, and was ruled by native and Byzantine officials.

Part Three

The Contemporary History of Dersim and Ch`arsanjak

Just as Chàrsanjak’s ancient history is inextricably linked with the historical succession of the land of Dzop`k`, through which we became informed about the past of our native region, similarly in order to make our recent past or contemporary history clear and understandable we are obliged to present Chàrsanjak in all its parts and with full information. Chàrsanjak forms a part of the district of Dersim. Dersim, with its ineffaceable Armenian appearance, has close ties with the Armenians of Chàrsanjak. We must accept that in history in general, Dersim and Chàrsanjak are inseparable parts which are fatefully joined and made identical—one is found in the other. The mountain land of Dersim and the presence of two hundred thousand Kurdicized [Kurdified??] but half-Christian Armenians living in it have played a very beneficent role for the Armenians of Chàrsanjak living in the plains area. Perhaps this declaration may appear strange to many, but nevertheless it does not cease being the truth. Dersim must not be confused with those Kurds living within Chàrsanjak’s immediate borders who from a tribal point of view have no tie or connection with Dersim. Our statement is not about the Shadetsì’s, Izoltsì's, or the Muslim Zaza tribal groups living at the eastern area of the Perri River, who till the very end were a scourge for the Armenian people. We are presenting Dersim with its noble tribal groups such as the Kureshantsìk`, Hayderantsìk`, Abasantsìk`, Dér Ovantsìk`, and Mamêkontsìk`. They until the end remained friends of the Armenian people and defenders of its holy places. We acknowledge Dersim with its chivalrous nature—that Dersim which from 1916 to 1920, saved twenty thousand Armenians via Erzênga and Erzurum, and thus became a center for the salvation of Armenians. The Armenians of Dersim and Chàrsanjak both equally became the target for Turkish oppression, but with the difference that Dersim for a certain amount of time was able to preserve its independence and by fighting on many occasions, was able to defeat the Ottoman army. The common enemy of both was Turkish tyranny. It must be confessed that the Armenians of both Dersim and Chàrsanjak due to their shortsightedness and political ignorance were unable to come to a mutual understanding and prepare the foundation for cooperation. This mistake made by both sides led them to a calamitous end. After registering these deferred observations, let us go on to our story.

Section 1 Ottoman Rule

After the destruction of the Pakraduni [Bagratuni] dynasty, Armenia lost its statehood. In 1045, Ani was occupied by the Greeks [Byzantines]. Kakig II, falling captive, was killed in 1079. In 1375, the Rupinian or Rupinid dynasty of Cilicia also reached its end. Levon V Lusinian was taken captive and brought to Egypt. At the start of the thirteenth century, Armeani was subject to Cengiz Khan’s conquest, and in 1378, to Timurlenk’s rule. The latter put to the sword the Armenians of Sepasdia [present-day Sivas]. He had 4,000 Armenian soldiers buried alive, and slaughtered innocdent children under the hooves of his horsemen. His cruelties form the blackest pages of our history. This slaughterhouse gave birth to the term “Black Earth.” After the death of Timurlenk, Armenia tasted the bitterness of nomadic Turkmen tribes. One of their leaders, Uzun Hasan, in 1468 conquered Persia, and warred against [the Ottoman] Sultan Fatih Muhammed II, but was defeated. Thus, in 1473, Armenia fell under Ottoman rule. As in previous years, Armenia in this period was trampled by the successive raids of rival states. Forty years later, in 1514, the founder of the Persian Safavid royal dynasty, Shah Ismail I (1501-1523), attacked Turkey, but was defeated at the battle of Chaldiran by Sultan Selim I (1512-1520), who occupied western and southern Armenia, up to Lake Urmia. Later, Sultan Süleyman I (1520-1566) also seized eastern Armenia from the Persians.

Section 2 Kurdish Tribes in Armenia and Their Origin

Kurdish Tribes in Armenia

Coming from Mesopotamia, and after two centuries of battles, Kurdish tribes managed to settle in the southern provinces of Vasburagan [DEFINE??] and on the mountainsides of Sasun. The Turkish Sultans and their nobility with great cunning entrusted the borders of these regions to the Kurdish Kochar tribal leaders, and gave them certain privileges, with the intent of using the fighting ability and ignorance of the Kurds. Intending to satisfy the greed of the Kurds and thus make sure of them, they had Armenians removed from many places in these areas and gifted these territories to Kurdish tribal leaders. In this fashion, newly arrived tribal groups from northern Mesopotamia were settled in important strategic positions, including gradually the base of Mount Ararat, the northern districts of Lake Van, and the region of Garin [Erzurum]. “The horrors carried out by the Arabs, Turks, and Mongols, and the thought that in the future it would be worse than what it was forced the majority of those misfortunate native Armenians to immigrate to places and countries considered safer. Thus gradually numerous colonies were founded, first in the Old World, and then in the new. After Armenia passed into the hands of the Caliphate, the history of the Amrenain people presents two completely different pictures: the history of the struggle for existence of a counquered people, and the history of Armenians in foreign countries” [Footnote: Jacques de Morgan, Hay zhoghovrti badmutìwnê, pp. 305-311]. In 1514, Ottoman rule together with the establishment of Kurdish tribes invading Armenia onto Armenian lands gave birth to a period of struggle for existence. The large part of the Armenian people, struggling for centuries for its existence and independence on the Armenian plateau, remained on its ancestral soil in order to wage the struggle of a conquered people for the preservation of its existence. As we previously saw, in the realm of Dzop`k`, Chàrsanjak from ancient times had been subject to various invasions and conquests but jealously preserved its ethnic identity because rulers came and went without fundamental settlement. In 1514-1915, during Ottoman rule, although the Armenians of Chàrsanjak and the Kurds of Dersim became subjects, they continued their distinct ethnic character and existence. During this period, the majority of Chàrsanjak’s population was Armenian. The dense mass of Kurds was concentrated on the heights of Dersim. Aside from the scanty state officials and their families in Perri, Medzgerd, and Pertag, there practically was no Turkish population. This situation however had almost nothing favorable for Armenians. On the contrary, the Armenians of Chàrsanjak, compared to other Armenian regions, became the most oppressed, persecuted, and suffering.

The Origin of the Kurdish Race

Arshag Albôyajian, in Hayrenik` amsakir, August 1931, on page 93, under the title “K`rdagan azkutèan ngarakirê ew tsèghagtsàgan hàraperutìwnnerê Hayots` hed [The Character of the Kurdish Nation and Tribal Relations with the Armenians],” gave among other things the following information.

GET LATER pp. 69 to top of 71

Based on this historical data, two types of probable opinions about the origin of the Dersim Kurds are apparent.

1) The Kurds living from ancient times in the mountainous land of Dersim are not immigrants. These tribal groups were Armenians who were Kurdified during the last invasions. 2) They are previously Kurdified Armenians who came from the direction of Vasburagan in ancient times and settled in the land of Dersim.

The most likely one and correct one is the first idea, that the indigenous Dersim people were Christian Armenians who were Kurdified after the fifteenth century, because in their beliefs and worship, they are completely different from Islamicized Kurds. It is necessary to say with a clearer qualification that the Kurds of Dersim were in name Kurdish but in spirit and blood, Armenian tribal groups. The reader in the following pages will find the documentary evidence and be convinced that the physical makeup of the Dersim inhabitants, their hereditary customs, and their piety and behavior, as great as that of an Armenian, towards our holy places, are the irrefutable proofs of their Armenian origin.

Section 3 Dersim’s Geographical Position, Climate, Flora, Chief Divisions

Dersim’s Geographical Position

Dersim [Footnote: The name Dersim was changed during the Kemalist [Turkish] government to Tunceli [Tunjeli] is at the western edge of Upper Armenia, in the neviorns of Erzerum, Kharpert, and Dikranagerd. Its natural borders are: from the east, Erzerum and Mush; from the west, Kara Su or the western Euphrates River; from the north, Erzngay [Erzincan]; and from the south, Kharpert and the Aradzani River. The mountain district of Dersim is found nine to ten thousand feet above sea level, and is divided into two parts: the southern part (Chàrsanjak) is plains, while the northern part, mountainous. Dersim’s mountains extend from the east from the Piwragnean (Bingöl) mountains towards the west until Agn, having as their border the western Euphrates. In this large district are found: the Mntzur [footnote: the average height of these mountains is 2,500 to 3,000 meters], Duzhig (Arìwdz) Kêzêl Kìlise (Nazmiye), Merjan, Shéytàn, Aghkàn, K`éch`mér, Sél, Mal, Bakur, Ghuru Baba, and Silbul elevated and thickly forested mountain zones, which are famous for their flora, hazel tree forests, and pastures. Dersim from the east to the west is a five- to six-day journey, while from the north to south, a three- to four-day one. Dersim lies between the eastern and western arms of the Euphrates. The eastern Euphrates or Aradzani originates in the Ala Dagh (dzaghgéoy) mountains, irrigates the plain of Moush, and scraping the southern border of Dersim, passes in front of Palu, and near Pertag, by the Abdôli village, joins with the Perri River. The western Euphrates or Karasu originates to the north of Erzerum, from the Dzaghgonts` or Dumlê mountains. It passes form the plain of Erzerum towards the west, to the plain of Erzngay, and circling the northern edge of Dersim bends southwards. Leaving Agn at its right side, it descends to Géban Madén and joins the western Euphrates or Aradzani.

Dersim’s Climate

Dersim is in a temperate zone according to its geographical position. However, because of the height of its mountains, its climate does not adhere to the rule of four seasons. In Dersim winter starts at the end of October and lasts until March 15, casting two to three meters of snow on the mountains and bringing extreme cold. During the months of December and January in particular, travel ceases, even to nearby villages. It is very difficult to find a path, because the snow storm [Footnote: The Ch`arsanjak inhabitants call this p`klots` (p`uk`), that is, a storm mixed with snow.] completely changes the lay of the land. IN some places eight to ten meters thick, the snow covers the ground. If a man takes a wrong step he is lost in the snow. When a clear night follows snow mixed with rain, and if the snow freezes, then they travel over it on foot or with a sleigh [footnote: They call this frozen state “êr`ghij.” The snow lasts until summer, especially on the peaks and valleys of lofty mountains. Spring begins in the middle of April. Copious rain and hail falls. The rapid- flowing streamlets which form in the valleys turn impassable. During the months of May and June, Dersim is gifted with a special beauty. The scent of newly sprouted plants and flowers, the verdant ornamentation of hazel trees, limpid springs and the babbling of streamlets and the trilling of numerous types of birds, causes men spiritual amazement and wonder. Dersim’s summer is similarly pleasant—the air, clean and cool. Life is reborn in the mountains and valleys. Thousands of sheep and goat graze in the hazel tree forests. The sound of the srink [type of flute] of Kurdish shepherds, songs of Lo, Lo, and lavuk, reverberate everywhere. Dersim’s autumn comes early and leaves early. It begins from August. It is during this time that the harvest is carried out (in a limited manner), as well as the buying and selling of cattle, and trade with the cities.

Flora

The entire mountain land of Dersim is rich with plant life. Most prominent are the thick forests of hazel trees, which are so widespread. There are many walnut trees around Khzêl Kìlisé and Halvori’s monastery. There are numerous types of wild pear trees. Among the types of fruits [and nuts] in Dersim, it is possible to record the walnut, hazel, almond, khngaloj [a type of choice hawthorn (slightly different spelling in Armenian than previously noted above)], ts`êràloj [type of hawthorn], pàlut`, prìnch [the fruit of the Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose, Water Elder, European Cranberry bush, Cramp Bark, or Snowball Tree) or Oriental nettle tree], maylam [type of tree with chickpea-size fruit], shêkôk [a kind of wild pear], black pear, Pasha armud [type of armut or pear called Pasha], sabin or savin (red cedar, which is a type of juniper), cherry, sour cherry, sour apple, and juniper.

Kazbon

Dersim’s kazbon, which during summer nights descends upon the leaves of the hazel trees, is famous. [Note: Kazbon is an unusual sight, which the natives of the Four Parts [Ch`arsanjak] call honey of the air, or heavenly dew. This essence descends at night and resembles the dew which descends on leaves or plants. According to some naturalists, this essence oozes out from inside plants to the surface of their leaves. This circumstance occurs in some areas of the Four Parts, and only during two months, June and July, and sometimes until the middle of August. The color of the kazbon juice is white, and its taste is sweet. GET MORE LATER IF WANT pp. 74-6

Chief Divisions of Dersim

Dersim is primarily divided into four parts: 1) Chàrsanjak or Karach`ôr, the southern base of Dersim, on the right bank of the Aradzani; 2) Khuzuchàn or Khuzulchàn or Aghkàn, at the northern base of Dersim, on the southerwestern part of Terchan; 3) Duzhig (in the past, Arìwdz, while now inhabitants call it by the mountain of the same name, Dizgin Baba); 4) Khutì Dérési or Haydaran, the real center of Dersim. In primary four divisions live eighteen well known tribes as well as twenty-two secondary ones (H. H`. Panasér, year one, p. 74). Dersim’s population is 200,000, but this figure is conjectural, because at no time has it been possible to conduct a census of Dersim. The majority of the Dersim inahbitants belong to the tribe called Ghêzêl Pash [Kızılbaş] or Têlmig or Têmêli. In the second rank are the Armenians, among whom the Armenian tribe called Mirak Ushaghi or Mirakian, which lived on the heights of Dersim, already was known. They used a distorted Armenian, which amazingly had a great influence on the neighboring Kurdish tribes and forced itself on them. The chief ashirets [tribes] of Dersim are the following: 1) Izôltsìk`; 2) Bulanughtsìk`; 3) Dér Ovantsìk` (Armenian); 4) Ghêr` antsìk`; 5) Haydarantsì`k; 6) Jéban or Jebantsì`k; 7) Alan or Alantsìk`; 8) Duzhigtsì`k; 9) Khutìtsìk`; 10) Abasantsì`k`; 11) Halvortsìk`; 12) Shéykh Hasantsì`k`; 13) Mamêktsì`k` or Mamêkontsì`k`; 14) Miraktsì`k` (Armenian); 15) Gureshantsì`k`; 16) Kharachòltsì`k`; 17) Yusufantsì`k`; 18) Khuzujantsì`k`. The lesser tribes are: 1) Sham Ushaghi; 2) Khoch` Ushaghi; 3) Dérvish Jémal; 4) Giwlabi; 5) Galan; 6) Géôchèr Ushaghi; 7) Tòpùz Ushaghi; 8) Geav Ushaghi; 9) Éôzbét` Ushaghi; 10) Bézgér Ushaghi; 11) Aslan Ushaghi; 12) Brim Ushaghi; 13) Bét` Ushaghi; 14) Direk` Ushaghi; 15) Kharabal Ushaghi; 16) Munzur Ushaghi; 17) Dam Ushaghi; 18) Lertìg Ushaghi ; 19) Khêrkhan; 20) Sêr`-Ôghli; 21) Pilvank`; 22) Akh Ushaghi (Philologist G. H`. Pasmajian).

Section 4 The Type, Costume, Religion, and Beliefs of the Dersim Inhabitants

The Type of the Dersim Inhabitant

The Dersim inhabitants in general—ninety out of one hundred—are tall, while the rest are of average height. All have broad shoulders, thick arms, and their chests are thrust out. They are of a nervous nature, their waists are thin, their faces dark, their skins yellow-colored, and their physiognomy expressive and sympathetic. Their eyes are large—you would think that they are black Armenian eyes. In some of them, a slight redness is noticed, which gives a harsh appearance to their look. Their noses are aquiline (there are also Greek noses), their mouths large, and their lips red and developed, with the lower lip thicker than the upper. They have compressed jaws, and thick and average sized teeth. The large teeth that some possess become noticeable when they speak, and cause a whistling accentuation to words. Their chins are more well formed, round, and perfected; their hair, long, thick, black as coal. The women, because they do not have long tresses, use black silken or woolen false hair. The exemplar of the Dersim inhabitant is with open forehead and flat skull, with the back of the head (occiput) a bit round; fingers and toes are long and large (G. H`. Pasmajian). The majority of Dersim inhabitants have beards, especially the Kuréshan ashiret, which is a tribe of seyyids [putative male descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad], and have long and thick beards.

The Costume of the Dersim Inhabitants

All Dersim inhabitants wear nearly the same clothing. They wear undershirts and drawers made of white, thick linen cloth, cut wide and long. Over their white undergarments they wear woolen pants (shalvar), and a shapêk woven of goat hair (khakêlé). They tie a woolen belt on their waists. As a hat they use a kùllay made of felt, with colorful cloth wrapped all around it. Women’s clothing consists of red, blue, or knitted drawers which they wear printed (ch`êtaray or chìtàray {çitari or çıtarı, Turkish for a kind of brocade made of silk mixed with cotton}) or painted. They have long gowns or dresses whose edges reach their feet. The section of the gown at the bosom is a little tight, but from the waist down they have plaits or folds and fairly wide borders or edges. They tie a thin woolen belt to their waists. The face and head of women are covered by veils which sometimes descend to their chests. As footwear, men and women wear drékhs or chàrukhs [sandal-like shoes of raw hide], and many also wear yemenis [a kind of light shoe]. Women and children as ornaments wear earrings, p’énézé or shavas made of red and blue beads (bracelets of glass) and ziliflig (various coins arranged on a silver chain). This chain stretches from the forehead to the lower part of the ears. They tie at the end of plaited hair silver or p’énéz (copper fake coins). When waling these coins strike each other and make a sound. The wife or daughter of an ashiret chief, dede (sheikh), or seyyid is bedecked with golden ornaments. Dersim’s populace, in general, likes cleanliness. The clothing of the inhabitants of lofty Duzhig and of some ashirets are distinguished in particular by their cleanliness and tasteful forms. The women and girls of these ashirets take a great deal of care in their dress and are endowed with natural beauty. Among them can be mentioned the Abasantsìk`, Kureshantsì`k`, Mamêkontsì`k`, and Haydarantsì`k`. The Dersim inhabitants are magnanimous and noble, but not arrogant. They are very jealous and extremely sensitive about honor. They are very vengeful towards those who intrigue against them. Their rancor has become the subject of proverbs. They are patient for forty years but in the end exact their revenge. They are merry, but extremely quarrelsome. They are affable and humble with friends, but brave and fearless against an enemy. During times of danger their vigor and heroism become apparent, which seem truly mythic and amazing. Polygamy does not exist. It is the prerogative only of their tribal chiefs, but they too do not take more than two wives. Repudiation or dissolution of marriage (i.e. divorce) never exists among them. Those who lived in subjected areas accepted circumcision.

Religion and Beliefs

The Dersim inhabitants are in religion Kêzêlbash [Kizilbash], that is, they follow a mixture of Mosaism, Christianity, and Islam. They believe in Hazreti Ali, who is their prophet, apostle, and saint. They believe also in Christ, and have the same worship of him because they are convinced that Ali and Christ were the same person. Christ appeared to the Chrsitan, and Ali to the Kurds. They adhere to Mosaism in their rites and have a great belief in the thaumaturgy of Moses’ cane, accepting it as an érkèan [erkân, Turkish] (pillar or basic principal of belief). When the Turks curse this cane (the érk’ean), the Dersim inhabitants become greatly angered and threaten death. The dedes and seyyids are their religious leaders, and they accept that they are descended from the prophet Moses and Moses is their progenitor. Saint Sarkis and Saint Kévork are for the Dersim inhabitants the greatest and most revered saints. During [the Muslim holiday of] Ramazan, they do not fast (oruj [oruç, Turkish]) but keep the abstinence [bahk`] of Saint Sarkis (the Abstinence of the Catechumens) piously. There are even those who fast [as opposed to only abstinence from various foods] for three to six days. Saint Sarkis is their hazrétì khêzêr, the Holy General on the earth and the protector, while St. Kévork is the hazrétì khêdêr, the Holy General of the waters. In Dersim according to tradition, St. Sarkis and St. Kévork ruled as holy men, one over the eastern Euphrates (Aradzani), and the other, the western Euphrates (Sev Chour— “Black Water”). Then after drinking from the water of Abuhayat` [Footnote: Abuhayat` (fountain of immortality) is a spring in the mountain chain of Dersim, in which the Kêzêlbash and even local Armenians of nearby villages believe (Dérsim, p. 164).] they become immortal and rise to the heavens with their horses in order to command the sea and land according to God’s command. They ascended to the heavens from the peak of Dizgin Baba (Duzhig Baba) Mountain, where the traces of their horses’ hooves can still be seen, imprinted four fingers deep into the rock. The Dersim inhabitants, when they are about to fight the Turks, yell “Ya hazrétì` khêzêr, and receive aid and strength from St. Sarkis, who is the guardian angel of Dizgin Baba (Duzhig=lion).

The high Holy Mountain which falls on the southern side of Gamakh and to the east of the Euphrates River. On the peak of the mountain is a stone built domed church built with forty altars, they say by Saint Arisdakés. However now this church having fallen into the hands of the Kurds at Duzhig, it is a storehouse of cheese for them, where they do not permit Christians to enter, except with much bribery. (Fr. Ghugas Injijian, Ashkharhakrut`iwn ch`oris masants`, p. 111).

The Dersim inhabitants in addition to two saints have great faith in Armenian sanctuaries. The largest and most famous sanctuary in Dersim is Halvori’s Saint Garabed Monastery, where all Dersim natives go on pilgrimage with the fervor and faith of Armenians. When the pilgrims approach the monstery, they kneel and advance in this fashion to the door of the church; after kissing its threshold they enter. They have great reverence for Armenian clergymen. For them, Armenian temples on the heights of Dersim, whether in good condition or in ruins, are places of pilgrimage. The Dersim natives kiss the stones of those holy places, with candles and incense. They also slaughter sheep as madagh [liturgical sacrifice]. They have Armenian priests read the Gospels over their sick, and with awe kiss it. They steal clerical vestments and vessels, but they respect the Gospels. In order to obtain confessions from a Dersim native, it suffices to make him swear an oath on Saint Garabed. If he is guilty, he will fear swearing the oath. They even confess the greatest crimes in order to avoid swearing oaths on Halvorig Monastery (see the section on monasteries for more on Halvorig). The religious hierarchy of the Dersim Kêzêlbash has the following classification [the author gives equivalents in the Armenian Church]: 1) Rèyber, which means kàhanay [married priest] 2) Seyyid, vartabed [a celebate priest with a doctorate in theology] 3) Murshid, prelate 4) Dede, abbot 5) Pir, bishop 6) Pire piran, Catholicos [head of the Armenian Church] The believers of the people are called tàlêb, which means flock (of believers). The clerics of the Dersim people belong to the Bamasur and Kuréshan tribes. Every male of the Kuréshan is a seyyid. The dede is selected from the seyyids. When they are going to give a seyyid the title of dede, they conduct a special ceremony in the following way. Seven dedes assemble in the house of the seyyid who is to receive the new calling. They begin with their sazs [stringed musical instruments] and songs to conduct a religious ceremony. After singing, one of the dedes, certainly the godfather, stands up and shears off the hair and beard of the pupil whom he had prepared. Then the seven dedes place their hands on the head of the one being consecrated and again with various songs and the music of the saz give him his calling. After this ceremony, the subject will have been raised to the rank of dede. The responsibility of the dede is to watch over the well being and solidarity of the people. He tries to conciliate opposing or hostile tribes. His word, for the Dersim people, is considered the message of God. Those who do not obey the advice of the dede are anathemized and excommunicated. The house of the excommunicated one is deprived fo the visits of the dede or seyyid. The seyyids and dedes do not know how to read or write, and do not use guns. Their tribe, that of the Kuréshan, enjoy great respect throughout all of Dersim. These seyyids and dedes once a year leave Dersim to make parish visits, from Kharpert to Cilicia. The clothing of the dedes differ from that of the people. The dedes were a blue fez, and tie a cross-shaped yazma [a type of painted or printed cloth] on top of it. When they come for religious worship in a Kurd’s home, the dedes and seyyids are received with respect by the homeowners, who humbly kiss the hem of the dede, and his belt, arm, shoulder and feet. The seyyid and dede, sitting in the upper part of the house, conduct religious services with srinks and singing sad songs, which are traditional songs, tragedies, and, largely, epics. Perri’s merchants and craftsmen, when travelling in Dersim, in order to be free of danger, take with them a Kuréshantsì seyyid. No Dersim inhabitant would dare to raise his hand to a seyyid. The dedes, during their religious ceremonies, sing with crying, lamentation, and wailing, in memory of an Armenian kàhanay who saved their great seyyid, Hüseyin from religious persecution, and kept him in his home. For his salvation, the Armenian priest sacrificed his seven sons.

Listen. I will relate a work of God; An Armenian kàhanay his seven sons made sacrificed. While lamenting, let us bless their memory. Seyyid Hüseyin, persecuted by unbelievers, Took refuge with the Armenian kàhanay. The kàhanay sacrificed his seven sons, He saved Seyyid Hüseyin. God bless the Armenian kàhanay.

The seyyid bitterly cried; The angels of heaven bewailed; The earth reverberated to this lamentation; The blood of the victims raised protest.

Then the unbelievers desperate Left the home of the k`ahanay; And our other imams They beheaded elsewhere.

God bless the Armenian k`ahanay. The k`ahanay after sacrificing His seven sons, was condemned to prison By the unbelievers.

Seyyid Jafar secretly entered the prison And kissed the blessed right hand of the Armenian k`ahanay, And took his blessing, And with living eye saw Jesus.

The Armenian k`ahanay was praying in the prison; His prayer reached heaven; Jesus will carry out the last judgment. Hasan and Hüseyin will stay next to Jesus.

Jesus is light, Ali, a ray [of light]. With a luminous red crown our heads Will be adorned.

He placed a crown on his head A red crown, red as fire, Like a red rose; He is seated on a red steed And the bow in his hand He has tightened against the unbelievers. Bless the memory of the Armenian k`ahanay.

The people called Alevi or Kêzêlbash in Dersim, under the name of Kurds, remained in blood, belief, and patriarchal customs Armenians. For this to become more understandable let us call to mind several examples from the beliefs and customs of those Kurdish Armenians. The Dersim people in their beliefs are as far from Islam as Christians. They do not carry out namaz [Muslim prayer] or oruj [Muslim fast]. They never permit a Muslim to set foot in an Armenian sanctuary, and they are ready to spill their blood against any misbehavior. The Dersim inhabitants keep the following Armenian holidays [footnote: “Tàpàràgan [Wanderer],” Hayrenik` amsakir, October 1931, p. 146].

1) R`ôjé, the day of hazrétì khêzêr, or Saint Sarkis. They keep a fast and abstinence for seven days. Young girls or boys on the last night ask for a murad [wish] from khêzêr, so that they will see him in their dreams on a white horse, powerful and large. He comes to make indications to the believing people, and brings a bowl of water to a certain youth by the hand of a girl, or reciprocally. This is a portent of being a future fiancé. On Sunday morning they take communion with a specially prepared “lokhmé” [lokma, Turkish for morsel], which is a cake cooked with steam on the black stone of a hearth, and kneaded without yeast, with oil. Aside from this cake, on the Sunday of Saint Sarkis, all Dersim inhabitants prepare gruel or pòkhint [Footnote: After grinding salted wheat like flour and cooking in water, they fill oil in the middle as well as grape paste (maléz) and eat it.], and invite their close neighbors to eat it together. The Armenians of Chàrsanjak have this same custom. 2) R`ôjé des u du of the imam—the day of the twelve apostles. Again they fast and then take communion. 3) Day of pilgrimage of Érk`éna: the day of the sacred house where the Chùé Hek`zi (cane of God), meaning Moses’ cane, is kept. 4) R`ôjé ziaran déran: special days for pilgrimages to monasteries and holy places. 5) Khurban (madagh) Giwlbéng and Jayé Khôvanô: confession that will take place in heaven after communion, and absolution of sins, by the religious leaders after communion.

As is seen, aside from Hazrét`i Ali and Imam Hüseyin, and the worship of the cane of Moses, the rmeainign saints and relgious holidays are all Christian. They not only have no connection with Islam, but do not recognize their mosques, Ramazan, holidays, tekkes [dervish lodges], religious schools (medreses), imams, and hocas [hodja, Muslim teacher]. The majority of Alevis recognize to this day as Armenian national holidays 1) Vart`évôr`é ma 2) Khach`i Isa [Jesus of the cross] 3) Gaghêndé Ma 4) Haké Sur, the day of the red egg, which is Easter; and various Armenian customs, which they celebrate with the Armenians on the same day and in the same fashion. Aside from these, the Dersim inhabitants early in the morning while praying turn their faces towards the east. After kneading dough, they make crosses on it just like Armenians. * * * Several examples of the beliefs of the Dersim inhabitants follow. During thunder, when lightening flashes, it is Azréyél (the archangel Kapriel) who pursues Satan, who has tricked Eve the first mother by taking on the form of a snake. The lightning is the fiery sword of Azrayél [spelling changes here], while the thunder is the frightening cry of Satan. Unjust Satan is so cunning and a strategist, that he is neither seized nor defeated, but only flees, and flees crying, because it is the drops of his salty tears which fall on the earth. Some also say that rain is God’s mercy falling on us. The sun and the moon are the gates of the heavens; when one or the other is obscured, the pack of Satans and the class of angels clash. This clash has arisen for the sake of an innocent soul which the Satans wish to take to hell, while the angels are trying to stop this. Consequently, every time the sun or moon are obscured, the Dersim inhabitants shoot their rifles and pistols towards the obscured sun or moon so that the devils are expelled and the innocent soul escapes. The rainbow is the belt of God. It is the sign [CHECK—portent/omen?] of his appearance, that God still has not forgotten his created creatures. A boy who passes under this rainbow will turn into a girl, and a girl, into a boy. When the rainbow does not appear for a long time, it is a sing that God has forgotten his creatures and that the last judgment is neigh. In years of drought they cut off the head of a newly deceased person (secretly from the relatives of the deceased) and take it and bury it at the river bank or in the lower part of a lake so that rain will come. It rains more than usual, they leave an iron cross under the rain so that the downpour ceases. When horses neigh, and cows and oxen bellow, it is a sign of storm and hail. When these animals stretch their necks and sniff the air, rain will come. When chickens eat a lot, it is a sign of rain. When bees do not leave their own hives, rain is imminent. When a cat licks its own head, guests will come, but if he is licking while growling, the enemy is coming. When clouds assemble towards the north, they prepare for rain, but when they turn towards the south, rain is unavoidable because they have drunk water from the north. When a butterfly flies lower than usual, it is a sign of a storm, while if it flies higher than usual, it is a sign of clearness. If the smoke of the hearth does not rise above the chimney, it is a sign of a passing storm or a drizzle. When during days of scorching heat, the leaves of trees move without wind, rain will come. The appearance of a comet with a tail appears in the skies, it is the sign of the coming of a punishment from God, while when an ordinary shooting star is extinguished, somebody will die because each person has his own star in the sky; it is the torch of life which suddenly is put out. When the marsh-mallow or dwarf mallow (ebem kömeci [ebegümeci, Turkish]) flower closes, it will hail.

Section 5 The Occupations and Character of the Dersim Inhabitants

The mountainous portion of Dersim does not have land suitable for agriculture. Agriculture is very limited. They sow wheat, barley, corn, millet, and wild senna (gêlgêl). They sell the wehat and barley in nearby cities, and in its stead buy millet and wild senna for their own supplies. In general the Dersim population are shepherds. They take care of sheep, goats, oxen, cows, horses, mules, and asses. Most of all, they keep goats, and their mountain goats have great advantages over the goats of the plains. The meat of the kids (chepij [or çepiç, Turkish]) of Dersim is very tasty. The oxen of Dersim are renowned for their endurance. The people of Chàrsanjak prefer to buy their oxen from Dersim. They keep steeds in Dersim which have exceptional value and fame. They call these noble blooded horses Kìwhéyl, or Kìwhéylan [kühleyan means purebred Arabian horse in Turkish] (K`éhlan). The Dersim inhabitants sell walnuts, kazbon, oil, chòrtàn [dried yogurt or curds], wool, hair, carpets, jéjim [Turkish cecim, a ruglike spread woven on a handloom], socks, and skins of sheep, goats, fox, wolves, and sênsar. Dersim inhabitants in addition to the above work and trade, also have a different craft—banditry. They rob and steal whoever they encounter, Armenian or Kurd, without discrimination. After robbing Turks, they also kill. For the Dersim native, robbing somebody and taking his possessions is a legitimate [halal] right, and killing a resister is courage. In the past, Dersim inhabitants conducted mass expeditions against neighboring villages and cities in order to plunder them, especially Armenian houses. While robbing an Armenian they almost always spare his life, except when the subject resists or fights. When they do not find any booty outside, they resort to robbing one another. Stealing between ashirets becomes the cause for intertribal fighting, even to the degree that blood is spilt. They compose songs about those who fight bravely and fall on the battlefield in such fights, and praise their martyrdom. The Dersim natives are the true children of their land, climate, and nature, proud, fierce, and fearless—in our tongue, mountain Kurds. They never fear death. Dying by fighting is a laurel of immortality. With this conviction, they rush on the enemy like wild beasts and bloodthirsty monsters. They have no feelings of mercy or compassion. They hate the weak and always have scorn for them. The life of the Dersim natives on those colossal mountains resembles a continually roaring storm. Sometimes it descends low like a storm, leaving fire and ruin in its wake; again it ascends to St. Sarkis the General of Duzhig. They are raised with epics and always dream of fighting. They remain in the ignorance of the first man [Adam]. The peaks of inaccessible mountains, impassable passages, the severity of the climate, and the counsel of virgin forests have enveloped their essence. The Dersim native never has been able to recognize peace. The feelings of creating, building, and thinking always have been absent. Behold why the Dersim native before taking care of his food, clothing, and family, has thought of and secured his dagger, revolver, rifle, and gunpowder. You would think that they are a people created for battle, entranced by the vision of bravery and heroism. The Dersim natives have loved and respected their heroes and braves. It is because of this that the Mirakians, an Armenian ashiret few in numbers, has enjoyed great respect among the Kurdish population of Dersim. Ashirets wilder and more criminal than them, the Khêr` Ushaghi, Tòpùz Ushaghi, and Jibantsì, never dared to look hostilely at the Armenian braves. The Dersim inhabitants also have internal quarrels. Many ashirets are always in battle with each other. However when the external enemy, the Turk, declares battle against them, all forget their internal scores and unite against the common enemy. This is the true nature of the Kurds of Dersim.

Section 6 The Battles of Dersim

In 1635, Sultan Murad IV, in order to eliminate the Kurdish principalities or “beg- doms,” initiated military activity, and reached Erzerum, but was unable to enter Dersim. Nonetheless, he succeeded in deporting a part of the Kurdish ashirets which were in the plains areas of Dersim, and subjected the remainder to him. After this date, the Dersim natives concentrated chiefly in the Khuti Dérési and Duzhig Baba area, which preserved its independence until 1937. The Dersim natives, in their various ashirets, fought Turkish regular troops and always defeated them. Folk storytellers say, “Every time the Turk fought with Moscow, he foolishly measured his force on the Dersim inhabitants, and when the slithering [advance] has been beaten by Moscow, he takes his revenge again on the Dersim inhabitants. (Antranig, Dérsim)” “Dersim’s historical-political life begins in 1828 because until that date Armenia was subject to a government of the Janissaries, which always tyrannized with the silent approval of the sultans. However when Russia for the first time declared war against Sultan Mahmud of the Ottoman caliphate, with the slogan of freedom of nations, and destroyed his forces, Greece was at once proclaimed independent. Sultan Mahmud felt that the various small nations living in his vast domain could follow the example of Greece and endanger the sacred throne of his caliphate. Therefore in order to be freed of that ill-boding danger, he issued a cursed edict, to massacre or convert all nations living in the Ottoman domain. But, we do not know how, this edict was changed into a plan for the reform of all imperial provinces, of which the main points were: 1) remove from all imperial provinces the ruling Janissaries; 2) organize all the forces of the country; and 3) introduce new laws and rules (nizam) into state and administrative circles. It is known that until that date, the country was ruled by the legislation (sheriat) of the religious courts of the mollahs and sheikhs, having as its basis the Quran’s sprit and principles. In order to carry out the aforementioned reforms, two armies of regular troops advanced from Constantinople in two different directions towards the interior provinces. The first, led by Rashid pasha, went form the Black Sea towards Samsun, Sepasdia [Sivas], and Arapgir. The second, led by imperial bodyguard Samih Pasha, went from Trebizond towards Erznga and Garin [Erzerum], via Vasburagan. The Dersim natives, around Erznga and K`émakh, showed a fierce resistance to the reforming Ottoman army. In this period, the prince of Khuzuchan, Shah Hüseyin Beg I, who was descended from a noble clan and thanks to his extraordinary executive ability and bravery, was recognized as the prince and master of all Dersim, organized fresh forces of the Dersim inhabitants and bravely opposed the enemy. Armed clashes with fierce stubbornness continued on both sides, and, according to tradition, lasted one month. Samih Pasha, the commander of the Ottoman army, seeing that it was not possible with the forces under his disposal to conquer the mountaineers of Dersim, or in fear of a probable defeat, deserted the Dersim front, and leaving great losses, withdrew, leaving to another appropriate occasion the plan to subdue them. Until that time, the Dersim inhabitants did not expect such a great expedition against them. Learning a lesson from the foregoing, they came to self-awareness, and foreseeing future repetitions, began to organize better. Years passed. However the Ottoman state always kept its eye on, among other things, rebellious Dersim. The sultan intended to subdue Dersim, but feared its mountains impregnable positions and impassable forests, where any military expedition seemed to be condemned beforehand to failure. Shah Hüseyin Beg’s intrepid determination and undeniable knowledge of military strategy strengthened further this point of view. The Turkish government decided it appropriate to await a suitable opportunity, which arose with the death of Shah Hüseyin Beg. The latter’s son Ali Beg succeeded him. Just at that time the Russo-Turkish war of 1854-56 took place. The Ottoman army, which was going to advance through Armenia towards the east, before leaving for the Russian front, unexpectedly surrounded Dersim and began to test its forces, bombarding the mountains and setting fire to the forests. Ali Beg, who was not an able strategist and administrator like his father, was not able to show the necessary resistance, and giving way to the pressure of the Ottoman army, withdrew with his fighters to Khuti Dérési. He fortified himself on Duzhig Baba Mountain, where, thanks to the inaccessibility of the location, he was able to defend himself to the end. The Ottoman army entered the plains portion of Dersim, spreading ruin and fire everywhere. It also burned Ali Beg’s magnificent mansion and family cemetery. The Ottoman army, spoiled by its initial easy successes, advanced against Ali Beg’s refuge. But it was not able to go forward and was forced to retreat. Samih Pasha considered it impossible to go head to head with these semi-barbaric mountaineers, especially because the Russian dagger was at his back. Thus, he satisfied himself with establishing a police force and government in the conquered areas. As soon as they learned of the withdrawal of the Turkish army, the Dersim inhabitants attacked the occupied areas, killed the government officials, and chased after those who fled. At the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish war, the Ottoman army again besieged Dersim. It reestablished the state administrative structure, and placing two to three thousand poor Kurds in chains, drove them via Trebizond to Constantinople as war captives. The remaining Kurds, led by Ali Beg, submitted and remained in their dwelling places. A rumor that the Kurds who were driven to Constantinople were thrown into the sea led to the Kurds who submitted to desert Ali Beg and again take to the mountains, fortifying themselves in the areas of Duzhig Baba and Khuti Dérési. Joining the fighters for their independence who were already there, they recommenced their raids, plunder, and pillaging. Many years later Ali Beg died and his son Shah Hüseyin Beg II succeeded him. He had traveled to many place sin his youth and had influential Turkish and Armenian friends in Armenian populated districts. Thanks to them, he was well aware of local political conditions. Shah Hüseyin Beg II, having heard of the acts of bravery of his grandfather and the great influence that he enjoyed, tried to obtain again that absolute authority which the later had over all Dersim. In order to achieve this goal, he was waiting for an appropriate opportunity, and on the other hand was conducting negotiations with the Turks for the signing of a treaty. In those days, again the political world was stirred up. Again a Turko-Russian war arose, in 1877. The Ottoman government demanded tax and troops for the war from Dersim. Shah Hüseyin Beg II, who did not intend to give either, began to propose conditions: A) we cannot give taxes; B) we will provide troops on condition that the Dersim military force constitutes a separate army under the command of Shah Hüseyin Beg II. Though the sultan could not tolerate this kind of bargaining, he was forced to give way. Consequently, he accepted Shah Hüseyin II’s conditions. This time the ashiret chiefs of Dersim rebelled against Shah Hüseyin and said, “We will give neither tax nor troops. We can defend our homeland ourselves and have no need of the sultan’s defense.” All these tribal leaders refused Shah Hüseyin II’s proposal. They began to work separately and prepare for war. Shah Hüseyin remained alone and barely collecting approximately 10,000 troops from Khuzuchan, left for Garin [Erzerum] in order to defend that city during the time of war. The Ottomans, seeing the divided condition of the Dersim people, deemed it the right time to conquer it and forcibly collect troops and taxes. A bloody war between the Ottomans and Dersim people began which lasted one and one half months. While Ottoman soldiers fought various tribes of Dersim, the Fourth Army acted to place all of Dersim under siege. Guessing the goal the Turks were pursuing, the Dersim inhabitants both fought and made new preparations. They emptied villages unfavorable from the perspective of military strategy, and assembled around Khuti Dérési and Duzhig Baba, because they were profoundly convinced that in case of difficult conditions, Dizgin Baba with its invisible cannon would strike the enemy and free them from this dead end. Two weeks later the Ottoman Fourth Army finally besieged the Dersim area and began to fire everywhere, mercilessly bombarding. The first attacker on Duzhig was the army division from the Khozat` area. It was subjected to a terrible massacre, being crushed, and forced to agree to a ceasefire, especially since night had already fallen. The next morning the fight continued. Bombs began to fall on the peak of the mountain. The Kurds who had taken refuge on Duzhig, with all intrepidity, confronted the Ottoman artillery. For three days and three nights, unequal battles were waged. The people of Duzhig, in a difficult situation, asked for help from neighboring tribes. But those too, in their turn, needed outside assistance. Thus the Kurds struggling on Duzhig were abandoned. Some even attempted to surrender. When the Khràntsìs and the Mirakians, who had not left their villages and were fighting heroically against Ottoman soldiers, heard the call of the Duzhig inhabitants for help, among whom were also Kureshantsìs (the tribe of religious leaders), they decided to quickly send their aid so that the fighters would not surrender. If Duzhig surrendered, then all of Dersim would be considered conquered. The Mirakians and Khr`natsìs entrusted the defense of their villages to their wives and a small group of youth. The men then all went out and began to fight on all sides against the Ottoman soldiers attacking them, and regiment by regiment, advanced towards Duzhig Baba Mountain. The Turkish soldiers being put to flight, reached the plain of Pàkh. There one or two battalions of soldiers arrived to their aid. Reforming their broken forces, they again went on the offensive. That frightful battle of Dersim took place here which for two years became the topic of conversations. We will write about the end of this battle in the section on the Mirakian ashiret, since it was thanks to the latter that the victory was won. The Dersim inhabitants were again subjected to attack in 1877-78. The sultan, angered at the rebellious stance of the Dersim people, gave several battalions of roops and eight to ten mountain cannons to Fazli Ferik Pasha and Dervish Müşir Pasha, ordering them to go to Dersim and subjugate those unconquered Kurds just as they did to the Bulgarians. These two high-ranking military pashas, who had become heroes by massacring the Bulgarians, set off with great anger towards Dersim, and when they reached the city of Agn, they camped on the right bank of the Euphrates (Sev Chur [Black Water]) in order to carry out the role of executioner which they had assumed on the next day. That day, notables of Agn, including several experienced Armenians, came to the pashas and wished them success. But the Armenians while wishing them success, did not refrain from saying also that they should turn back from their goal, since all of Dersim, with its forests, was an impenetrable fortress. Fazli Ferik Pasha, thinking that the Armenians are on the side of the Dersim people and have some connection with them, angrily answered,

Do you know who I am? My name is Fazli Ferik Pasha. I am the suppressor of the rebellion of Bulgaria and the destroyer of all Bulgaria. Go, tell those heretic Kurds that the one coming against them is Fazli Ferik Pasha. I swear to put to the sword even their maggots! Believe it that before two days have passed, I will turn Dersim into a pile of ashes. I will bombard its marvelous fortresses. I will destroy the churches in which, like the Bulgarians, councils are formed against our Déôvlet`i Ôsmaniye [Ottoman Empire]. … Finally, I will color all Dersim with blood. There is no escape—I have taken an oath. Because if this time too I return unsuccessful, the Europeans will call us khbdi [Copt].

Indeed two days had not passed when Fazli Ferik Pasha and Dervish Müşir Pasha returned with their heads held low to Constantinople, in order to tell the sultan that Dersim has an indescribable position thanks to its huge mountains and forests. Each tree in those forests is an unretreating soldier warring against the Ottoman army. As long as those forests exist, Dersim will remain this undefeatable. The sultan decided to all at once set Dersim’s forests on fire and denude its lofty mountains. He had a large quantity of kerosene from Batumi via Trebizond towards Dersim. The plan began to be carried out from the areas of Khuzuchan and Ch`arsanjak. The flames of the fire barely had begun to rise when an amazing thing happened. Nature began to persecute the Ottomans. The weather turned cloudy, the mountains became dark. An unprecedented downpour of rain and hail and a powerful wind brought the Ottomans’ plans to naught. The Ottomans remained dumbfounded, and in order to interpret the incident said that providence was on the side of the Dersim inhabitants. The sultan unwillingly calmed down and decided to decisively abandon the plan of subjugating the Dersim inhabitants through war, and adopt the method of subjecting them by winning them over. He was satisfied with what had been done, and worked to fortify the borders of Dersim so that the bandit groups of the natives could not raid Muslim villages and pillage tavelers and caravans. Two more years passed. At that time, Shah Hüseyin II declared his final submission, and was appointed as kaymakam (governor) of P`limur (Khuzuchan). Some of the Ôvajugh and Ch`arsanjak tribal leaders also received various titles and awards from the sultan, and were inscribed in the Hamidiye Alayi [Hamidiye Regiment], while others in various towns of subjected Dersim, carried out the office of kaymakam. Just when peace appeared to reign in subjugated Dersim, disagreeable incidents suddenly took place in the region of Khôzat`. As a result, two or three battalions of troops, under Ferik Pasha’s command, were sent from Erznga to Khôzat` in 1889-1890. This pasha wanted to reach Khôzat` as soon as possible. The secure road was the Erznga-Agn-Gaban Madén-Kharpert-Khôzat` route. Relying on the aid of subject tribes, the Turkish commander intended to arrive through a short route, and wanted to make his troops cross through Khuzuchan and Ôvajugh in one and one half days in order to achieve his goals quickly, instead of losing nine to ten days. When these troops entered Ôvajugh via Khuzuchan, and passing through the Mntzur mountains reached the base of the Khaghachur mountain zone, Diabi Agha, one of the notable tribe chiefs of Ôvajugh, with his six thousand irregular Kurdish fighters met Ferik Pasha and again and again declared his unreserved submission, and stressed in particular his loyalty towards the Ottoman government. Ferik Pasha, accepting the regards of Diabi Agha, related to him the legendary acts of bravery of the forces of the sultan’s government, and advised him to speak to all Dersim inhabitants so that they submit to the sultan. Diabi Agha, taking advantage of the topic of conversation, informed Ferik Pasha that because he declared his loyalty to the sultan, Ahmed Beg, the most influential tribal leader of Ôvajugh, had become hostile to him. He asked that he punish Ahmed Beg as soon as possible and promised to lead him to the headquarters of the rebellious beg with his 6,000 soldiers. Ferik Pasha, who was expecting such local aid, immediately had the trumpet sounded and moved the army towards Ahmed Beg’s place of residence. But Ahmed Beg, who through spies had heard of the plot Diabi Agha had planned against him before the Ottoman military advance, called five to six thousand of his brave Kurdish youth to arms. The villagers emptied their villages and took refuge in the heart of the forests. After the completion of these preliminary measures, Ahmed Beg and his fearless fighters fortified themselves on the heights of an important pass through which the enemy was going to cross. When the Ottoman soldiers with their artillery entered this pass, Ahmed Beg welcomed them with fierce rifle fire. Both the path of retreat and of advancing forward were closed for the Turks. A Turkish army sergeant-major who personally had participated in this fight relates the following:

It was a terrible pass which we were to cross to go to Ahmed Beg. The passage was narrow and very long. Its two sides were covered with virgin forests of hazel trees. When we entered with all the soldiers into the pass, rifle bullets began to rain upon us like hail from impenetrable networks. Ferik Pasha gave the order to fight. But the enemy was invisible. There was nobody opposite us; we saw nothing in the forests. We remained standing on the narrow and naked path, while the Kurds hiding in the forests mercilessly killed us. Commander Ferik Pasha began to apply his military genius. He ordered the fifth detachment to ascend above the pass and surround the Kurds. The order was carried out. But not one of those soldiers returned, at least in order to relate what had happened. The pasha sounded the trumpets and demanded news of the fifth detachment, but in vain. The second detachment also with the same mission followed the example of the fifth one, and was subjected to the same fate, since nobody from it was able to return alive and inform the commander about what took place on the heights. In desperation, Ferik Pasha mounting his horse cried out, “Yavrularım, canınızı kurtarın (My children, save your lives),” and began to flee. A heartbreaking scene. Diabi Agha, who promising true aid had led us, seeing our defeat and Ferik pasha’s flight, surrounded us with his six thousand Kurds and began to strike in a terrible fashion. Woe to him who dared to flee with weapons; he no longer had any salvation from those wild Kurds. Only he who left his weapons in that pass was saved.

And so Ahmed Beg, after massacring seven to nine thousand soldiers and seizing all the military provisions of the two battalions and two cannons, won a glorious victory, which now has entered into the rank of legend. The sultan, learning all the details of this fight, exiled Ferik Pasha to Yemen for his autonomous temerity in relying on a Kurdish beg and engaging in battle without informing the highest authorities. The Dersim people, extremely satisfied with this victory, gradually calmed down and began to think about their livelihood. Only a few bandit groups continued in this and that direction their raids and plunder.

Section 7 The Mirakian Armenian Ashiret

Those few Armenians who for centuries lived on the heights of independent Dersim were called Mirak, Miraktsì, or Dér Ôvantsì`k`. Their main place of habitation was the area of Duzhig: Dér Ôvan, Chùkhur, Ék`êz (Hakês), Halvori, and Tòrud or Halvori’s St. Garabed Monastery. In the 1800 census, they were 7,000, of whom they always had 3,000 brave fighters ready for battle—brave hearted, fearless, and apt for all military exercises, in particular unsurpassable in marksmanship. The Mirakians until the 1900s were an Armenian ashiret which defeated Turkish armies attacking Dersim and showing bravery in the first rank among the numerous Kurdish ashirets of Dersim. The acts of bravery of the Mirakians, their courage and ingenuity during battle, as well as their fearless attitude towards the enemy, caused fear and terror among the Turkish soldiers, who would flee back in panic as soon as they heard the name of the Mirakians. Due to their patriarchal lifestyle, centuries of traditions, and moral authority, they were love dand respected by the surrounding Kurdish tribes. This superiority was so powerful that the Kurds were obliged to learn the Armenian dialect of the Mirakians. The Mirakians after taking a superior position vis-à-vis all tribal groups, also had great influence on the people and government of Kharpert province, to the degree that during the days of tyranny, the Turkish government did not dare to obstruct their free travel. The Mirakians, armed to their teetch, travelled in daylight in Kharpert, Ch`mshgatdzak, Khôzat`, Arapgir, Pertag, Madén, Perri, Kèghi, and Palu, even throughout government and military centers. Nobody could dare to look askew at them. The Mirakians, through their legendary bravery, knew how one could take down ten or twenty, and woe to him who becomes the target of the Mirakians’ vengeance. This situation was well understood by all Turks, large and small.

The Origin of the Mirakians

Who were the ancestors of these brave children of Hayg? When and how did they establish themselves in Dersim? We only have traditional information about the origins of the Mirakian clan. In 1800 according to historians and the traditions of the Mirakians, their true homeland was the meadow of Dér Ôvan; the first inhabitants of the latter were seven brothers. One of them was a married priest called Dér Ôvannés [footnote: In the Ch`arsanjak dialect of Armenian, H`ovhannés is called “Ôvannés” or “Ôvan.”]. The village was called after him Dér Ôvan, since he became the owner of the village. Thus, Dér Ôvan is the first patriarch or progenitor of the Mirakians. The appellation Mirak came about as a result of the following qualifications. Dér Ôvanés’s brothers were very short and fearless. They waged many victorious fights against the neighboring Kurdish ashirets. The Kurds, who love and respect the brave, gave them a princely title and called them Mirô, which in Kurdish means prince. Malé Mirô means Mirenk` (the house of the princes). Thus, Mirô or Mirenk` through transformation became Mirak, and then Mirakian.

Section 8 The Fights of the Mirakians and Their End

Although there is no mention of the Mirakians in the history of wars between Dersim and the Ottomans until 1877, it is an indisputable reality that they, even before that date, participated in all the battles of Dersim. The Mirakians with their three thousand brave fighters did not just suddenly show their heroism. The Mirakians as a great ashiret, represented a great military force and value. The largest clash in Dersim took place in 1877, during the Russo-Turkish War, when the Ottoman Fourth Arm besieged all of Dersim. In this period the Mirakians and Khràntsìs fought units of the Ottoman army (see the earlier sections of this book). The Khràntsì Kurds left the Mirakians alone in the plain of Pàkh, and returned to their villages where no shooting was taking place. Seeing this unexpected desertion, the Mirakians called for help to their wives and boys, who had remained in the village for defense there, and continued fighting until the arrival of the aid forces. The leader of the Mirakians was the brave Giro (Giragos), who during the most heated moment of battle had obtained the horse of the Turkish commander. Encouraging his fighters, he yelled, “Boys, it is possible to die this way or that, but perhaps in this way there is salvation—come, do not be afraid!” Giro’s example was followed by all the Mirakians there. The fierce fight continued around five or six hours, until many of the Ottoman soldiers together with their generals fled. Many of the fleers began to be massacred by the pursuing Armenian braves. In front of this scene, the Khràntsì Kurds too, yelling “ghràn, ghràn,” came to aid the Mirakians and powerfully pursued the Ottomans until the base of Duzhig Baba, where a frightful scene occurred. The Ottoman soldiers joined their comrades at the base of Duzhig, who were already engaged with the people of Duzhig. Thus, the Turkish soldiers were caught between two fires. There was no way to save them from the barrier of the huge, forested mountains. Every effort to escape that trap was in vain. The Turkish generals were confused, while the soldiers were in panic. Finally the Ottomans, enduring a shameful deafeat and being subject ot a great massacre, were humbled before the terrible blows of the Mirakians. We present one stanza from the battle song of the Mirakians here.

Khêlêndzêmêz vurdêkh dasa, Das yarêldê basdan basa, Nere khats`aran Ôsman p`asa, Miraklar dur galan kharsiay.

The translation:

We struck our sword to the rock, The rock became two parts. Where do you flee Osman Pasha, It is the Miraks [Mirakians] who stand before you.

Giro’s brother, Ghampar, who participated in this war, describes it thus.

I could see that Girô was among the [Ottoman] soldiers. He was surrounded on all four sides. Ôvannés said, “What are you doing, bring me gunpowder and shells [or bullets].” Ôvannés went and our boy had mounted the horse and fled; I saw that Girô had bared his sword, the sword shined. I then pulled on top/aboveCHECK??, I made the sword shine, and Girô don’t be afraid. At that time I saw that four horsemen were riding behind me. I thrust my sword at each of them. I also brought to earth the four horses, and cut one man’s head. I saw that the pasha was saying “Let me see you become a beloved father.” The pasha did not know that it is I. He thinks that the Turks have seized Ghampar. He does not say that I have put four people to the sword. I could see that Ôvannés had brought the shells. He said, “Do not fear, brothers, do not say that half of a battalion of troops have remained, and our agha [lord] went and was observing (enjoying). When at night we went he gave us forty gold coins. What can I do?”

One of the seyyids who participated in the fight related:

Five days after the victory, the Ottoman army again returned to Duzhig and began to fiercely attack. The shells of the artillery often succeeded in reaching the peak of the mountain, but they did not cause us any harm. This fight lasted fifteen days. Neither we nor they won, but both sides stubbornly waged battle. Finally the Turks saw that it was impossible to win by shooting at us. Therefore they decided to surround our positions so that they would force us to surrender by leaving us hungry and thirsty. However we had so many provisions for eating and drinking that it would have been sufficient for years. We did not need outside help, because a rich plant life existed on Dizgin Baba, along with plentiful springs and pastures. During this state of siege, a foolish dispute arose. Some demanded that we completely desert Duzhig and fortify ourselves in Khuti Dérési, where it was possible to always remain safely. Others insisted to remain clinging to our ositions so that they would not have borne a shameful defeat. As the dispute grew more intense, the siege grew more severe to the same degree, until the proponents of the first point of view with their families and armed forces, broke through the chain of siege and went to Khuti Dérési. The remnants, seeing the lack of force, surrendered. Taking advantage of the opportunity, thanks to a final assault, the Ottomans seized Dizgin Baba, where they threw the majority of the Kurds who they found taking refuge there from the rock, and killed them. After the first victory, the Ottomans focused their blows on Khuti Dérési. But they encountered a powerful resistance before reaching St. Garabed Monastery. It was the Mirakians, who together with the Alans prevented the entry of the Turkish soldiers into St. Garabed Monastery. The Ottomans were forced to stop at the height of the mountain, on the right banks of the Mntzur River. A three or four day period of indecision passed. The Mirakians and Alans took advantage of that time, increasing their forces and further fortifying Khuti Dérési, which still was in a chaotic and confused state. After completing all preparations they directly fell on the enemy army. But because they were in a valley and could not wage regular warfare against the Turks, using a strategic tactic, they crossed to the left side of the Mntzur (Muzur) River, onto a forested mountain. The Ottomans, thinking that they already were fleeing, noisily descended into the valley and began to pursue the Alans and Mirakians. The enemy fell into the set trap. The Turks had descended from the peak of the mountain to the valley. A fierce firing of rifles began. The commander pasha left one part of the army in the valley so that it crosses the Mntzur, while he took the other part with him and again ascended, fortifying himself in the monastery in order to bombard with mountain artillery the facing mountains, where the enemy was entrenched. The Turkish pasha’s efforts were in vain, because the Mirakians and the Alans, with whom in the end the Jibants`i brave fighting Kurds united, had hid in the cavities of open rooted trees and behind rocks, and nobody permitted that the Mntzur be crossed. The Ottomans endured great casualties in order to cross the Mntzur, and failed. An Albanian major, with the Ottoman flag in hand, with great difficulty crossed the Mntzur to the other side, yelling “Long live my Padishah [sultan].” But he was taken captive. The Kurds forced him to spit on the Ottoman flag. Upon his refusal, they rolled him off a high cliff. The Ottomans after fighting until evening, ceased firing, feeling unable to reach Khuti Dérési because one part of their soldiers were massacred during various clashes in Dersim, and another part, being unused to the local climate, had gotten very sick. It became dark. The commander pasha suspected a night attack by the Dersim people, taking advantage of the darkness and their favorable position. The Turks had in all four thousand soldiers ensconced in the monastery. The situation was unbearable. The pasha employed a final measure. He had four or five large piles of wood set on fire in the forest in order to frighten the enemy. But his amazement was great, when he saw that the Mirakians and Alans and set the whole forest on fire, even before they had lit their flames. The pasha, fearing that the Dersim populace would attack at night, immediately deserted the monastery and quietly left; he went to Khôzat`, whence he did not return again.

The Mirakians, until the 1890s, lived in the inaccessible and independent area of Dersim and proved their bravery numerous times, both in fighting local ashirets, and the Ottoman army.

The End of the Mirakians

Until now much has been written about the Mirakians. The Mirakian clan’s real surname is the house of Bjients`, or Bjienk`. They have descended from a princely family. They founded the village of Dér Ôhan, and lived there. Until 1856, this village completely belonged to the Bjients` and was surrounded by three or four ashirets of Dersim. The Bjienk` always had clashes with these neighboring tribal groups and always being victorious, spread fear among all of northern Dersim. For this reason the Kurds of Dersim called them Malé Mirô [see above]…and their last name gradually was turned into Mirô, or Mirakian. In the 1880s, the Mirakians began to weaken. Their enemies multiplied and troubled them. Though the Mirakians were numerous, being in continous battle with the Ottomans on one hand, and neighboring tribal groups on the other, they gradually grew weak. Finally they decided to leave their place of birth and immigrate to the southern plains area, towards Chàrsanjak. They left their lands to the Kurds and received title deeds (tapu) from them as gisnort [Footnote: The laborer farms the land of the landowning notable. The product of this labor is divided between the notable and the farmer. This was the gisnort, or maraba.]. The emigrating Mirakians dispersed within Chàrsanjak and settled in Tùrushmég, Halvori, Géôg T`ép`é [Gök Tepe], Khoznkegh, Khr`nég, Khuzuljugh, Balêsher, Shordan, and several other villages. The begs of Chàrsanjak very gladly accepted the Mirakian families in their villages. They gave them houses, and land to cultivate, and said:

You will not be gisnort (maraba). You will till and sow. The harvest will belong to you in full. You will be free from any tax. In exchange, if we are in a fight with another beg or agha, you will help us.

The Chàrsanjak begs had heard much about the bravery of the Mirakians because their renown had spread everywhere. Thus, all the aghas and begs of Chàrsanjak wanted to host more Mirakian families so that when they fought one another they would benefit from their acts of bravery. The Kurdish ashirets of Dersim and the begs of Chàrsanjak often also had bloody fights with each other. During these fights, the begs of both sides would hire armed Kurdish ashirets and have them massacre each other in order to assure their own interests. After settling in the villages of Chàrsanjak, the Mirakians, in these internal fights, formed the scales of victory. The party which had the Mirakians on their side would always win [Footnote: An oral but authentic testimony of Osgian Nalpandian of Chàrsanjak, who at present lives in France.]. Around 1875, Séyidlii Ismayil Agha and Nejib Beg of Paghnik` (Ahmed Beg’s father) quarreled among themselves. Ismayil Agha had assembled 5,000 fighters, and 10,000 were sent by the government as an auxiliary force. Nejib Beg against this only had 5,000 rifle bearers (chàkhmakhli [çakmaklı is Turkish for flintlock rifle]). Aside from these he had hired the Armenian Ghampar of the Mirakians, together with his brothers. One day before the appointed hour of battle, Ghampar arrives at the house of Nejib Beg. The latter shows a bird to Ghampar, and orders that he shoot it. Ghampar takes his rifle and saying “Nkulén bdé zarnim [I will shoot it on the beak],” fires. They bring the dead bird and through examination ascertain that Ghampar had indeed did what he had said. Nejib Beg becomes happy and gives him one Ottoman gold coin as a present. In honor of Ghampar they slaughter a sheep. Upon this, the other 5,000 fighters get jealous and feeling disdained, say “Then let Ghampar go to the war.” Nejib Bey despairs, seeing the attitude of his 5,000 fighters. Meanwhile, Ghampar and his four companions go to the edges of the village and dig graves [i.e. trenches] in appropriate places in the ground, getting five more people to help them. The beg, miserable, comes to see Ghampar. Ghampar, seeing the despairing state of the beg, says, “Beg, don’t be afraid. You will watch from the vineyard. I will put all of them to the sword. My sword is a piece of lightening. They offered 100 gold pieces, but I did not give it.” Ghampar relates the acts of bravery and wonder that he carried out with his brothers and his one son as follows.

The five of us, I, Ôvannés, Minas, Agop, and our Giro (son) went out. We stood around the village in a three-pronged fashion [sacayağı]. I said to Ôvannés, “You are a brave. What can I do that you have a conscience--this is not thievery. Shoot and do not look.” There was two hours before the night became morning. I sent Ôvannés off on his way. He took a mattock and came. We each dug holes like graves. The beg, despairing, came and saw that the helpers have not come. Alas, alas, he said. Then the sound of a horseshoe of a horse came—sakh, sakh, sakh. Fifteen thousand men assembled, who were going to enter Dzaghbuin village. I saw that Mahmud Agha of Basun village came, he stood above my head. I lay down and he did not see me. I slowly pulled out my sword; I saw that Ismayil Agha said, “Set yourselves up all around the village.” Mahmud Agha rode by and passed. I touched the trigger of my rifle. The ball went and hit the horse of Ismayil Agha. At that time I looked, the sound of Ôhannés’s rifle was heard. Our Gero ([Giro]—his son) bared his sword and behold he is striking. We rode one hour. The sun just came up. We reached the valley of the red monastery. We looked behind us and there was no one. “Ôvannés, let me see you, this is the day for bravery,” and turned to meet his gaze [CHECK—gözüne döndüğüm]. I saw that Ôvannés bared his sword, struck and cut his head off. And I cut off the one below. And all the boys began to strike. They massacred. The gunpower, shells [or balls] finished. “Girô, what are you doing, come here.” See that they are surrounding us. What are we going to do?” Nejib Beg too came and saw that we took off the head of the curly haired lord. He said, “Boy, what boldness!” In short, we massacred whoever we are going to kill, and suddenly the rest took off and fled.

Nejib Bey would every year give Ghampar food until he became kaymakam of P`éri (Perri). The Mirakians until 1900 went to obtain their gisnort share from the Kurds cultivating their fields, and then would return. After 1900, they encountered various obstacles, and gave up on going to Dér Ôvan because the Kurdish ashirets collectively refused to recognize the rights of the Mirakians. After the Mirakians settled in Chàrsanjak, they had a comfortable and free life only for a very short period of time under the protection of the begs and aghas. Starting from the period of rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid [II], the situation of the Mirakians became dangerous. Because in those times, the sultan through his criminal politics, excited the nationalistic and religious feelings of the begs aginst the Armenian people and in particular against the brave noble Mirakian clan, which for a long time had destroyed and defeated the sultan’s regular armies, and for this reason were called “tabur bozan [battalion demolishers].” In Sultan Hamid’s time, the derebeys [“valley lords”] of Chàrsanjak won medals and high positions. The Turkish government was permissive concerning their authority, on condition that the hyena-like begs oppress and crush the Armenian masses. Afterwards the Mirakians became subjected to the caprices of the begs and turned into maraba, like the Armenian villagers of Chàrsanjak. Many begs and aghas, if they kept some of the Mirakians, did so in defense of their personal interests only. During the 1915 Armenian massacre, several Mirakian families, fleeing from the villages of Chàrsanjak, reached the region of Duzhig and Khuti Dérési, and found refuge with their Kurdish ashiret friends. Of these families, Sultàn Mirakian, the ninety-year- old wife of Giragos Mirakian, who is from Shordan village of Ahmed Beg (of Géôk` T’ép’é), told us the following.

During the previous plundering (1895), they brought me as a bride to Shordan. I am the daughter of Basusi Ervanets` Vartan. My husband, Giragos Mirakian, had two brothers, Gilô (Giwlésér) and Bôghos. My husband had a son from his first wife named Mirô. When they began shooting the Armenians of the villages of P`eri, Khdêr Agha of the Haydaran ashiret came to Shordan and took our whole family to Haydaran. We remained three years there. I had three children, Israyél, Arslan, and Manug. While I was in Haydaran I also had one son to whom we gave the name of Haydar. My stepson, Mirô, had two sons, Shahin and Krikor.

I asked who remained alive from her family. Affected by anguish, she replied with tearful eyes.

Let me sacrifice myself for you. If my boys were all alive, would I stay like this behind the door [inside]? They all died. Only my stepson’s two children, Shahin and Krikor Mirakian, went to Armenia and now are there. As for my other stepson, Bôghos Mirakian [not mentioned before], who was in America, he too died.

Concerning her husband Giragos Mirakian, we have the following story. In 1915, all of the Armenians of Chàrsanjak were driven to slaughter. No Armenian was left in Chàrsanjak. In 1916, the ashirets of independent Dersim attacked Chàrsanjak, and passing through Medzgerd, Khôzat`, Perri, and Pertag, went until Kharpert, pillaging the Armenian goods piled up at the Turks and begs as well as the Turks’ belongings. During this expedition, Giragos Mirakian was in the ranks of the Dersim people. Giragos, full of Armenian vengeance, fully carried out his obligation. When in Perri he saw that the once prosperous city full of Armenians was empty, he burnt all the Armenian houses. Giragos returned with the Kurds to Haydaran and remained there until 1918. Ahmed Beg of Géôk` T`ép`é again summoned him to his side. Giragos with his family moved to Géôk` T’ép`é. The cunning Ahmed Beg, tricking him, took him to Kharpert and surrendered him to the Turkish government. Giragos in prison was subject to unusual tortures under the accusation that he was the author of the murder of the kaymakam of Medzgerd. For days he was kept in the dungeon’s cellar, and by beating him they killed him in prison. This was the character of the feudal lords of Chàrsanjak. They were ungrateful and treacherous towards the Mirakians, who had served them faithfully and with unreserved dedication. The abovementioned Ahmed Beg, in the 1920s, again fights with Mehmed Beg of Paghnik`. All the fighters of the Izôli ashiret take the side of Mehmed Beg, while Ahmed Beg assembled about him the Yusufantsì, Damanantsì, and some Khràntsì ashiret fighters. The hired fighters of both sides were going to kill or be killed for the sake of a piece of bread. The fight lasts five weeks and the Kurdish mercenaries on both sides are slaughtered. When the fight intensified and Ahmed Bey was in a difficult situation, he turned angrily to some ten of his fighters gathered in his khonagh [konak in Turkish, mansion or residence] and exclaimed, “You have been fighting for five weeks against the Izôli ashiret and have not been able to win. If my maraba Mirak Giragos was here with his two sons, the fight would have been concluded a long time ago in our favor.” Those begs, whose force had been secured through the sweat of Armenian laborers, and who for centuries grew fat thanks to Armenian work, robbed and exploited Armenian farmers unceasingly, and in the end also killed the Miraktsì Armenian braves. There are survivors from the Mirakians in Armenia, France, and America, who make the past glory and national pride of the brave Mirakian clan live on through them.

* * *

Group leader Nshan Mirakian is a scion of the lionhearted Mirakian tribe which defended the independence of Dersim for centuries against the whirlwinds. He has been a humble soldier of the people, whose life is the very embodiment of toughness, deprivation, and abnegation. Born to a people fated for persecution and misery, living with its tribulations and sorrows, as an adolescent Nshan became a rebel against Turkish tyranny. At the age of twenty-nine he enlisted under the Hnchàgean [party] flag. His father, Hampartzum Mirakian, fell victim to the barbarity of the Circassians in Niksar. This vengeful incident further incites the revolutionary spirit of the fifteen-year-old Nshan. He takes to the mountains as a fedayi in order to take vengeance for his father and with the oath of protecting the cause of the oppressed and tormented Armenians. He goes on a political party mission to Sepasdia [Sivas], Samsun, and Gesaria [Kayseri]. As a result of a cold betrayal, he is arrested in Tokat and thrown in prison. Despite the unheard of tortures he endured, he remained obdurate and did not let slip any confession from his lips. In 1888 he was transferred to Sepasdia, where he remained imprisoned for three years. All efforts to liberate him were in vain. His mother Maritsà and his brother Haji Mikàyél were also arrested because they came to visit him in prison and kept in touch with him. When they were leaving one another, Nshan’s mother said to him, “Son, never worry. Go and die for your nation. I give up all claim to my milk …” Not much later, thanks to the guarantee of 1000 Ottoman gold coins by a rich man of Sepasdia named Khrkhligian, a general pardon is announced and he is released. He goes to Gesaria where he leads the Ch`éllo group. After some of his fellow fighters are arrested, Nshan goes to Zéytùn. One year later he returns to Constantinople and participates actively in the Bab-ı Ali demonstration. Then he went to Greece and Egypt, where he killed a spy for the Turkish government, after which he left for America. He quickly got tired of monotonous life in the foreign environment of America. He returned to London and Paris, and in 1897 participated in the Greco-Turkish war with his 600 volunteers. During the fighting he captures 40 Turkish officials, 1,700 soldiers, 4 cannon, and 150 horses, which he entrusts to the commander of the Greek forces, General Vassos [sic--Colonel Timeoleon Vassos, 1836-1929]. He is received with shouts of “Long live the Armenian group leader,” and receives the medal of honor along with a gift of fifty gold coins. He participates in the Russo-Japanese war [1904-1905] in a greater capacity. During those clashes, the Russian soldiers retreat but the Armenian volunteers under the leadership of Nshan Mirakian resist and with the assistance of the Cossacks win the victory. For this bravery, General Kropotkin awards him with three medals, one of heroism and two St. George. During the Russo-Turkish war, on the suggestion of General Antranig, Mirakian departs for the field of battle. However, affected by some discriminatory cockeyed interests, he went from Baku to Balê Khané, where he plays a role in the preliminary organization of the sixth Armenian volunteer regiment, and aids in its victorious actions. [DELETE SENTENCE? This is an episode about a hero descended from the brave Mirakian clan which is adorned with extensive miraculous acts of combat.]

Section 9 From the Life of the Mirakians

The Mirakians having for a long lived on the heights of rebellious and independent Dersim, and always having been in communication with the Kuridsh ashirets, in general aspects did not differ from the Kurds in their way of life, customs, and dress. The Mirakians had a simple life, with patriarchal customs. They were frugal like the other Dersim inhabitants. Their chief occupation was shepherdry. Keeping thousands of goats and sheep, they assured their livelihood through their milk and hair. The Mirakians being tough and brave men, their wives and daughters were similarly sturdy and active. After preparing butter and dried yogurt or curds from their sheep, they also make from their hair and wool colorful carpets (pàlas), kilims [flat, pileless tapestry- woven carpets or rugs], jajims [cecim or cicim, a kind of striped kilim], and socks. The pure butter prepared by the Mirakian housewive was very sought after. The Mirakian women, in case of necessity, took up weapons and heroically fought alongside their husbands. The Mirakians were not used to agriculture and a peaceful life. They have always lived through fighting and adventure. Only after leaving their birthplace, Dér Ôvan, to Chàrsanjak’s villages, did they become involved in agricultural work. As lovers of fighting and bravery, the Mirakians attempted always to have good guns, swords, and horses. Their homes, although plain and subterranean, possessed military advantages. Distant from centers of Armenian culture, they remained uneducated, ignorant, and simpleminded. In addition to having mastered extremely well the Kurmanj and Zaza Kurdish languages, they did not forget their Armenian dialect. They made the pure treasures of Armenian traditions, sanctities, faith, and language live within a Kurdish exterior. They did not have schools and churches, but were fervent believers and conservers of tradition. On Christmas and Easter, they brought priests from neighboring cities to confess and take communion. They had their homes, salt, flour, water, seeds for sowing, weapons, and even their animals blessed, so that the Christian homes of Armenians would remained blessed forever. In cases of baptism, marriage, or death, the Mirakians would descend to Chàrsanjak and find a priest whom they would take with them to conduct the necessary religious services. They would forcibly take a priest who would object or express discontent, but they behaved [otherwise] with great respect and followed services with deep faith. They would return the priest safely to his village with various presents. They had great faith in Armenian churches, monasteries, and places of pilgrimage, and many times defended them by force of arms against any misfeasance. They preserved and took care of St. Garabed Monastery of Halvori like the light of their eyes. Until the 1860s, the Mirakians did not know the Mesrobian [Armenian] alphabet. But after that period, when they settled in Chàrsanjak’s villages, many Mirakian boys went to local village schools and learned how to read and write. The Mirakians preserved until the end their unique dialect which differed from Chàrsanjak’s provincial dialect through several consonants and the formation or way of vowels. The Mirakians did not use the Armenian consonants [Ch`], [Ch], [Sh], and [Zh]. In their place, they used [Ts`], [Tz], [S], and [Z]. For example, [Chègav] = [Tsègav], [Chour] = [Tzour], [Zham] = [Zam], and [Shoun] = [Soun]. Some of the sayings of the Mirakians follow. [NOT INCLUDED, pp. 114-116]

Section 10 Armenian Monasteries and Churches

In Dersim’s mystical mountain world there are numerous ruins of Armenian churches and monasteries. Duzhig Baba’s St. Sarkis Church, which was built by Saint Arisdakés, proves through its age that St. Krikor the Illuminator’s lighthouse of faith illuminated all of Dersim and Chàrsanjak from this lofty and impregnable mountain peak. To the east of Duzhig is Khêzêl-Kìlisé [Kızıl Kilise] (“Red Church”) town, which bore the name of its namesake monastery and has the same age. To the north of Khêzêl-K`ílisé, on the side of the mountain, survives, even today, a half-ruined church. The peaks and sides of these mountains extending from Erzinga until Khôzat` are stamped with the impression of Armenian faith, which resisted the ruin and plunder of centuries. A broken stone cross, a crumbling temple, a polished wall remaining on the eastern side of the land, a tombstone with a worn inscription, speaks to us of the glorious Armenian past, the true owner of those mountains soaring to the heavens and the unfathomable valleys. A part of those Armenians who built those monasteries and churches, and populated those temples, over time left its own environment as a result of the invasions of Kurdish tribes. Another part remained clinging to those inaccessible mountains, but unfortunately lost its Armenianness. There are numerous telling proofs as evidence that some of the Kurdish tribes living in the independent section of Dersim, although Kurdified Armenians, have kept their faith unbroken towards our ruined churches and places of pilgrimage. At every alarm of danger, at every threatening gust, they have defended Armenian sanctuaries. Our ancient monastries and churches even in their ruins have each become places of pilgrimage for all of Dersim’s Kurds. They with deep faith and reverence slaughtered sheep in sacrifice [madagh], lit candles, burned incense, worshipped, and on their knees advanced towards the monuments of Armenian faith. These believing but Kêzêlbash Kurds were extremely secretive and no one revealed those traditions which are connected with these monasteries. The seyyids of the Kuréshan often have confessed that they have an Armenian origin and that they have kept relics and gospels. In the book Dérsim janabarhortutìwn [A Voyage to Dersim], the following is written.

During my journey, while I was a guest of a noted seyyid, when I became interested in their traditions and especially the matter of their tribal origin, the seyyid related, “We have no doubt that our ancestors were Armenians. There is much evidence. My grandfather would relate that his great-grandfather’s father’s brother had at one time been the abbot of Halvori’s St. Garabed Monastery. Consequently, we have some books left from him which have reached us, which remain from child to child as holinesses or a sacred inheritance.” The seyyid, as a certain proof of his words, showed me several crumbling parchment manuscript books, among which there was a gospels with a genealogical colophon. No matter how much I tried to buy that gospels or exchange it with whatever he wished, it was useless. The seyyid answered, “Something holy is neither sold nor given as a present.” I wished to transcribe that colophon, but the seyyid did not permit it.

Duzhig’s St. Sarkis Church, with its forty altars, Khêzêl K`ilisé, and Halvori’s St. Garabed Monastery remained standing until our deportation.

St. Garabed Monastery

Opposite Duzhig Mountain, towards the southern side, Halvori (Alevori [of the Grey-haired/Old Man]) St. Garabed Monoastery, which remained unshaken through its power, was the largest place of pilgrimage of the Dersim people. Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants` wrote:

Of the numerous monasteries of this district, only Halvorig’s St. Garabed Monastery remains intact. It is eighteen hours distant from Perri, towards Erznga; it is also near Chàrsanjak. It is surrounded by Kurds and forests. There is an Armenian family which for a long time has lived in the monastery; it cultivates the land of the monastery and one of its sons in each generation, as a married or celibate priest, serves as abbot. In our time, it is Dér Bôghos the married priest, whose family is composed of sixty-five people. The agha or lord of the monastery was Seyyid Ibrahim, whose tribe every year gives the monastery 50 kìla of wheat (a kìla is 100 ôkha [in Turkish: an okka or oke weighs 2.8 pounds]. Ergan [the name of the host village] or Ergan Êngoyz’s St. Garabed Monastery is a wonderful and magnificent building, though several parts have fallen into ruin. It has a choice architecture, the style and carvings of which cause amazement even to European travelers, some of whom have copied it. The monastery was built in the year . . . [N. I. K., or 423, which is A.D. 974] of the Armenian calendar. The church is in the name of the Holy Mother of God, and on the front of its door is written the following, which I received from the prelate: “This is the altar of the Mother of the Lord, from whom was born Jesus Christ in the grotto of Bethlehem; in her womb was pleased and in her heart inhabited, and gave shelter to the Holy Spirit; I beg you, Holy Mother of God, intercede for your servant with our/// great Consoler, your son our God. CHECK I profess this on the date … man…kantzé…of the enemy whom our apostles martyred Christ for your Holy Birth and afterwards I built this altar on the date . . . (T’oros aghpar, volume 2, p. 154)

Halvori Monastery [Footnote: The following is excerpted from Antranig, Dérsim, Tiflis, 1900]

Halvori is a fifty-five to sixty-house Armenian-Kurdish village in a small valley on the right bank of the Mntzur River, surrounded by lofty forested mountains, and walnut and various types of fruit-bearing trees. On the eastern side of the village, there is a small but well cared for field where the wheat still newly had begun to grow and give regular spikes, while in the plains regions the sowing had long been harvested. The hosues and streets of the village, compared with the half-wild people of the place, were fairly clean and tasteful. All the inhabitants (men and women) appeared to be active and industrious, which for a people living in the mountains was remarkable. We continued our way from Halvori village towards St. Garabed Monastery. We travelled one quarter hour from the village towards the north and reached the banks of the Mntzur River, whence began a frightening valley which continued to the monastery, lasting three hours. The Mntzur flowed with terrible ferocity through the valley, on whose two sides rose two lofty mountain zones adorned with virgin forests as the continuation of Duzhig Baba and Ghuni Baba mountains. These mountains practically ended at the edge of the valley. There, two great springs, exactly opposite one another, exploded dreadfully from the wide crevices of the uniform rocks, and formed an arch while descending one in front of the other, and then were lost in the Mntzur after a vortex of white foam. Meanwhile the Mntzur River, moderating its fierceness in front of those frenzied springs, flowed fluidly and calmly downwards in a sinuous path. The scene had a wild beauty, charming and attractive. I asked Hampartzum (the Mirakian guide) the name of this spring and its significance. He replied, “May I sacrifice myself for the power of their troops. A person without child who drinks from them will have children—[she] will grow fat and have a boy. These are boy and girl holy places.” We ascended towards the slope of the mountain, 450-500 feet in height. The path leading to the monastery was made especially with steps one t’iz [nine inches] wide which were dug by breaking the stones of the rocks. According to Hampartzum, this path on which we advanced step-by-step, gropingly, was called Adzal Bésigi (Ecel Beşiğı, or cradle of death). It was impossible for your eyes to stray from the path because at each step the frightening danger of tumbling into the river threatened. This was the sole path going to Halvori’s St. Garabed Monastery. It was already evening when we reached the monastery. There were twenty-five to thirty Armenian and Kurdish houses all around. The monastery was placed fairly high above the right bank of the Mntzur River on a small but beautiful and cultivated mountain slope, where the dark and gloomy valley ended, having Duzhig Baba opposite it. The uncovered panorama was extremely beautiful and enchanting. Green-covered mountains rose on all four of its sides, on whose verdant slopes villages and various assemblages of cottages could be discerned. Everywhere small streamlets flowed down the mountains, sometimes forming small waterfalls by rushing down elevated rocks. Their crystalline tongues bewitched with sweet gurgling and babbling, and captivated the heart and soul of the beholder. In this wonderful natural environment, the monastery, with its architecturally beautifully constructed basilica/cathedral[CHECK], appeared to meditate in haughty grandeur, and listened in silence to the colorful birds bringing twittering from distant horizons to it in the stead of the soul-enrapturing hymns [sharagans] of clerics rumbling under its arches. We entered Tòrud, the village surrounding the monastery, which often is known by the name of the monastery. Passing through several narrow streets, we reached the external gate of the monastery. We entered inside that marvelous arch-shaped door. Several steps distant was a tall forested mountain, between Khôzat` and the monastery. Directly opposite the monastery a famous gold mine was seen. We passed by the covered courtyard, leaving the monastery’s stable and hayloft to the right. We ascended on wooden stairs and arrived at the abbot’s room. This cell, in which lived the abbot, the priest Dér Bôghos, was a large room with three or four large windows which opened on the Mntzur and the path leading to the monastery. The room was furnished in the oriental fashion, adorned with beautufil rugs and embroidered felt mats. In the upper part of the room was built a beautifully carved stone hearth, in which crackled magnificent logs of hazel trees. On its two sides were twin shelves on which books with old and new covers appeared to have been piled willy- nilly. A collection of the rarest weapons hanged from the walls. Their golden and silver ornaments shone under the light of the flames and dazzled the eyes of the observer. A venerable person of average height, middle aged, fat, and with a dark visage, walked about in a preoccupied fashion in the room. His black and long silken locks of hair, together with his magnificent beard, reached his waist. He wore the outfit of a mountaineer and was armed with a revolver and a silver-plated small dagger. Without looking around him, Dér Bôghos the abbot of St. Garabed Monastery, was calmly walking about. It was Saturday evening. We were going to go to the church. Led by the abbot, we descended to the courtyard, whence under wooden stairs, cutting through some narrow and dark passages we finally reached the inner door of the church. Avak, one of the older brothers of the abbot (who himself was the oldest), who held the office of beadle or sexton, opened the door with a thick iron key. We entered. The church had a large antechamber [narthex], where services were conducted on ordinary weekdays (ferials—lur ôrs) and ordinary Sundays. The divine liturgy on feast days took place in the cathedral, which was behind the antechamber through a small stone door, which we entered. The church was small. It had an ornamented altar, built in the northern area (perhaps thinking it was the east). In the church silver and gold crosses, chalices, candlesticks, pyxes, and relics were arranged haphazardly. A medium-sized sacristy opened from one side of the altar; in it various manuscripts written on parchment or paper had been thrust in a disorderly manner. In the end, the monastery was richer than was thought with old manuscripts and gold and silver objects. The sexton also held the office of diratsu` [altar server or candidate for the priesthood] though he was barely able to read a primer by spelling out words. Patience was necessary to listen to him singing “Loys zvart [the Armenian church hymn “Joyful Light”],” with the awful voice of a mountaineer diratsù and a monstrous tune adapted to that of “Lavug” of the Dersim people. He also sang one or two sharagans [canonical hymns] whose words were largely adapted to the local dialect and the melody to the taste of the mountain dwellers. The priest read from the Gospels. He too, in many places, left out whole sentences and often halted in front of long words, until by spelling them out he was able to pronounce them. The service concluded. In ten minutes, we prayed and went out. When we returned to the abbot’s room, I asked him where he studied and who ordained him a priest. This was his reply: “When I was a little boy, this monastery had a prosperous brotherhood. There was an archbishop here, who had three or four bishops, ten or twelve vartabeds, and six or seven deacons and diratsus. I learned to read and write with them. But when over time this brotherhood disappeared, that is, some died, and others left without successors, the monastery remained ownerless and uncared for. There was only a vartabed from those remaining who governed the monastery and the people. However, fourteen to fifteen years ago, he too died and the monastery remained completely empty. The deceased vartabed had a brother who, according to law, would become abbot. Unfortunately because he was a little dim-witted, he was not suitable and could not be ordinated a married or celebate priest. The people selected me and sent me to Kharpert, so that I would be ordained a married priest by Bishop Hàgopos Jknavorian, since I already was married and my wife was still living. When I die, the position of abbot will automatically fall to my younger brother, who at present is sexton and diratsù. We have nobody more educated than he who could succeed me. The monastery has a great significance for the Armenians and Kizilbash of Dersim. The former magnificence of the monastery and its prosperous brotherhood cretinaly had a great influence on the mountaineers, increasing their faith in God and strengthening their heart and soul concerning the Armenian sanctuary. Despite the disappearance of its former splendor, the monastery continued to preserve its great influence in Dersim to the same extent as in past periods of glory. Halvori’s St. Garabed is for all, and all are for it. All (Armenian and Kurd) equally worship it and one or two times a year with expensive presents and sacrifices come on pilgrimage from all parts of Dersim. All swear on the monastery, and this oath has a greater meaning than that done in the name of God because they sometimes have seen such miracles which confirm that skeptics or unbelievers are punished by blindness, muteness, deafness, and even general paralysis. When I showed interest in various issues concerning the monastery, the abbot related an interesting incident.

When I was still newly ordained, I went early in the morning to church to pray. What did I see? My God, the church was robbed. The bars on the windows were broken and everything scattered about. I yelled out of fear and ran outside in order to summon the brothers for aid in order to capture the thieves. Before I had gone out of the door of the church, I fell to the ground. I wanted to get up, but I saw that a human body was rolling under my feet. I felt it, and saw that it was a man bearing a load—the thief of the church. I asked who he was, but did not receive a response. I instructed him to get on his feet, but he remained immobile and silent because he had become completely mute and paralyzed. My brothers came, they brought a candle and illuminated [the place]. We examined the church’s dark corners with the light and saw that four or five Kurds, similarly carrying loads, had fallen here and there, completely immobile—you would think they had become statues. My brothers ran out and saw there, under the broken windows of the church, Kurds with foaming mouths and completely paralyzed, who had fallen before the church walls as if possessed by demons. We seized them all and brought them inside. We took the bags in which they had filled the church’s gold and silver ornaments. We did nothing to the thieves. We summoned their seyyid, who had a house not far from the monastery. The religious leader arrived, as did countless Kurds, who witnessed the wonderous force of our St. Garabed. And when all saw the punishment of these thieves, they came to their knees in front of the church and prayed with all feror that St. Garabed not punish them too on account of the thieves. The religious leader finally kissed my hands and feet, and asked that I agree to pray over the thieves, and intercede with St. Garabed so that he pities the Dersim people and frees the thieves from their bonds. All at once guaranteed they would not doubt thusly again; they also promised to sacrifice many sheep on the threshold of the monastery in order to ask for the penitence and absolution of the sins of the thieves.

“Let me be a sacrifice for the force of St. Garabed’s powers [CHECK zôrats` zôrk`],” continued the abbot.

Finally I prayed and read one or two chapters from the Holy Gospels, after which, through the able force of God, they were cured. Only one or two of the fingers of the right hand remained numb, so that (perhaps) they would go and show to all doubters the true power of our monastery. After curing them, they all related how the Fair [Boz—grey, blond, or fair in Turkish] Horseman St. Garabed, when they were preparing to go outside carrying all the gold and silver, entered armed, tied them all up there, and scattered them this way and that. They took an oath that they would come to the monastery once or twice a year and sacrifice one or two cows and sheep to St. Garabed. They also swore that henceforth, not only would they not touch Armenian saints, but would not even touch Armenians. Their religious leader, hearing of these miracles and seeing their cure through the power of our Holy Gospels, though he did not become Armenian, he believed in the faith of the Armenians. Immediately he sacrificed one or two cows to St. Garabed and gave various presents to the church. The Kurds had great faith in our saints, though they did not have it in the actual Armenians. [End of excerpt]

This incident shows the level of faith of the Dersim people. They believed not only in the monastery and the Armenian saints, but also worshiped the abbot because he knew how to read and write, and could, on the other hand, by daubing several lines turn into dumb animals, or stones and dirt, all Kurds, or at least the enemies of the monastery. According to the Kurds, the abbot was God’s man. Each time he spoke with God, he could do everything. Thus, when an influential tribal chieftain, who had an army of fourteen to twenty thousand soldiers, came on pilgrimage to Halvori Monastery, he was obligated after all the ceremonies to first kiss the hems of the abbot, and then, his shoulders, and remain on foot until the man of God (the abbot) deigned to show him a place where he could sit. This is what significance Halvori Monastery had for the inhabitants of Dersim. The abbot related another incident which took place four or five years ago, that is, in 1880.

A rumor circulated among the officials of the Turkish government of Khôzat` that there were some rebels in Halvori Monastery who, exploiting the gold mine of the monastery, were providing guns and military provisions to Dersim in order to invade the surrounding Turkish districts. The local mutasarrıf [governor] pasha ordered an army major to take troops and search the monastery. But because the major was ignorant of the position and roads of the place, a Kurdish tribal leader living in Khôzat` and called Zeyno’s son was chosen as guide. They left in the morning from Khôzat` towards Halvori Monastery. Despite the fact that it is only a six hour journey, they lose their way and fall into the snare of an impassable forest, where they wander the entire night, like lost travelers. Only at dawn do they reach the facing mountain, in front of which they find the monastery. They quickly begin to descend the slope. In order to learn the identity of this crowd, I asked my brother to go out of the monastery and find out who were the people descending the mountain. Before my brother exited the monastery, Kurds with arms in hand poured out of their houses in order to meet the soldiers advancing towards the monastery. Thinking that the Ottoman government again in an unexpected fashion was besieging Dersim, as it was wont to do, the Kurds began to yell “Havar, ha, havar.” Their neighboring tribes, hearing the shouts of alarm, assembled here in large numbers. Gunfire was heard in the distance. This was the signal of other tribal chiefs in order to communicate that they had set out on the road and were ready to quickly come to help. Finally, the troops came down, but the Kurds had formed a human barrier in front of them and asked, “Who are you? What have you come for, and what do you want?” The major, completely nonplussed, very gently presented the following reasoning: “I was sick, and took an oath to come to the foot of St. Garabed of Halvori. For a long time I did not carry out my oath, not out of skepticism, but because I had work to do. I was not comfortable nights, and always was tormented under the influence of various dreams while sleeping. Finally today I, unworthily, had the fortune to come and kiss the threshold of St. Garabed.” When the Kurds heard the explanation of the major, the falsity of whose words being betrayed by the very way he spoke, they absolutely refused. “We cannot allow you to enter the sanctuary and defile our monastery’s holiness. No, we will not permit it, it will be profanation,” yelled all the Kurds in unison, and with gun in hand they surrounded the Turkish troops. The major approached me and begged that I permit him to carry out his oath. “As a pilgrim, you have the right to enter the church,” I said. The Kurds again refused and remarked to me, “Papaz [priest] Efendi, we will not permit the Ottoman to defile our monastery.” Why should I give you a headache—after talking for a long time, I barely was able to persuade the Kurds, declaring that our church was open for all. Consequently they were able to enter and carry out their oath. Meanwhile, 10,000 Kurds had assembled from various parts and still others were coming group by group. All demanded with one voice that before entering the church all the troops, or at least those who wanted to offer up prayers, should go and swim in the Mntzur River, be dired, and then come to make their devotions. I did away with this demand, objecting that it is completely superfluous, that only their hearts must be pure. Unfortunately they accepted my explanations but instead implacably insisted that the Turkish “pilgrims” first kiss the threshold of the outer gate of the monastery, and then enter on their knees to pray. If not, they threated either to die or to kill all the troops for the sake of keeping Halvori St. Garabed Monastery uncorrupted. The major slowly accepted the condition proposed by the Kurds. Completely disarmed, he first kissed the threshold of the door, and then went on his knees to enter the church, with his troops. When they came in front of the church, they began to fervently pray and cry (though falsely). They prayed and cried for an entire quarter hour, and left five ghurush each in the church treasury box as a gift for kissing the cross, and went outside. I had a table prepared and invited all the troops to breakfast. The Kurds surrounding the troops began “civilly” to rob the latter in the following fashion. “This revolver only suits me—give it to me.” “This dagger is very good—give it to me.” “This hat is very handsome—give it to me.” “How many cartridges you have! Mine ran out—give me half or all.” And so forth. Some of the troops, considering this strange robbery as an insult, began to attempt to resist. In order to avoid probably clashes, the major calmed his soliders and said, “Give whatever they ask for, and write it down to my account. When we reach Khôzat` alive, I will pay the equivalent value.” After this calm ceremony of robbery, the major and the troops, led by Zeyno’s son, set out towards Khôzat`. Seeing their departure, the Kurds in unison yelled, “Hey, look at the cowardly Ottomans. They are fleeing in what a shameless fashion. Hey, hey!” They fired thousands of rifles in the air and repeated their insult to the troops, who, however, without looking back, ascended toward sht emoutnain and disappeared in the forest. The countless Kurds, armed from head to toe, who had assembled here during the course of three or four hours, , after seeing the troops off, slaughtered some twenty sheep, barbecued them, ate, drank and began horse races and rifle shooting. They remained eight or ten days straight at the monastery, thinking that the troops might return with assistance to Dersim. But when they saw that nobody was coming or going, they left the monastery and went to their places.

We present a third example to show the belief of the Kurds of Dersim in the Armenian saints. Again we let the abbot speak.

Once I received a letter from the Erznga prelacy with the following contents. “Dér Hayr, some Kurdish bandits attacked our St. Illuminator’s Monastery at nighttime and robbed all its ornaments, including the holy relic of St. Nersés. We hear that the bandits have brought the aforementioned relic to your area. We ask that if it is possible, you get back the relic, promising any sum of money necessary, and send it to us. We are ready to pay whatever expense there might be according to your command. You will have placed us and the [Armenian] nation in your debt.” After reading the letter, and incurring many expenses, I immediately sent spies to all the Kurdish villages of Dersim to find out where the holy relic was and report back. Finally, one of these spies succeeded in finding the location of the relic and dlecared that all Kurds, day and night, were worshiping the relic, and lighting candles. Accoirdng to them St. Nersés was their saint, whom the Armenians had stolen in the past from them. Now they had borught him back again as a protector of the Kurds. I sent several Kurds of Ék`intzor, and several brave Armenians to the house of the Kurdish thief where the relic was kept, instructing them that they bring me both the thief and the relic. The men went and carried out my injunction. After giving the thief a good beating, I had him kept imprisoned hungry and thirsty for three days, and then in the presence of several local inhabitants, I issued a death sentence for the sin of profanation. The tribal chiefs agreed that I was justified. However, when the time to carry out the death sentence arrived, some old and young women with their small children came crying and wailing to me, and giving priceless gifts to our St. Garabed, begged me to spare their only child, so that after his punishment numerous orphans would not remain abandoned and without care. I initially did not agree to the request to release the bandit, though I also did not intend to punish him. But several tribal chiefs intervened and offered to act as guarantors for the thief. In the presence of the interceding chiefs, I severely rebuked the thief and said: “Look, Alishan (this wa sth ename of the bandit), this time, feeling pity at the salty tears ofyour miserable children, I forgive your offense, and with the guarantees of these kind begs I free you on the condition that you henceforth resign from banditry and always remain faithful towards the sanctities of the Armenians. If not, even if you enter the hole of a snake, you will still not escape my hand—do you understand? Now I will free you, so do you agree to swear to the conditions I proposed?” The bandit, prostrating himself to the floor, swore that henceforth not only would he not touch the sanctities of the Armenains but if he encountered even the lowliest Armenian he would not dare to look at his face and say “your eyebrows are above your eyes” [i.e. make an innocent observation] for a bad purpose. The thief added that he never intended to cause the Armenians harm by doing what he did, but, having heard from his gradmother that their saint was found in the Illuminator’s monastery, he went to bring him. That bandit now every year comes on pilgrimage and sacrifices one or two sheep at our monastery.” (Antranig, Dérsim, Tiflis, 1909, p. 90)

The abbot did not send the abovementioned relic to Tiflis, but kept it in Halvori Monastery as a safe place. From 1938, when the Dersim inhabitants were subjected to our fate, and the Turkish army occupied all of Dersim, from that day we do not know what happened to the relics of our saints, the handwritten Gospels, and the invaluable holy vessels, and where they might be. The following Kurdish tradition exists about Halvori St. Garabed. At one time, when Herod had John the Baptist beheaded in Caesarea, the faithful in order to decide on an appropriate place to bury the body, conducted lengthy discussions. They finally decided to tie it to a strong mule and release the animal to wander freely until it tired and lay down somewhere. Whever the mule would rest for the first time would be where the body would be buried and a church built. After traveling a long distance the animal stopped finally at the spot of Halvori Monastery and lay down. Those following him ran to take down the holy body, but suddenly the mule got on its feet and began to run. The faithful, thinking that it was as a result of the lord’s will that the mule had stopped there to rest, cut off the right arm of St. Garabed and bury it in the first place, after which they continued to follow the mule, which finally stopped at the spot of today’s Sultàn St. Garabed Monastery of Moush. Thus, according to Kurdish tradition, St. Garabed’s head is found in Caesarea, his right arm in Halvor, and his body in Moush, and in these three main stations three important monasteries have been built (Tàpàràgan, Hayrenik` amsakir, October 1931, p. 142). The number of Armenian churches, monasteries, sanctuaries, and cemeteries in the mountain land of Dersim is great. Their history, about which until now no complete study has been made, is ancient. The secret of those ruins has remained among the Dersim people living there, who have with fervor and reverence turned them into places of pilgrimage. Extremely limited information has been given by fortuitous travelers and the marneains who for a certain time lived in Dersim about the numerous Armenian churches and holy places. In addition to Duzhig’s St. Sarkis Church and Halvori St. Garabed Monastery, the following are known to us. Ergayn village’s famous miraculously built half-ruined monastery, which is from the ninth century; Zémbé’s tomb, the churches of Dzak or Inn (nine in number), Pel Monastery; Forty Youth (Kàrasun Manoug), St. Hòvhann’es, St. Santukhd, St. Tòros, the ruins of the 100 churches of Khakês (Ék`êz, where the Mirakians lived), St. Virgin Mountain (Sourp Goys), Kur`kna [CHECK] Monastery, Potsà Monastery, and Sndam. Even during the most peaceful times, it was rare to have an Armenian or a foreigner passing through from Khuti Dérési to Duzhig Baba’s summit. The Armenians remaining within this impenetrable zone did not dare to ask questions in order to collect information because the Dersim inhabitants already were suspecting that they were collecting secrets about their mysterious land. There is a half-ruined Armenian church to the north of Khêzêl Kìlisé to which the name Ziyaret has been given. And there are many similar ruins of churches and monasteries everywhere. The Dersim inhabitants also have St. Nshan Monastery where Dersim’s uncle (Kèrì), Rùpén Dér Shishmanian, resided with his group [of fighters]. This is the chief place of pilgrimage for the big family of the Kızılbaş. Osgian Nalpantian, a compatriot living in France, has sent us the following interesting information about a new holy place.

In the fall, when I went to Mokhêndi, the sheaves on top of the threshing floors had finished. A last khzim [part] only remained on Ali Mamudents`’s threshing floor which they were thrashing. Straw covered the threshing floor on all sides, and the opening of the roofs. The green leaves in the gardens were covered with straw. The sour shkòk` which was near the threshing floor had ripened. The strings of half-pears hanging from the beams of the roof had taken on the color of honey. Two crows were circling the dried yogurt spread on the roof in order to steal a piece. A woman was cutting very ripe squash from a nearby garden as winter provisions. Ali Mamudents`[CHECK] kosa [beardless?—CHECK] Yusuf ordered his good girl sitting on the threshing board to move the threshing sledge a little. The poor girl had become the color of scorched wheat from the autumn sun. Thrusting the zakhut`ê [CHECK] at the end of the goad into the side of the boro [stubborn?? CHECK] ox after saying ho, come in, she continued the chamo [CHECK] song. When Seyran (this was the girl’s name) saw that the boro ox, having stuck its chin into the malaghmay [Armenian for beaten barley or wheat which is still not winnowed], had halted, she again stopping her song yelled ho, ho…and her voice reached all the way into the interior of the village. Two oxen that had grown old were grazing on the plants that had grown near the threshing floor; a flock of impudent sparrows danced around the oxen. A large stream passed in front of the threshing floor, and on its banks, huge poplar trees were arrayed side by side up until the large mouth of the Bamasur spring. Two huge poplar trees on the two sides of the spring stood with their soaring height as if they were guards for St. Marsoub’s source, which spouted as a blessing out of an opening in a massive rock. This spring was sacred for all kurds, as well as the two popular trees with their existence of many years. Every passing traveler after drinking from the cold water of this spring, would rip off a piece of his clothing and tie it to the branches of the poplars. An old Kurdish tradition says that Bamasur is the distorted name of St. Marsub (St. Mesrob). Many centuries ago, there supposedly was a priest named Marsub (Mesrob) in Mokhêndi village. At that time Mokhêndi was a large city, which is confirmed by the remains all around it and the ruins of five or six churches. Mokhêndi is found seven kilometers to the northwest of Masdan. It is surrounded on three sides by mountains and hills. A noisy stream passes through it, which originates in the high mountains above Shobag. That valley stretches from Mokhêndi towars the east until Isnis village, and there flows into the Perri River. The stream passes in front of Kàrêntzor, Bêlan, Janig, Khodan, and Isnis villages. Along the span of that valley are found many old Armenian memorials, but the main one is in Mokhêndi. There is a hill in the northern quarter of the village which is adorned with over twenty large hazel trees, centuries old. Among the trees is a ruined old Armenian church with half-walls, in front of which crosses the streamlet of the Bamasur spring. According to local seyyids, the name of the last priest of this church was Dér Marsub. This priest was a god- fearing and holy man. As a successor he had his only son. After Dér Marsub died, his son left his run-down house which was next to the church, and went to build a new house for himself in the southern quarter of the village, on the left side of the valley. As St. Marsub’s son, everyone considered it a sacred obligation to come and kiss his hand, as the heir of the saint and thus, himself a holy man. The seyyids say that the name of St. Marsub’s son was Bamasur. His name gradually spread throughout all of Dersim as a holy man. Bamasur with his own hands dug the foundation of a new house and built walls out of stone. In this period of time, there was another saint in Dersim, Saint Kuresh, who carrying out many miracles subjected many tribes to himself, and was recognized as a great religious leader. St. Kuresh, hearing the praises of Bamasur and of his fame, desired to go and personally see this holy man. St. Kuresh went up the mountain, and subduing a bear, rode on top of it; with his followers, he went to see Bamasur. When they reached Mokhêndi village, they saw that Bamasur was busy building the walls of his house. Those around Bamasur announced the arrival of the visiting saint. Bamasur sees St. Kuresh sitting on the bear coming towards him. He struck the wall with the hammer in his hand and commanded that it follows him to meet the guest. It was then that the miracle occurred. The wall, with its stones and dirt, began to walk after Bamasur and crossing the valley reached St. Kuresh. St. Kuresh, noticing the advance of the wall and the rolling of the stones, immediately dismounted and with his followers kissed the hand of Bamasur. He said, “If I was able to subject to me a wild animal with my power, you influenced lifeless, soulless stones, and subjected them to you, so you are a saint, Bamasour, and the saint of saints.” Bamasur’s hearth was founded on this walking wall. Eighty percent of the Kizilbash Kurds worship it, and make oaths by its name. Seyyid Bartali’s son, Seyyid Süleyman, who is a descendant of Bamasur and lives in the same house, related this old tradition to me. One day he called me inside and said: “Come, let me show you St. Bamasur’s right hand and the walking wall. We, all Bamasurtsìs, are descended from him and are his heirs. We all are the progeny of St. Marsub.” Then he opened their cellar, lit a candle placed there, and with great reverence kissed St. Bamasur’s right hand which hung from the wall and was wrapped in black crape. At the same time he showed me Bamasur’s wall, which until today remains wet and damp. “Our forefathers placed their foundation on this wet wall,” he said. I touched the wall and truly confirmed that it was soft like dried dough. The two of us with great reverence kissed the right hand of St. Bamasur and went out. From that date until today, many years have passed and I did not have the opportunity to write down this tradition as a historical proof, with the confession of the seyyids themselves, that they are descended from the Armenians.

Section 11 Relations between Armenians and Kurds

In order to form a clear idea about the relations between the Kurds of Dersim and the Armenians, it is necessary to look at their historical life. When Armenia fell under Ottoman rule in 1514, Sultan Selim I signed a treaty of friendship and alliance with the Kuridsh principalities found in the southern area of Armenia. The Kurd Idris of Bitlis, author of the agreement, persuaded the tribal leaders to sign it. Then Sultan Selim signed and confirmed this treaty, which consists of the following points.

1) All principalities signing this treaty will keep their independence. 2) Rule is hereditary; its transferral will take place in accordance with local laws and the sultan will ratify the legitimacy of the successor through an imperial ferman. 3) The Kurds will take part in all wars of Turkey. 4) Turkey will defend the Kurdish principalities against outside attacks. 5) The Kurds will pay the caliphate traditional religious gifts. [Footnote: The points of this treaty have ben taken from the book The Case of Kurdistan against Turkey (p. 27), published by the Kurdish National Alliance, or Hoyboun (G[arô] Sasuni, Hayrenik` amsakir, November 1929, p. 137)]

The signatories of the abovementioned treaty were those ashiret leaders of the Kurds who were in Jezire, Hakkari, Sghert [Siirt], Diyarbekir, Palu, Kench [Genç], Jabaghchur, and Hazo (southern Sasun), and who were Sunni Muslims. These tribal chiefs, while preserving their principalities, became an important support for the political plans of the Ottomans. The Armenian districts were thus entrusted to these Islamified Kurdish ashirets, during the period of Ottoman rule. They, encouraged by the privileges presented by the Ottoman state, established principalities (derebeyliks) everywhere, and gradually usurped Armenian lands and property, proclaiming themselves the true owners of these regions. The Kizilbash Kurds of Dersim did not participate in the aforementioned Turco- Kurdish treaty, and remained completely independent. The third and fifth articles of the treaty are very telling proofs that Dersim never gave troops to the Ottoman government, nor fought on its side. It also never paid any tribute to the caliphate. Dersim and Bayazid, which were important regions, adopted a completely contrary approach; Dersim in particular always fought against the Turks. The battles of Dersim and in general of the Kizilbash were not for Kurdish independence. They were not very similar to the other Kurds tribally nor in religious doctrines, and fundamentally differed from the Turks, toward whom they were filled with hate. For these reasons too, they more quickly and in greater degree became subject to the merciless blows of the Ottomans. It is possible to explain this truth, in addition to religious difference, through two other tangible reasons. First, the Kizilbash lived in great masses in the provinces of Sepasdia and Kharpert, where they were in direct contact with the Turkish population as a hostile element. Secondly, the Turkish armies, in order to work against the Caucasus and Persia, had as their immediate base the line Sepasdia, Kharpert, Erznga, Erzerum, and Gars. Naturally they would not allow the existence of these rebellious forces there. Dersim, always zealous about its mountainous independence, remained in its borders and did not bear a national character (G[arô]. Sasuni, Hayrenik` amsakir, November 1929, p. 139) It becomes apparent from these historical realities that Dersim, ever since its beginnings, has had its own independent character and has not cooperated with the Kurdish ashiret leaders of other areas. The Kurd of Dersim has come to the steadfast conviction that he can only assure his national existence by keeping and strengthening his independence. As a separate region, the only fundamental ideal of Dersim, inhabited by the homogenous Kizilbash tribal groups of the same faith, has been to struggle and keep its independence. Dersim from 1500 has always fought the Ottoman armies that have attacked it for the sake of conquest. During these battles it has frequently been in difficult circumstances, but Kurdish ashirets in other areas never sent it aid. Consequently, relying solely on its own forces, it has defended its mountain world through unequal battles against much greater enemies. For Dersim, even those Kurdish ashirets living in its immediate vicinity who accepting Turkish rule form part of the Ottoman forces are illegitimate. The former did not dare henceforth to step foot in Dersim. This was the geographical and political situation in Dersim fromancient times until our bloody date, 1915. Under these circumstances, let us examine the extent of the relations between Dersim and the Armenians. Chàrsanjak, an inseparable part of Dersim, was also considered an untrustworthy place where many Kurdish derebeyliks (principalities) subject to the Turkish government had been established. The Armenians of Chàrsanjak, subject to the constant oppression of the Turkish government and the derebeys, lived as captives and had no possibility of thinking about themselves. Dersim did not have the time to concern itself with this condition of the Armenians, since it too was subject to continual attack. The people of Dersim only entered the chief places of Chàrsanjak during times of peace in order to buy their necessities. Reciprocally, te Armenians of Chàrsanjak could go on personal business to Dersim only during those times when there were no fights between the Turks and the Dersim inhabitants. These trade relations between the Armenians and the Dersim inhabitants increased over time. After the 1895 plunder, the craftsmen and merchants of Perri, Medzgerd, and Pertag, who had lost all their wealth, were able in a short period of time restore their economies, thanks to their trade with Dersim. The Dersim people had unreserved sympathy and great trust in the Armenians. They conducted all their trade with the Armenians. They believed in their word and honesty. They regarded the Armenian as their relative, neighbor, and true friend. They helped him and accepted him inside their home as a member of their household. Armenian artisans or tradesmen would travel for three or four months straight through the large and small villages scattered through the mountain land of Dersim, and freely went about their work. The Kureshantsì seyyids would provide special guides to these Armenians so that they would not be subject to robbery and harm on their journeys. The Dersim people were good customers and very honorable payers. Not only did they not bargain with the Armenians, but even would pay extra, and they would honor their debts. Just as every fifteen to twenty years, they would descend to Chàrsanjak and without exception plunder village and city, and then ascend to the mountains, the yalso without counting or bargaining would buy goods from the Armenians, insuring great profits for the latter. The trade between the Dersim people and Armenians, without exception was conducted through exchange. The Dersim people did not pay money for purchases. Let us explain through an example. A customer from Dersim would present himself to an Armenian merchant in the spring in order to purchase the clothing, shoes, thread, and needle necessary for his family—in short, all their needs. He would leave, carrying the packages, on the condition that he would pay their equivalent value in the fall. He would neither ask for a bill, nor would he keep the amount of his debt in his mind, as he was certain that what he had to pay was registered in the notebook of the merchant. In the fall, the Armenian merchant would come to Dersim with his notebook, present himself to his customer, and in accordance with his figures, take oil, sheep, goats, walnuts, skins, and so forth. The merchant personally would decide the prices, and the account would be closed when the Armenian merchant had received the amount of things he wanted and said, “Kìrva [rough equivalent of godfather], you have paid your debt and do not owe anything.” There was also a different way of trade The Armenian merchant, with his goods loaded on a beast of burden, would go to Dersim (always in the spring) in order to sell them. He would give one package (top) to the Kurd of Dersim worth twenty kurush, and would receive its equivalent value through five kids (young goats) worth four kurush each. After this transaction was concluded, the Armenian merchant would leave the kids with the Kurd and say, “Keep them until the fall with you. In the fall I will return and take them.” The Kurd would accept this gladly and take them with his herd for grazing. The Armenian merchant would come in autumn to Dersim and in place of the newborn kids take four grown and fattened chèpìcis [year-old goats], whose value had increased to 80 kurush (4 x 20). There is no basis in calling such trade exploitation because the Kurd of Dersim and the Armenian merchant both conscientiously close their accounts. The Dersim Kurd gave the Armenian little by little, with the future goal of taking everything away from him at once. The Armenian in turn gave all he possessed to the Kurd, with the confidence that he would gradually be able to win it back. This was the trade relationship of the Armenian and the Kurd. No other way was possible, as if to balance the economy of people living in this environment. Plundering and robbery were the “halal [lawful] rights” of the Kurd, against which the Armenian did not protest, since that protest was completely useless and without result. After a period of plunder, many Armenian merchants when they went to Dersim would see in the home of their Kurdish customer their own home furnishings. However they would not make any comment, but would just continue their trade. The Kurd would praise this noble attitude of the Armenian through his generous payments. Thanks to this unique way of trade, the Kurds of Dersim and the Armenians became familiar and friends with one another. A kìrvayutìwn (godfathership) was established between Armenians and Dersim inhabitants. For the Dersim inhabitant, this was a sacred symbol of unfeigned love, dedication, and perpetual friendship, to which they would remain true until death; and they would leave a will to their children in order to keep that sacred oath. It is worth recalling a sad page of lived life about this. In the spring of 1919, I went from Kharpert to Perri with my family. We were six people. It was a year of hunger. Perri was in ruins, the Turks hungry, and the fields were uncultivated and desolate. The last bread made of glgl [CHECK type] had become bits of sands in the package. My younger brothers and my sister were crying. My mother had turned into a skeleton. There was nothing more to eat. The Turkish neighbors also had nothing to eat. We saw many, many people in the streets dying from hunger. We too were almost approaching their condition. Our Turkish neighbor, Arif Efendi (one of the immigrants from Vartô), mounted his horse to leave for Khràn. I asked him to take me with him. He agreed to my wish. I ran behind the horse. Leaving Perri we reached the village of Khushin. My legs were trembling, not from weariness but from hunger. I followed silently. On the ruins of Khushin village, covered in rags and with the appearance of a monk, a man-like mass appeared with hair and beard intertwined. Pulling the reins of the horse, Arif Efendi bent down and said, “This man is Jemal [Cemal] Beg of Khushin.” My body prickled at the presence of this monster. We quickly crossed and went away, reaching a little valley. At the spring, I shared my fellow traveler’s barley bread. I grew strong again and ascended the upwards incline of the road in bounds. Behold the Kurdish village of Blan appeared, which was the entrance to Dersim. I remembered our Kìrvay Mamô of Blan, with his innocent face and thick beard. If only he was alive and was in the village. I would recognize him. The barking of the dogs, the assembling of the ragamuffins—we were in front of the village. With my poor Kurdish, I asked a Kurdish woman staying before a low house Malé Mamon (Mamô’s house). She led me to the neighboring second door, and we went up stone stairs. The woman called; a woman and a girl came out. I asked them for Kìrvay Mamon, while they wanted to ascertain my identity. “Éz lavé Sarkis êm {I am the son of Sarkis},” I responded. The woman, transformed, rushed inside and I saw from the crack of the door Kìrvay Mamô’s shining face and good beard. Kìrvay Mamô, his wife, and daughter surrounded me at the hearth. I do not intend to describe the crying and lamentation, the compassion and tenderness, Kìrvay Mamô’s wife striking her knees and wailing, nor Arif Efendi’s human feelings, standing in one corner of the house and sobbing bitterly, the expressions of silent sorrow. I was in a safe house. I drank tears with butter and honey. I thought of my close ones who had no food. I must hurry. Kìrva Mamô spoke of the debts he owed us. He gave the names of those who were in debt to my father. But I had not come to collect. I wanted to first go to Mokhêndi village. There too I had a big kìrva known to me, Kìrva Mk`ô. The next morning with Kìrvay Mamô’s in-law I left for Mokhêndi. I found that old man who hugged me, kissed my head, and sobbed, saying, “lavé Sarkis, lavé brayé mên.” He asked about those surviving. Old and young assembled in Kìrvay Mk`ô’s house. Voices are raised in anger and rage. The Kurds assembled around me look at me, feel sorry, and have compassion for me. I resolved to return to Perri as soon as possible. I thought how hungry my loved ones had remained during the two days of separation. After promising a second time to return, I said goodbye to all and went towards Blan, with a native accompanying me for security. Three asses walked in front of us which were loaded with sacks (çuval) of wheat. I did not know anything about the contents. Kìrvay Mkò had arranged it. At noon, we were already in front of Kìrvay Mamô’s house. I did not want to go up so that I would arrive as soon as possible in Perri. Good people understand the agitation of a friend’s heart. Kìrva Mamô’s two asses were also loaded, as temporary aid. I set off in the evening on the road in the company of two armed Kurds. My heart throbbed with boundless happiness. We had ten sacks of food—without a doubt flour, wheat or barley. Perhaps one year’s provisions…a world of wealth. But when will we reach Perri? Dersim’s asses, though small, were tough and rapid. I asked the Kurds accompanying me to drive rapidly and rush, especially because I wanted to reach home at night so that our caravan was not seen by the eyes of hungry Turks. We crossed by villages and entered Perri at night. There was nobody about. We came in front of our poor house. My sleepless mother, watching over the sound of the wind opened the door. I begged her to suppress her crying and remain silent. We very quickly piled the loads in a dark corner of the house. Thank God, my brothers and sister are alive! The Kurds accompanying me immediately returned to their village. My mother, confused, in a half-crazed state, rubbed her hands to the wall and her face, and raised them to the sky. Life and death…how close they are to each other. I untied the sewn bags in order to awaken my sister and brothers and display in front of their eyes the life- giving provisions. Behold bread baked on a flat iron, oil, walnuts, flour, honey…I did not continue. I left the other novelties for the next day. First it was necessary to wake up my family members dreaming of bread, and give to them with bread both butter and honey. I asked with fear inside to my mother, “Should I wake them? Might they not go crazy? Will they believe?” My mother one by one caressed their faces. “Get up, your borther has come. What things he has brought you!” They looked with pale and languid eyes at my mother and then at me, their eyes staring. The bread in my hand shook and fell into their laps. But I at that moment, turned towards the sacks, wipe my eyes in order not to see the hungry children of a satiated clan in this condition, and the miracle of the bread. This is one example of the friendship, kìrvayutìwn, Armenophilia, nobility, and humanitarianism of the Kurds of Dersim, thanks to which our family was saved. All those who have become friends with the Dersim people or lived with them, are convinced of their sincerity and friendship. If the Dersim people were not able during the Armenian massacres to play a redemptive role or defend us with armed force, at least during the calamity and afterwards they provided the safe house of a friend and food to the Armenians who cut through the Turkish zone and reached Dersim from the Armenian provinces. In 1915-18, the number of Armenians who were saved in Dersim exceeded twenty thousand. They crossed safely through Erznga to Armenia. The friendly relations between the Dersim Kurds and Armenians increased daily, so that after 1918 they could have resulted in a joint agreement for national liberation. Unfortunately the array of political events and contemporary work did not succeed in creating mutual understanding for these two peoples subject to similar fates. Armenian revolutionary and political leaders seldom dealt with Dersim and did not understand the exceptional importance of promoting cooperatin with it. Thorugh a military agreement between Dersim and the Armenians it would have been possible to save Erznga, K`ghi, Palu, Perri, Kharpert, Ch`mshgadzak, Agn, Arapgir, and Medzgerd, since the majority of the population of these regions were Armenians and Kurds. The isolated position of Dersim and the shortsightedness of the Armenians led both to disaster. It was after seeing the 1915 massacre of Armenians that Dersim realized the great historical mistake it made, when it closed its eyes during the slaughter of the Armenians. In 1915-16, though Dersim woke up and wanted to prevent the execution of its own death sentence too, and descended gun in hand from Medzgerd to Kharpert, it was too late already. L[evon]. Liwléjian writes the following about these revolutionary motivating forces.

The Armenians who took refuge in Dersim in 1915-16 were able to move the Kurd to revenge. The Armenian was able to win the Kurd over for a new revolution. The Kurdish aghas began to send seyyids to the regions of Aghjadagh, Sivas, Dikranagerd [Diyarbekir], and Palu, and to Erznga under the pretext of collecting a tax or tribute for light (for wax or oil). This internal secret propaganda continued until one of the seyyids was captured in Gürün and hanged. The chief role in this Kurdish movement was played by the late Professor G[arabed]. Luléjian, together with Mr. Sarkis Yazêjian and the late Mr. Vahram Dér Manuélian, who were aided by Hmayeag Dér Manuélian, Misak` Ghazarian, Setrag Ghazarian, and others. After this general revolution, the Kurds of Dersim expelled from their midst and killed the mayor of Medzgerd, and pillaged the government and military buildings and barracks of Pàkh, Kzêl Kìlisé, Ôvajugh, Perri, Pertag, and Chàrsanjak, spreading fear among the Turks of the regions of Kharpert, Palu, Agn, Arapgir, and Ch`mshgadzak. (L[evon]. Liwléjian, “Hay ew Kìwrd hàraperutìwn,” Baykàr (Boston), March 15, 1923)

The expedition that the Dersim people began on March 30, 1916 halted at Kharpert. On April 23, 1916, the Turkish Thirteenth Army counterattacked the Dersim inhabitants under the command of Colonel Shevket. The Kurdish fighting force retreated to the mountains of Dersim. On June 11, 1916, the Russian army, together with an Armenian volunteer regiment, occupied Erznga. In 1918, the commander of the Armenian regiment, Murad of Govdun, after consulting with the people of Dersim, worked to establish Armeno- Kurdish cooperation. In this period, a large number of armenains were brought to Erznga with the aid of the Dersim inhabitants thanks to the “one Armenian, one gold [coin]” fund established by Murad and Sebuh. Armenian-Kurdish collaboration failed due to the differences in viewpoint of the Kurds and Murad Pasha. According to Kurdish sources, Murad pasha supposedly defended the principle of United Independent Armenia without reference to Kurdistan. The last movements of Dersim began in 1925 led by Sheikh Said, who on September 4, 1925 together with 47 tribal chiefs was hanged in Diyarbekir. In the spring of 1930 the Dersim Kurds [Footnote: It is possible to see the words Kùrt, Kìwrd, and Kùrd with these three spellings [with the corresponding Armenian letters in the original, of course] in this volume, in order to respect the manner preferred and used by each author. In our own use, we have kept the spelling Kùrt, which correspondences to our region’s dialect and ways of use.] led by Seyyid Riza went on the attack against the Turkish troops of Erznga and Erzerum. In 1937, the Turkish army and air force attacked Dersim. On September 5, 1937, Seyyid Riza was treacherously arrested and taken to Erznga, whence he was sent to Mamüret-ül-Aziz, to a court-martial. He was sentenced to death and hanged in the Buğday Square of Mezre. In September 1938, the resistance of Dersim was broken and the Turkish army finally occupied Dersim.

Part Four Administrative Divisions

Dersim, after falling under Ottoman control, was subject to various administrative divisions. In the early periods, Ch`arsanjak was governed by a hükümet, a principality controlled by autonomous Kurdish feudal lords. In this period, it was accountable neither to the Ottoman government nor to the sultans. With the establishment of the Diyarbekir pashalık, Ch`arsanjak remained for a long time a part of this province. In 1878, with the goal of changing the political status quo in Dersim, the sultan ordered that Dersim province be made part of Kharpert (Mamuret-ül-Aziz) province, and the following situation was created.

1) Dersim district, with its capital at Khôzat`, composed a mutasarrıflık (liva). Its subordinate subdistricts or kazas (kaymakamlık) are: 1) Chàrsanjak, with Perri as its capital 2) Medzgerd, with Medzgerd as its capital 3) Khêzêl Kìlisé, capital Khêzêl Kìlis’e 4) Ch`mshgadzak, capital Ch`mshgadzak 5) Pàkh, capital Pàkh 6) Ôvajugh, capital Zerenig 7) Khuzuchan, capital Altùn Hiwseyin [Altın Hüseyın]

2) Khôzat` mutasarraflık has the following villages: Ênjghag, Aghzunig, Sakédig, P`ayég, Ergan, Zampegh, Tashdag, Sin, and Halvori.

3) Medzgerd kaymakamlık (Medzgerd itself being a town or kasaba) contains the following villages: Lazvan, Tarmutagh, Dilan Ôghli, Dana Buran, T`urushm’eg, Shordan, Karmsi, Khoznkegh, Ch`ukhur, Hakêz, Lamk`, Masdan, and Markhoy.

4) Perri kaymakamlık (Perri itself being a kasaba) contains the following villages: Paghnik`, Khushin, Tìl, Séyitli, Ghayachì, Ayvat`li, Tzorag, Kodarij, Urtz, Khurshin, Khushna Mrzan, Basu, Ghuzuljugh, Géôk` T`ép’é, Gorjan, Ismayiltsìk`, Hoshé, Déng, Vasgerd, Pashaghag, Ahg-Mezré, Verin [Upper] Urìg, Mérjimég [Mercimek], Nor Kegh, Vari [Lower] Havség, Veri Khajar, Vari Khajar, Lusadarij, Lal Haydar, Khr`nég, Shamtsìk`, Gadosan, Sêmagh, Ghazan Déré, Jafêkan, Zéri, Chàlkhadan, Démirchìn, Sallar, and Khaléndér.

5) Pertag nahiye or müdürlük (commune) contains the villages of T`il, Vaynay, Saghman, and Av Shak`ar.

The subdistricts of Chàrsanjak, Medzgerd, Ch`mshgadzak, and Terchan were subject to the government or paid taxes. The remainder, Khôzat`, Khêzêl Kìlisé, Pàkh, Ôvajugh, Khuzuchàn, and Aghkàn were considered half-subjected, because the government was unable to enforce the law over that rebellious Kurdish population and many times encountered great difficulties. For this reason, the law in these towns (kasabas) was nominal. Chàrsanjak had three centers of government: Perri, Medzgerd, and Pertag. The town of Saghman or Sahman, which a long time ago used to have a large population and sometimes was the capital of a kaymakamlık, became an unimportant village subject to the nahiye of Pertag. Perri and Medzgerd, surrounded by villages with many Armenians, until the end preserved their status as administrative centers.

Section 1 The Condition of Courts

Perri as the headquarters (kasaba) of a kaymakamlık, had its administrative council (Meclis-i İdare), in which participated, in accordance with the Ottoman constitution, two Armenian members, one of whom being a cleric (the local prelate), and the other, a layman. It also had a court of first instance (bidayet mahkemesi), whose activities were very limited due to the following reasons: 1) The court was under the powerful influence of the begs and aghas, and so was not free to issue judgements in accordance with the law; 2) The people of Ch`arsanjak were deprived of the possibility of applying to court. For example, if the wronged party was an Armenian villager, he could not even dream of applying to the court to protect his rights against the agha or his men. He knew too well that not only would he not receive his right, but he would be subjected to even greater calamities. The aghas and begs had no need in any case to apply to the court in order to solve any matter with an Armenian villager or merchant. Under such conditions, the existence of the court was superfluous and pointless, as it was unable under the obstruction of the feudal lords to issue verdicts. Even if the court wanted to, it could not issue a favorable verdict to any Armenian in a case. And when Armenians had a problem among themselves and applied to the court, the side whose agha was more influential would win. It must be said that this situation was very rare. This court practically remained uninformed concerning criminal matters if an Armenian would be killed in any village or road. It would not conduct any investigation concerning such matters, even if the identity of the criminal (of course a Turk or Kurd) were known. As far as the matter of the numerous mercenary Kurds killed during the frequent and bloody battles between the begs and aghas of Ch`arsanjak, the government never interested itself and remained as an observer, preserving its neutral attitude. No pursuit or arrest of thieves and bandits took place, so that Perri’s bidayet mahkemesi always remained idle and Perri’s prison was always empty.

CONTINUED from p. 149 In Perri, one or two battalions of troops (zaptiye [gendarmes]) headed by a major had no other work to do than to collect government taxes from Armenian villages and Armenian villagers. Ch`arsanjak, a stage for the deprivation of rights, forcible seizure, crime, robbery, and one thousand and one oppressions, had unending matters to be presented to justice and the law, for the solution of which ten courts were necessary. However the reality was that the “turbaned judge” of Perri would get bored with sitting under the shade of the twin poplar trees next to the Miwséllé rock in the Perri market.

Section 2 Perri

Physical Location

Perri extends over the sides of two hillocks in the southeastern part of Ch`arsanjak, and with approximately 800 houses, is a city endowed with natural beauty. To its north rises the mountain of Arkhaj. The eastern side has a broad horizon, which includes the panorama from the fortress of T`il to Hoshé village. On the south, there is a fairly extensive, fertile plain whose border is delineated by the Perri River. On the other side of the river immediately rises the Démirchin mountain chain, which extends from east to west. The western side, very big, ends with a view of vineyards and gardens. Perri, being the capital of a kaymakamlık, and at the same time the site of a prelacy, forms a center of economic and [Armenian] national life.

Its Name

The task of ascertaining the origin of the name of Perri takes us to the period of the Armenian kingdoms of the realm of Dzop`k`. The well known geographer-historian Hübschmann writes, “During the period of Byzantine rule, the Armenian lands were subjected to a new division in 536—First, Second, Third, and Fourth Armenias. Of these, Fourth Armenia, which chiefly was found in the arch formed by the Euphrates and Aradzani, was called Land of the Nations by the Romans, probably for its mixed population. Fourth Armenia, which was a completely new division, consisted of the areas of Khôzat`, Perri, and Dérsim, with mixed populations.” Therefore, if Perri was remembered as an important region during the period of formation of Fourth Armenia (in A.D. 536), it must be concluded that its existence arose in very old periods. Perri’s name is purely Armenian. This name was given to our region for its “perri [fertile]” soil. As the river was also endowed with life-giving properties, it bore the same name. The people, turning it to a popular saying, often repeated, “If you sow men in Perri’s summer, they will sprout.” There is also a type of legendary tradition about Perri’s name. We Armenians called it Perri, while the Turks called it P`éri. In ancient pagan times, when the belief in spirits had deep roots, the worship of good and evil spirits had appeared. The appellations jin, p`éri, élk`, ézhdahar, Mezmé Aghégner come from those days, and they left a certain influence on the people. P’éri, according to some, was the center of the good spirits. This interpretation does not seem probable and real, since the Armenian names of many villages in the immediate neighborhood of Perri, such as Paghnik`, Tzorag, Lusadarij, Surp Loys, and Vasgerd, were pronounced in the same fashion by the Turks. By this it is supposed that Perri’s name and its formation have been Armenian. Perri’s Turks have written and prounced it as P`éri, because with Arabic letters it is not possible to write Perri in [Ottoman] Turkish, and it is read P`éri through pronounciation of its letters. And if Armenians have used the corrupted form “P`érin g’ertàm [I go to P’éri], Perna gukam [I come to P’éri],” it is for ease of pronunciation. For the Chàrsanjak inhabitants, the form “Perri g’ert’am, Perrién gukam,” is difficult. The people always became accustomed to and used the easy and practical way. For example, the villagers have preferred to call Garabed [a personal name], Garô or Grbô; Khachàdur, Khach`ô, and so forth. Perhaps the shortening of polysyllabic words is a way of saving time. Thus without prolonged research we can confidently and definitely say that the city of Perri was built by Armenians and the name was baptized as Perri, an Armenian name.

Topography

The position and form of Perri city resembles a saddle which has its heights in the east and the west. The center is formed by a fairly big and flat middle, whose sides descend from the north towards Dôn Spring, and from the south, from the quarters of Êr`êsul Spring to Anbar Spring. The city begins from the last place of descent of Arkhaj Mountain. From Gol Spring to Gamar Spring is a downhill slope. The city center begins from the market until the meeting place. After this an uphill slope begins which continues until the Armenian church and the prelacy. The northwestern part of the city, which is the side of Arkhaj, descends towards K`[???]. valley, until the end of Hoghtar Mountain, where the Khraj road towards the west begins. Perri’s flat plain opens at the southern part, at the end of threshing floors and vegetable gardens. At the eastern part, the downhill slope begins from the heights of the prelacy until Khorshug Spring and the valley of the Kharaba mill, and descends towards the river after the facing hill. The valley of the Kharaba mill continues nothrward until the western side of the new cemetery, and ends near the Dôn Spring. (See Perri’s topographical map.) Perri, with its elevated position, has a very beautiful panorama around it. There are cultivated fields on both sides of the northeastern Paghnik` road, which are interrupted by the Sep` Déré and Méléin valleys, where there are numerous gardens and vineyards.

Hydrography

Gol Spring is at the northern part of Perri. It originates in the Arkhaj mountains and has the coldest and most pure water. As it is fairly distant from the city, the Armenians could not frequently use it. The biggest spring of Perri is the Gamar Fountain, which was built at the end of the market. It flowed through three pipes. It was cold and copiously flowing, enough to satisfy the population. A large basin was built in front of it for the animals. During the summer, while waiting in line for it, sometimes fights would break out and and large and small pitchers would be broken on heads. The water of the Gamar Spring flowed through the market in three divisions. One part descended towards the potters’ quarter; a second straight through the middle of the market until Anbar Spring and the vegetable gardens; and the third, from the rock of Miwséllé towards the center of the city, deviating in the direction of the Dôn Spring.

[a poem by S. Puchigian, “To Gamar Spring,” pp. 153-154, was omitted]

Êrêsul Spring (the quarter of the threshing floors): It originated under the house of the Erevanians from the middle of a white rock. It was distributed with two pipes, but because the water was scanty, it was insufficient for the population of the quarter. For this reason, we often were witness to battles of pitchers. Anbar Spring: It was a vaulted old spring. Its water was very seldom used and was not very clean. Khorshug Spring: It originated at the eastern downhill slope of the prelacy. It had a slightly salty taste and was almost never used for drinking, but was used for washing and the needs of animals. Khorshug Spring had the attribute of cleaning clothing and whitening them, but it would swell the bellies of animals. Dôn Spring (at the northern part of Perri): Though the water was plentiful, it was almost never used for drinking because it was both lukewarm and unhealthy. The water of this spring too was used for washing, animals, and also the needs of the tanneries of Perri. Aside from these springs of the city, there were numerous large and small sources of water in gardens and vineyards. All were left uncared for. Among these sources in the vineyards the Noroyents` Spring was famous. It was called this because it sprang from the lands belonging to the clan of the same name. It had a narrow path in a small valley, with vineyards on both sides and surrounded by willows, and bushes of dog rose and wild roses. The spring flowed forth from a source at ground level, with a small stone door. It was necessary to lie down on the ground in order to be able to drink the water. In front of it a pool or small lake formed in a ditch full of green grasses, moss, and unavoidable frogs. The dense set of trees on both sides assured shade during the heat of the summer. The water of the Noroyents` spring had curative qualities. Those who had chills (fever) would swim in its waters to be cured. For this reason it was known by the masses as “Togh [Shiver or Chills]” Spring. To the right side of the spring was a pr`inch` [see above] tree, on whose very branch colorful strips from various clothes were tied, forming a many colored image to the eye of the observer. These colorful rags were tied by those who had been cured, as a tribute of gratitude to the spring and to God who made the latter flow, thanks to whom their sickness was cured and their former state of health recovered. This superstitious mentality and such acts were more prevalent among Muslims. There were sources of pure and cold water in Garmir [Red] Monastery, Arkhaj, Sép` Déré, Gagô Déré, and other regions, which often were called by the names of the owners of the land where they were located.

Roads

The road in the western part of Perri, which led to the vineyards and gardens, was the most frequented. With this path one could travel towards Zéri, Vasgerd, Pashaghag, Pertag, and Kharpert. The second chief road was that of northern Paghnik`, which divided after the villages of Paghnik` and Khushi, and [with one arm] reached Tzorag, Khayach`in, Masdan, R`êchig, and Baghin. The other arm went to Blan and Dersim. This was the road used for trade. A different route at the northwest went by the Turk’s tombs towards the areas of Ismayil, Géôk` T’ép`é, and Medzgerd. From the east, Hoshé’s road went by the Kharaba water mill. One arm of it, corssing the reiver, went towards Hoshé, Déng, Jafêkan, and Bulanêk, while the other arm went to Ch`alkhadan, Sallar, Démirchin, Khazan Déré, It` Yôkushu, and Aradzani. This road was taken to Kharpert only in the summer, when the water of the river was less and a crossing formed for travelers.

Vineyards and Gardens

As Perri’s vineyars were well tended and cultivated, the grape harvest was fully sufficient for the needs of the city. The most dense and extensive part of the vineyards were at the two sides of the Khràj road, about one quarter hour journey from the city. The first vineyards belonged to the beg of Perri (Aghayents` Ékin), and it was famous for its various types of grape vines and natural beauty. The types of grapes in the Aghaeyents` Ékin, Aghbênk`éri, R’éng, Khatùn, and Barmagh, were superior to those found in the other vineyards. There is no need to say that those who took care of that vineyard, dug, pruned, and cultivated, were the Armenian marabas of the beg. They performed these services without payment, for a bit of bread, as the price of keeping alive the lord of the land, which was the natural arrangement of God, the lord of the heavens. Oposite the Aghayents` Ékin on the other side of the road, was the vineyard of Perri’s brave shepherd Dér Krikor kàhanay Mazmanian (“Khuri Bég”), which was also large and very well cultivated. These two great vineyards formed the beginning of a group of large and small vineyards on two or three kilometers along both sides of the road, which all, with one or two exceptions, belonged to Armenians. At the end of the vineyards, near Zéri village, were the vineyard and garden of Chàrokhents` (Turks). This road stretching on the west of the city, being formed of a fairly wide and naturally hard layer of sand, left the impression of the asphalt roads of present times, and comparatively was more comfortable. Wagons and carts could easily go on it, giving thanks not only to the authorities that built it, but also to nature. The two sides of the road were lined with stones one and one half meters high. In the spring an impenetrable barricade was formed from the thick branches of hazel trees, giving the appearance of a tree-lined boulevard, in order to prevent entry into the vineyards. There were no fences or barriers determining borders between neighboring vineyards. Each property was separated from the other only by a row of single stones. Each vineyard contained within it fruitbearing trees bearing almonds, apricots, prìnch`s, apples, plums, and pears. Huts were also built in the most appropriate places for habitation. In some vineyards it was possible to encounter [CHECK hntzan if had press] grape-treading floors and springs. The left edge of the vineyards, beginning with the Aghayents` vineyard, began to widen towards the banks of the river, where mulberry groves began, until close to Zéri. The right bank, beginning with Khuri Beg’s vineyard, rose towards the north, towards the mountainside, where a wonderful natural picture was formed. This chain of vineyards and gardens ended with Chàrokhents` baghchà [bahçe means garden in Turkish]. Fairly distant from it, towards the north, the gardens and vineyards of Gagô Déré lay between two hills. As some of them belonged to Turks, the Armenians were always very careful in these areas. In the northern part of Perri, on the Gol Spring road, Arkhaj’s vineyards and gardens extended over a large territory. The apricot of these gardens was famous. In this area, there were also good vineyards around Kèk`lig Pùkhar (Partridge Spring). Sép` Déré was on the Paghnik` road, after the valley of Méléyin and near Basun village. The vineyards and gardens of this place were similarly well cultivated and all were the property of Armenians. They had very abundant mulberries, grapes, apricots, apples, and other tasty fruits.

Viticulture

The fruits of the gardens and vineyards of Perri played a very important role in the economy of the city’s population. The owners of these properties, after they and their families ate to satiety in the summer and fall, stored plentiful supplies for the winter by preparing wine, brandy, basdegh [fruit roll-up], ròjig [ropes of walnuts suspended in condensed grape juice], rùb [fruit syrup], t`tàlir [ground mulberries made into flour], raisons, and khorà [CHECK], and filled up khzéns (pantries) and casks with them. Every Perri resident had his garden and vineyard, and many possessed more than one of each. Work in Perri’s vineyards began in the first week of March—ach`k` panal, gêyrel, sérp’iné zarnel, and digging.We present to our respected readers the most important of these sweet memories of activities of bygone days of the homeland. Ach`k` panal: At the end of autumn, when the vineyards have been harvested and all work finishes, by pulling out the sérpìnés [see below] from the earth, they lay the vines on the surface of the soil lengthwise, and place a heavy stone on each in the middle, so that it does not get cold in the winter [Footnote: This activity, which takes place at the end of autumn, is called ékin échêts`nel {literally, “taking down the vineyard”}. In the first days of spring, these stones are placed to one side, and they dig a deep and wide hole around the vine’s “nest.” This is called ach`k` panal. This round hole is filled with the leaves that fell in autumn. The roots of the vine receive its reserve of water in the summer from this. The work of ach`k` panal begins practically the same day. This is the first expedition of the Perri inhabitants to the bosom of nature—to the vineyards and gardens. Led by an elder, the young workers, carrying spade and hoe, set off group by group on their way with boundless happiness, intending to love and caress their fruitgiving trees and vines, and the soil that gives them life. They murmur one more time “pàr`k` kez Dér [Glory to You Lord]” for having kept themselves and their families alive. Oh for those blessed days, which upset us today with their memories and thorns in foreign countries far from our natural world and its bliss. Ékin gêyrel: In the middle of March, the time for pruning the vineyard comes, which is called ékin gêyrel. Experienced vineyard workers carefully watch the growth of the grapevines. The time of ékin gêyrel is dependent on weather conditions. It must neither be early or late because God and men are forgiving, but nature is not. In the case of early pruning, the cut part will get cold from cold air currents, while if too late, the branches will open. This activity is very important for energizing the vine and assuring an abundant crop. For this reason work is always done with the advice and leadership of the experienced. First it is necessary to distinguish the useful branch from the useless one, and only remove those branches which are considered superfluous. A mistake can cause great loss to the vineyard worker. Generally vineyard owners must become expert in this work, for the sake of their own profit. As for incapable owners, they are obliged to take advantage of good neighbors or pay specialists to work; otherwise they will endure losses. There were specially made gelujs (small pruning knives), prepared by the ironworkers of Perri. During the latest years, compatriots returning from America would bring back with them beautiful pruning shears, with which branches could be cut more easily and better. Sérpìné zarnel. After pruning the vineyard the work begins. The sérpìnéyel [trellis making??CHECK] was done with one- to one-and-one-half-meter-long hazel or poplar canes which served as a base for the grapevine’s new branches, after being thrust one tìz [nine inches] into the earth so that the bunches of grapes would not be damaged by touching the ground, and would grow rapidly. When the vineyard was covered with green leaves and the grapes ripened, the grapevine resembled a sort of small hut. Survivors recall of course the happiness of lying on one’s back and eating grapes under large grapevines. Digging: After pruning and staking, in the month of May they dig in the vineyard with long spades with sharp sides so that the thorns and weeds around the root are pulled out. In this way, the work in the vineyards is concluded until the fall. The owner of the vineyard, or, more accurately, the lady of the house, visits the vineyard to collect tender green leaves, called t’évégs. Naughty boys and girls secretly collect unripe or sour grapes and eat them. We said they collected them secretly because first, eating unripe fruits is unhealthy, and secondly, until the grapes are blessed on the feast day of the Holy Mother of God, eating them is considered a mortal sin by the traditionalist, pious public. Types of Grapes: There are thirty types of grapes, of which we only recall the chief ones here in order to make our compatriots’ mouths water and to make a special place in this history of our region for them: Aghbênkèri, Khatùn Barmaghi, Tghmug, R`éng, Éôkìwz Géôzliw, Khach`goz, Kàchper, Goghosgray, Chàmchùg, Khr`chi`g, Shak`rug, Leghemrig, Shilféné, Jermag Khaghogh, Hévéngi Khaghogh, and Marzumay. The latter is kept for winter. From these, the Aghbênk`éri, R`éng, Ttmug, Khatùn Barmaghi, and Ch`mchug varieties would ripen early, and so quickly would also run out. Each vineyard would not have more than five to ten vines of these varieties. In general Kàch`per and Goghosgray would be used to fill casks of wine, and for basdegh, ròjig, and rùb. Kàch`per was watery, while Goghosgray had a thick skin and was a little pòtùg [CHECK], which was very appropriate for the preparation of wine. They called large bunches of grapes goz, and small ones klig.

Life in the Vineyards

When the work of ach`k` panal, gêyrel, sérp`ineyél, and digging was completed and when the fences of the vineyards were already prepared with mud and branches, then the large hut of the vineyard guard or baghbanch`i, which has the form of a square room. It is built of branches and pozgeg [CHECK] plants. The vineyard guard was chosen from brave and fearless men. He would have permission to bear a gun in order to guard well. The watchman in our days was Marsub Aghpar [“Brother Marsub”], whom the Turks called Mama Marsub. He was a courageous, kind, and good man. It was sufficient for him to call from his high hut, “Hey, who has entered this vineyard?” If the subject dawdled there and revealed the thought of stealing, Marsub Aghpar’s frightening voice would roar once again and then he would attack like Ézrayél. Woe to the man who would fall into his hands. For this reason, Marsub Aghpar’s first warning would always be heeded, and the people being subjected to the tribulation of stealing fruit would seek holes to hide. The vineyard owners created legends, mouth to mouth, of his power, speed, and terror. They related with ardor the beating (dayakh) that this or that one suffered. Even the Kurds feared him. How many, many people had after being subject to his blows sworn to remain distant from the vineyards subject to his supervision. Armenians would would very seldom be caught in this crime, and that was not in order to steal grapes but in pursuit of a pleasure. Marsub Aghpar would not close his eyes to such people but would impartially carry out his office, calling them to order. If they did not obey, they would be brought to their parents with hands tied.

Marsub Aghpar

Marsub Aghpar was the watchman or guard (baghbanchì) for the vineyards and gardens of Perri’s Khraj. We present the memoirs of our compatriot Kévork Tàtòyan, living now in America, about him.

The Perri inhabitants had chosen him as guard because the vineyards and gardens were separated by a well traveled road. Villagers coming from the south had to pass by that road, on both sides of which were the gardens and vineyards. Thos evillagers, Armenians, Kurds, or Turks, were bringing the products of their dialy or weekly labor loaded on asses and mules to Perri’s square in order to sell or exchange them and carry out their own purchases. On the way back, frequently they would enter the vineyards and fill up their bags with grapes. For this reason, Marsub Aghpar had built his shelter (hut) on a hillock from which it was possible to watch the events of the road. One day, we saw with our own eyes Marsub Aghpar holding a Kurd by the collar when the latter was preparing to exit the vineyaqrd with bags full of grapes. The captive pleaded to be let free, promising a load of wood. Marsub Aghpar threatened to take him to the police station. Finally the former’s companions interceded and stood as guarantors that the Kurdish thief would never set foot again in that vineyard. Marsub Agha struck the Kurd a blow of a cane on his back and then permitted him to leave, threatening that the next time he would break the cane on the thief’s back if he did the same thing again. One Sunday, we had agreed to meet with several friends in the garden of one of our best friends, Baghdasar Holopigian, which was found at the bank of the Perri River. The majority of the gardens and vineyards around Khraj were at the bank of the Perri River. The Perri inhabitants in summertime would frequently go to swim. Some of our friends had gone early, while I and Khojegants` Levon set out a little later. After walking a great diswtance, Levon said: “Kévork, my eye has set on the Khat`un Barmaghi, which is the best kind of grape and belongs to the beg of Perri. Look at Marsub Aghpar’s hut. See if he is there or not.” When we did not see anybody, Levon entered. He broke off a bunch of grapes. Barely had he gone out, when Marsub Aghpar yelled from the opposite side of the hillock, to which we had not paid any attention, “Oh, you whelps of dogs!” I said, “Levon, it is the watchman. Run quickly!” The two of us together began to run with the spead of lightening, with the guard behind us. We reached Baghdasar’s family’s garden, and immediately, taking off our clothing, we entered the river and joined our friends, who already were swimming. Marsub Aghpar arrived, stopped at the edge of the river, searched all over with his eyes, and saw us and Baghdasar’s mother, who at that moment, seated at the edge of the river, was washing her handkerchief. He asked her, “Maran Baji [Sister], how long have those two boys been swimming?” “What do I know, son, it is over two hours that they are in the river.” Maran Baji’s answer did not suit Marsub Aghpar. Maran Baji asked, “What is it? What has happened?” Marsub Aghpar related the incident. “Is it worth it to come after the children for that? The Turks always teal the best furits of our gardens and vineyards and eat them. Where were you, when last week we shook the mulberries, laid them out under the sun to dry, and, when we came the next day, not one dry mulberry remained?” Marsub Aghpar rejoined, “I am not going to also be the guard at nights,” and left, declaring that tomorrow he would go to complain to their teacher. Levon did not care, because he had left school a long time ago, and was doing an apprenticeship with a ironworker. However I preferred that he complained to my father rather than to my teacher. The next day, with fear and trembling, I went to school. My eyes would look first at my lessons and then at my teacher’s face. When would he summon me to be punished? Two days silently passed. The third day he said my name. I stood up. “Here, come here. The other day with a friend you entered X’s vineyard and stole a bunch of grapes?” he asked with a threatening tone. I declared that we snapped off some grapes in order to eat them. My teacher, with a smirk, considered this act thievery and, taking his cane in hand, had me open my palm and brought down the first blow. Terrified of the force of the second blow, I immediately pulled back my hand. The cane touched his thigh and must have caused him great pain, because my teacher yelled, “Woe, senseless one, cursed root, you will stand all day at this corner of the wall on foot, with your face turned to the wall.” I complied. It was what I had wanted anyway.

Marsub Aghpar would visit all the vineyards. He would ask questions, inviestigate, and listen to every person’s complalint, difficulties and proposals. Every family would relate these things to him as to a real family member. When Marsub Aghpar was leaving, they would make him happy with all kinds of presents. Kurdish travelers would enter the vineyards very infrequently in order to steal grapes, because Marsub Aghpar, having caught them many many times in the act had brought them to a state of repentance. They would give good testimony about Marsub Aghpar and would tell other Kurds, “Whoever goes to eat the grape of the fêllâ [CHECK] Armenian tastes the cane of Marsub Aghpar and then returns.” The life of the vineyards lasted three months. After the grapes ripened, a hut would be built in every vineyard. During the school vacation, all the students would fill the vineyards and gardens. Especially on Sundays, nobody would remain in the city. All would rush to the vineyards, in order to have fun by eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. Girls, youth, and brides would enjoy a type of freedom at that period, since there were no Kurds and Turks there. Fifteen days before the grape harvest, one or two people from each house would spend the night at the vineyards. In this season, the weather would begin to gradually turn cold. At nighttime, if somebody observed the general scene of the vineyards, he would see fires giving the appareance of a festive occasion. They would set fires in every vineyard, and cook khash [boiled cow’s parts, especially feet, with broth]. Neighbors would call to each other loudly. Sometimes taking advantage of the occasion, they would try out guns. Working people would return early in the morning, burdened with baskets of cold grapes. There were many turtles in Perri’s vineyards, and they sometimes frightened those sleeping in the vineyards at night with their gurgling, or the rustling sounds made as they walked over dry leaves. In the vineyards of Sep` Déré and Gago Déré badgers were found. They, grape lovers, at nights would destroy the vine they encountered and only leave behind dry stems. According to the Perri inhabitants, under the hut of the vineyard watchman was a hole which was the lair of a horned, hairy snake the size of a goat, which they called “Vay Babug.” This creature yelled at nights, frightening children. Grandmothers took advantage of this to restrain their naughty children by saying “Vay Babug” is coming.

The Grape Harvest

The grape harvest began at the beginning of October. Like the activities of opening or pruning the vineyards, the grape harvest also would start all of a sudden. The government appraiser would come at the first opportunity to the vineyards and take their ushar [Turkish öşür], their tithe, with a certain standard. For example, this vineyard produced a certain number of loads of grapes, and the tax to be paid was assessed according to this. The Perri people did not weigh grapes by the ôkha [okka, Turkish] or liter. They used the per` standard (one per` of grapes approximately weighted 150 kilograms). They would say, “Ten per`s of grapes came from our vineyard.” Many would not declare the true quantity of grapes from their vineyard, not only in order to pay less taxes to the government, but also due to the superstitution of protecting their vineyard from the evil eye. Generally they were people satisfied with what they had. They were not interested as to how many grapes their neighbor had picked because they believed that what the neighbor possessed was the gift of God, and God gave as much as the recipient had made him satisfied. The greatest work of the year of the people of Perri was the vineyard work. In that period, Perri would practically empty. The inhabitants of every house, from young to old, would assemble in the vineyards. Each person had his own work. Women, brides, and girls, each wearing an apron and holding a basket in her hand, would harvest the vines. The picked grapes would be piled in an appropriate spot of the vineyard, held in large baskets which were called sapàt` [Turkish, sepet] or tay [bale]. The grapes would be transported home in the latter by asses or mules. There was no dawdling in the harvest season. Everybody was responsible to carry out his designated task. They worked like bees and ants to pick the grapes, trasport them, and make various kinds of sweets from them. There was an urgency to all the work. In this period of feverish labor, suckling infants would be left under the shade of large tévégs for a long time. Mothers would not even listen to their cries until the work allowed them an opportunity to give them satisfaction. Depending on the size of the vineyard, the harvest would finish in two to three days, after which the vineyards would have a ruined and plundered appearance. The roads would appear desolate, because the days of the vineyards had ended. After the end of the vineyard work, housework began in the city: pressing the grapes, cooking rùb and khorà, making ròjig or basdegh, filling large clay storage jugs with wine, and so forth. It was during this period that the women of Perri would show off their talents as housewives. The different varieties of grapes were pressed separately, so that each type could be used in accordance with its suitabilities. Large clay storage jugs [garas] were filled with grape juice (shira). Afterwards they would cook it and prepare rùb, khorà, ròjig, and basdegh. The kernels of the tasty and oily walnuts of Dersim, strung together, would hang from the ceilings of houses. The preparation of ròjig required expertise because when the strings of walnuts were dipped in the prepared maléz [paste made from grape syrup] often the maléz did not take hold and dripped down. Under such conditions experienced mature women would come to help and fix what had happened with advice and arrangements. “Ràhan Baji--let me be your sacrifice--listen, come, our ròjig is coming apart, it’s not holding. Oh my head, I’m going to cry.” Ràhan Baji, always responded in a willing spirit to such requests and helped them. After understanding how they prepared the maléz’s constituents, she would add a little flour or êr`bi hogh (rùb’s dirt) in order to thicken the cords of ròjig in five or six dips. For days on end, the entire city would smell of shira. The flat roofs would be covered with sheets of basdegh. The clay storage jugs in the pantries (khzén) would be filled, and the garret would be adorned with the hévéngs [CHECK—above it is mentioned as a variety of grape but here has a different? meaning] of the Marzumay (winter) grape. They would drink wine instead of water for three months and it stil would not run out. They would eat raisins, basdegh, and ròjig until satiety, but with Father Apraham’s bereket [blessing], what was blessed would not run out or be lacking…oh for those bygone days.

Mulberry Orchards

The mulberry played as important a role as the grape in the economy of the Perri populace. As a tasty and useful fruit, mulberry was dried or prepared in different ways formed part of the stores for the winter. Dry mulberry, mulberry basdegh, mulberry rùb, and t`tàliwr [same as t`tàlir above] all had their place in the pantry of the Perri inhabitant. Mulberry arakh [a type of vodka] held a special place in the year’s zakhiray [winter provisions]. Perri’s mulberry orchards, or in local dialect mulberry baghchàs, began after Lake Eran of the Perri River, and continued downstream until Zéri village. These gardens, approximately four kilometers long and one next to the other, were impressive from a distance with their thick-trunked and widespread mulberry trees. A man would feel that he was approaching forest beauty revealed by nature. No borders or enclosures existed. Every man recognized his trees and often called them by their own special names; for example, Fig Tree, Mulberry Tree of the Ass, and Forked Tree. These were also qualified by the name of the person who planted or took care of them; consequently, Ava’s [Grandmother’s] Tree, Uncle’s Tree, Koko’s Tree, and so forth. These baghchàs, without exception, belonged to Armenians, except the penultimate orchard, whose owner was a Turk. During the hot days of summer, it was pleasant to walk amidst the baghchàs. The shade of the dense set of trees, the coolness of the air, the sweet burbling of the water flowing by the mulberry grove all created a pleasant impression. At the end of April, the mulberry would give its first fruits [nshan g’iynar]. This appearance created by nature would be greeted with special joy and happiness by all, especially by the young. Many would rub those mulberry “nshans” [“signs”] on their eyes. The ability to climb the trees and go up high had a special value for the boys of Perri, and was a delight. There were trees with a height of five to eight meters and with many branches. A clever boy would ascend to their kêkêlig (top) in order to shake down some mulberries. In May nearly all the kinds of mulberries would have ripened. It was worth seeing how the people poured into the mulberry baghchàs. The ground under the trees would have been swept and cleaned. During the time of shaking down the mulberries, early in the morning people went to the baghchàs taking with them large sheets, baskets, sêtêl, and containers, utensils, and similar items. A young, experienced, and able family member would undertake the responsibility of shaking the mulberry tree. Climbing up the tree, he would sample the mulberries while working. The sheets would be spread under the trees, in order to receive the downpour of mulberries. Those that fell on people’s heads and faces would be grabbed with cries and noise. Often innocent jokes of coloring each other’s faces would be done. A blissful period of pleasant relaxation would be experienced. First the lower branches of a tree would be shaken, and then gradually they would ascend all the way to the highest branch. The mulberries collected in the sheet would be transported in the baskets and sêtêls to the sargans [Footnote: After cleaning flat places in the vineyard, they would coat them with cement and thus prepare spaces like the threshing floors, which they called sargan.] and dry them. Very few would make mulberry rùb or basdegh because grapes were very plentiful in our area and basdegh and rùb prepared from it was appreciated and valued more. Generally mulberries would be dried, part for arakh (vodka) and the rest for winter supplies. Yes, arakh was the buttermilk or cream in the lives of the Perri people, their inseparable life source for times of happiness and sadness. The mystery of the daily tollig [a small cup or bowl made of with a stem or handle which was used to take arakh from the clay storage jug] was arakh—a little bit of arakh, a drop of arakh, was legitimiate and useful for young and old. The mulberries had to be shaken down as soon as they were ripe; otherwise they would be subject to attack by birds. The enemies of the mulberry were the sparrows called “Tùt` Ghushi [Mulberry Bird],” which attacked the trees in flocks. In order to be free from this scourge and to scare them away with the noise of drums and tins, special guards were appointed. This was the only way to frighten them because using stones could also injure the mulberry. Grandmothers also played a big role in this work. They would yell out, “Hey, hey, the worthless ones came again. They snatched off all the mulberries and dropped them below,” and the garden from one end to the other would reverberate in waves of “Hey, hey, hey…” There were many kinds of mulberries, including incir mulberry, angud [seedless] mulberry, prtod mulberry, ishu mulberry, mrjan, shemsug, pàlut`, bochòd, and mor`. All of them were used in accordance with their suitabilities. Unusual activity dominated those periods of time, especially on Sundays. Alongside the Perri River the mulberry gardens connected to one another took on the appearance of holidays. Everybody, with all the members of their families, young and old, would fill the baghchàs. Everywhere, under the shade of huge trees, the Perri inhabitants would be seated on rugs, carpets, and various types of spreads. Swings would be swung not only for children but for adults too, who at that moment, surrendering to the desire to become a child, sought ways to have fun. Housewives, new brides, and fiancées would be atwork. The smoke would begin to rise from stone hearths. It was the time to prepare khavurma [braised meat], kùftà [meatballs or meat patties], khash, and other types of savory foods. Bottles of vodka, chilled in the waters of the river, would await the worshippers of Bacchus. The meal would be prepared; the table was rich in all aspects. Thin bread from the tònir [oven dug in the ground], immortal tàn [yogurt drink], salted baj [the pod/husk of various legumes; or an edible plant similar to vetch CHECK??], and various snacks and salads were displayed. In the middle of the table michov[CHECK] kùftà formed a pyramid. Khavurma, khaburgha [Turkish kaburga, ribs; stuffed braised lamb], barbecued meat, and pilaf were arrayed around it. Finally and truly the table was abounding…and around it sat the people from home, cross-legged, in accordance with patriarchal tradition. After the prayer, the cup and spoon of the eldest member of the household would be followed by the others in order to enjoy the blessed table. It was as if this free and charming atmosphere was shaking the rust off of life, protecting it, and leading it to joy and happiness. Singing and dancing lasted so long that eventually the participants would fall down to nap and rest. Under these circumstances, the adolescents and youths were irrepressible—the blood gamboling in their veins would always push them to new activities, games, and adventures. One of these was swimming, which usually began in the afternoon, and in which the females could not participate. The boys would not leave the water for hours, and would unceasingly swim. It was for this reason that many of the people of Perri knew how to swim, because in the summer season, in order to escape the heat, they would amuse themselves in the river. Those who swam for very long times would be called “frogs of the water.” Akh, as a result of these political conditions, what things did we lose, and what things did Turkey lose. It is wrong to measure our loss solely by the material. The moral values that we lost, spiritual virtues, and physical gaieties are much greater. The Perri inhabitant did not register lesser losses than others in this realm. Yes, many of us may have surpassed our former existence with our present financial statuses and positions, but the spiritual life which we had in our native land has disappeared never to return now. Our hearts have each turned into scars of sorrow; our constrained happiness does not have the blessed joyfulness and authenticity of the old days. Will we be able to remedy those losses…this is the biggest question.

Peri’s Houses

Perri was divided into six major quarters: 1) the quarter of the threshing-floors; 2) the market quarter; 3) the church quarter; 4) the Gamar Spring quarter; 5) Khorshug’s quarter; 6) the Dôn Spring quarter. Except for the second, all the other quarters were Armenian-populated. The Turkish population of the market quarter barely comprised 100 families. Aside from them, sometimes in the Armenian quarters there were one or two Turkish families. The external natural appearance or location of Perri was very beautiful, and gave a sort of splendor in the soul-nourishing verdure. The homes were generally two-story, and the internal divisions were nearly all uniform. The stable, wood-storage room, hayloft, and tònir room were on the first floor. There was no house without a stable in Perri because the people of Perri had to have cows, sheep, goats, horses, asses, and chicken. The second floor would contain one or two rooms, and next to them, the bedroom and pantry (khzén). The upper part of three-story houses would have a small roof which was called the ayvan. The ceilings of all houses were covered with beams. There were many two-story stone houses with glass windows in Perri. The chief room in which people would sit, eat, and sleep, had its sakù [a long bench or wide half- wall which is next to the wall], on which woolen doshags [cushions, mattresses] were spread and pillows arranged. In the very center of the room the hearth or stove (soba [Turkish]) was placed. The uk`lêg was at one side of the wall, where the folded beds were arranged one on top of the other with care. Next to the uk`lêg was placed a large chest in which heavy clothing were kept. A large drawer was dug into the wall in the fashion of a window, and was closed with a door. This was called a dolab [cupboard] and in it bottles of vodka, glasses, and valuable containers would be kept. On the floor [pileless] carpets [garbéd], jéjims [cicim, Turkish], kilims, and, rarely, [piled] rugs [kork] would be spread. Water pitchers, a broom, a hooked implement for the tònir [agish], and other items were kept outside of the room in the corridor. Roofs were generally covered with earth. As they were nearly touching each other, sometimes in a quarter ten to twenty roofs formed a large expanse which served boys as a play space. The largest was the roof of the Puchigians. School children would assembly there to play vzhêrig or chèllig, without paying attention to the curses and insults of big Anna who in our day would exact respect: “Oh, whelps of dogs, you have destroyed the dins [religions??CHECK]. Run away—I’m coming!” At wintertime windows would be covered with oiled transparent papers so that there would be light inside. Generally, the internal sections of the house—hayloft and kitchen—would not have any windows, and so would remain in the dark. They would whiten the walls of all the homes with white gaghji [or gaghjin: a substance composed of lime with sulphuric acid which was burned and turned into powder], which would both help concerning the light, as well as give a clean appearance. The majority of Perri’s streets were paved with flagstones; the marketplace and the central part of the city in particular had a clean and presentable appearance. However, the streets of the quarters at the ends of the city were rough and irregular, so that much mud would be formed in winter and during rains. The sewage ditches were also irregular since the government and the mayor’s office did not concern itself about this; added to this was the indifference of the populace. The houses in the remaining villages of Chàrsanjak were one-story. There were special houses for large families in which forty to fifty people were sheltered together with their animals. Village houses had a large external door or gate with an immediate large courtyard which they called torta. Adjacent to the courtyard were the stable, hayloft, kòz (stable for sheep and goats), and the internal house, whose door opened from the side of the stable and kòz. This inside house, which was for habitation, had its adjoining divisions: the khzén [pantry], a frame for working linen, and chests or containers which were the place to store flour and wheat. In the large hall, the ôjakh [hearth] was built in one corner, having the chrgol in the center. The latter was built for the rain and snow that would come down from the roof. The majority of the houses would receive their light only from the roof. Family members each had their own place or corner for sleeping. The place of the bride and husband would be separated from the other parts of the room by the containers of wheat and flour. Everybody else, old and young, slept under one ceiling because that was the rule that the Chàrsanjak people had learned and had become accustomed to.

The Population of the Armenians of Ch`arsanjak

Unfortunately, no specific regular census has been conducted in Chàrsanjak. Even the state registers have many flaws for giving a full picture of the entire population. As the necessity for travel papers or passports was an economic one, the populace was not really forced to register births and deaths in an accurate and timely fashion. For this reason, even to this day, no modern systematic census has been conducted. Thus what we have done must only be considered an effort to provide an approximate idea. It is a prominent and indisputable fact that the Armenians formed an absolute majority in the region of Chàrsanjak, along with all the interior districts of Armenia. Turkish statistics, being prepared for political reasons, are unreliable. The 1872-73, 1879, and 1894 censuses did not represent the true number of Armenians. In 1872-73, in the published provincial statistics of the Armenian National Central Executive, we find an inscription about the Chàrsanjak prelacy in accordance to which there were 1,254 houses of Armenians and 998 of “Dajigs” (Turks and Kurds) in the sixty villages of Chàrsanjak. We find that in 1873, in the work prepared by Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants` upon the request of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, the sixty villages of Chàrsanjak contained 1,439 houses of Armenains. In 1894, according to the book Dérsim, there were 1,769 houses of Armenians, and 1,204 of “Dajigs.” Let us summarize these three censuses here, and make some conclusions.

1872 1,254 Armenian houses 1879 1,439 Armenian houses 1894 1,769 Armenian houses

Consequently, from 1872 to 1894, in thirty-two years, there was an increase of 515 Armenian houses. From 1894 to 1915, in twenty-one years, there should have been an increase, according to the mathematical average, of 770 houses, to make (1769 + 770) 2549 houses of Armenians. If we consider the average size of an Armenian family twelve people (which is not very much for those patriarchal large families, whose members often were twenty to forty, and even as many as 100 in number), then we will have an approximate figure of 30,468 Armenians in Ch`arsanjak in 1915. We have at our disposal the accurate statistics for one or two villages in 1915. For example, Hoshé village’s Armenian population has been presented as 80 people, while in 1915, the number in the list of Hoshé’s population is 219. We see this proportion also for several other villages for which we have been able to obtain complete information from survivors of those villages. Thus we can conclude that the number of Armenians of Ch`arasanjak was actually over 40,000.

Section 2 Medzgerd

Chàrsanjak’s second and historical large city is Medzgerd. It is located a five hour journey to the north of Perri. It is adjacent to Dérsim. It is constructed on high, steep rocks. Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants`, who in 1879 visited Chàrsanjak (Tòros aghpar, volume 2), wrote the following.

Medzgerd had a rock fortress, on the shoulder of which houses were built in hollows. The buildings and ruins showed what an important location and role this fortress town had, with forests on all four sides and a deep valley in front of it. We saw the ruins of seven or eight churches and famous khach`kàrs [stone crosses]. Two churches were also dug out of stone, outside of the village, and were called Tala Surp and Kàràsun Mangunk`.

According to the history of the Medzgerd inhabitants and those Armenians living in surrounding villages, in ancient times Medzgerd was a very large fortress city (citadel), whose borders extended to today’s Lazvan village and up to the bank of the Mntzur River. According to the traditions of the Medzgerd people, a tombstone was found on which had supposedly been written: “I was the head of the 10,000 tailors of the street, and the 80,000 of the quarter. I bought 40 eggs for one para, and fed my children.” Renowned historians give the following information about Medzgerd. Injijian writes: “The Turks call it Mazgerd. It is also called Karach`ôr.” [Footnote: Karach`ôr denotes all of Chàrsanjak, so that the usage of Mazgerd or Karach`ôr must be understood as Karach`ôr’s Mazgerd—that is, Mazgerd, which is found in Chàrsanjak.] Some call it Mengerd or Manazgerd, and identify these two names as the same, like Alishan (Deghakir Hayots` medzats` [Topography of Armenia Major], p. 41). However A[rshag]. Albôyajian does not find it correct that Mengerd and Manazgerd be identified with Medzgerd or Mazgerd because Mengerd is a village of Pasén district (in the province of Erzerum) and has no connection with Manazgerd, Mazgerd, or Medzgerd. Manazgerd is the chief city of Hin Hark` district (ton the northern side of Lake Van), famous for the church council convened there on the affairs of the Syrian Church, or Armenian-Syrian relations. Consequently, Mengerd and Manazgerd have no connection with Medzgerd or Mazgerd, which “was one of the old districts of the old pàshayutìwn [province] of Diyarbekir, and is the chief district and precinct of Chàrsanjak” (Injijian, ibid., p. 226). According to Hübschmann, the present Mazgerd is the Medzngerd of the past (Hin hayots` deghvoy anunnerê, pp. 155, 159), and is found in the province of Dzop`k`. Tavit` Khach`gonts` (Piwragn, 1898, pp. 346, 413) in his study on Karamashgerd and Mashgerd writes, “The inhabitants of Kàramashgerd emigrated from an inglorious town called Mazgerd near Palu and K`ghi in the Dersim mountains, where, on a promontory, according to Taylor, rises the Iranian ‘Hürmüzgerd,’” (the city of Ormazd), which literally—through form and sound—led to the form Mazgerd. The ruins of the buildings of Hürmüzgerd or Mazgerd have become the object of fervent worship for the populations of other religious beliefs in the area (compare Élizé Régliw [Élisée Reclus, Lazisdan, Hayasdan, ew Kʻurtisdan: Giligia, Pʻokʻr Asia, Michakedkʻ, Asorikʻ ew Baghesdin], Vagharshabad, 1893, p. 61). The new home of the people who emigrated from Hürmüzgerd/Mazgerd was called by the same name, Mashgerd. We conclude from these facts that one of the four districts of Chàrsanjak is Mazgerd, Mazgert, or Medzgerd, which in the past lost much of its splendor. One part of its population moved towards the west and settled at the banks of the Euphrates. First Karamashgerd was built there, and then Mashgerd village. Mazgerd at present is a city which is the capital of a district in Dersim, and which used to be called by the ancients Medzngerd. In ancient times, Mazgerd was built on the site of the city of Hürmüzgerd, which probably must have been during the period of Persian domination (that is, in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.). According to the provincial statistics of the Armenian National Central Executive of Constantinople of 1872-73, Medzgerd had 80 Armenian homes, and 60 “Dajig.” The craftsmen were bakers, linen makers, and blacksmiths. There were two churches, Surp Asdvadzamayr [Holy Mother of God] and Surp Hàgop [St. James], and one school with forty students. We read the following about Medzgerd in Antranig’s work Dérsim (Tiflis, 1900): “The kasaba [town] of Medzgerd is composed of approximately 700-800 houses, the majority of which are inhabited by native and immigrant Armenians. The latter only work for the government and run stores. The Armenians have a regular church and school.” Medzgerd was the capital of a kaymakamlık [subdistrict], but as a prelacy it was united with Perri into a single unit. The approximately 100 Armenian homes had one school sponsored by the United Association [Miatsèal Êngerutìwn] of Armenians. Prior to the [restoration of the Ottoman] constitution [in 1908], the Hnchàgean and Tashnagtsàgan [Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)] political parties had entered Medzgerd. The last married priests (kàhanays) were Dér Maghoyian and Dér Soghigian. In 1915 the majority of the Armenians of Medzgerd were annihilated on the spot by the Ittihad [Committee of Union and Progress]. Women and children were deported in front of Perri, and after crossing the river were massacred on the Palu road. There are very few survivors from Medzgerd. A certain number of Medzgerd Armenians live in America. They have the Medzgerd Philomathic [usumnasirats`, or lovers of learning] Society. Once a year they hold an event and all compatriots assemble to evoke their birthplace and the memories of their martyrs. They help their needy compatriots through donations. The Medzgerd Philomathic Society was established in 1910 (“Medzgerdtsìneru tashdaknatsùtìwnê [The Picnic of the Medzgerd Natives],” Eridasart Hayasdan newspaper, August 5, 1955). Their founders are the deceased Mike Asadurian, Kapriél Maghoyian, Simon Tarpinian, Sarkis Malkhasian, Mardiros Melkònian, Hàgop Minasian, Baba Kalusdian, Avedis Mikàyélian, and Simon Hayrabedian. The latter is the author of the society’s by-laws. The Philomathic Society, sensing the necessity of education, has made the following donations: $100 to the Catholicate for Etchmiadzin’s Seminary; $1,500 in 1917 for the cemetery of Medzgerd; and $1,500 for Kharpert’s Reconstruction Union [Verashinats` Miutìwn] in order to build one or two houses in New Kharpert in Armenia, as shelter for refugees from Medzgerd. The answer to the realization of this desire was received in time. The Society participated in the fundraising campaign in the name of General Antranig to the amount of $500. It spent $1,000 on the needy from Medzgerd in America. With various sums it encouraged all types of Armenian national projects impartially. During the fundraising campaigns for repatriation or emigration to Soviet Armenia, it donated approximately $3,000 to the Armenian General Benevolent Union. Unfortunately, we have no information about the Armenian national life lived in Medzgerd prior to 1915. Plunder, fire, and murder destroyed whatever there was, while everything is lost in the memory of the survivors. The history of the people of Medzgerd and their patriotic spirit is condensed in the following lines, which are the expression of their past and a memorial to their martyrs: “Garabed Aprahamian’s zurna [a double-reed folk instrument] played melodies of the homeland loudly and sharply. Those present danced and sang, as if they were reborn. Medzgerd was in the hearts of all, with its colorful mountain charm. Love occupied an important place in the souls of the Medzgerd natives, love for their birthplaces, and love for the blossoming Soviet Armenia.”

Section 4 Pertag

Pertag is the third big town of Chàrsanjak. It is divided into two parts: 1) Old Pertag, with its ancient ruins, on the right bank of the Aradzani four hours distant from Kharpert; and 2) New Pertag, which is two hours distant from Old Pertag towards the north, at the base of the mountains. It is on a large plain. The houses of Pertag are scattered among fruit bearing trees, gardens, and vegetable beds. The weather is beautiful, while the water is cold and plentiful. Fifty of the 350 homes of Pertag belong to Armenians, and the rest to Turks and Kurds. Though the Armenians were a minority, they had concentrated in their hands the main trade of the town. Pertag was the most frequented market of the Dersim people—it was where they descended to do their commerce. Every Friday, much buying and selling took place in the ruins of Old Pertag, with the name Jumay [Friday] Bazaar. Starting on Thursday, Armenian and Turkish merchants, peddlars, and artisans would assemble there with their various goods and products. The next day, the people from Dersim would rush in groups to the bazaar, bringing with them horses, asses, goats, sheep, walnuts, wool, hair, cheese, oil, and so on. Armenians, Turks, and Kurds would be assembled at the big square to conduct their trade of the day, generally through exchange, with amazing, incomprehensible bargaining. The Armenian and Turkish chèrchìs [çerçi, Turkish for peddler] would place all their means and commercial cunning into play in order to trick the Kurd more, and earn five or ten against one. An extraordinary bustling lasted until evening, and a great quantity of goods were traded. Friday evening everybody left, and Old Pertag again grew desolate and alone in its ruins with its disintergrating fortress. The Armenians of Pertag were very educated, nationalist, and brave people. There were rich people and influential notables. Pertag had four churches: St. Tòros, St. Asdvadzadzin, St. Shamvon, and Kàrasun Mangunk`.

At the upper end of the village stood the magnificent church of St. Tòros. With a very large cornerstone and dome, it was a large and beautiful building which inspired men with reverence. Although the dome had fallen, the arches and apses remained. They made the church by erecting a new wall in the first arch. The other parts of the holy church are full of rocks, soil, and dirt, while under the outside gate flowed a large spring, with white water, tasty and cold. St. Tòros had been a large monastery, say the natives, and its jurisdiction was the St. Tòros nahiye [commune or local administrative unit of the Ottoman government], which is today considered a district of Ch`mashgadzak. It has been written about the Armenians of those villages that they had in time become Dajig. St. Tòros is also called St. Digin [St. Lady]. Which Armenian woman does it refer to, I wonder? (Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants`, Tòros aghpar, volume 2)

The following tradition exists about St. Toros or St. Digin. In very ancient times, a vishab [a type of dragon] lived in the spring of St. T`oros. This frightening monster closed the source of the spring by preventing the water to flow. For this reason, the local populace suffered greatly for lack of water. The people of Perri were required, in order for the vishab to permit the water to flow, to present a human sacrifice every year to it as a bribe. Nobody could object to this obligatory rule of presenting the vishab with a victim. Any person whose turn had come was required to go at night to the spring, and patiently await the moment of becoming the live meal of the vishab. One day, the turn of a poor Armenian family came-a mother and her sole child who had newly married. Subject to unbreakable law and inescapable fate, the newly married youth prepared to go to become the willing victim of the vishab. The new bride, feeling sorry for her young husband, offered to replace him and added to the mother, “Mother, you have one single child. If he goes, your family will be destroyed. If I go, you can remarry him, have grandchildren, and thus secure the future of your family.” After thus persuading the mother and her husband, the poor bride went at night and sat at the head of the spring of St. T`oros to await her immolation. Finally, after midnight, she saw that the vishab was leaving his lair and with open mouth was advancing towards her in order to swallow her. At the same moment she heard the hooves of a horse. Raising her head she saw that a brave seated on a white horse with a luminous lance in his hand was rushing towards the vishab. The white steed, sharply neighing, rose on its back feet, while the horseman, with his strong arms, was plunging his luminous lance inside the throat of the vishab. The vishab with infernal bellowing and a noisy plummet crashes lifeless to the ground at the head of the spring. The water erupts from the spring abundantly, and its clear waters are mixed with the blood of the vishab. The bride, though in fear and confusion, wished to ascertain the identity of the mysterious horseman. However, without answering, the mounted man, turning the head of his horse, left. Meanwhile the bride, dipping her hand in the blood, runs after him and stamps the croup of the horse with the mark of her bloody hand. At dawn, when the people of Pertag were going to the spring to get water, they encountered a white horsemanand at the same time saw the red mark on the horse’s rump. After this, the horseman disappeared, and the people witnessed what had happened: the bride, alive, the vishab, sprawled out lifeless, and the water of the spring, continually flowing and unobstructed. The incident was interpreted in the following manner. As a result of the bride’s willing self-sacrifice, a powerful saint on horseback came to save her, and thus also saved the entire populace. For this reason, they also called the kindhearted Armenian bride saint, and so called the spring in her name Surp Digin. This Armenian hearth, which had given rise to legends and tales now itself has turned into a tale. Let the new generation learn and relate that one hundred and fifty innocent Armenian youth were cast down from the rocks of the rivershore of Pertag in 1915, and thus were drowned in the waves of the Aradzani by our implacable enemy, the Dajig gendarmes. The remaining Armenians of Pertag were killed on the spot. The surviors form only a small number. Of them, the children of the great Alémian clan, Dikran Alémian and his family, are in [Soviet] Armenia. There are Pertag natives in America and France, about whom unfortunately nobody has provided information despite our numerous letters and appeals. Setrag Sémérjian, another native of Pertag, with his family lives in France. In 1915 he was in Dérsim. He descended to Kharpert in Kurdish clothing several times and helped many Armenians escape to Dérsim, thus saving them from massacre. The last time, instead of personally going, he wanted Kurdish acquaintances to guide his father from Kharpert to Dérsim. However, on the road his father was arrested, and then imprisoned in Mezre. After unusual tortures and beatings he died in prison. After learning of his father’s death, Setrag filled with vengeance undertook new adventures. In 1916, during the attack by the Dersim people on Turkish cities, he joined the rebellious tribes and reached Khôzat`. The Kurds related that the brave Setrag’s participation was significant in this expedition and that he had done important things. Rich Turks of Kharpert heard that Setrag killed the governor of Khôzat`, and soon would come to Kharpert. Struck by fear and terror, many fled towards Syria and Aleppo. The following rumor spread among the population of Kharpert: “Semerci oghli geliyor, intizam alacağ (Semerji’s son is coming—he will exact vengeance).” When the Dersim attackers, under the pressure of the Turkish army again withdrew to Dersim, Setrag returned with them. When the Russian army left Erznga, he took advantage of the opportunity to go to the Caucasus. After the armistice he went to Constantinople, and from there, to Aleppo, where he found his family and children. After staying a long time in Aleppo, he left with his family to France. With this very brief episode of Setrag Sémérjian, we wished to point out a small spark from our Armenian eruptions whose sparkling illuminates the path of our battle for existence.

Section 5 The Villages of Ch`arsanjak

Hoshé

The village of Hoshé is built in a large valley to the east of Perri, half an hour distant. The Perri River divides Perri from Hoshé at a practically equidistant point. The geographical location of the latter is amazing, as it is surrounded by beautiful natural scenery. To the west is the view of Hoshé’s Ch’évlug plain, the sinuous path of the Perri River, the elevated panorama of Perri, the verdant slopes of Arkhaj Mountain, and some of Perri’s vineyards and gardens. On the north are found the villages of Paghnik` and Khushin, and the fortress of Tìl. To the south is the mountain chain covered with green hazel trees which extends to Chàlkhadan. The side and base of the mountains are adorned with the gardens and vineyards of Hoshé. Hoshé’s fertile and well-watered plain opens like a fist from the east and northeast. This is what our compatriot Melkòn Dérdérian, resident in America, writes abut his birthplace of Hoshé.

The plain of Hoshé is almost egg-shaped. From north to south it is four kilometers long, while from east to west, it is three kilometers wide. A small stream flows from the east, the Hoshé Chày, which cuts through the fields of Hoshé towards the west in order to unite with the Perri River. The plain of Hoshé has three types of soil: black, coffee-colored, and sandy. The most fertile is the black soil. The expanse from the river shore to the border of the village, about four kilometers long, is sandy, and we call it Ch`évlug. The village and the fecund plain of Hoshé begin at the end of Ch`évlug, at the rise of rampart-like rocks or hills which are ten meters high. Hoshé’s Ch’évlug is famous for its numerous old and thick-trunked willow trees, in front of which spreads a verdant meadow. In the summer, the village’s flocks of cattle and sheep graze there under the cool shade of the trees. This Urìsdan [“Place of Willows”], as we called it, on Sundays turned into a place of pleasure and fun. The people of Perri and Hoshé assembled there. Sitting at the edge of cold waters of the Biwlbiwlé Spring and the Kàr Spring, they would make merry until the evening. The Kàrin Vray [“On the Stone”] Field was two hundred meters to the northeast of the village. The foundation stones of a wall were arrayed around it, with a diameter of five hundred meters. This wall was built with large polished stones two meters high, three meters wide, and five meteres long. Many piles of unpolished stones remained fallen on all sides of the wall. An observer would have the impression that a construction project was left half-finished. Antranig Antàràmian had a field within the aforementioned wall’s borders. During plowing, the plow’s sharp flat metal part which enters the ground often would encounter stones. After investigation, it was later found that cemeteries had existed there. Many copper coins were found in these cemeteries and given to the church. Survivors recall that a full bag of these coins was kept in the Hoshé church. There was a large door on one side of this wall, which they called Pasur` (“Open Door”). There were some ten large mulberry trees along the length of the Pasur`, under the shade of which laborers in summer would rest and cool off. According to tradition, in the time of Dikran the Great, the city of Dikranagerd was going to be built here, and the foundation stones of these walls were then set. One day, the master builder saw that the hammer and tools were gone. He begins searching—it is not here, it is not here either—until he reached the orders of present Dikranagerd [Diyarbekir], and sees that the tools are there. Thus, Dikranagerd’s site of construction was changed. The saying, “Hos ch’é, hos ch’é [“It is not here, it is not here”] was distorted and transformed into Hoshé.

There were over thirty springs in Hoshé, the most important of which are: Tàp`êkìn Spring, Baghchìn Klokh, Gol Spring, Shakhrdanner, Kàrin Klokh, Kàraghpiwr [Stone Spring], Yamjin Spring, and Bêllé Kàr. The coldest and most healthful was the water of Kàraghpiwr. In the village itself there were the Zurnajonts`, Isepènts`, Antòyents`, and Kurùn Springs, of whichthe first three had archways. Hoshé village was a purely Armenian village from the start. This small village of twenty-eight homes was a hearth blessed with Armenian spirit and patriarchal customs. In 1915, the total population of Hoshé was 219 people. Let us recall some of the large families: the Antàramians, with 35 people, the Hòvsépìans with 30, and the Zurnajians with 25. The homes of Hoshé were generally formed with ten to fifteen members. The Hoshé people were good farmers. The production of grains from the fertile soil increased yearly. The lands of all the villages of Chàrsanjak, including those of Hoshé, were seized in old times by the aghas or begs. Hoshé’s lands at one time belonged to the aghas of the Shakhsêvar village of the Kharpert region. After the death of these aghas, the heirs sold the land piece by piece to the Turkish begs of Perri. The first [Armenians] to buy land in Hoshé were the Hòvsépìans (Isepènk`) in 1900. Beginning at this date, one or two people from each family of Hoshé immigrated to Armenia, earned money, and bought their land from the aghas of Perri. The first of the Zurnajians to leave for America was Mardiros Zurnajian, in about 1890. In 1905, his younger brother Markar followed. Several years later, their nephew Kasbar also left for America. The leadership of their ancestral home was entrusted to their middle brother, Krikor. As a result of the continual labor and savings of Mardiros, Markar, and Kasbar Zurnajian, in 1912 they bought seventy pieces of large fields, vineyards, and gardens from Perri’s Hüsni Beg with 750 Ottoman gold coins. Thus, the Zurnajians becamethe owners of their own lands, the produce of which was sufficient to provision an entire city. The cherished dream of the Hoshé people to buy property and become landowners was almost realized. Aside from the rich Hòvsépìan, Zurnajian, and Antàràmian clans, the other villagers, in accordance with their financial means, also became owners of their land and garden. The Hoshé people were tough, hardy, and industrious. As patriotic farmers, they remained attached to their ancestral land. They were extremely fervent believers who indiscriminately maintained their traditional customs. At the edge of the village, a church was built which also was used as a church in the past. The first married priest of Hoshé was Dér Mesrob Zurnajian, who later left the Zurnajian clan and became called Dérdérian. After Dér Mesrob’s death, his son Aràk’el was ordained a priest. Dér Aràkèl, contrary to his desire, was unable to provide his children with eduation, and in 1880 died in extreme old age. Kévork and Mesrob Dérdérian are his grandchildren. Mesrob is in the city of Chicago in America and is at present eighty years old. Dér Aràkèl was succeeded by a Hoshé native, Dér Arisdagés. This priest died in 1895. Until 1915, Hoshé’s church was deprived of a parish priest. Religious obligations were carried out by the kàhanays [married priests] of Perri. There were three rich families in Hoshé, the Hòvsépians, Zurnajians, and Antàràmians, who both had many members and were rich with their large properties. The village chiefs recognized by the government were Ghugas Agha Hòvsépìan and Krikor Agha Zurnajian. I consider it a duty to present concisely these two honorable patriarchs. Ghugas Agha Hòvsépìan was a wise man and capable administrator. Aside from governing his large family in the best way possible, he also did not spare what was possible for the prosperity of the village. He was rich in the true sense of the word. They would say that the Hòvsépìans had large containers [garas] of yellow gold. Their houses were large and full. They had numerous cattle, flocks of sheep, and hives of bees. The most used water mill of Hoshé belonged to them. One-quarter of the fields of the village were their property. This patriarchal family of thirty-five was destroyed in 1915. Only a seven-year- old girl and Ghugas Agha’s youngest son Manug, who now lives in Chicago in America, survived. Krikor Agha Zurnajian had a pleasant physiognomy and was a venerable man. During the period when Krikor Agha was village headman, the Hoshé inhabitants enjoyed a peaceful life. His authority was felt throughout Chàrsanjak. No Kurdish bandit dared to cause any harm to Hoshé. There were past examples. On several occasions several Kurdish bandits were so severely punished that the others did not even think of passing close by Hoshé. In the 1850s, the Hoshé people endured a great deal of difficulty at the hands of the criminal villanous monster Bérkhôghli Mêllay [Molla], of an immigrant Muslim Kurdish family that had established its residence in Démrchin [Démirchin???] village. Krikor Agha’s uncle, Melkòn Zurnajian, was a courageous man. He showed his fearlessness during several incidents. The Mêlla became friends with Melkòn and swore that henceforth, he would become the sincere friend of the Zurnajians, and at the same time, of all the Hoshé people. [Footnote: It is this Bérkhôghli Mêlla whom the aghas of Pashaghag wanted to bribe so that they would have Méshédi Avedô killed in 1909, when Avedô was going to go from their village to Kharpert. The Mêlla showed his like of brave men and did not want to raise his hand against courageous men (see the biography of Avedô of Méshéd).] This Mêlla indeed remained the friend of the Hoshé people, as a result of which the Kurds of the surrounding villages did not dare to make any attempts at thievery. Krikor Agha was a man who knew how to enjoy life. He had a white Arabian steed. He loved eating and drinking; his hearty “kàh-kàh” laugh would bring the sick to their feet. He was a merry man with a popular way of behavior. He had taken Armenians, Turks, and Kurds under his influence. He was very hospitable. His house was always open and his table plentiful. He had influence with the government. His voice was always heard. Krikor Agha did not have any children but he loved young and old in his house like his own children. In 1912 his younger brother Markar came back to the village from America. They were able to enjoy each other only for two years. In 1915 the males of this great clan were all killed. Krikor Agha’s brother Melkòn’s son Hòvhannés, who had newly married, for a time stayed in hiding in Bérkhôghli Mêlla’s house, but the government pursued him and killed this last remnant too. The following survivors of the Zurnajians are in America: Kasbar Zurnajian, Melkòn’s son; Hàrutìun and Anahid, the children of Mardiros; and Hayganush Krikorian, Markar’s daughter. Markar’s daughter Estèr Shahinian, and Krikor’s son’s brother’s grandson Ghazar Zurnajian and his family are in Armenia. Sarkis Agha Antàràmian, as a worthy representative of Hoshé village, always participated in the decisions of Ghugas and Krikor Aghas. Though he would not intervene in governmental affairs, he used to the best his status as village chief. The Antàràmians were also rich with the munificence of a patriarchal family. They houses were open and their tables were abundantly laid.When the Antàràmians’ doves flew in the air, the village’s sun was practically obscured—their doves were that great in number. They had many cattle and flocks of sheep, as well as fertile fields. It is possible to see the surviving Antàràmians in our census section. Volumes are necessary in order to describe the entire past of Hoshé and give the information we have about each family. We wished through these concise recollections to present Hoshé only in a general fashion. In 1909, the Hoshé Armenians in America formed a Philomathic [Usumnasirats`] Society, with whose aid a school built of stone was erected for sixty students next to the church. Hoshé’s Usumnasirats` provided the assistance necessary for the improvement of the school of the village until 1914. After 1914, it aided needy survivors. Hoshé’s Philomathic Society participated in the fund-raising campaigns initiated by the Republic of Armenia. During repatriation it spent $1,100 to transport from Beirut to Armenia the nine-member family of Ghazar Zurnajian. It sent four hundred dollars to Ôhan Bôghosian in Mexico. It sent books published in foreign [non-Armenian] languages worth $675 to the Madenataran [Mesrob Mashdots` Institute of Old Manuscripts] of Soviet Armenia. It aid to this day two widows of Hoshé living in eirut. Of the 219 people of Hoshé, 150 died in the 1915 calamity. The number of survivors, women and children, is 35. At present, the total number of Hoshé natives is 131, scattered in the following countries.

12 people in Armenia 15 people in Mexico 2 people in Beirut 101 people in the United States

Census of Hoshé Natives in 1955

Total Male Female Hòvsépìans 23 15 8 Bôghosians 20 11 9 Antàràmians 18 9 9 Dérdérians 13 7 6 Zurnajians 12 5 7 Vartanians 11 6 5 Minasians 9 5 4 Antòyians 8 5 3 Ghazarians 8 4 4 Zakàrians 7 4 3 Zhamgochìans 2 1 1

TOTAL 131 72 59

Paghnik`

It is a village on the plains, half an hour to the northeast of Perri, on the right bank of the river. It has fifteen houses of Armenians (120 people) and five houses of Kurds. [Footnote: The figures for the population of the villages have been taken from the 1894 census in order to give an approximate idea (See, Antranig, Dérsim, Tiflis, 1901, p. 131).]

[the remainder of Section 5 on the villages of Ch`arsanjak has been omitted (pp. 191-220) with the exception of the sections on Masdan, pp. 196-198, Baghin, pp. 199-200, Ismayelts`ik`, pp. 204-206, and Vasgerd, pp. 207-210]

Masdan

It is found to the north of Hayvat`li village. The churches of St. Giragos and St. Yughitay were in its vicinity. Osgian Nalpandian of Masdan gives the following information about his village.

I was thirteen years old when I left my birthplace. Ruins of churches and holy places existed in the proximity of Masdan just as in the surrounding areas of all the villages of Chàrsanjak. Kaniye Ràshk` (Kurdish, meaning Black Spring), Dulmajan, and Sev Kàrer [Black Stones] were holy places near the village. Our village had seventy houses, of which thirty-seven were Armenian and thirty-three Kurdish. The friendship between Armenians and Kurds was sincere. No Armenian family sustained losses during the 1895 plunder. The village of Masdan was divided into two quarters, the Upper Quarter, and the Lower Quarter. The large family of the Kurd Balé Agha lived in the Upper Quarter, while in the Lower Quarter there was the Gadugents` family, which caused fear and terror. It controlled one thousand soldiers with chàkhmakh`li rifles from the Izôl ashiret. The Turkish begs of Chàrsanjak trembled before the Gadugents` family. Some of the Armenians who lived in Masdan were immigrants. They worked as craftsmen. The village had its ironsmith, cobbler, jewler, gunsmith, tinsmith, and weaver. Masdan’s church was named St. Sarkis. Next to it we had a school to which Kurdish students also went, in order to take Armenian and Turkish lessons. Numerous children from the nearby villages also attended our school. In 1910, Masdan’s Philomathic Association was founded in America, and every year sent the wages of the teacher of our village school. The chairman of our school’s board of trustees was Israyél Dépòyents` (Tarpinian)), whose house was blessed with rich patriarchal beneficence. Every day Armenians and Kurds weretablemates at the Dépòyents` house. Israyél’s father, Dépàpar (Sdepàn), had been a very intelligent old man. Tòros Nalpandents` and Hàrutìwn Khazarents` were considered to be the braves of our village, who sometimes entered into fights with the Kurds. In 1913, our family moved to Perri. In 1915, by my father’s arrangement, my cousin and I accompanied by the Kurd Dévrish Khologhlients` (who was a gendarme in Perri) fled to Masdan in order to hide there. After a certain amount of time we were obliged to go to another place and leave Masdan, and we went to Kàrntzor. A few days later we learned that the Armenians of Masdan had been shot by the gendarmes of Perri. In 1916, during the rebellion of the Dersim Kurds, we were with the Kurd Seyid Khasêm. When the Dersim people retreated, Seyid Khasêm placed all his belongings in the caves of Duzhig Baba and took us to Gundé Kuréshan. From there we went to the Khormak`tsì ashiret, which was near K`ghi. There we saw our compatriots Mayram Baji Pìloyents`, and her brother’s son Garabed Nazoyents`. Led by Seyid Khasêm, we travelled at night to the east of Khêzêl Kìlisé and were freed from the line of the military siege. The Kurds following us suffered heavy losses. The Turkish soldiers killed some of the Kurds and took others captives to Kharpert. That evening we reached the village called Jvark`, where Seyid Khasêm’s home was. From our village Khazar Khazarents` and his brother Hàrutìwn, and Tòros Nalpandian, and Tòros’ brother-in-law Garabed Najarian of Kàrntzor and his son Giragos, had already arrived there before us. They asked Seyid Khasêm to take them to the Russian border, promising to pay one Ottoman gold coin per person. At that period, the Russians had reached up to Hardif, which was a two day journey from Jvark`. They left with Seyid Khasêm and crossing the Russian border, went to Garin {Erzerum} under the supervision of a Russian Cossack. As soon as they arrived in Garin, Tòros and his companions immediately enrolled as volunteers in the Armenian battalions. Several months later, Tòros was sent to Erzngay, and there fought under the command of Murad of Sepasdia, while Hàrutìwn and his brother’s son Ghazar fought in the region of Garin. In the middle of 1917, after a difficult journey, Tòros Nalpandian’s wife, sister, and sister’s son Nshan Tarpinian, arrived in Garin from Masdan. The newly freed Nshan, filled with vengeance, also enrolled as a volunteer and together with Hàrutìwn Baghdasarian entered General Antranig’s army. Several months later, Hàrutìwn had won great fame thanks to his bravery. However, unfortunately, during a clash, he was heroically martyred on the “field of honor.” Tòros remained in Erzngay until the day of the retreat. During the battle waged against the Turks, he saw that one of his friends, wounded very seriously, was looking for help. Under the rain of the enemy’s bullets he threw himself forward and saved his friend from the danger of falling captive to the enemy, despite the wounds he received. Tòros, together with the Armenian regiments, reached Garin from Erzingay, where he found his hapless family, his children, sister, and nephew Nshan. Several weeks later, together with all the members of his family, he went to Gars. After the fall of that city, he returned to Ghara Kìlisé, Tiflis, Batum, and in 1923, left for France. And I, leaving Seyid Khasêm, settled in Mokhêndi. In 1923, I left Mokhêndi and went to Aleppo, and from there to France.

Below we present the surviving families of Masdan, with the name of their leader and the country they inhabit noted.

Armenia

Nshan P`iloyan Garabed Nazoyian

United States

Dikran Nalpandian Nshan Nalpandian Setrag Nalpandian Alek1san Nalpandian Aghajan Érmoyian Aghajan Koyumjian Garabed Bôyajian Garabed Shahinian Garabed Babigian Garabed Khanoyian Melk`on Kéoyian Bôghos Kuyumjian Nshan Lusigian Garabed Lusigian Markar Tarpinian

France

Nshan Tarpinian H’agop Shahinian Dônabed Shahinian Aprhaam Lusigian Giragos Khazarian Giragos Kéoyian Osgian Nalpandian

Aleppo

Asadur Nalpandian Mardiros Kljian Garabed Museghian Mrs. Sar`a Dérdérian

Kharpert

Garabed Kljian

Baghin

Baghin or Baghnadun, is to the northeast of Masdan village on the right bank of the Perri River. Baghin contains historical antiquities. The huge fortress hollowed out from rock, the ruins of a large bridge on both sides of the river, cuneiform inscriptions scattered here and there, and the ruins around the village indicate its important past. The site of Baghin is magical and mysterious. Nature has a great role in this mysteriousness. Unfathomably deep valleys and mountains that reach to the heavens, black rocks with hellish rust and verdant hazel trees, boiling mineral water from a spring next to which is crystalline ice-cold immortal water, herds of deer and packs of wolves, the gurgling of the river and the babbling of the partridges, the white doves of the caverns and black snakes—all are present, one next to the other, one opposite the other. Amazement and dread succeed one another there. This is our Ch`arsanjak’s pagan Baghin, a world of contrasts. The Armenian population of ten houses of Baghin are the successors of the Haygazean race born together with our history, chivalrous and good, hospitable and noble, and in particular, brave and hardy mountain Armenians. The clan of the Gak`avents`, and the clan of the Mardoyents` were the leaders of the village. Osgian Nalpandian who lives in France recounts the following.

In our day, the patriarch was the 120-year-old Gakàv (this was his real name). He had three children. The younger son, of a fiery temperament, ruled the mountains and the valleys. He was a good hunter who would ascend with his favorite weapon and descend with the prey on his shoulder. He would penetrate into the virgin forests. He even did not fear the wild beasts. Bandit Kurds who encountered him would greet “Lajé Gakàv” with respect. In 1914, the bloody Turkish hand reached this corner too and the three brothers were conscripted into the army and sent to Erzerum. These children of the free mountains quickly returned to the village, waging several fights on the way. Upon returning to Baghin as deserters, they established their residence in the forests. In 1915, when they began to shoot the Armenians of Chàrsanjak, old Gakàv, taking his two grandchildren, left the village for Faraj village, which belonged to the Khràn ashiret. One day a multitude of gendarmes descended upon Baghin, assembled the remaining males in the village, and shot them in a nearby valley. The women, girls, and children were taken on the Masdan road to Perri. The three sons of Gakàv, Giragos, Aynaz, and Mardig, went to the Dashtéashan and Khormaki areas, near the Chìkani forests, and were caught in a fight with twenty-five gendarmes. The three lion cubs heroically resisted, killing two gendarmes. They also wounded a few other people. The fighting lasted a long time. The cartridges of the Armenians ran out. Finally they were martyred on that spot. The Kurds of Chìkani found their corpses and buried them next to one each other. Old Gakàv remained in Fraj, at Ali Kako’s house. The gendarmes go after him and one day, surprising him, arrested him with his two grandchildren, one fourteen and the other eighteen years old. Despite Ali Kako’s intervention, the gendarmes did not release them but instead killed the three of them on the road. The inhumane act of killing old Gakav’s grandchildren in front of his eyes caused much distress in the ashiret of Khràn, at the same time awakening in their hearts the feeling that they had been deficient in their responsibilities. Feeling remorseful, they rebelled against that barbarous act and went to Medzgerd to protest. Seyid Ghasêm, Seyid Bék`dash [Bektaş], and Seyid Abbas of the Khràn condemned this Turkish barbarism with grave disapprobation, and they preached to their ashirets the necessity of raising the flag of rebellion. They became deeply convinced, and they persuaded their fellow tribesmen that after the annihiliation of the innocent Armenians the Turks would subject them to the same fate. This action of Seyid Bektash stirred up the flame of the 1916 expedition.

Ismayelts`i`k

It is to the south of Gorjan, with forty homes of Armenians and eight homes of Kurds. There was one church, St. Asdvadzadzin. Dikran Ch`it`jian, living in America, writes the following about his birthplace.

Zmaylé (Ismayeltsì`k`) is built on the left bank of the Mntzur River on a high position. In the 1650s, it was a large city with the name of Zmaylé or Zmayil, which later through changes became ismayel or Ismayeltsì`k. The left part of the village is mountainous and completely surrounded by vineyards, fruit-bearing trees, and mulberry trees. One part of the mountain, which is called Pòkht`éôk`én, has zinc, copper, and tin mines. There is a fortress fifteen to twenty minutes from the village towards the east, which at present is in ruins and buried under the earth. Our elders would relate that a logh [stone cylinder or roller] came tumbling from the area of the fortress onto the roofs, and then fell into the Mntzur River. The land of Zmaylé is covered with kàrpags (stone hills). There is no field which does not have a few kàrpags. A little before the fortress there was a large spring, Khozaghaj. The water of this spring was abundant enough to turn a mill. A little further away was another spring, Gaga. These two springs watered all the fields and gardens of the village. Immediately adjacent to the fortress was St. Loys [“Light”] Monastery (St. Illuminator), which had become an important place of pilgrimage for the faithful. The monastery was half ruined. It had walls two arm-lengths thick. On the destroyed altar grass as tall as a man had grown. A path between the monastery and the fortress went towards Perri. The walls of the monastery, the wide threshold of the door, and the smoothed stones of the walls remained intact and were one meter high. There were clay jugs [garas] of various sizes buried in the soil of the monastery, of which we kept one in our house. It could contain fifty liters of wine. Another container of the same size was removed by Dér Sdepàn’s family [Dér Sdepànen`k]. Their mouth and base were narrow, but the belly large and round. Next to the monastery rose St. Luss Mountain which they called Ôghlan Véran. From the summit of this high mountain it was possible to watch all of Chàrsanjak from the east, west, and north, until the mountains of Dersim. From the summit of St. Lusa, towards the north Dersim’s St. Loys Mountain could be seen, which they Kurds called Silpus or Dizgin Baba, while from the west, everything up to Kharpert’s famous Buzlughê (“freezer”) was seen. Our mountain had various types of flowers and grasses, among which was an unusual grass which gave sheep’s teeth the color of gold when they chewed it. This grass was called kimia ôtì [kimya otı, Turkish for chemical grass]. They related that its greatest enemy was the hedgehog. It relished this grass a lot and would eat it as soon as it sprouted. The border of the lands of Zmaylé was the left bank of the Mntzur River. The right bank, that is, the western expanse, belonged to Vasgerd village.

Vasgerd

To the northeast of Mérjumég, it had thirty-five Armenian homes, and ten Kurdish homes. There was one church, St. Tòros. Vasgerd’s location is a mountainous one. It is surrounded by hazel tree forests, fruit-bearing trees, and vineyards. Hàrutìwn Kévorkian of Aleppo gives the following information about his birthplace.

Old Vasgerd is found to the south of the present village, and is bordered by rocks. It had two churches, Mayr Mariam [Mother Mary] and Kàràsun Mangunk`. The first one was small and dug into the earth. Only its polished walls and the baptismal font remain. On feast days the faithful would go on pilgrimate there and light candles. Kàrasun Mangunk` Church, with its location and size, was characterized as a chathedral. There was a monolithic rock to its south which was twenty to thirty meters high and over one kilometer in length. It contained numerous caves and paths. It was called Asdurin mgharan, and in it seventy-five to one hundred horsemen could take refuge. The desire to advance inside this cave was a very dangerous attempt. You would think it was a maze. It had so many multi-branching paths that a man could get lost. For this reasons the villagers placed signs of danger in a number of places. During the winter, snow driven by storms would fill its openings, and in summertime, would be ready snow for the villagers. New Vasgerd was built two kilometers from Old Vasgerd, towares the north. There was little cultivable soil. There were craftsmen in the village—blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, and weavers. The kàfer [??kef, Turkish for sediment?? CHECK] from mineral stones were seen around Vasgerd, which leds to the assumption that at one time a refinery existed here. Vasgerd has a stone fortress with half-fallen walls, from the center of which a passage descends descends to the fortress’ bottom where a large expanse extends. A spring of drinkable water issues forth forth at the west of the fortress. It was called the Spring of the Khala. In the 1880s, Vasgerd contained one hundred houses of Armenians and ten houses of Kurds. Many of the villagers were unable to endure the oppressions of Vasgerd’s agha, and so immigrated to Kharpert and other villages. In 1905, Vasgerd’s inhabitants were also subject to state oppression. The government sent gendarmes to collect land taxes (emlâk vergisi). Although all the fields, gardens, and vineyards belonged to the agha, the gendarmes demanded from the poor Armenians the land tax from the gardens and fields which they did not possess. The Armenian notables of the village were summoned and invited to compulsorily pay this tax. The villagers assembled and decided to immigrate en masse to Perri. So that they would not encounter any hindrance from the aghas or Kurds, they inventively turned to cunning, and said, “Let us take our furniture and goods to Perri and sell them, so that we can pay with their equivalent value the sum demanded from us.” Upon this arrangement, the Vasgerd people, over one hundred and eighty families, placed their goods on mules and left to Perri; arriving at the prelacy there they related their situation. The prelacy, in its turn, presented the issue to the attention of the benevolent government of Perri. The government pretended to be deaf, and sat with its hands folded. The immigrant villagers from Vasgerd settled in Perri, on condition of never returning to their village birthplace. Thus, Vasgerd village was emptied of Armenians and became a deserted village. Three years later, the agha of Vasgerd came to Perri and succeeded in persuading twelve families to return to Vasgeerd, promising htem fields, gardens, and vineyards. In 1915, these villagers too were massacred. In this way, the rule of the agha ended, along with the perpetual torment of the villager.

Vasgerd had numerous historical sites. To the west of the village was St. Varvar`é Monastery. They said that that the church’s treasures were buried there. Agn Spring with the Vjgi (Vijagi) twin sources watered some ten groves. To the south of Vjgi Spring was the stone mountain of the same name, where villagers would milk their cattle and flocks. Brides and girls would milk the animals at noon, and then with full containers (kàrghan, gjig), would return home in the evening, happy and merry. Jknavorats` Ayr [Cave of the Hermit] (Piréi poynê [The Lare of the Dervish Leader]. It was possible to reach the door of the Cave by ascending a narrow path five to eight meter high. The interior portion was three meters long, two meters wide, and 175 cm high. In this room, there was a round hole through which one man could pass, after which you would find yourself in front of two stairs. One led to the chàrdagh [çardak, Turkish for a light structure consisting of posts and a roof of branches] (ayvan [Turkish, also eyvan: a three-walled vaulted antechamber, open at the front; upper hall], whence the orchards could be seen. The second descended to the floor. There were various types of writing on the walls which remained incomprehensible for us. Next to these rocks were three hollowed-out cells, which they called the men’s, women’s, and girls’ chàrdagh (ayvan), whence it was possible to see the panorama of the village and the nearby gardens. Several types of mines were in the vicinity of Vasgerd. There was a white stone mine whose white stone initially could be quite easily carved with a pen knife or given any form. However, forty-eight hours after being extracted from the mine, it would harden like marble, always preserving its whiteness. There were also various large and small types of stones, such as flint, kentrolite, and granite. The earth taken from the valley is the best kind of black dye (khara boya). A white substance like tin would ooze out of the stones of the mountain bordering Mntzur during the summer, with an extremely shiny appearance. Vasgerd’s mountains are covered with hazel trees, as well as apple and pear trees.

Part Five

Section 1 Ch`arsanjak’s Economic Life

1.1) Agriculture

All of Ch`arsanjak was predominately an agricultural region. In the sixty villages, nearly all the fields were cultivated by Armenians, so that the overwhelming majority of villagers were involved in agriculture. Village lands, gardens, and vineyards were the property of twenty-four aghas and begs, whose marabas or working element was composed by the Armenian villagers. The Armenian farmer was obligated to give the government one-sixth or one-eighth of the crops he produced. Half of the remainder was taken by the landowning agha or beg, and the other half remained with him. The quantity of crops that a family of twenty-five villagers could produce through a supreme effort would only just assure its bare livelihood. For example, a family through agonizing labor would amass at the threshing floor 100 éôch`ég of wheat (one éôch`ég weighed 24 okka). It would surrender to the government 18 éôch`ég as a tithe. Of the remaining 82 éôch`ég, half would go to the landowner and 41 éôch`ég of wheat would be left to it. In addition, it would have to satisfy the khôlams [CHECK henchmen; Turkish gulâm, literally boy or slave] of the aghas and begs, the village kzir [Turkish kizir or gizir, headman’s aide or clerk], and other parasites, whose share would come to approximately 4 éôch`ég. Thus, a villager working for a whole year with blood and sweat is only left with 37 éôch’ég, that is, one-third of what he had earned. The villager subject from all sides to exploitation, injustice, and deprivation managed his economy in accordance with the above division of profit. It was only after putting aside the year’s provisions that he could think of clothing or other needs. Under such circumstances, the poor villager was unable to sell part of his produce. On the contrary, before half the year had passed, many began to live with debt on condition of paying during the new threshing period, and thus remaining subject to the insatiable plunder of the usurers. In this oppressive economic atmosphere, physical deprivations combined with spiritual bitterness silently ravaged the ignorant, all- compliant people who believed that all that occurred was “preordained by God.”

1.2) Produce

Chàrsanjak’s crops—wheat, barley, lentil, julband [bitter or rambling vetch], and cotton—were stored in the warehouses of the aghas or begs to be sold to merchants of Kharpert and elsewhere. After the 1908 [restoration of the Ottoman] Constitution, our compatriots, tricked by appearances, returned from America with their savings and with bright hopes started work. They bought fields and animals. In several fields the appearance of life in Chàrsanjak changed. The economy advanced, happiness and enthusiasm appeared in social life, and with teary eyes gradually wiped, minds began to be enlightened and create. In sum, the populace awoke from its enervation, and was filled with the insatiable desire after the dark to greet the dawn. However, alas, the calamitous storm for the Armenian harvest quickly exploded—the 1915 calamity. Agriculture in Chàrsanjak was conducted by primitive methods, directly by human physical labor. However, thanks to fertile lands, harvests were abundant. This abundant harvest repleted the khôlams, aghas, begs, government bootlicks, and at the same time assured the livelihood of the hardworking villager, no matter if only in a very modest fashion. The crops of Chàrsanjak were of good quality, and had good customers in the market. The wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, cotton (though little in quantity) were very renowned. If our lands were cultivated with modern agricultural methods, there is no doubt that the crops would increase ten-fold. As we previously mentioned, the villagers were farmers. Cratsmen were rare, and they were generally weavers. This craft was connected to products. The cotton or wool was local. It would be carded or combed, spun, and then from the yarn various clothes and covers would be made. Thus a part of the villagers would be able to assure their clothing and related items. The rest would exchange extra produce from its food provisions for clothing or other necessities. The [Armenian] national trade and cultural center for Chàrsanjak was Perri. Thus it is worth paying particular attention to it.

Section 2 Perri’s Economic Life

2.1) Trade

Perri was the pulse of the economic life of Ch`arsanjak, a sort of revelatory indicator of its vitality. It merited this role as a commercial and artisanal center thanks to its geographical location. Despite the proximity of Medzgerd, the people of Dersim preferred to come to Perri to do their commerce because Perri interested them more thanks to the richness of its goods and the ease of transactions. In Perri’s well frequented market they would sell their high quality oil, walnuts, wool, [pileless] carpets, goat hair, meat providing animals, tshdurs (one-year-old female goats), çepiçs (one-year-old male goats), kazbon, honey, and also skins of rabbits, foxes, and sênsars [martens or polecats]. The fur-bearing skins of Dersim’s fox and black sênsar were very famous and exquisite. IN that period, the skin of one sênsar was worth two to three Ottoman gold coins. These goods were bought by Perri’s merchants, and transported to Kharpert, where they would become sources of great profit. The Dersim people would buy in exchange for the goods they sold the equivalent value of clothes and other necessities.

Merchants

Perri’s merchants, especially after the Constitution, advanced greatly. IT is worth remembering and commending to history the individuals who were the main factors in Perri’s economy. Garabed Vasgerdlian, Eghiazar Chàkmakjian, Baghdasar Bôyajian, Bôghos Erevanian, Mardiros Holopigian, Mardiros Takésian, Hàrutìwn Bandazian, Mardiros Nalpandian, Sarkis Jizméjian, Karekin P`éshék`érian, Krikor Dér Garabedian and others established commercial relations with the merchants of Kharpert. They not only exported but also imported a great quantity of chùkhay [woolen cloth], silk cloth, dbadzoy [printed calico], basma [Turkish for printed cloth], European textiles, soap, and other items. Aside from the aforementioned large merchants, there were also the secondary merchants, storekeepers, and peddlars. Worthy of mention are: Mardiros Mazmanian, Sahag Minasian, Hàgop Enovkìan, Hòvhannés Pàshajughian, Hòvhannés Mkhsi Mkàyélian, Bedros and Mardiros Démirjian, MEdzig Tàtoyian, Mergeros Vasgerdlian, Mesrob Déroyian, Krikor T`érzian, Bedros P`éshék`érian, and Mesrob Kazanjian.

2.2) Crafts

In Perri, as in various centrs of Turkey, the crafts were concentrated in the hands of the Armenians. Of approximately one hundred artisans, only six were Turks, of whom one was a barber, and the other a peddler. We present below the chief types of artisans of Perri and the types of their work.

1) Potters. Potters were found at the northern part of the city, and were called in the local dialect bardakhjis. Their craft truly was the most widespread and advanced. They prepared various types of fine clayware with which they flooded Chàrsanjak and Dersim. In addition, they sent it via the river on rafts as afar as Geban-Maden and Malatya. They prepared many types of water urns [sapòr], jugs [guzh], pots [budug], hasdirs [a type of basin, plate, or short, wide container], ewers [pghugh], kàrghans [deep containers which gradually widen from the bottom], water pitchers [pàrch`], large and thick jugs [garas], churns, olive oil lamps, grijs [flower pots or containers for water for chickens], pòrghank` [CHECK??], ur`égs [CHECK], and tònirs [clay ovens]. The aghi guzh [“salty” jug or amphora] prepared by Perri’s potters was famous; it cooled water in the summertime. This craft, it seems, had become hereditary. The potters did not want to teach others, especially foreigners, about the skill and secrets that they had mastered. The Neroyan brothers and Hàgop Malkhasian were among the noted potters.

2) Blacksmiths. Ironworking was a fairly profitable craft because Perri was surrounded largely by farming villagers. The blacksmiths would make the plow’s khop`s [sharp flat metal part which enters the ground], axes, adzes, pruning knives, kìwlbés [CHECK], hammers, knives, scythes, horseshoes, horseshoe nails, and items necessary for homes and crafts such as the agish, spit, pliers, and tongs. Ironworking demanded hardiness, toughness, and a strong body, muscles, and nerves in order to battle the iron and fire. Master and apprentice worked dripping in sweat from morning to night. It must be confessed with all this that blacksmithing was a profitable craft. Baghdasar and Garabed Noroyian, Manug Holopigian, Krikor Chàkmakjian, Ôhan Chàkmakjian, and Kèrop Melidosian (also a good violinist) were considered the main masters.

3) Farriers. In Perri it seems that horseshoeing had become the monopoly of three families. They had large stores-stables where the animals to be shoed would be tied (hroses, asses, and mules) to await their turn. The farriers [baydar in Armenian, nalbant in Turkish] generally worked for the begs and aghas. If they made a small mistake while shoeing their beasts of burden and horses, they could be subject to the latter’s vengeance. Woe to that master who after shoeing the horse of this beg or that agha had led to lameness! There was also the other side of the coin, however. They would win the friendship of the notables through their good work, along with their presents. Aharon Nalpandian and his son Khosrov, Bedros Nalpandian, and Krikor Nalpandian had won great fame as notable masters.

4) Cobblers. There were two types of cobblers: those who made shoes with European leather, and those who used local leather to make yemenis [light footware]. Artisans of the first type were called kondurajis [kunduracı in Turkish], and those of the second time gôshgar or yeméniji. There were one or two famous masters who generally worked for the begs, aghas, state officials, and the rich. Wearing their shoes engendered a special pride. They were also masters in the production of women’s shoes. They would sew bôt` {probably bôt is from botte in French for boot}, bôtìn {from bottine in French for half-boot or ankle boot, and the same as potin in Turkish—which itself is a borrowing from French} and kalosh bôtìn (galoshes) in particular sizes and upon demand. These masters were always honored because they dealt with people of the upper class. Those masters, who raised the craft of shoemaking into an art, included Kasbar Urfalian and Agha Beg, whose last name, unfortunately, it has not been possible to determine. The latter was called by Armenian, Turkish, and Kurdish customers Kônduraji Aghabég. Those who made yemenis [Footnote: Although yemenis were made to order, there was no centimeter ruler with which to make measurements. The size of children’s feet was estimated from their age, with molds in two or three sizes. Men’s models were named At`maja, Uluzgar, Ôrt`yagh, Bat`tàl, and so forth, and women’s, called zénné, were similarly done.] were more numerous because in Chàrsanjak and Dersim the villagers used that type of shoe. Cobblers prepared the leather used for the tops and soles of the shoes they sewed under local conditions, so that shoemaking and tannage often became part of the same process with some masters. During the last months of autumn, each cobbler, in accordance with his abilities, loaded the assembled hides of goats and sheep onto asses and brought them to the river’s edge in order to dip them into the river. He would tie the hides together with ropes and lay stones on top of them. After remaining fifteen days in the flowing water, the hides would become both wet and clean. The cobbler would bring them then to his home, and would scrape them in order to remove the hairs and wool. Then, after covering them with sumac, he would fill them in wells that had been dug in one corner of the stable. Leather prepared from the hides of buffaloes and oxen were used for the soles of shoes. The leather of the surface, which was prepared from goatskin, was called ség, and would only be painted black, while the leather made from sheepskin was called méshin (and used for the lining). During the three months of winter, cobblers would do their tanning, while in March, they would cut the surfaces of shoes and hang them in a ready state. When a customer came, after determining the amount he wanted and the dimensions, the master would first beat the sole for the leather, previously placed in water and softened, on top of a walnut stump or block with a fifty centimeter diameter (a dézgeah). Then he would shape the leather and hand it to the apprentices. The latter would cut twenty to thirty pairs by evening. The master would turn the cut yemenis with a special stick, and mold them. Then he would smooth the edges out, and without drying them take them from the mold to line up in pairs. If the customer had come from Dersim and was placing a large order, he would be hosted for one or two days at the cobbler’s home and would be honored with khavurmas and pilafs. After the yemenis were ready, the Dersim people or the villagers would arrange them on long rods and bearing them on their backs would leave the village. The wet shoes would dry on the way. Let us also note that on these occasions, the jocular shoemakers would play amusing games on their kìrva customers. For example, Mshmshian Marsub Aghpar, in the presence of his kìrva customer, would command, “Kévô boy, sit tight and work quickly. Dada Baba is a friend; he is going and will not come; he is taking and will not give.” He meant, “Sew quickly, with large stitches, and finish.” Meanwhile the customer thought that the apprentice was being ordered to sew well. In this way, the naive customer expressed his thanks to the master for the special care being shown him. Let us remember of Perri’s well known cobblers Bedros Shbutìan (who was first in this craft with his clean and well-formed work), Hòvhannés Enovkìan, Nshan Kzirian, Bedros Puchigian, Sahag and Kévork Sémérjian, Vartan Marabanian, Simon Erevanian, Mesro Khachìgian, Sarkis Erevanian, Kapriél and Mkhsi Bazirgeanian, Sarkis Mshmshian, Avak Mshmshian, Ôhan and Bedros Mshmshian, Sahag Hakalmazian, the Tòroyian brothers (gôshgar Tòroyenk`), Sahag Méynazarian, Méynazar Méynazarian, Tòros Marabanian, Sahag Marabanian, Garabed Ezigian, and Bedros Dôlashian. As we noted above, all these cobblers also had a second auxiliary craft, tannage. Many of the abovementioned masters at the same time were also butchers.

5) Butchers. Butchery reached its perfection in Perri. The butchers had the skill to separate the skin of slaughtered animals from the meat while keeping both unharmed. In order to have the choice leather called aghakh, the hide must be cleanly scraped. A hole or a deep knife mark on the skin would greatly reduce its value. The international market for raw leather was very interested in well-scraped skins. Being familiar with hides because of our trade, we can unhesitatingly say that the raw hides prepared by Perri’s butchers were indisputably of a high quality. In the Kharpert region, the hides of Perri’s slaughterhouse (maslakh) would take first place. After satisfying local needs, the remainder would be exported aborad, even a sfar as France, and sold at high prices. After the scraping of goat or sheep skins, the salting or natural dryig would be so expertly carried out that it would be possible to keep them a long time in their raw state without danger of deterioration. When the animal was slaughtered, the skin would be so skillfully and symmetrically split apart that when it was folded horizontally from the neck to the tail, no part would be in excess or lacking. Perri’s people were extremely carnivorous so that the number of butchers was great and their continual work turned them into famous masters. Our butchers were brave, or rather they became brave through their work with gradual progress. Did they not masterfully work until the victims were obliged to submit to their tight arms. This situation psychologically turned the butchers into brave “breaking-cutting” men. They always had knives and their belt (khayrat` khushaghi) tied to their waists. When the ordinary people were not allowed to even bear an ordinary pocket knife, there were the butchers who freely had various types of knives and the khayrat` khushaghi shining on their waist, while the masad [Turkish for steel for sharpening knives] swung from their shoulders, tied by a chain. The Turks did not want to have a problem and dispute with the Armenian butchers. After all, were they not spillers of blood? There was a small slaughterhouse in the northern part of Perri ten minutes from the cobblers on the road to Basu, where daily 75 to 100 sheep or goats would be slaughtered and, placed on long sticks, brought to the city to be hung in front of stores. There the goat or sheep body would be divided into four parts—bud [Turkish for thigh, leg of meat, rump], khaburgha [kaburga, Turkish for rib or ribs], dosh [döş, Turkish for breast (of mutton), or brisket (beef)], and bértêlam [CHECK] [Footnote: The task of separating meat from the bone or making khêyma [kıyma, Turkish for chopped meat] was not done by butchers. There was no selling of meat by the niwgiw [CHECK] or pound, as customers who wanted little meat would be expelled.] The slaughterhouse would almost never work in the winter because instead of sheep and goat, they would slaughter cows, oxen, calves, and buffaloes in the center of the market, where the snow would be at least fifty centimeters high. The customer, depending on what meal he was going to prepare, would instruct the butcher, “Weigh this bud, or that khaburga.” The butcher after ascertaining the weight would reply, “Behold, four and one half ôkha, there is no half, so take four ôkha.” The purchaser would make his payment, put his finger through the hole where the meat had been pierced, and take the meat home. They slaughtered most of all goat, chèpìj [çepiç], and tshdur. Turkish government officials generally would eat the meat of sheep. In our country, goat meat was very tasty, especially those which were raised on the leaves of the hazel tree and high quality grasses of the mountains. In the fall every family, in accordance with its ability and the number of its members, would prepare khavurma from five to fifteen goats for the winter supplies. The tshdurs for this khavurma were bought from the Kurdish shepherd merchants called Bérétàntsì from the Erzurum area. They would buy at one time five hundred to one thousand goats or sheep (mor` ewes), paying cash. The procedure for slaughtering buffaloes in wintertime is interesting. Let us first declare that buying buffalo was a fairly complex matter and required long negotiations. Villagers would only with great difficulty want to sell their buffaloes, because this hardy and yoked animal was an important pillar in the villager’s work. It played a large role in plowing the earth, threshing, and transporting the harvest. The buffalo would be sold only when the animal would lose its ability to work, or the owner would be in great finaincial difficulty. As for the large landowners, they would sell their crazed buffaloes in order to be freed of them. It is worth watching the terrible fight which would take place in the beginning of spring between the buffaloes of two begs or kâhyas. We will try to present an interesting picture of this at an appropriate place. Now let us begin to describe the rite of purchase. Months earlier, the news indirectly spreads from mouth to mouth that in a certain village, a certain buffalo would be sold this year. The butchers, after investigating the news, appear before the owner of the buffalo in a very tactful fashion, because the villager could say, “Even if you gave one thousand gold coins, I would not give my buffao to that man.” Like every person, the villagers too had their amour-propre. The purchasers of buffalo had to be cunning, otherwise they would be left in the sad state of those incompetents who go to ask for the hand of a girl and return emptyhanded. The butcher, in the winter wind, must visit the village several times. He must create suitable opportunities to become a table campanion to the buffalo’s owner so that the two can get to know each other, with salt and bread, and drink, and establish a relationship. The more intimate the relationship is, the greater is the possibility of a purchase. In that circumstance, even the family members of the owner, his wife, child or in-laws, would intercede and intervene in favor of the customer guest, and finally saying, “He is not a stranger. Since what he wants is a buffalo, let us give it and he can leave.” They thus encourage the owner, and secure his approval. After this another difficulty begins—the bargaining. Such master butchers existed who could, by looking at the dôsh and kàsh [Footnote: The chest and groin areas of the animal] of the animal which was to be turned into meat, understand the value and act accordingly in order to purchase the animal. Of course the bargaining would conclude with the defeat of the owner, and the sold buffalo would be led by the owner to Perri. Henceforth it would be ready to be slaughtered. One week earlier, the news would circulate that the crazy buffalo of a certain kâhya of a certain village, the bozo [CHECK], would be slaughtered. Buffaloes would be slaughted on Saturdays. Starting on Friday evening, the butcher’s house would take on a festive appearance. The table was open [to all?seghane pats], the wine flowed, and the butcher, assembling around him his assistants, prepared the plan for the next day’s actions. It was a respected rule that the honor of first cutting the buffalo with a knife belonged to the master butcher. Subordinates or juniors were obliged to submit to this unwritten traditional law. Before the buffalo was taken out of the stable, the animal’s back, neck, and legs were placed in loops of very strong ropes, very cautiously and skillfully. [Footnote: This operation was called “sharagh nedel.” It required courage, experience, and mastery. It was not every butcher’s affair to slaughter crazy buffaloes.] Those holding the ends of the ropes would be first to leave the stable. Whoever was holding the rope tying the head and neck had to be a youth. Strength and bravery were demanded of him. The buffalo was slowly removed from the stable in this condition, and led to the place of slaughter with one thousand and one precautions. To approach the buffalo (especially a crazed buffalo with reddened eyes), place it in loops, bring it out of the stable, and slaughter it…this was not an ordinary affair. The buffalo with one jolt could knock down those around it. There was in addition to all this another menace. At midnight, when the snow had fallen abundantly and the freezing wind with its stinging cold and whistling froze the area, a terrible situation would be created. Turkish rascals who had awoken in this tumult each took a tin and began to create an uproar in order to frighten the buffalo into flight. Many times the ropes, unable to withstand the buffalo’s jerks, broke chàt`r-chàt`r [with a sharp cracking noise], creating a frightening situation. It has also occurred that the buffalo frees itself from the restraining ties and after causing various injuries, flees towards its village. This is why tying the rope was very important. When the buffalo reached its final destination, on the signal from the master, they would immediately lower the ropes on its back from two sides to its shanks, and by pulling from all sides bring the animal to the ground. Then they would quickly tighten the ropes on the legs. The greatest danger came from the head. Wore to him who could not keep himself during the movements of the buffalo’s head. For this reason, three or four people would take the head’s tie from the side of the back and join it to the rear rope so that the buffalo would be immobilized. When the loops were taut, and the buffalo immobilized and fallen to the ground, the senior master with a cutting blow from his sharp knife would make blood flow, and paint the snow-covered ground with red [Footnote: Even Armenian butchers would be required before striking the first blow of the knife to loudly say, “Biisim Illah, Rahman iwl Rahim Allahê ék`bér emir ilé férmanê hak {Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim Allahuekber emir ile fermanı hak, or “In the name of God the Merciful and Compassionate, by order of God the Greatest’s imperial command.”} Without this invocation, Turks would consider the slaughter impure and would not buy the meat.]. It is worth seeing the victorious appearance of the butchers after the vcitm was defeated. Sitting on the motionless pile of meat, they would roll their cigarettes in a panegyric of victory. Meanwhile next to them around ten dogs surrounding the red pond were licking up the blood. After this the skinning would take place and the dismemberment, followed by the sale of the meat. After this tale of the buffalo, let us enumerate the well known butchers of Perri: Garabed (Chàli) Urfalian, Sarkis Erevanian, Mkhsi Birgeanina, Sdepàn Hakalmazian, Sahag and Kévork Sémérjian, T’oros Marabanian, Ôhan Tàtoyian, and Israyél Tàtoyian.

6) Tailors. Tailoring in Perri and its region remained in a weak and primitive state since only the rich class had business with tailors. The poor class of the people, which was an absolute majority, prepared its clothing at home itself. The clothes of the people included the zbun, shalvar, elag {Turkish yelek, vest, waistcoat}, shabig, and so forth. All of these were sewn at home. Perri’s tailors were able to sew the shalvar, elag, and sak`ô [ADD DEFINITIONS?]. Until the proclamation of the Constitution in 1908, European dress had practically not entered Perri. The Perri inhabitant had, according to local standards, three famous tailors—Sarkis Térzian, Ghazaros Urfalian, and Vik`t`or T’érzian.

7) Sericulturists. It was on the initiative of the two sons of Krikor Holopigian— Ar`ak`el and Khosrov—that sericulture began in Perri in 1911-1913. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, they stopped this work.

8) Dyer. Local yarn, linen, and woolen cloth were generally dyed by ch`ivid [Turkish, çivit] (indigo color) dye. There were not many types of colors and dyes. Black and indigo were widespread. Hampartzum Bôyajian and Avak Bôyajian were considered the well known dyers of Perri.

9) Saddlers. Saddlery was current and practical, since the villagers in the Perri area would have their beasts saddles made there. Animals were used for travel and transportation with the t`amp [eyer in Turkish] and hamed [semer in Turkish; a cruder saddle used for carrying loads--packsaddle] saddles, together with their accompanying parts. There were no saraçs [Turkish for saddle or harness workers; perhaps here meaning the latter], as their job was carried out by the saddlers, among whom Alek`san Marabanian, and Manug and Bedros Sémérjian were well known.

10) Tinsmiths-Pewterers [anakakordz, CHECK glayakordz; in Turkish kalaycı]. The plates used in all the villages of Ch`arsanjak were made of copper. Therefore tinsmiths worked well, and together with coppersmiths were numerous. The former worked as itinerants, while the latter had special stores. In the villages, they would receive as their payment produce instead of money—barley, wheat, oil, etc. The masters of this trade were Bedros and Garabed Puchigian, Baghdasar Avakian (P`rôd [“Protestant”] Baghdô), and Sahag Ezigian.

11) Bakers and Oven Keepers. Considering that the families of Perri generally baked their bread in their homes, it is naturally that there would not be much need for bakers and oven keepers if not for government officials and the artisans of the marketplace. It was considered shameful for Perri inhabitants to buy their bread from the marketpace, but under unusual circumstances (sickness, work, lack of flour) they would do business with oven keepers, and have them cookthe famous food giwvéj [Turkish, güveç], made of meat, tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, and baj [either the grain of wheat still in its husk/hull, or a vetch-like green], which was the preferred meal of the men of the market. During the summer and fall, the ovens would be full of containers full of darakhlêkh and pushda [Footnote: That part of the animal from the spine to the neck which divides to the right and left, where the meat is both soft and tasty, especially when it is roasted in the oven]. While they were cooking, the smell of the meat would fill the nostrils of those passing by the front of the ovens and excite their palates, of course together with the sweet fragrance of pure wheat bread. The noted bakers of Perri were Bedros Urfalian, Alek`san Gop`oyian, and Bedros Ch`akmakjian.

12) Gunsmiths. The repair of the weapons used in the regions of Dersim and Chàrsanjak (primarily chàkhmakhli [çakmaklı, Turkish for flintlock gun] led to gunsmithing. In addition to the locally prepared chàkhmakhlis, double-barrelled (çifte) and single-barrelled (tek tüfenk) rifles began to be imported from abroad. There were two types of them, dôlma and ghêrma. The dôlma [“stuffed,” “filled up,” in Turkish], like the chàkhmakhli had gunpowder filled in its barrel and tamped with a special rod. Then they would place the saçma [buckshot] and again beat down with the rod. In order to fire, it was necessary to place a capsule [percussion cap or priming charge] at the opening of the trigger. With the pressure of the thumb, the trigger forcefully descends on the capsule, and the consequent spark of fire ignites the gunpowder and causes the expulsion of the bullet or small shots. The single- or double-barrelled khêrma [same word as ghêrma above, meaning breech-loader] opened with a spring, the cartridge was placed in the barrel, and the blow of the trigger would fire it. In addition to these weapons, there were weapons of war, the Martini and Mauser rifles, as well as handguns—the liver, kharadagh, tòp`li, and alt`ê pàt`lakh [six-shooter]. Dersim’s Kurds, practically without exception, would at least have a chàkhmakhli. To not have one would be demeaning. It was as if the gun was a national object. Alongside it it was also necessary to have a saber, sword, and dagger (khanch`ér [Turkish, hançer]. For this reason, the gunsmiths of Perri would always be sought out. Nshan Kzirian, Avedis Kzirian, Sarkis Chàkmakjian, Hàgop Bandoyian, Khachàdur Bandazian, Sahag Bandazian, and Bedros Puchìgian were remembered as noted masters.

13) Goldsmiths. Goldsmithing was not a widespread trade, but it was sufficient tosatisfy the demands of Perri and its surroundings, especially for the preparation of special ornaments (gold and silver) for the female sex. Gold was very rare, so that most jewelry was made out of silver. Strings of Ottoman gold [one pound] coins, ghazis [20 piastre Ottoman gold coins], and yaldızs [Venetian ducats?], necklaces, and five Ottoman gold pound coins (beşi birlik) formed gold ornaments. Niello-inlayed silver rings, and bracelets were used a lot. Niello-inlayed bracelets on which artistic work was carried out were famous. There were gifted engravers among the goldsmiths of Perri. The demand of the poepiulation of Dersim and Ch`arsanjak for jewelry was satisfied by the jewelers of Perri, among whom Bedros Érmoyian, Baghdasar Érmoyian, Ayras Déroyian, and Garabed Noroyian had won a certain fame.

14) Yazmaji (Chìt`ji). These artisans would print colorful drawn designs on white linen or silks. The master dyer in this trade was Hàgop Gopòyian.

15) Tinsmiths [or tinplate workers; tìtèghakordz]. There were two tinsmiths in Perri who would make tin objects. It was also part of their work to prepare home ovens (sobas) as well as pipe fixtures. Hàgop Srpugian and Kévork Khojégian were the master tinsmiths of Perri.

16) Muleteers. Small transports in Perri or its surrounding villages were done by individual means. That is, every man would transport what he had to the necessary palces with his own beasts of burden. Large scale trade transports were conducted between centers of population—for example, from Kharpert to perri via muleteers. This type of transportation was not done with asses or hosreses but with mules because sthe mule is a tougher animal. The muleteers in general were Turks, and were called ghat`êrjês [katırcı, Turkish]. This profession was not widespread among Armenians, but Armenian muleteers were not lacking in Perri who traveled not only to Kharpert but often as far as Malatya, Sepasdia, Dikranagerd, Trebizond, Erznga, and Erzerum. Among the noteworthy muleteers were Kasbar Émirshadian, who, having formed a caravan of forty to fifty mules, would travel back and forth in every direction, and Manug Mkhsi Mik`ayélian. Working as a multeer required an adventurous, brave, and patient personality in order to resist the severities of the climate, the difficulties created by the mules, and the bandit attacks in insecure places.

We have attempted in this chapter to present a fairly detailed picture of Perri’s commercial, artisanal, and special professions based on reliable information and testimony from survivors. We have outlined all those occupations and their chief practitioners which existed prior to the black date of 1915. In order to complete this seciont, let us speak a little about the liberal professions. In Perri we did not have diplomaed doctors, pharmacists, dentists, lawyers, engineers, photographers, and so forth. However, individuals existed who satisfied the demands of the populace. Instead of having diplomas from universities or being experts, they achieved a certain position thanks to their experience, and when necessary they tried to be useful to the people. Our “doctors” were experienced people who had made a reputation for themselves. There were bonesetters, writers of hmayils [prayer scrolls] and nuskhas [nusha or nuska, Turkish for charm or amulet] against the evil eye, fever healers by reading and praying, and herbalists (attar or aktar, Turkish). All these were apparently hereditarily transmitted skills. A father would transmit his specialtiy to his son. Remedies were often composed of roots, barks, and leaves of plants rather than prepared medecines. The only prepared medicines that existed were solfato [quinine sulfate] and castor oil. When anyone’s tooth hurt and it was felt necessary to extract it, it was necessary to go to barber experts who, with their medieval, sometimes rusty pincers, which had entered and exited so many mouths, would pull out or break the painful, and often healthy, teeth, while subjecting the sick person to unspeakable torments. Barber Ibô and Sahag Érmoyian had the fame of being experienced teeth pullers. Their mastery and skill were related in a fawning fashion from village to village. One means of treatment was considered to be the letting of blood from the arm’s main vein by the lance of the barber. We often would see a man seated at the edge of a streamlet or at one corner of a street with his sleeves rolled up. His arm was stretched out and his thumb and index finger touched one another, as if he was counting money, and black blood spurted out of his vein until a signal from the master barber. Under these conditions sometimes blood would flow incalculably, and the subject would either faint, or … There were homes called ôjakh [ocak, “hearth” in Turkish] for the tying or healing of broken arms and legs, which also had other curative means. As we recalled already, we did not have diplomaed lawyers, but there were those who through experience had acquired a certain judicial and legislative proficiency. Of these, it is worth citing Apkar Buludian. 17) Officials. Throughout Turkey, Armenians held proportionately very few positions in state and other offices. One of the serious causes of this was that the Turkish government had always given preference to Muslims while securing officials, and only gave places to non-Muslims under exceptional circumstances, when it was unable to find what it needed among Muslims. The second reason was due directly to the Armenians, who preferred trade, crafts, or agriculture. Nonethless, Armenian officials, thanks to their exceptional worth, were always valued by the non-Christian elements and the local authorities. As the absolute majority of the Perri population was composed of Armenians, the mayor was always an Armenian. In our days, Krikor effendi Holopigian was a notable mayor. Apkar effendi Buludian was respected and skilled among the state officials. He was a good jurisconsult who knew Turkish well, and acted as a member of the Meclis-i İdare [Administrative Council] with great authority. H`arut`iwn Érmoyian and Garabed Kontoyian were well known as state revenue collectors (tahsildar). We also had several gendarmes.

Economic Vicissitudes

Thus our people worked in their chosen fields for their livelihood and to improve their economic situation. Unfortunately, before ten or twenty years passed, a planned political insecurity—a storm of plunder and massacre—struck and exposed Armenians to indescribable deprivations and oppressions. The only salvation from the horrors of deportation and slaughter was miracle-working Armenian creativity. Thanks to the latter, that plundered people would regain its enviable economic situation, and even win the wonder of the Turkish, Kurdish, and Circassian elements which had plundered, oppressed, and massacred it. The Kurds and Zazas of Dersim and Chàrsanjak, as tools of the Turkish government, played an active role in the politics of plunder. According to what our elders said, twenty years prior to the plunder of 1895, there was another plundering. For this reason, practically no wealth remained with the Armenains of Perri and other Armenian centers, since during that plunder, not even an old broom was left in Armenian homes. Under these unfortunate circumstances how could a people grow wealthy and progress? Under similar circumstances other nations would give way to despair, but the Armenian people, thanks to its innate constructive spirit, managed with hardiness and toughness not only to endure those consecutive storms, but to stand again on its feet, remedying the injuries of the 1895 pillaging. From 1895 to 1914, during this short period of twenty years, the Armenian of Perri supported himself, built and inhabited homes and houses, and registered huge progress in trade, crafts, and other fields. The stable of the Armenian villager again was filled with cows and oxen, while the stores of PErri were filled with goods and joyful life. It was thus that when the Armenian people began to rise again, an unprecedented crime, the likes of which was never before seen in history, appeared, which together with our property seized our lives. We died, but we did not get lost. Behold we are again on our feet, like David of Sasun, yelling to the striking coward, “We are still alive!” The proof of this conclusion is our reborn homeland, as well as the present existence of the Armenians of the diaspora, contrary to difficult conditions. The Armenians of Chàrsanjak were a part of this unique people, which had to endure. It endured all this while it was in its homeland, when it was inspired by its land, water, and air, and also by the undying spirit and souls of the Armenian martyrs. The danger became more real and terrible when we left our native land and came to foreign shores in order to seek security of life. While still on native soil, though subject to many oppressions, we were able to refind ourselves, rebuild our former positions, thanks to the creative Armenian spirit. Here we present our life which began from nothing after the 1895 plunder, and continued to improve until 1915. During twenty years time, there were at least 100 new houses built in Perri. During this period of time, land and gardens were bought from the aghas, bit by bit. Near the Gol Spring the Antàràmians and others bought large expanses of land in order to create gardens. The fertile and well-watered lands of Hoshé village to the east of the Perri River which formerly belonged to the agha of Perri were bought by 1915 by the Hoshé inhabitants, so that the agha did not have even one span of soil in that area. Hoshé’s farmers, after paying the state tithe from the harvest on their threshing floors, filled their storehouses and pantries with the remainder. Like these farmers who attained a prosperous state, the most humble of our artisans too had their reserves of gold. The financial means of those in the commercial class reached enviable sums. Goods were piled up in stores, and houses were full of food and necessities. The collectable credit from the Kurds and Zazas of Dersim and chàrsanjak reached large proportions. The Kurd and the Turk became debtors, while the Armenians were now creditors. In 1915 there were one hundred homes of Turks in Perri. In these one hundred homes very few were self-sufficient. The rest were in a pitiful state. It was natural that they would be attentively awaiting the order for plunder in order to take the Armenians’ possessions to their own homes. The mentality of living and enjoying without working was dominant in their souls. Unfortunately, that dreamed of moment was not delayed, when the most miserable stables to the last corner were filled with Armenian goods and riches. After filling their homes, they filled Armenian churches and large places with the remaining goods. The economy of the 800 Armenian homes of Perri thus again was destroyed in 1915, but, alas, this time conclusively.

From the Life of the Farmers

We have attempted to present a general picture of Perri’s commerce and crafts with the information that we possessed, with all possible details, just as we saw and lived it. However, this section devoted to the commercial or artisanal situation of the Chàrsanjak Armenians would be deficient if we omitted the life and occupations of the Armenians of its sixty villages. Contrary to our published appeals and numerous letters, we received no writings from our compatriots, no reports which would inform us of the way of life and work of the Armenian farmer. We were not able to find among the verses and poems sent to us the poetry of Chàrsanjak’s golden fields, or the song of the ploughman. Our land, with its mountains and fields, was a country of sowing endowned with natural beauty, whose land was cultivated only by Armenians, and this from time immemorial. Today on this same soil, not one Armenian has remained. Dispersed to the four corners of the diaspora, the surviving exiled Chàrsanjak natives are deprived of the visible and palpable realities which make their ancestral memories live. Our ancestral homes, fields, gardens, springs, and mountains have been plucked from our hands so that all that was ours yesterday, but does not exist day, will be buried in the abyss of oblivion. So that our new generation always remembers the land of its ancestors and better knows the sacred labor of its progenitors and the life they led, let them visit together with us the Armenian-populated village of Hoshé, hid away in a corner of the land of Chàrsanjak, as an example of all the villages of Chàrsanjak. Our meeting place is the plain of Perri. Behold here, under our feet, the fertile soil of Perri—delicate, soft, and colorful as a rug. There, above, is beautiful Perri, the heart of Chàrsanjak, which is contained in the arms of two hills, merry and bright. That elevation rich with green-colored sides is Arkhaj Mountain, at whose feet rest the vineyards of Armenians. Towards the west, it is a dance of vineyards and gardens which joins the horizon. That forested mountain opposite you is the Démirchin mountain chain. That melody which enchants you and charms your soul is the music of the rapid river or the terrible roar of falling water. The horizon is very narrow here. Onward, let us walk towards the northeast, but always at the edge of the fields, at their borders, so that we won’t hear Khoruji Dévro’s frightening warning. Pick some golden marguerite flowers, from these special red tulips, from the susams [Turkish for sesame or iris]. Breathe with all your lungs that intoxicating air, the sweet fragrance of flowers and earth. Let us pass this small dam opposite us in order to cross the river. Our Chàrsanjak’s river is as clear as the source of a spring. Line up along the banks of the river; approach and drink with your palms the sweet and cold water. It is the water of our Armenia, its source emerging from the Piwragnean (Bin Göl) mountain of Garin [Erzerum]. This is ours—the Armenian’s river, born from the bosom of the Armenian plateau, the Armenian’s water. Along its banks, there is the “black stone,” a place for eight- to ten-year-old children to bathe. A little higher is the ch’éch` [Turkish çeç, for winnowing fork, sieve, or heap of winnowed grain] stone, deeper than the first. That white big rock is the tzin [horse’s? CHECK] stone. That huge rock which is adorned with populars is called the khavakh [Turkish kavak, for poplar] stone, and under it, the river has opened an abyss. That which appears right in the middle of the river is the “grass stone.” Do you see how the water whirls? That is the most dangerous and deepest spot. Only famous swimmers dared to attempt to cross it. Towards the north, at the bank of the river, the black point which is seen through the fog is the fortress of Tìl, whose story you will read in the following pages. Look to the east—behold the beautiful panorama of Hoshé. Without losing time, take off your clothes, tie them up, and in pair sholidng hands follow us. Don’t be afraid—our river is kind, and in this season, very well behaved. Don’t look in the direction of the water’s current so that your heads won’t spin. Let your eyes watch the facing bank. Now, we are at the deepest place. We are now buried in water up to our chests. Do not be afraid…only a little is left. Do not walk along the lower part so that you do not fall into the Ch`êr` [Footnote: The rapid and rocky stretch of the river which after an elevation, falls steeply.] Watch the schools of little fish gathered at the banks. The Perri River frightens a man, but at the same time it refreshes him. Now, we can get dressed. That area with round and white stones and sand is the border of the river in springtime. Now we are in front of Hoshé’s first watermill. I cannot definitely say whether it belongs to Bôghos’s family [Bôghosents`], or Isepènts` [CHECK—Isep`’s?? family]. Do you hear the monotonous song of the mill clapper [chàkhchàkh: a piece of wood one end of which is attached to the mill’s trough or bucket, and the other end falls on the stone of the mill; as the latter turns, the wood shakes and this movement is transferred to the trough, from which the wheat slowly flows down and is ground] as it hits the stone? Let us enter in order to take our portion from the unleavened bread [pagharch] of the mill, from the sweet tasting pagharch made of wheat flour. Behold the path which will lead to our village. Young poplars lined up horizontally stand to greet you. Look at their soaring heights. Listen to the rustling of the dark green and heart-shaped leaves which clap and shimmer like stars from the touch of the gentle zephyr. This path always refreshes travelers through its freshness. Look at the streamlet running through the rows of trees, which rushes to turn the stones of the watermill. Approach and pluck from its banks fresh and green water parsley and cress, remedy and cure, appetite-creating greens.

[OMITTED CONTINUATION OF VISIT TO VILLAGE, pp. 247-252]

3) Ch`arsanjak’s Agriculture [FOLLOWING SECTION 253-267 largely omitted] 3.1) Plowing

3.2) Sowing

Winter Life [largely rest…]

Spring Sowing [after March 15 when the melting of the snow finishes, time for work again]

Cotton [p. 256]

The cultivation of cotton begins at the end of April. This is the hardest and most delicate work for the farmers. It is necessary to plow the cotton field four or five times. The cotton seed is prepared in a special way one week earlier. They place it in cow dung [mayis] in order to soften it. One or two days later it is sowed. After sowing, plowing, and harrowing, the gavar`s [narrow gutter, trench] and goris [sluice or ditch for irrigation] are prepared so that the field will be ready to be watered. Ten days after the sowing the cotton sprouts, first with two leaves and then grows. ETC. CAN GET LATER IF WANT

3.3) Harvest

3.4) Threshing

Doing the Ch`arch`

Sweet Recollections

I would every summer during my summer vacation run to Hoshé to my uncles’ house and participated in the threshing and the galamasd.

Part Six Ch`arsanjak’s Religious and Educational Life

St. Krikor the Illuminator’s son, St. Arisdagés, was in Dzop`k` district in order to strengthen the people with his pastoral travels. “Arkèghayos [Archelaus or Archilaeus], a high dignitary of Dzop`k`, personally encountering him on the road, killed him with his sword. With Arisdagés are remembered his students, who were in Dzop`k` district. Though it is not known in which village or valley [it happened], they brought his body to Egegheats` district, and buried it in the town of Tìl. Arisdagés’ grave is found today in Erznga’s Chukhdag-Hayrabed Monastery.” (Ôrmanian, Azkabadum, Volume 1, pp. 123- 124) They say about the old churches found in many of the villages of Chàrsanjak that they date from the days of St. Thaddeus the Apostle. The town of Tìl (the former Tòrtan) is found on the right bank of the Aradzani, one hour to the east of the ruins of Pertag, and near it is a church from ancient times. According to tradition, this church was built in the time of St. Thaddeus the Apostle, as well as an old stone chapel near Baghin’s fortress. The blossoming of Armenian faith in the days of St. Krikor the Illuminator first took place in the region of Dersim and Chàrsanjak, where hundreds of churches were built. St. Kévork Church, built on the summit of Dersim’s Duzhig Baba, with forty altars, was built by the hand of St. Arisdagés. In the following pages, Mr. A[rshag]. Albôyajian presents Chàrsanjak’s Christian profile in detail, beginning in ancient centuries until our times.

Section 1 The Spiritual Leadership of the Armenians of Dzop`k`

[goes back to medieval times…]

[the following section covers pp. 287-288] At the end of the eighteenth century or the beginning of the nineteenth, Ch`mshgadzak together with Gaban Madén, belonged to the jurisdiction of Kharpert’s Khulé Monastery, just as Kharpert’s other three monasteries had their own prelacies. Thus a chaotic and confused situation was created, and disputes and issues of jurisdiction were not lacking. In 1845, the [Armenian] Patriarchate [of Constantinople], considering the absurdity of four nearby prelacies with confused borders, united the four jurisdictions for the sake of regularity of diocesan activities, and formed a single prelacy with Kharpert as its center. After a period of two years, this union was dissolved; certainly on this occasion, this prelacy had its prelate. Indeed, according to the records of the Patriarchate, in 1849, Gaban Madén’s Krikoris Vartabed was made prelate of Ch`mshgadzak and abbot of Kharpert’s Kulé Monastery simultaneously. We do not know until when this vartabed served. I think however that it must have been until 1856, because at that date the Patriarchate for a second time united these jurisdictions and succeeded in carrying out its plan. In order to end the great disorder in the four monasteries of Kharpert, the Patirarchate in 1859 united the four prelacies subject to these four monasteries and sent Constantinople’s Patriarchal Vicar Hàrutìwn Vartabed Vehabedian (later Patriarch of Constantinople, and then of Jerusalem) to Kharpert as prelate. However he was not able to last long, and returned to Constantinople, while the four monasteries of Kharpert again reverted to their former states. It was during those days that Ch`mshgadazak and Chàrsanjak had their separate prelates. In 1858, Kévork Vartabed Kharperttsì becomes the prelate of Ch`mshgadzak, Gaban Madén, and Kulé monastery, as is understood from his berat or imperial Ottoman warrant confirming his position. However, in 1864 his position was restricted only to Kulé Monastery because Ch`mshgadzak was detached from it and united to Kharpert, whose prelate was Aharon Vartabed (see Zhamanag [an Armenian newspaper of Constantinople], 1865, no. 61, p. 66). The next year, in 1865, Ch`mshgadzak was separated from Kharpert and Aràk’el Vartabed Mazlmian was appointed as Patriarchal Vicar of Ch`mshgadzak, in accordance with the Novmeber 19, 1865 decision of the [Armenian Patriarchate’s] Civil Council. However, it appears that it was not possible to execute this decision. Kévork Vartabed Kharperttsì, as an abbot, remained in Kulé Monastery in this position for a long time, probably until 1874-75. Srvantzdeants`, in his Tòros aghpar (volume 2, p. 116), recalls this vartabed, who “with forty thousand kurush raised in funds erected a wall around the monastery, and two large rooms, a big stable, and a hayloft (but the chapel remains ruined), with the aid of Muradian Pìlibbos and Avedis Effendis…” When this vartabed was appointed prelate of Ch`mshgadzak, in 1859, Chàrsanjak was detached and received its own prelate. These two districts, united for a long time, were separated, in order to again be united later. During this period of separation, Ch`mshgadzak’s prelates were: Bedros Vartabed Nergararian, September 10, 1877 to 1879, and Partòghiméos Vartabed Baghjian, from 1880 to 1885. They were two productive clerics, but the Patriarchate, having trouble finding their successor, again united the two prelacies.

Section 2 The Prelates of Ch`arsanjak

[in the 19th and 20th centuries] p. 290

1906-1915 H`ovhannés Vartabed H`agopian succeeds Goriwn Vartabed and governs the two dioceses until the time of the deportations. p. 291

Perri, as a political and administrative center, was also the center of religious administration and spiritual leadership. According to the information we have collected, it was only in 1859-60 that Chàrsanjak had its first prelate. Before this date, we do not have distinct and clear information about the spiritual pastorship of Chàrsanjak because Chàrsanjak was attached to the archbishopric of Dzop`k` and the bishoprics subject to it, which, together with Chàrsanjak, encompassed Khôzat`, Ch`mshgadzak, Arghnê, Madan, Palu, and Ch`nkùsh. Thus, Chàrsanjak as a separate ecclesiastical district, including Perri as its center with a prelacy, was not formed until 1860. From 1860-1915, Perri had fifteen prelates or vicars. Together with the spiritual authority, Armenian national administrative bodies were born and operated unitl the April calamity [1915]. Unfortunately we have nothing to write about the activities of the national bodies because all this information has been turned to ashes and disappeared along with extremely valuable colophons. Fortunately, as some of the letters sent from Chàrsanjak abroad (especially to America) have been preserved thanks to our compatriots living in America, we were able to obtain some of their copies. The contents of these documents shed light on the prelate of the day, our [Armenian] national bodies, and the situation existing at the end of the 1890s. Below, we turn the most important of these letters into the property of the public, faithfully preserving the style, spelling, and punctuation of the originals.

Ch`arsanjak-Perri, June 13/25, 1899

Our most honorable and noble emigrant Armenians of Perri in Stanford, America:

Our beloved in [CHECK English style?] the Lord,

Providence for one year has graced us with plentiful consolation through its generous compassion. We have had, one after another, a selfless prelate, a well-ordered school, and educational officials who are the spurs to making Perri progress to an enviable state. Lately, His Beatitude the Patriarch Father, who always acted with special sweetness towards Ch`arsanjak, upon the pleas and supplications of His Grace the Locum Tenens, did the favor of giving permission for the opening of an orphanage, and allocated for this purpose aid in the amount of thirteen and one-half Ottoman gold coins monthly. Immediately a board of trustees was formed and the work initiated, with the decision to take care of twenty-five orphans for now. You know that since the economic crisis hundreds of orphans, deprived of parents and defenseless, wander about Perri and the villages as vagrants. We with the obligation of helping those innocent miserable ones raised funds to the extent of our abilities here, and we ask that you too there on your part agree to aid this sacred work with heartfelt gifts, for the love of Christ and in honor of your homeland.

We remain yours, the well-wishing Parish Council of Perri

Hampartzum Bôyajian Ghazar Bandazian Hòvhannés Mikàyélian Tòros Marabanian

On March 15, 1900, the locum tenens of Perri’s prelacy, Magar Vartabed Dér H`ovhannésian, similarly in a letter asked for financial aid from our American compatriots for the school and twenty-five orphans. It is understood from this letter that for various reasons, the American compatriots had halted their aid. The locum tenens advised htem to have confidence and send money.

[additional letters on the school and aid dating from 1899 and 1900 on pp. 292-295 have been omitted]

The following is written in Constantinople’s St. Savior Hospital’s extensive yearbook [Êntartzag ôratsòyts` S[urp]. P`rgchèan hiwantanotsì hayots`] of 1905.

Chàrsanjak, an ecclesiastical district united with Dérsim Sanjak, with the kazas of Chàrsanjak, Khôzat`, and Mazgerd. Prelate D[ér]. Goriwn Vartabed Éllidramian. [Diocesan] Religious Council: Dér Garabed Kàhanay Mazmanian, Dér Bôghos Kàhanay Dér Garabedian, Dér Khorén Kàhanay Pàshalian, Dér Nersés Kàhanay Chìtjian. [Diocesan] Civil Council: Avedis Holopigian, Kévork Sémérjian, Sdepàn Hakalmazian, Bedros Nalpandian.

From 1905 to 1915, Perri’s [Armenian] national administration was both more active and better organized. It expended great effort in the important matter of the land court case of 1911, and with its orderliness it made church and school affairs shine. However, not having any information about the activity of that period, we consider it lost, along with other great national losses. While Hòvhannés Vartabed Hàgopian was prelate, Hamazasb Dzayrakoyn Vartabed Vartanian arrived as vicar in 1912. He was succeeded by Kévork Dzayrakoyn Vartabed Nalpandian (“Êndzayr”), who was born in 1870 in Urfa. “Kévork Vartabed was the prelate of Sghert during the “Hürriyet” [“Freedom,” or the proclamation of the Ottoman constitution in 1908]. From there he went to Kharpert, to Chàrsanjak, which had come under the domination of the Kurds and where there were great land disputes. There like other prelates he together with his flock was heroically martyred” (Aram Manugian [sic—Sahagian], Tiwtsàznagan Urfan ew ir hayortinerê, p. 585). Though it is not certain at what dates the priests Hamazasb and Kévork were in Perri, it must be from 1912 to 1914, because in 1911, Hòvhannés Vartabed Hàgopian telegraphs the Constantinople Patriarchate from Perri, “The begs and aghas forcibly seize the property of Armenians and throw out the owners from their homes, gardens, and fields. What will be the end of this?” All those prelates who had courage and heart and came to tend to the Armenians of Chàrsanjak returned despairing and broken-hearted. The indifferent attitude of the Turkish government, and the unbearable oppression of the begs and aghas subjected the Armenian villagers to an intolerable situation. They filled Perri’s prelacy in order to present their thousand and one complaints and protests to the prelate of the time. The first prelate of Chàrsanjak, Khachàdur Vartabed, held office for one year (1859-1860). From 1860 to 1864, Chàrsanjak remained without a prelate because many clerics appointed by the Patriarchate did not wish to step foot on Chàrsanjak’s dangerous soil. Only in 1864 did Hòvhannés Vartabed Névruzian accept the position and he ran it until 1880. He energetically battled the oppression of the begs and aghas, and did all he could to improve the situation of the oppressed villager deprived of his rights. Badveli Hampartzum Sarajian writes the following about Hòvhannés Vartabed Névruzian.

In the 1880s, a beg lived in Pashaghag village of Chàrsanjak. [Footnote: In this period, the beg of Pashaghag was Isak` Beg, who spread fear through his barbarity not only among the Armenians but also among the aghas of his region.] He was a very rich and powerful bandit chief. He had thirty-two villages. Everybody was terrified of him. Armenians worked for him, at the price of oppression, torture, and sacrifice. He had already forcibly seized the Armenians’ property. This bandit chief’s influence had gorwn so powerful that even the government was careful with him. In those days, the vartabed called Hòvhannés of Sghert [Footnote: Hòvhannés Vartabed Névruzian was prelate of Chàrsanjak from 1864 to 1880. He had problems with the government and the begs because he defended the rights of parishes and protested against the oppressions and usurpations. In 1868 he was even taken away to Constantinople. However the Patriarchate succeeded in returning him to his seat. He was in office when Srvantzdeants` visited Chàrsanjak. He resigned in 1880.] came as prelate to Chàrsanjak’s khézén [CHECK??], Perri. The aforementioned prelate saw that the beg was usurping the Armenains’ property, and officially opened a lawsuit against the beg. The matter reached as far as the Sublime Porte. The beg attempted to bribe the vartabed so that he would give up the case. The latter refuse dand earned the beg’s enmity. The beg had twenty to thirty bandit men who were armed in order to fight, plunder, and rob for him. Once the vartabed went from Pashaghag to Perri at dusk, accompanied by his servant (pòkrawor CHECK). The beg learned of this and sent several bandits to kill the vartabed. They met at the bank of the Muzur. The servant with a presentiment said to the vartabed, “Holy Father, look, the beg has sent men to kill us.” The vartabed replied, “Do not fear, my child, those who are with us (the angels of God) are more powerful than they.” This vartabed was a very pious and God-fearing individual. While the vartabed and the servant riding on their horses corssed the river, the beg’s soldiers aimed in order to fire. The vartabed disappeared before their eyes. When they put down their rifles, they saw that he continued on his way. They tried three times in this fashion, and three times the same occurrence repeated. Consequently they came and related to the beg what happened. The beg concluded that this man was God’s man, and could work miracles, as in this incident. Though the vartabed won the case, his position was transferred elsewhere.

Goriwn Vartabed Éllidramian, born in 1848 in Garin [Erzerum] also showed prominent bravery and activity. In 1892 he was ordained a vartabed by Bishop Ghewont Shishmanian. In 1899 he was appointed locum tenens of the Ch`nkùsh prelacy with an imperial edict. From 1901 to 1905 he served as prelate of Chàrsanjak. Vahan Chùkasêzian, living in America, gives the following information about Goriwn as an eyewitness, for the former’s father, Minas Effendi Chùkasêzian was at that period in Perri as the assistant to the kaymakam. We will reflect on this separately in our political section.

When we were in Perri, the prelate of that place and area was Goriwn Vartabed Éllidramian. This prelate was a skillful and brave person, endowed with oratorical and administrative experience. He was also a little nervous, but always patriotic and dedicated to the people. He had a beautiful prelacy built. He supervised educational, ecclesiastical, and public affairs with a sharp eye. He enjoyed the respect of all without exception. He knew that his position was delicate in that era of bloodthirsty [Sultan Abdül] Hamid, when not only was there the oppression of the Turk in open or hidden ways, but also the danger of the brutal begs and aghas, and their marauders. He sought means for the self-defense of his person and the people he led. Sometimes he prepared rich tables for the kaymakam of Perri and other officials, so that they would not cause injury to the Armenians. But a period came when a bad creature was appointed kaymakam. The behavior of the latter angered him so much that one Sunday while he was giving the Bahbanich` prayer he could no longer control himself and loudly yelled, “Free us from the lawless kaymakam,” while directing his glances towards the heavens. What a providential arrangement…the same kaymakam went crazy and left Perri, causing great satisfaction to all, including this good spiritual leader. Goriwn Vartabed also sought other means, and used subtle diplomatic turns in his manner of working. A new opportunity arose. In 1904, one of Sultan Hamid’s sons died, about which it was afterwards said that the padishah, seeing a threat to his own life, had him murdered. The prelate sent a telegram of condolences to the imperial palace, to which it was immediately answered that the sultan expresses his profound thanks. Everybody heard of this. The government officials, beginning with the kaymakam to the lowliest, filled the prelacy and came to their knees. The prelate in their presence showed the telegram, asking at the same time that they get off their knees and sit comfortably. Every one took the telegram, kissed it, and after reading it, returned it. Goriwn Vartabed, who always cursed the Turk, from the sultan to the lowest official, used this telegram as a weapon of self-defense. He turned bolder and braver. In those days, when Kör Haji Agha, the meanspirited brother of Perri’s Hüsni Beg, had an Armenian beaten, Goriwn Vartabed yelled from the roof of the prelacy, “Biz Chàrsanjak Béylérin esiri déyiliz, sévgiwliw pàdishahêmêzên Sultàn Hamidên esiri yêz,” which means, “We are not the slaves of the begs of Chàrsanjak, but are the slaves of our beloved king, Sultan Hamid.” These words were the expressions of a person with diplomatic and administrative ability and experience, for whom of course the creature Hamid appeared as the greatest of the wild beasts, horribly.

Goriwn Vartabed was indeed a brave pastor. He had a great influence on the Armenians and the begs. He had a beautiful white horse. One day, one of Osman Beg’s kholams [henchmen], the thief Abdülrahman, entered the stable underneath the prelacy in order to steal the vartabed’s horse. The horse kicked and knocked the bandit dead. His death became known the following morning. All the Turks, hearing of this incident, grew both angry and afraid, thinking that the vartabed’s horse too was able to discern good from evil. The following information also exists concerning Goriwn Vartabed Éllidramian. A letter dated July 2, 1901 bearing the signatures of the Civil and Religious Councils of Perri as well notables informs Perri natives in America of the following.

[To] The Most Honorable Emigrant Armenians of Perri, in New York, America

Noble Gentlemen,

We rush to send the good news to you beloved ones with our heart’s overflowing joy of the coming of the newly chosen prelate Very Reverend Goriwn Vartabed, who arrived here on the 10th of last month, and took on his office. On the third day after the arrival of His Reverence, the previous diocesan vicar left for Garin [Erzerum], very ashamed and with head held low, because he, contrary to his holy calling, bretrayed with terrible treachery eleven of the notables of this place in the hope of giving satisfaction to his vengeful passion. However, the realization of the plan he imagined came to nothing along with him, and he was not able to achieve his goal thanks to the newly arrived prelate. We hurry also to inform you beloved ones that the prevalent discord and disagreement among us council members, the division into parties and disunion,once and for all ended thanks to the effective efforts and fatherly sweet exhortations of the newly elected very reverend holy father, the prelate. Extremely affected, we all let behind our bad condition of egotism as well as all complications of the heart causing coldness in our relations. With united heart we swore in the holy church to henceforth work collectively and in a conciliatory spirit for the good of the state, country, and Armenians. Noble gentlemen, let us not forget to announce the good news that you should not compare the newly elected prelate of our district to those prelates holding office in this place up until now. His Reverence is blessed with numerous gifts. He has a noble personality, unblemished love, and a sublime soul. Sympathy and compassion have set a nest in his heart. He loves his flock with the affection of a true father, and he lavishes endearment on it. He is a great lover of schools. His chief desire is to organize the school and maintain it in splendid shape so that the children of tender age receive the required learning and instruction, and become useful members of the state, country, and nation. Wishing you healthy life and vigor, we remain, awaiting your Union’s news of happy occasion,

Manug Holopian Hàrutìwn Érmoyian Bôghos Erevanian H`. Mazmanian Krikor Takésian M. Samuélian Garabed Érmoyian Giragos Holopigian Eghiazar Chàkmakjian Ghazar Bandazian Sdepàn Hakalmazian Hàgop Chùlfayan Krikor Dér Garabedian Krikor Chàkmajian Hampartzum Bôyajian Krikor Kìzirian Avedis Kasparian Mardiros Holopigian Garabed Mkhsi Mikàyélian Bôghos Marabanian Mardiros Zurnajian Mesrob Mshmshian Garabed K`zirian Hàrutìwn Noroyian Baghdasar Émirshadian Hòvhannés Noroyian Baghdasar Kêrghian Bôghos Antàràmian Hòvhannés Hayrabedian Karkekin Chàkmakjian Avedis Kùzoyian Méynazar Méynazarian Mikàyél Puchigian Bôghos Muludian

Chancery of the Civil Council Chancery of the Religious Council Chairman Secretary Secretary Chairman Kévork Sémérjian Avedis Holopigian Bôghos K`hny. [K`ahanay] Nersés K`hny. D[ér]. Garabedian Ch`it’jian on behalf of the deceased Grb.[Garabed] K`hny. Seal of the Prelacy Seal of the Prelacy

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Goriwn Vartabed Éllidramian [from T`éotig, Amenun darets`oyts`, October 17, 1910]

Goriwn Vartabed Éllidramian died on October 16, 1910 in Istanbul (Narlı Kapı quarter), at 62 years old, in extreme poverty. He was ordained in 1892 by Bishop Ghewont Shishmanian. He was a member of the brotherhood of the Garmir [Red] Monastery of Garin. He served for eighteen years, especially during troubled times, in Ch`arsanjak, Mush, Ch`mshgadzak, and Etesia [Urfa]. He was going to go to Paghésh [Bitlis] as prelate, but had come for [medical] treatment to Constantinople. This is what E[rvant]. Srmak’éshkhanlian writes on October 17, 1910 under the title “A Tragic Death.”

I do not know why this Éllidramian’s tragic demise profoundly troubles me. Today I read this news in all the Armenian newspapers, black, like the Armenian’s fate, sad, like our ancient existence. All of them with one voice—and here at least political party partisanship did not play a role— announced that Éllidramian died of hunger. Behold an official of the Armenian Church also died of this death, considered natural—a pastor of the Armenian people, a vartabed, a prelate, and where? At a corner of a mountain in Anatolia? In a distant village of Armenia? No! Right before our noses and eyes. Twenty meters from the Patriarchate, in the most populated center of Armenians, in the glorious capital. A prelate who ministered for twenty years in the most distant prelacies of Armenia comes and dies of hunger in the richest Armenian capital…this is an occurrence which is worth reflecting about at length. Éllidramian…what a symbolic name too! Lacking éllidram [literally, “fifty monies”] of bread, the poor man lost his laborious life. And he was a passerby among us. He came from one part of Armenia, and would go to another part to again take care of an Armenian community—he, who in the most populous center of Armenians did not find an Armenian to take care of him. Let the bloody history of the Armenians also record this.

Section 3 Ch`arsanjak’s K`ahanays [Married Priests]

Every village did not have an individual priest for its church. Thus a k`ahanay would carry out simultaneously all the responsibilities of a parish priest for several villages. In 1915, Ch`arsanjak had the following married priests.

Perri Bôghos K`hny. Dér Garabedian Khorén K`hny. Pàshalian Ismayiltsì`k` Nersés K`hny. Chìt`jian Basu Garabed K`hny. Gagoyian Khushin Sarkis K`hny. Zakòyian Kodarij Hòvhannés K`hny. Pòrigian Medzgerd Hùsig K`hny. Soghigian Siméon K`hny. Minasian Svjogh Arisdakés K`hny. Bôyajian Sorpian Mardiros K`hny. Tòroyian

Aside from the mentioned names there are forgotten ones, such as the priests of Pertag, and especially of Pashaghag. As an Armenian village of one hundred homes, Pashaghag had its own church and regular school. It without a doubt also had its own parish priest. Unfortunately numerous compatriots remained indifferent from the point of view of communication of names and information to us. We were forced to suffice with the documents at our disposal and those from outside sources.

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D[ér]. Krikor K`ahanay Mazmanian

Dér Krikor K`hny. Mazmanian (“Khuri Beg”) was Perri’s priest in 1895. Our elders would speak with great praise about this worthy and brave cleric. He served with a loyal and dedicated spirit and provided spiritual consolation to his people. He preached faith and divine love towards our Church of Armenia to his most tormented people with infinite sacrifice and dedication.Aside from the worshop of the holy cross and the holy gospels, he also believed in the wisdom of striking evil with evil. For this reason, along with the gospel and the cross, inseparably he bore the gun and sword. They relate that our Dér Krikor had sinned against the Holy Book’s commandment, “If some one strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also,” because before receiving the slap of the enemy, he struck the latter. For this reason the unbelievers feared him and gave him the epithet Khuri Beg (khuri in Arabic means k`ahanay). The word beg must be considered a synonym of brave, courageous, or striker. During the plunder of 1895, the first hero of the self-defense and resistance of Perri was Dér Krikor. After fighting with his gun and knocking several Kurds to the ground, with the same weapon he spoke with the beg of Perri. When the latter had a volley shot at Dér Krikor, this time the intrepid Armenian priest turned the barrel of his gun towards the beg and with unerring aim condemned the haughty usurer to silence. Khuri Beg through his ravery terrified the Turks, hwile inspiring his poor peole with hope. Blessed be the memory of our brave shepherd Dér Krikor Mazmanian!

[biographies of Dér Bôghos and Dér Garabed priests omitted here, p. 305]

Dér Sarkis K`hny. Zak`oyian

We evoke the memory of Dér Sarkis Kàhanay Zakòyian of Khushi with national pride and grateful reverence, and present his life and work in the following lines. Unfortunately detailed and certain information is lacking about his biographical information, but it was possible to obtain real information about him from his surviving co-nationals. Dér Sarkis Kàhanay Zakòyian was born in Chàrsanjak’s Khushi village in the 1860s to a large family with many members. In that period, in dark and obscure Anatolia it was rare to find people who knew reading and literature. Dér Sarkis’s parents succeeded in teaching him how to read and write by sending him to private individuals. There was no school and formal education. Nonetheless he succeeded in learning to read and write Armenian by taking classes with certain individuals. A year prior to the 1895 event [meaning no doubt the Hamidian massacres], a petition was formed in several villages in the area of his residence to have him ordained as a married priest. Many villages had churches without priests. The extreme need to have a cleric was greatly stressed in order to provide the faithful masses with spiritual consolation. Probably Dér Sarkis was the only person who knew how to read and write Armenian in this region, in the surrounding villages. The petition was prepared and he was sent to Sevérég- Dikranagerd, where he was ordained a kàhanay. Thus, his ordination was conducted in 1894 in Sevérég. Unforutnately the ordaining bishop’s name remains unknown to us. After this, he served in his birthplace of Khushi and in the surrounding villages as a pastor. The 1895 incident occurred immediately afterwards. He moved with his family to Kharpert. After the events stopped, they returned to their native place of residence, the village of Khushi. The Chàrsanjak Armenian villagers’ land case, which for many years had been pursued in Constantinople through the intervention of the prelacy of Perri and the Civil Council, had not attained a definite result. In 1910, Perri’s Civil Council and prelacy decided to directly send four representatives to Constantinople to place this “land case” on a more regular basis. Twice a group of four people were appointed, but those slected refused to go, with the exception of Dônabed Kèheay [Kâhya] of Pashaghag, who was a brave and vengeful son of the Armenians. The others, afraid of turning into the target of future revenge by the Turks, refused to go as representatives to Constantinople. Perri’s Civil Council and Prelacy were placed in an inextricable position. Finally, Dér Sarkis K`hny. Zakòyian volunteered to accompany Dônabed K`éheay in order to pursue the just land case of the villagers. The “case” did not give a satisfactory result for two years. Dér Sarkis returned to Chàrsanjak with his collaborator Dônabed Kèheay in order to report to the Perri prelacy about their actions. Then the terrible tragedy of 1915 arrived. Along with others, he was arrested on the first day and taken with the elite of Perri to the fortress of Tìl, and there at the edge of the water he was strangled with unspeakable savagery by the Turkish begs who were filled with hateful vengeance against Dér Sarkis because he had dared to go to Constantinople and defend the land case of the Armenian villagers against them. For this reason too the Turks called him Fédayi Késhish [Fedaî Keşiş, Turkish for self-sacrificing (in the sense of a fighter) priest]. Thus ended the life of this courageous, patriotic, and dedicated Armenian priest.

[biographies of Dér Nersés K`hny. Ch`it`jian and Ver. Asadur Nigoghosian skipped, pp. 308-310]

Perri’s Cathedral

Perri’s St. Asdvadzadzin Church was a large church built with polished stones on the top of the eastern hill of the city. It was built in ancient times. Some would say that it was from the days of Thaddeus the Apostle. St. Asdvadzadzin was also called Hoshé’s church. There were four or five graves in the narthex of Perri’s church, one of which, it was said, belonged to a bishop. Candles would be lit on top of it. The church had two iron doors. One, which was for the women, led to the vernadun [second floor, above the narthex, and including a balcony], while the other was for the men. The ceiling was covered with thick beams and was supported by powerful columns. The soil-covered roof had two domes. The apse was large and impressive. Perri’s church contained precious vessels and old gospels. Its decorations included gold and silver vessels, heavy handmade curtains, and gleaming gold lanterns. It was rich and cheerful in particular with prelates, kàhanay fathers, deacons, and thirty clerks with beautiful voices, and most of all with large numbers of the pious faithful. The western side of the church was the girls school, the northern side held the boys school, and next to the church was the prelacy of Perri. The Chàrsanjak Armenians without exception were God-fearing, pious, and church-loving. The Christian faith formed part of their being. The Chàrsanjak Armenian accepted as an inseparable union nation and religion. If somebody asked one of them, “What are you,” he would receive the answer, “I am an Armenian Christian.” The words Armenian and Christian had turned into synonyms. One would be used in the place of the other without discrimination. The İngiliz [English, in the Turkish language], Fransız [French, in Turkish], and Mosgof [Moscow, symbolizing Russia, in Turkish] were recognized as worshippers of the cross, but the Chàrsanjak Armenians had the conviction and understanding that it was the Armenian nation that was the closest to and most beloved by Christ, and that the Armenians were the true and orthodox Christians. This belief was so great, it had devoured their souls to such an extent, that they lived a hellish life for centuries, enduring fire and sword, and remaining hungry, miserable, and subject to the torments of despots and feudal lords. They endured and withstood it, and were consoled by the love of Christ. They died in order to make live Christ’s bright [loys] faith. The uneducated and poor villagers, bearing the cross of their daily torments, would get closer to christ and receive from this the light and strength of endurance for the next day. The Turk would massacre, the Kurd would pillage, and the agha would exploit the Armenian Christian. Publicly all would insult and curse him. The Armenian Christian would endure, and standing in a dark corner, raising his hands, would appeal to Christ in order to entrust him with his cause, in order to present his protest with the steadfast faith that Christ from above would see all injustices, and one day would make judgment, punish the evil, and free the believers. The Chàrsanjak Armenian was extremely church-loving. Each day, he would go once morning and evening to the church and pray on two knees. On Sundays, he would without a doubt be present at mass, in order to pray “from the depths of his heart, and speak with God.” He was extremely particular and would be very interested in the good management of church affairs. He would follow the responsive readings, psalms, and hymns. They had learned the majority of the hymns and prayers with the erudition of a church employee. The church was very large. The entire population of Peri, young and old, on Sundays would fill it without crowding, because every person had his own place. Behind the church choir Perri’s notables and intellectuals had their own places, where they would follow the rites with reverence and piety, while at the same time attentively supervising so that a chorister or deacon did not make a mistake. In our time (1908-1914), Manug Holopigian and Bôghos Erevanian were respected and unforgiving supervisors [Footnote: Bôghos Erevanian received his education in Perri and several years taught and served as choirmaster. He was erudite in ecclesiastical knowledge as well as Classical Armenian. He copied in his own hand the Gospel of the Oil Bearing Women (Myrophores).]. Their presence caused all to tremble, from the chorister to the priest or preaching prelate. These two Armenians did not permit even one syllable to not be pronounced. They would immediately remove from the choir that chorister or clerk who mispronounced words and had faulty pronounciation. When priests were reading the Gospels on the lectern during the Jashu [midday] Service, they would glance towards these two Armenians, from whose expressions they would understand whether they had read correctly or incorrectly. Many times, through the stone silence that ruled inside the church, their correcting voice was heard, “Dérdér [priest], it wasn’t right…it is not that way—it is this way.” The poor priest was forced to start over and correct his error. The populace had with great reverence and respect towards its religious leaders. Nonetheless, they would tolerate no overstepping of boundaries. The people would already make its decision from the external appearance and demeanor of the prelates who came to Perri. “Our newly arrived prelate’s eyes twitch—it doesn’t sit well with me.” “The beard of this vartabed is sparse—he can’t give a good sermon.” “This prelate’s voice is harsh—our dérdér performs the divine liturgy better than he.” “God has looked at our faces. Our new prelate looks like a saint; light radiates from his face. God’s grace is on him. When he gives a sermon, a person becomes full. His fatherly gaze is so kind. Our prelate is very smart, patriotic, and brave.” Although our people did not possess higher education, it was endowed with an innate ability to appraise, and it remained faithful to the principle of “honor to the worthy.”

K[arekin]. Srvantzdeants`’s Report on Perri

In 1879, with a special encyclical from Patriarch Nersés [Varzhabedian], Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants` was sent to Armenia Major and Minor—to Amasya, Marzvan, Evtogia [Tokat], Ch`arsanjak, Arapgir, Ch`mshgadzak, Kharpert, Ch`nk`ush, Palu, Malatya, and Dirabekir in order to conduct a census and prepare a report on the churches, monasteries, schools, and properties of these districts. Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants` presented useful information along these lines.

We arrived in Zéri village of the Kurds at 12 o’clock at night. Those working on the threshing-floor at this cold hour, were threshing wheat while singing. The village’s watchdogs were running at me, barking. The Kurdish dr`ék`[CHECK-ZIC], gêjék`, and lamugs [boys, especially Kurdish or Turkish] were watching us. There is still one hour to Pèri [Perri]. We reached Pèri’s vineyards in twenty minutes. The road was through the vineyards. What a beautiful moonlit night…prosperous vineyards…the view of the river and its sound. Behold P`éri’s threshing- floors. Passing through narrow and stony streets we entered the Armenian church and rested on top of the roof. The prelacy was there. The next day, after summoning the [Armenian] national councilmen and notables, they came to visit. They in general were in great despair. A few barely wanted to relate their condition and strongly claimed that the Patriarchate and Central Executive have great power, since they live near the king and ministers, and would meet and speak. They wanted me to make the Patriarch and Executive understand what they endured so that they [the latter] would finish the lawsuit that they had raised for so many years, thus condemning the unjust despots of Ch’arsanjak, giving them lands to cultivate, and making them masters of their houses, vineyards, and so forth. They said, “Before raising our issue, we endured fewer evils. Now our case and deprivations have multiplied tenfold. Our life is not ours; our earnings are not ours. We pay the emlâk [property or land] tax, but the property belongs to the agha. We pay the land tax but the land belongs to the agha. The ox and sweat is ours, the product is the aghas. The bird and ant have nests on the surface of the earth. The people of Chàrsanjak have neither house nor land. What of ours is the Patriarch for? What is the Prelate for? Why have you come here?” They spoke with such great passion and anger and with such language that for three days all my encouragement and advice was in vain. Then some ten individuals softened their severity a little. And how can you blame them? They never saw the face of a newspaper. Uninformed of politics and the course of the world, lacking communications with even nearby cities, with education and books unfamiliar to them, they were men worthy of profound compassion.

[Section 4 Magical Knowledge]

The Armenian of this district, though ignorant, was firm in his abstinence [i.e. partial fasting], faith, and prayer. The Protestants have often tried and have not succeeded in hunting [“for souls”]. They speak a lot about magical things. They are followers of looking at cards [i.e. for divination] and writing talismans. A very clever and jocular Armenian called Frank [probably in the sense of “European”] Garabed spoke thus: “Holy Father, this land believes greatly in devilish things. I don’t understand it. My bride became sick. They said it was devilish. They had four chapters of the Gospels read daily. They insisted in having cards read, so I had them read. Oh, oh, it is demonic, there is a djinn [evil spirit], they said. Who should we bring—who should we not bring? Let us bring the mollah of Tìl village—he collects djinns. Women have no brains, but speech is abortive???CHECKkhoske ants e//. I was not able to escape. We brought the mullah. He came, sat down, and silently read. He wanted a reed, took out a knife, and with the knife picked up things from the floor and filled the reed. I asked, “Hey, what is it that you are collecting, mullah?” “It is demons that I collect.” “Where are they?” “Behold here—don’t you see?” Oh brother! Let me go blind if I see anything. I rub my eyes; there is nothing. “We see [them],” they say. “Oh, fine.” He collected them, filled the reed, sealed the opening with wax so that they would not escape, gave it to me, and then said, “You must take it away someplace. He showed me a place. “Hey, pay money!” “Fine, I’ll give it when my bride gets well.” “No, give money.” They insisted, we complied, and gave two five kurush coins. He would not go; he was upset. He left so that he would come back later to get the remainder. My bride did not get well. This one and that would say, “You did not believe.” “Yes, stop,” I said. I had thrust the reed in the ceiling. I took it down. Fear and thunderous noise spread among those seated, that, alas, the demons were going to come out. I opened the wax, and placed the end of the reed in my mouth. “Brothers, do not worry. Let the demons enter my belly. There is nothing to enter.” Mr. Kaspar, who had the reputation of possessing knowledge, showed me a notebook with disorderly writing, Soghomoni (the name of his notebook), in which he sought the luck or fate of men. The signs of the zodiac were written in order: ram, scorpion, scales, and so forth. In front of each sign was written: if the baby is female, she will be dear and beautiful; the first male will die; with the second, will be blessed; wise and fortunate, but will not rejoice from children; and so forth. If he is born a male, he will have a large head, be brave, succeed in whatever he attempts, be tricked by a woman; if he gets sick, he will not die, but will have a new fate; and so forth. There was a failed or successful manner of this ram, and the scorpion, as well as the scales. A poor woman or man, believing that he is predestined to be poor, sick, and misfortunate, is continually consumed in this condition. Another was going to die at a young age, and was not going to rejoice in his/her spouse or children. He was always going to pass his life in fear and sorrow. There—the beautiful, bow, fate, and the wise one of the home— insists, insists that it be like Soghomoni says, and it cannot. There are worse failures. It even goes so far as foretelling that this woman will be immodest or modest, thief or just, murderer or faithful. This idea dominates the imagination of the one who has the cards read. And suspicions become inexhaustible in the home. We were seated one night on the roof of the church, from which appeared the joyful plain, pastures, and villages. The Pèri River was flowing sinuously along one side of the village. It was shining with the light of the moon, and the wind periodically caressing it raised loud murmurs. “Look, look, Holy Father,” said Frank Garabed. “The dragons [vishabs] came to drink water. That snake which for seven years has not seen the face of a son of Adam becomes a dragon. They have wings and horns. Large they are, large, ha. They swallow man and beast. If angels on the command of God did not drag them to the heaven with iron chains, no man would be left on earth—they would swallow them. They pull, they pull, and they then let go, they make them break into pieces there on the high mountains.” Though this diseased imagination left over from ancient times recently has begun to disappear, it left its traces, as in the story of the djin, pèri, and alk`. Half an hour distant from P`éri—Perri—there is an Armenian village named Hoshé [Footnote: At the northeast of Hoshé at the place called Pasur` there are large foundation stones and big polished rocks.] in front of our eyes. A little distant from the water, above the village, a light burns. They show it to me and relate that during the four seasons of the year, during God’s night, this light burns. We see it clearly from here. The Hoshé inhabitants do not see it. They send people to go see what it is. They arrive next to the village, and the light is lost, but at the same time, it appears from here. It is a saint’s place, or what it is, we don’t know. Our ancestors also have always seen it.” Indeed I too saw it; periodically it went out like a lighthouse beacon, and then again would burn. Why is this village called Hoshé? They relate the following: “Before Diyarbekir was built, they wanted to build that city here. There are big foundations and sculptured large stones here. They put down the foundation and every day on it build a building. One morning they get up and see that the tool is lost. The master asks where is the tool? They answer, not here, so the site of the city we are to build is not here. The name of the place remains hos ché [not here], Hoshé. The builders went on until they reached the location of Diyarekir. There the architect found his tool. The groghs [reference to pagan Armenian god named Dir, the writer of fate] carried it off. God’s will said it is here, and the construction of the building began.” They tell so many things about the places of Dersim populated by Kurds that if they were certain, all of this mountain would be worthy of research, where both destroyed and not destroyed things may be found. Some of the stories seemed plausible. There were also exaggerations, which went as far as legends. They gave the names of several villages from whose ruins gold and silver coins, plates, and ornaments were found by the Kurds. These probably were treasures buried during the days of raids and battles. They remained buried in their places, as their owners either died or did not return. They said that there are caves which are full of old Armenian books, arranged on the doors. In some places they were opened, and when they tried to take a book out, all of them rotted and spoiled, and fell down like ash. This too unfortunately may be the truth, which does not need any explanation. There are caverns or stone buildings which are full of boxes of gold and silver and other furnishings and weapons. However nobody can enter or stretch out their hands because then cries and thundering would be heard, and they would die of fear. Four people in particular related the following, but they said we have heard this and are not eyewitnesses. Manug Érmoyian told what he saw with his own eyes in this way. “Four hours distant from P`éri, in the interior of Dersim, a Kurd named Abdullah of the Ghràn—Khràn—ashiret was building a house for himself on a hill twenty years ago. Ghràn was a place like a big city and has many ruins. While the Kurd was digging the foundation of his house, an arcaded underground house built of stone was opened up. We looked from the window and the door, and saw piles of gold and silver coins, chests, clean and choice weapons, horses’ bridles and saddles, and various types of clothing. One of the Kurds threw himself inside and embracing a chest ran outside, but he fell and died. The invisible defenders of the treasure grieviously had struck him. That chest of gold remains in Abdullah’s house. They see it but they cannot touch it or take even one piece, for then they would immediately die. There is an invisible defender next to it. Abdullah built his house on top of that arcade, which is also called the house of crime. Holes are left—every man can look and see what I have related, as well as the chest placed in the house, the gold and silver. This Abdullah also supposedly has old coins found elsewhere. He gave three gold coins tome, each one 12 dirhem, the size of copper one kurush coins. I took them to Kharpert and exchanged one for 1,140 kurush from Kévork T`fénk`chìan.” It is certain that old coins and other antiquities are seen frequently in the possession of the inhabitants of this district, and speculators have collected and continue to collect many. They also related that near Pèri a Dajig by digging uncovered a treasure. He was going to remove it. The invisible ones were black Arabs who mercilessly beat him. He became mute from the pain and fear, and his ears deaf. Of course this was the fruit of his imagination. The people of every district speak about black Arabs or ghosts for the defense of hidden treasures. Here they had great faith in Ram’s various divinations. Let what we said be legend. However it seems that in the depths of those solid mountains there really are things to be revealed. We can consider Dersim from the days of the Arshagunis as a stronghold, as a refuge, and as a hideout. Thus the remains of fortresses, castles, monasteries, and tombs are plentiful. They provide material not only for Armenian national history but also for civilization and scholarship. The very reverend prelate [Footnote: In 1879, Perri’s prelate was Dér Hòvhannés Vartabed Névruzian. At that time, the Dajig and Armenian aghas of Chàrsanjak had been summoned with the Armenian prelate to Kharpert to be judged because they had protested against the kaymakam of Perri.] had returned from Kharpert. I asked for his attention concerning historical and real antiquities. He showed me a small idol of a horned bull, which was found in a field of Perri by a cowherd, and several other things. He made me a gift of a spike from the monastery of the Holy Illuminator’s torments. He also had another instrument of torture which was the size of a round nut, with thorns. We kissed eagerly. Before beginning the census, I visited the churches—dark and pitiful buildings, as are the clerics, but at least they are to be found and the spiritual needs of the people are attended to. Who has taken care of them? Who can blame them? Blessed be the Araradean Association, which upon our proposal founded a school in P`éri, which is governed until now by the United Association.

Section 5 The General List of Churches of Ch`arsanjak

Name Place

St. Sarkis Church (with 40 altars) Duzhig St. Garabed Monastery Halvor St. Nshan Monastery Dersim Kur`kênavank` Dersim Poz Monastery {in parentheses the author writes Piwzantits`, which may imply a church of the Armenians adhering to the Greek Orthodox faith) Dersim Monastery of Tashdag Dersim Monastery of Sin (Shén) Dersim Inê [Nine] Churches Inê Village Churches of Dzaghgetzor (Ayketzor) Inê Village Haks’s 100 Churches Haks Village Lusnagi Egeghetsì {literally, Church of the Moon} Dersim Pluri Egeghetsì {literally, Church of the Hill} (in ruins) Mnztur Khachèli Egeghetsìner {literally, churches of the crucified} Dersim Church of Ergan Dersim Monastery of Mushgrag Dersim St. Hòvhannés (Sorpian) Dersim St. Kàràsun Mangunk` Dersim Khorkhor’s Twin Churches Dersim Khér` Monastery (Kélazigian) Dersim Monasteries of Hars and Dantzig Dersim Pel Monastery Dersim Jknavor Monastery Dersim St. P`rgich`Church Khozat` Khêzêl Kìlisé’s Church Khêzêl Kìlisé St. Asdvadzadzin Church Perri Garmir Monastery Perri St. Asdvadzamayr Church Medzgerd St. Hàgop Church Medzgerd St. Atànas Monastery Medzgerd St. Eghia Monastery Medzgerd St. Mesrob Monastery Medzgerd St. Sarkis Monastery Medzgerd St. P`rgich` Monastery Medzgerd Bôghos-Bedros Monastery Medzgerd St. Kévork Monastery Medzgerd St. Tòros Church Pertag St. Asdvadzadzin Church Pertag St. Shmawon Church Pertag Kàràsun Mangunk` Church Pertag St. Asdvadzadzin Church Hoshé St. Bôghos Monastery Hoshé St. Minas Church Paghnik` St. Asdavadzadzin Church Khushin St. Andon Monastery Khusin St. Krikor Lusavorich` Church Basu St. Minas Church Urtz St. Kévork Church Kodarij St. Garabed Church Tzorag St. Varvar` Church Tzorag St. Asdvadzamayr Church Tzorag St. Minas Church Ghayazin St. Minas Church Hayvat`li St. Giragos Church Masdan St. Hùghitay Church Masdan St. Sarkis Church Masdan St. Hùsig Church Khoznkegh St. Lusavorich` Church Lamk` St. Asdvadzadzin Monastery Lamk` St. Tòros Monastery Lamk` St. Tàkavor Church Shordan St. Kévork Church Tarmudagh St. Asdvadzamayr Church Lazvan St. Andon Monastery Lazvan St. Sarkis (Khasdelvay) Church Lazvan St. Garabed Church Géôk` T`ép`é St. Asdvadzadzin Church Ghêzêljugh St. Asdvadzadzin Church Gorjan St. Asdvadzadzin Church Ismayeltsì`k` St. Loys Monastery Ismayeltsì`k` St. Hòvhannés Church Urèg St. Sarkis Church Tìl-Pertagi St. Kévork Church Vahnay St. Sarkis Church Saghman St. Kévork Church Hawshakàr St. Hòvhannés Church Mérjumég St. Tòros Church Vasgerd Kàràsun Mangunk` Church Vasgerd Mayr Mariam Church Vasgerd St. Sarkis Church Pashaghag St. Garabed Church Gadosan St. Hàgop Church Khr`neg St. Asdvadzadzin Church Khareseg St. Kévork Church Smakh St. Kévork Church Veri [Upper] Hawseg St. Andon Church Vari [Lower] Hawseg St. Hàgop Church Svjogh St. Sarkis Church Svjogh St. Hàgop Church Lusadarich` Erek` Mangunk` Monastery Lusadarich` St. Sarkis Church Balêsher St. Tòros Church Balêsher St. Krikor Church Balêsher St. P`rgich` Church Balêsher St. Kévork Church Sorpìan St. Sarkis Church Tànts` St. Asdvadzamayr Church Ergan St. Kàràsun Mangunk` Church Aghmezré St. Minas Church Ênjghag St. Minas Church Zêmpêgh St. Toros Monastery Tashdag St. Sarkis Church Aghzuneg

The abovementioned churches remained standing until 1915, while many of the monasteries in the course of time had become ruined, like those numerous nameless monasteries whose ruins are seen in the area of every village. On that day when the Ittihad carried out its plan to annihilate the Armenian people, and after putting to the sword all the Armenians of Ch`arsanjak it forcibly deported the remaining women and children and exiled them from our native soil, it also destroyed and ruined our churches and monasteries. Today even the ruins do not exist and their locations are not known. They even removed the foundation stones of our churches and took them to make mansions and barracks. They did not leave stone upon stone, in order to once and for all eliminate the Armenian imprint on our native ancestral soil.

Section 6 Ch`arsanjak’s Educational Life

After the Armenian Golden Century, until the eighteenth century, the Armenian court and church played a large role in keeping the Mesrobian [Mesrob Mashdots`, originator of the Armenian alphabet] letters and literature alive. Our monasteries and churches, together with being temples of our faith, also were centers of learning of our native tongue, where numerous fortunate ones spelled and wrote our Mesrobian language, with the oath of becoming its torch bearers in the future. Ch`arsanjak possessed numerous ancient monasteries and churches. A phalanx of dedicated individuals was never lacking in those holy places, where, aside from the study of the psalms and hymns, opportunities were created for the new generation to learn grammar, arithmetic, and other necessary subjects. With the meticulousness to keep the churches prosperous and bright, the Ch1arsanjak inhabitants are concerned with their future. It is with this foresight that they prepared their literate future priests [dirats`u]. Only in this fashion did Armenian writing and literature succeed in preserving their existence in the Armenian provinces unitl the 1850s. The eminent philologist Mr. A[rshag]. Albôyajian expressed himself as follows.

The life of our schools begins in three stages: first, the 1839 Tanzimat [Ottoman reform effort]; second, the Crimean War of 1855-56, and the 1859 Reform Edict; third, the Congress of Berlin (1878). It is after this date that school work receives its real impetus towards improvement and reform. In 1834, according to statistics prepared by the Constantinople Patriarchate, there were twenty to twenty-five schools in all the provinces.

In 1790 in Constantinople, schools run with the revenues from churches were opened for the education of the masses. In 1860, before the establishment of the [Armenian] National Constitution, these kinds of schools existed in all the quarters of Constantinople. On October 22, 1853, the first Educational Council was formed, which was sanctioned by the National Constitution. On April 1, 1846, the Pan-National Association was founded, on the initiative of the alumni of Murad-Ràpàyélian School. In 1847, the Siwneats` Association was formed, and in Constantinople, the Antznvér [“Devoted”] Association. On May 24, 1864, the Alumni Association of Holy Translators [Tàrkmanchàts`] School of Ortaköy was founded, which on April 15, 1876 was transformed into the Araradean Association, which had the goal of founding schools in Armenia. In 1871, the Vartanian Association took shape in Hajen, which on February 18, 1878 was rebaptized with the name of the Cilician [Giligean] Association, with its field of action being defined as all Cilicia. Later, the Arevelean [Eastern or Oriental] and Tbrotsàsirats` Associations united on September 1, 1878, and opened their first school in Mush. In 1880, with the union of the Araradean and Giligean Associations the famous Armenian United Association [Hayots` Miatsèal Êngerutìwn] was formed, which, until 1895, performed a great and benevolent role. As a result of political conditions, this educational organization was dissolved, but then it was recreated, and worked on new proposals from 1908 to 1914.

Ch`arsanjak’s Schools

The first school in Perri was opened in 1878 by the Araradean Association. After this date, schools were also formed in Medzgerd, Khôzat`, and Pertag. By 1901, Ch`arsanjak was blessed with twelve schools. In 1901, the following statistics were recorded in the census of provincial Armenian National Schools prepared by the Educational Council of Constantinople

The Diocese of Ch`arsanjak, 1901

Students Teachers Income Place Level Boys Girls Sum male female Schools Patriarchate Total 1 Perri 5 178 101 279 4 2 236 594 830 2 Khozat` 2 42 14 56 1 -- 15 108 123 3 Mazgerd 2 80 29 109 1 -- 82 108 190 4 Pertag 2 36 15 51 1 -- 20 108 128 5 T`ants’ 1 36 -- 36 1 -- 40 -- 40 6 Pashaghag 1 77 25 102 1 -- 50 -- 50 7 Vasgerd 1 35 5 35 1 -- 30 -- 30 8 Ismayélts`ik`1 28 -- 33 1 -- 30 -- 30 9 Kodarij 1 30 -- 30 1 -- 50 -- 50 10 Tzorag 1 20 -- 20 1 -- 40 -- 40 11 Urtz 1 20 -- 20 1 -- 35 -- 35 12 Khushin 1 35 -- 35 1 -- 40 -- 40

TOTAL 617 189 806 15 2 668 918 1,586

Note 1: The Armenian Evangelical Community had an orphanage with 51 orphans of both sexes in Ch`arsanjak who attended the Protestant school. Aside from these orphans, sixteen boys and eighteen girls also attended this school as students.

Note 2: Twenty-five orphans from the [Armenian] National Orphanage are included in the numbers of the students of Perri.

* * *

It is impossible to show the inaugural dates of all of Ch`arsanjak’s schools, and their educational levels, with historical documentary data. According to surviving eyewitness compatriots, village schools were closed numerous times by the Turkish government, and often were subject to pillage and destruction by Kurdish bandit chiefs. The schools of all the villages enjoyed a natural and peaceful development only beginning in 1900, and continuing until 1914. Perri’s school, beginning in 1878, regularly continued its academic years without any interruption until the end of 1914. The statistics from Constantinople prove that Perri’s school was a fairly important educational establishment, an elementary school with a five-year curriculum which through gradual advances also established a sixth grade. The information we have collected about Perri’s school covers the period until 1893. Perri, as a city containing a prelacy in Ch`arsanjak, in 1864 receives its first prelate and organized [Armenian] national bodies, as well as a coeducational school. The seal of the prelacy was ratified in 1881.

Education Workers

Unfortunately, it has been impossible to obtain any information on education workers from the opening of Perri’s school in 1878 to the 1890s. In 1892 the Armenian United Association sent to Peri Mamigon Varzhabedian with the post of senior teacher of the coed elementary school. Mamigon Varzhabedian ably governed the establishment and was very useful with his abilities for the intellectual advancement of the new generation and its Armenian education. During the days of plunder and massacre in 1895, when Perri was surrounded by a Kurdish mob, Mamigon Varzhabedian in his house, together with several Perri natives, resorted to self-defense. He resisted the Kurdish mob for eight hours, defending his house and his neighbors. The exhaustion of his gunpowder and bullets forced him to immediately disappear, and by a miracle he was saved from certain death. One year after the plunder, in 1896 he was again invited to Perri, this time as principal. He officiated until 1901, after which he moved to Garin, where he lectured in the Armenian Catholic school. It is worth reflecting in a few lines on his life and activity. Mamigon Varzhabedian was born in K`ghi’s T`émran village in 1866. His father Melkòn Varzhabed, had become famous in that period as an educated, benevolent, eloquent [Armenian] national and state official. The adolescent Mamigon received his primary education first from his father, and then in the local school. In 1884 he went to Constantinople and entered the field of teaching. In 1886, he received the “position [zatòr] of a secondary teacher” from the [Armenian] National Central Educational Council. In 1886, he was sent by Minas Ch’eraz to Zôrlu with the position of director of teachers/dnoren usutshciCHECK. In 1887 he was called to a position in Samatya, at St. Sahagean School. In 1888, he left for his birthplace, K`ghi, where he worked at educational organization. In 1891, he was invited to Mush’s St. Garabed Monastery. In 1892 he returned again to K`ghi with the position of second mathematics??usoghutiwn of the United Association’s high school. From 1892 to 1901 he worked in Peri’s Armenian United Association’s coeducational elementary school. Mamigon Varzhabedian had earned great respect and honor from the people of Perri thanks to his spirit of sacrifice and his great talent for eduation. One of the many books he had published, Alkòlin nakhjirnerê [The Ravages of Alcohol], was read with very great interest by the people of Chàrsanjak. Mamigon Varzhabedian’s students during the 1892-1901 period of his service, who later became leaders in national affairs, speak with respect and reverence of his patriotic spirit.

* * *

Mesrob Samuélian, a native of Perri, was for many years a teacher in Perri. His period of teaching begins circa the 1890s. In addition to being an erudite Armenologist, he also was a Turcologist. Endowed with a wise and reverence-inspiring exterior, he was considered a true educator. The survivors of our old generation speak with great praise of him. Aside from being a teacher of classical and modern Armenian, he also was a qualified musician and choirmaster. Working together with the principal of the school, Mamigon Varzhabedian, and teacher H`ovhannés Mazmanian, from 1893 to 1901, he elevated the educational level of the school and prepared a tradition-keeping and serious thinking generation. Around 1906, according to oral testimony, the Turks killed Mesrob Samuélian. While returning from his vineyard in K`ak`lig Pokhar, Turks in hiding at Gol Spring murdered this honorable son of the Armenians. The Turks could not tolerate it that such a sympathetic Armenian lived in order to prepare a generation resembling himself. The news of his murder created great excitement among all Perri natives. While entrusting to history this very concise information about this self- sacrificing and valuable educational worker, we evoke his unforgotten memory.

* * * [bio of H`ovhannés Mazmanian skipped, pp. 328-330; other teachers 331-336]

Levon Melidonian, a compatriot living in America, with great sacrifice and special work wasable to obtain some yellowed papers in whose folds we found important crumbs inherited from our past. Below we present a general inventory of the educational life of Ch`arsanjak. A list of names of students attending Perri’s school in 1911 is also worthy of publication. It was sent to our emigrant compatriots in America, who, despite their being gharib [a stranger away from home], thought day and night about their birthplace’s school, and with their continual financial and moral aid, greatly contributed to its educational ascent.

A Petition Prepared by the Parents of Schoolchildren, March 28, 1911, Perri

Perri, March 27, 1911

Honorable Members of Perri’s Educational Association, America

Sirs,

The sums spent for years by the sweat of your brow which would have helped the improvement of our schools—we are sorry to say that a group of men from this place, driven by the zeal of keeping our young generation in ignorance and disparaging these floors, have continually tried to confuse your sincere minds with false rumors and prevent the sending of the money promised for the aid of the schools from year to year. We sorrowfully heard that a group of men this year too have communicated diverse false information to you, including warning that supposedly there were only twenty-five students this year in our schools. In order to refute this great falsehood, we parents considered it our sacred duty to write to you under our signatures in order to declare that about 200 students, male and female, attend our schools, and that the schools now more than all other years are in a much more regular and productive state, and the educational officials all are comprised of conscientious individuals. Consequently, with your indulgence, we will ask that you carry out the duty of your conscience, without paying importance to that kind of undue writings, and according to your promise, please unconditionally send the promised sum, having confidence also that up until now no student has paid one para of tuition.

[sample of some of the parent’s signatures, and list of names of students omitted pp. 338- 341] We confirm officially that there are 196 male and female students in Perri’s coeducational schools, and the signatures of parents in this notebook are valid.

Deacon Elder of the Protestant Armenians Secretary K. Holopian A. Nigoghosian G. Puchigian

Chairman A. Buludian Prelacy Vicar Bôghos K`hny. D[ér]. Garabedian

Balance Sheet of Perri’s Coeducational Schools for the 1910-1911 Period

Income Kuruş Para

Remaining money transferred from the former Board of Trustees of the 1909-1910 period 496.10

Sent from New York by means of Mr. H`. Gop`oyian as the result of a special fundraising campaign for the schools 675.00

Thirty Ottoman gold coins sent by means of Messieurs Kh. Kasbarian, L. Khshdoyian, and H`. L. K`uzoyian from the New York fundraising committee for the schools 3,240.00

Twenty-four Ottoman gold coins from the Binghampton fundraising committee raised for the schools, which was sent by means of Mr.H`ovsép` Krghian 3,024.00

Forty-four and one half Ottoman gold coins of the Chicago and West Pulman fundraising committee for the schools sent by means of Messieurs Bedros K`irajjian, S. Marabanian, V. Hakalmazian, K. Mshmshian, and S. Hakalmazian 4,806.00

The product of one year’s rent of Messieurs Zadéyian for the 1910-1911 year 108.00

The product of Messieurs Zadéyian’s vineyard for the 1910-1911 year (the garden was struck by hail) 100.00

The product of the fundraising campaign for the construction of writing desks for the schools (from the Perri natives) 942.00

Gift from the mutasarrıf [governor] pasha of Perri on the occasion of the construction of writing desks (three Ottoman gold coins) 324.00

From the government treasury, onlyfor the yearly wages paid to the teacher of the Turkish language in our school 1,985.20

The price of the textbooks sold from the treasury 25.00

Gifts collected from wedding ceremonies 204.20

Gifts collected from ceremonies of festivities 347.00

Result of the donation plate circulated in the Holy Church in favor of the schools 261.10 ______General sum of income, only sixteen thousand five hundred thirty eight kuruş, thirty paras 16,528.30

Expenditures

Yearly wage of forty Ottoman gold coins paid to the director of the coeducational schools Arshag effendi Baronian 4,320.00

Twenty-four Ottoman gold coins paid to the Second Teacher of the coeducational schools Mr. Garabed Garabedian 2,592.00

Twelve Ottoman gold coins paid to the school’s Third Teacher, Khach`adur Bandoyian 1,296.00

Eleven Ottoman gold coins paid to the schools’ Third Teacher, H`ovhannés Mazmanian 1,188.00

Eight Ottoman gold coins paid to the First Teacher of the girls school, Miss Mariam Urfalian 864.00

Two Ottoman gold coins paid to the Second Teacher of the girls school, Miss Mak`ruhi K. Émrshadian 216.00

Two Ottoman gold coins yearly wage paid to the school steward Karekin Gôllêk`têzian 216.00 ______Total of yearly wages to male and female teachers 10,692.00

The value of the 542 boards purchased for the building of the writing desks of the schools, excluding all [other] expenses 1,845.00

The price of the paper, notebooks, pens, ink, and chalk purchased for the schools 75.20

The price of the linen, paper, nails, and oil purchased for the windows of the girls school 30.10

Paid for the furnace, agish, glasses, and water carrier 14.10

Paid for the renovation of the blackboards 25.00

Expended on postage 5.00

Paid to hire a special courier sent to bring Mr. Minasian from Palu to Perri 20.00

The cost of two telegrams sent to the United Association 73.00

The cost of two telegrams sent to Mr. Minasian in K`ghi 35.30

Paid to the laborers who clean whatever is necessary 20.00

Paid for the yearly property tax of Messieurs Zadéyian 10.30

Paid for the laborer who goes to the vineyards of Messieurs Zadéyian 5.00

The cost of the tea, coffe, and other items presented for the government officials’ inspection at the end of the month 33.00 ______Total sum of expeditures 12,884.20

Remaining money to be transferred to the 1911-1912 period 3,654.10

The totals which equal each other, sixteen thousand five hundred thirty eight kuruş, thirty paras 16,538.30

We confirm the accuracy of this balance sheet

Parish Council of the three quarters of Perri V. H`. Marabanian Secretary Chairman K. Ch`akmakjian K.Émrshadian G. Puchigian

Locum Tenens of the Prelacy of Ch`arsanjak Hamazasb Dz[ayrakoyn]. Vartabed Vartanian

Board of Trustees of Perri’s Coeducational Schools Treasurer Secretary Chairman Mr. G. Puchigian K. Ch`akmakjian V. H`. Marabanian

School Memories

It is not our goal to stir up the fog-covered past of forty-eight years, but to provide a concise picture of the condition of our schools at that period and their educational level. Like all students, I too remember those first days when we would go to the school building with our friends. When youths reached school age, the first work of the mothers of Perri would be to construct for their child a doshag, and a bag for their books. The doshags of rich and poor students differed in their new or old covers, as well as whether they were filled with cotton or wool. It was also possible to reach certain conclusions from the bag (which they also called ch`ént`é [Turkish, çanta]) which was slung over their necks. On the opening day of school, the mother would dress her child in clean and new fisdan [Turkish, fistan, for coat, and also meaning a woman’s dress], comb his hair, hang the ch’ént`é from his neck, fill his pocket with broken dry bread from the tònir, place the doshag under his arm, and hand him over to his father. The father, holding his son’s hand, would lead him to the place where he would become a man—the schoolhouse. During registration, the parent would say to the schoolmaster, “I entrust my son to you [amanat`]—the flesh is yours, the bone is mine. Make him a man. Henceforth, I will not intervene.” There was no dawdling in our day. On the first day the teacher would give the newcomer a stone writing slate with a slate pencil tied to it with a string, writing on the board a huge [ayp, the first letter of the Armenian alphabet]. The youth would return home in the evening with the ayp, earning the caresses of those at home. They would say, “your teeth are gold.” In the old times, there was no kindergarten, and little ones had no time to play and sing. The schoolmaster was going to teach them, while the boy was responsible every day to learn one more letter; otherwise, his parents would rise up and yell, “Our son has been going to the schoolhouse for two weeks, and still he has not done half the alphabet. Should a schoolhouse be like this?” Thus classes began in this way from the first day. Once every month an examination was administered for changing levels. The young student would have no fixed classroom for the first two years. Whoever learned the lesson would change his place. At the beginning of each month, the students sitting under the wall upon the command of the schoolmaster would stand up, clasping the doshag under them and the ch’ént’é. The teacher would read their names with the grades they had received. At that moment, the general changes of place would occur. Each student would early in the morning leave home, with a piece of wood in one hand, and a whole loaf of bread from the tònir in the other. The steward, whose share was the bread, would wait in front of the school door. The steward had the right to send home the student who had not brought bread. The pieces of wood would bethrown into the wood bin, in order to be able to have a fire for cold days. The students would sit in order and cross-legged in a large hall, which was divided into four groups. One of the groups was taught arithmetic, and the other, Armenian or history. At the same time, despite the loud explanations of the teachers, the students in the other classrooms were obliged to prepare their lessons. Lazy students were mercilessly punished by the teacher. The schoolmaster’s desk was placed in one corner of that large hall; on it was a bell, a notebook, an inkstand with purple ink, a pen, a pencil, white chalk, and slate pencils. The hazel wood cane rested on top of all these necessities. Nearly all of the schoolmasters of that period were choleric and stern faced men who would prove their being a schoolmaster by making the hands of the poor students red with a rain of blows of the cane. Heart was needed to endure the terror of the student, when the student obediently extended his hand. The cane would strike with a powerful blow his palms, with perfect regularity “caressing” both the left and the right. There were also different types of punishments for the students who distured the silence of the classroom or caused disorder. The schoolmaster would make that student stand on his feet who was speaking with his neighbor. He would then have to stand in the corner with his face turned to the wall. The punishment grew more severe in accordance with the extent of the offense. Often, the student forced to stand on his feet, on the command of the schoolmaster, would be required to hold one foot up in the air, just like geese. If he placed his foot on the ground, blows of the cane would immediately rain down on him. Those who were students in the old days know and remember that in order to learn Armenian it was first necessary to know how to spell. The schoolmaster would make a student stand up and would order, “Spell, let me see, the word family.” And the subject, reddening, would spell [using the names for the Armenian letters] “Êt`-nu = , diwn-ayp =, ên-da = , nu-ini-k`é = , ên+da+nik`= .” Many, many were not able to escape faultlessly from that labyrinth, and would have made errors. At that time, the teacher’s eyes would turn to the seated students, who, fingers held high, would be awaiting permission to correct the mistake, in order to learn to whom that great honor would fall. Sometimes spit would also fall on the face of lazy students from his correcting friend, of course always on the instructions of the schoolmaster. It was this way in our land (other places too naturally), where, lin a despotic country, despotic schoolmasters existed, and used methods of teaching with force and coarse measures. There is no need to remind of those powerful slaps in the ranks of punishments which the schoolmaster would lay down on the faces of disorderly and naughty students so strongly as to imprint the red traces of five fingers. We do not wish to condemn our invaluable teachers who were the children of their environment by this description of school life in the old times. Their only concern was to teach something as quickly as possible to the students entrusted to them, whose “flesh belonged to the schoolmaster, and the bone to the parents.” Thus commanded the parents, during the days of enrollment. Which of the tbirs [clerks] or deacons who served in Perri’s church in 1910 to 1912 did not sample the blows of Dér Bôghos’ fist for having pronounced words incorrectly or not having pulled the curtain at the right time? Our school of Perri had the old method until 1910 in its organization, and ways of teaching and punishing. During the administration of Arshag Effendi Baronian, tangible changes took place. The upper classrooms for the first time were provided with writing desks and the class list was placed in order. After this, during the time of Soghomon Effendi Ràhanian and his wife, Annagiwl the teacher, Perri’s coeducational school was completely reformed within two years, and turned into a modern elementary school. The canes were thrown out. The punishments were practically eliminated, or at least were given a humane nature. Writing desks were built for kindergarten through the upper grades. The obligation of carrying bread and wood every morning was ended, and the students’ dispositions were at once turned around. The level of teaching rose conspicuously. Alongside the United Association, the people of Perri too with its financial and moral aid, greatly contributed to the modernization and strengthening of the school. The sacrifice and aid over the years of our compatriots living in America is particularly worthy of remembrance. The graduates of the 1913 and 1914 school years (of whom, alas, very few survivors exist today) will remember with pride the glorious and valuable school crop of those two periods. Below we present the list of names of the graduates of Perri’s coeducational elementary school. The diplomas that they received were ratified both by the government and by the United Association.

Girls Boys

Miss Eranuhi Émrshadian Mr. Krikor Sémérjian Miss Mariam Apigian Mr. Khosrov Nalpandian Miss Aghavni Kasbarian Mr. Jivan Bôyajian Miss Zaruhi Pàshajughian Mr. Khosrov Urfalian Miss Mariam Marabanian Mr. Kévork Erevanian Miss Kohar Tàtoyian Mr. Karekin Erevanian Miss Keghanoysh Méynazarian Mr. Levon Gopòyian Miss Azniv Gopòyian Mr. Khachàdur Hàrutìwnian Miss Zaruhi Tzoragian Mr. Baghdasar Bandazian Miss Aghavni Marabanian Mr. Nigoghos Taniélian Miss Eghsa Takésian Mr. Asadur Antàràmian Miss Sultàn Kévorkian

Cultural Movements

1. Bibliophiles [Madenasirats`] Association

The Bibliophiles Association was formed in Perri as early as 1880 to 1882, with the aim of strengthening and aiding in the reform of the local church and the order and progress of the school. The founders of this commendable organization were: Hàurtuìwn Ermoyian, Vartan Marabanian, Apraham Éôk`siwzian, Garabed Khshdoyian, Kasbar Émirshadian [sic??CHECK], Krikor Holopigian, Bedros Holopigian, Giragos K`éhiayian, Sdepàn Bôyajian, Simon Khôjégian, Mardiros Enovkìan, Khachàdur Dér Bôghosian, Mesro Bandazian, Mesrob Kazanjian, Garabed Mazmanian, Kisag Jélalian, Baghdasar Bôyajian, Sarkis Mikàyélian, Mardiros Takésian ,Sdepàn Chùlfayian, Vartan Hakalmazian, and Mesrob Samuélian. Unfortunately, records do not exist to find out how many years and until when this organization existed. We received the abovementioned information from our elderly compatriot Mr. Asadur Khshdoyian living in New York, as oral testimony. It seems that this same association changed its name and later was called the Educational Council, with its goal and activity becoming more specific. It was dedicated to the improvement of the local school and its modernization until the formation of National and Civil Councils in the city. This testimony establishes that despite its being a forgotten, tenebrous period, despite the savagery of barbaric rule, the people of Perri, from very early on, expressed their faith and love towards our church and the light of education.

2. Perri’s Youths’ Philomathic Association [Eridasartats` Usumnasirats` Êngerut`iwn]

The records of this association show that it wasfounded in New York in 1894. This date establishes that many youths of Perri had immigrated to America before the 1890s. However, it was not possible to find out who were these first emigrants from Perri in America. The youth established in a free land, seeing the benefits of the world of “light” for mankind, were not able to remain indifferent to their compatriots living in their birthplace, and the generation needing the benefits of education. And so on the abovementioned date, the Philomathic Association was formed. It intended to aid their birthplace’s Educational Council and the board of trustees of the school in order to elevate the educational level of the coeducational school, turning its existence secure and continual with a steady yearly budget. The founding members were: Hòvhannés Chàkmak`jian, Hàgop Gopòyian, Shahén Melidosian, Hàgop Melidosian, Garabed Holopigian, Kasbar Holopigian, Baghdasar Holopigian, Bedros Chànchòyian, Mgrdich` Urfalian, Vartan Urfalian, Hàgop Bôroyian, Hàrutìwn Puchigian, Mesrob Bandazian, Baghdasar Bandazian, Ghazar Kùzoyian, Hòvhannés Kùzoyian, Sarksi Khalafian, Hàgop Hayrabedian, Kévork Nalpandian, Sarkis Vartanian, Giragos Puchigian, Avedis Kasbarian, Hàgop Bidagian, Vartan Chàkmak`jian, Mardiors Enovkìan, Mesrob Kazanjian, Hòvhannés Zadéyian, Krikor T’érzian, and Bôghos Baghdigian. In the years following the formation of the association, the numbers of compatriots reaching America from the country gradually increased. They dispersed to various cities in order to find work. Soon the association developed branches in New York, Binghamton, Bridgeport, Philadelphia, Chicago, Thompsonville, and Cambirdge. The individual compatriots who were scattered in California and other areas also always kept their ties and financially and morally aided the initiatives of the Center and the branches. After the proclamation of the [Ottoman] constitution, it was decided in 1910 to apply to the United Association of Constantinople so that in addition to a group of other regions, it would also undertake the work of caring for and administrating the coeducational schools of Perri. After lengthy negotiations, this application was successful, and the United Association took over this guardianship. The Philomathic Association in turn agreed to provide one hundred Ottoman gold coins aid yearly to the United Association. After this agreement, there were enthusiastic efforts by the Philomathic Association’s Center and its branches to organize lotteries, donation campaigns, public collections, and so forth, in order to carry out the responsibilities which they had accepted in favor of the school. Unfortunately, as in many of our public efforts, the energetic and collaborative activities of this association in its first years were succeeded by a sad period of division. Personal and factional passions played their destructive roles, giving way to misunderstandings and demoralizing difficulties. The consequence was the sad split in this useful association. Those dissatisfied left the association and formed a new one called the Philomathic Union of Chàrsanjak- Perri, and began independent activities.

3 The Philomathic Union of Ch`arsanjak-Perri

This association, formed in 1908, showed great enthusiasm and sacrifice, and succeeded in winning the sympathy of the members of existing branches as well as of indifferent compatriots. The organizational labors of a period of one or two years gave a successful and beneficial result. Branches were formed again in the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Binghamton, Thompsonville, Bridgeport, Chicago, and Cambridge, and relations were established with individual compatriots scattered in various cities through correspondence. The goal of this organization was similar to that of the Youths’ Philomathic, with the small difference that the Ch’arsanjak-Perri Philomathic wanted to also establish cooperation with village compatriots. Prior to WorldWar I, the youth returning from America to the homeland organized a branch of the Philomathic Association in Perri too, and undertook the mission of administering the supervision of the teachers and school with more modern methods and in a pedagogical manner. Serious and unpleasant situations occurred in Perri too, between the members of the newly formed Philomathic Association and the former members of the board of trustees, which had their effects also on America’s Center and the organization. A short period of three years of praiseworthy efforts and activity was followed by the First World War. Afterwards…the terrible and unimaginable Great Calamity… All were bewildered and demoralized by the heartrending news of the brutal slaughter of family members and loved ones. They were unaware of the terrible horror they were destined for. Each heart bears the anguish and lamentation of the loss of his people. This was succeeded by a period of self-containment. Like that of every Armenian, the hearts of all Ch`arsanjak Armenians boiled and dilated with the fire of just vengeance. The news of the formation of Armenian volunteer regiments was read. The unrestrained vengeance of many pushed them to enroll as volunteers and leave for the Turkish front in order to realize amends in blood of their loved ones. The remainder was driven to advance the association’s work forward through extraordinary efforts, and in this way aid the surviving portion which had escaped from the Turkish hell. Morally and financially productive years passed. The association in various ways applied to all probable cities and countries to find the remnants of the Perri natives. During the course of the four years following the calamnity, the assication through its means allocated the significant sum of $1,500 to the fugitives who had taken refuge in the Caucasus, as well as for the goal of Armenian Liberation [capitalization for emphasis from the original]. Aside from this, for four years in a row, it aided the school of the compatriotic union of Ch`arsanjak opened in Aleppo (Syria) by surviving emigrant compatriots in 1922 with a fixed budget. During the war years, there were several attempts to reach a mutual understanding and union with the Youths’ Philomathic. Unfortunately, the attempts were fruitless, and their activities continued separately. Finally, with all hope and consideration coming to nothing (in the educational field), on March 31, 1946 it was possible to bring into existence a happy understanding between the members of these two associations existing in the same city, and uniting, form Perri’s Compatriotic Union, which now has shown productive activity for about ten years.

[Omitted section of biographies of graduates of Kharpert’s Euphrates College from Ch`arsanjak, pp. 352-354]

Fragmentary Information about Ch`arsanjak

Notes culled from Constantinople’s 1888 general yearbook follow.

“Ch`arsanjak: chief places, Perri, Medzgerd, and Khôzat`. Parishes, 68, with 2,200 houses. This district delineated in hijri year 1301 and A.D. 1864 by sublime edict includes Dersim Sanjak’s Ch`arsanjak Kaza.” * * *

On page 28 of the book Nbasdits` hàntznazhoghov, hashvetsùtsàg ew deghegakir, 1897-1908 [Aid Commission, Budget, and Report] published by Patriarch Ôrmanian, we read, “Chàrsanjak, already deprived of its own means, more than ever was damaged through accidents and difficulties in management.” “The aid sent to that district in all was 270 Ottoman liras, primarily sent in the initial years.” On the forty-fifth page of this book, we read: “The center of Chàrsanjak, in the town of Perri: aside from the orphanage, aid was also alloted for the school in September 1898, monthly three Ottoman liras, which in March 1899 became four Ottoman liras, and was paid from the [treasury] chest’s account. Again the diocese of the district of Chàrsanjak and the center of Dersim: a school was opened in the town of Khozat` in October 1899, with one Ottoman lira aid from the chest’s account. Similarly, a school was opened in Pertag village of Chàrsanjak district in October 1899, with a monthly aid of one Ottoman lira. Later, with the payments to these schools being reduced, and their disposition being left to the prelacy, first six Ottoman liras monthly, and then with gradually decreases, one Ottoman lira was sent, and still continues now. In all, the aid sent to the district for schools was 537 Ottoman liras.”

* * *

The total of the aid sent to Ch`arsanjak

1897 90.30 Ottoman gold [liras] 1898 ---- 1899 115 “ “ “ 1900 30 “ “ “ 1901 6 “ “ “ 1902 --- 1903 5 “ “ “ 1904 --- 1905 24 “ “ “ 1906 --- 1907 --- 1908 --- ______TOTAL 270.30 Ottoman gold [liras]

Sums Sent for Ch`arsanjak’s Orphanage

1899 87.50 Ottoman liras 1900 149 “ “ 1901 180 “ “ 1902 144 “ “ 1903 65 “ “ ______TOTAL 625.50 Ottoman liras

The School of the Ch`arsanjak Natives in Aleppo

On October 22, 1922, Chàrsanjak’s Emigrant [Kaghtàyin] School was opened in Aleppo. For the history of this school founded through extraordinary sacrifice, see the report of the [Chàrsanjak] Compatriotic Union.

Part Seven Political Life

Section 1 The Begs of Ch`arsanjak and Armenian Oppressions

From the day that the Kurdish ashiret chiefs stepped foot on Chàrsanjak’s soil, this region became a land of cruelty and torment, while the Armenian people turned into captives and slaves. For five straight centuries the Armenains of Chàrsanjak saw and lived black days, in a miserable life stained with blood and sweat. The begs and aghas of Chàrsanjak through their unbridled, unimpeded rule, subjected the Armenian people to lawless oppression and torture, and sucked their blood like leeches. Chàrsanjak, which from 1514 came under Ottoman domination, was governed until 1915 by bandit chiefs who forced their despotic will on all successive sultans, turning master and lord of the political and economic existence of this area. In reality, Chàrsanjak was a “begistan” [land of begs], and not “Turkistan.” Those derebeys [valley lords, Turkish] who seized Armenian lands were not even accountable to the Turkish government, whose existence was solely a shadow on the aforementioned territory, only a nominal force. From the beginning, Chàrsanjak was truly governed by the begs. In its turn, Turkish tyranny often encouraged them, inciting their anti-Armenian stance. This gradually growing and multiplying generation of usurpers became the greatest scourge of the peaceloving Armenian people of Chàrsanjak. Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants`, in the second volume of his work Tòros aghpar, presented the following picture.

In the 1900s, there were two famous Kurdish begs in Ch`arsanjak, Ôsman Beg and Isakh Beg, whose rule reached as far as Kharpert. Aside from them there were other begs and aghas, who were the subordinates of these two authorites. Let us list here the begs of the area of Ch`arsanjak, and their areas of influence.

1) Pàshavank` (Pashaghag) Isakh Beg 2) Kharesig Ôsman Beg 3) Vasgerd Kìwchìwg Beg 4) Mérjumég Ibish, Mahmud, and Abdi Aghas 5) Balêshér Hüseyin, Mustafa and brother 6) Upper Havség Salman Agha 7) Galukar Yusuf Agha 8) Khr`nég Mehmed Agha and brothers 9) Kalandar Apush Agha 10) Perri Sadêk and Ôsman Agha 11) Paghnik` Nahib Agha 12) Khushi Ôsman Agha 13) Séyidli Ismayil Agha 14) Ghayachì Zilfi Agha, Séfô Agha and brother 15) Tzorag Ibish Agha 16) Kodarij Yusuf and T`ôsun Aghas 17) Urtz Ahmed Agha and brother 18) Géôk`t`ép`é Ahmed Agha 19) Gorjan Ali Agha 20) Ismayil Süleyman, Apôsh, Ôsman Aghas and sons 21) Vahnay Ismayil Agha 22) Zéri Kìwchìwk` Agha 23) Sorpìan Ahmed Agha and nephews [brother’s sons] 24) Balêshér Haji Mustafa Agha [CHECK ORIGINAL IF REPETITION of no. 5???]

Behold these are the lords of the land whose chief is Isakh Beg; he owned thirty-six villages and mazras [mezraa, Turkish for arable field]. His subordinates had twelve, ten, six, or four villages. They all had registered the lands of their villages in their name in tapus [title deeds], without asking the inhabitants. Only the Armenians of Medzgerd and Svjogh villages, and an insignificant number of Pertag inhabitants, had property registered in tapus in their own names. However, all the villagers paid the land and property taxes as well as when necessary the ianes [Turkish for donation or supplementary tax]. They would all be counted in the accounts of the aghas, in whose names the koch`ans [koçan, Turkish for stub, receipt] would be given. Of course it is well known that the villages, being maraba, share the crops with the aghas. Marriages that took place without the agreement and command of the agha cost those people who dared to do this dearly. There were aghas who wanted a church and priest to exist in their village so that love, union, and submission would be preached toward rulers, and especially so that people would feel satisfied and would not move to the lands of another agha. It was out of fear of these aghas that the Kurds of Dersim cause damage everywhere, but they cannot cause harm to Ch`arsanjak. Isakh Beg has often been accused of not being a praiseworthy person. This is often done by the other aghas, so that the field remains to them. If they do not succeed, the Armenains again will be troubled and will be forced to find a solution for themselves. How many, many times has the solicitous government sent investigators there in order to carry out the justice of the laws.

In order to more clearly portray the situation of the villagers of Ch`arsanjak in the period of rule of these twenty-four derebeys (valley lords), we present first Girô K`éhya of Janig village, and then his story of 1888 (from Antranig, Dérsim janabarhortut`iwn, pp. 50-62).

Girô K`éhya in appearance had a very sympathetic face and personality. Chubby, of average height, with a solid physique, he was a ninety- or ninety-five-year-old elder. He was dressed in simple peasant costume, with pants [shalvar] made of wool, a tunic or jacket of white linen, and an overcoat of blue linen. His hairy chest was half open, and as a belt, he had wrapped around his waist five to six arshin [arşın, Turkish measure of length of about 28 inches or 68 cm] of blue linen. Below it hanged a small red pouch [k`ésa, or in Turkish, kese] of tobacco, and from that, the long stem [ch`bukh; çubuk in Turkish] of the smoking pipe. He had placed on his head a huge conical hat [kùlah; Turkish külah] around which he had wrapped several spans of colorful chintz [chìt` or çit, printed cotton cloth], whose worn and fraying strings hanged over his shaggy eyebrows sprinkled with white and his watery blue eyes. After some conversation, when I asked Girô K`éhya why he was dressed so irregularly and tastelessly instead of well, he related among other things the following story. “Our Chàrsanjak which exists is a large part of Dersim, and contains many villages too. There were many ashirets in these villages which in olden times, my grandfather would say, had come from foreign places and settled in these parts. Many of them died out, passed, and left. Now only Isakh Beg and Ôsman Beg are left of their leaders, and the others don’t amount to much. Let me tell my agha [here meaning the listener]--listen well to me so that you understand. Now I at my age am ninety, ninety-five. When I was fifteen years old, let me tell my agha, in these parts there were Janissaries and derebeys, of whom only four were the main ones. Yes, besides having under them many Kurdish aghas, they also had divided the Armenians of these parts among them, so that we all were their slaves. The government did not exist at that time. They were the government of these places, and the king too. Just as there was no government here, similarly Kharpert, Palu, Arapgir, Agn, Malatya, and, what do I know, Diyarbekir, all these areas were in the hands of the derebeys. The lands, waters, houses, goods, and properties of the country were all the derebeys’. If the derebey wanted to, he would keep us, if he did not want to, he would not keep us, just as now. If he wanted to, he would slaughter, and if he did not want to, he would not slaughter. And my dear [gözünü sevdiğim], I said in this way, the Armenians for twelve months out of the year would work with their families and harvest, only for them. It happened many times that when one derebey was hostile to another, they would set us—the Armenians of the begs on both sides—opposite one another and have us fighting one another until one side would be beaten well and defeated. When they would see among us Armenians a good bride, a girl, or a brave boy, they either would have him killed or turn him into a Dajig. In sum, we all lived for them and multiplied…in a word— mea culpa, mea culpa--they were our gods. One time, I remember that all the begs and aghas were reconciled with one another. They all collected here to have fun. Let me tell my agha, what did we see? It is a good one—one time we saw that all the begs and aghas assembled their Armenians and said you will go and sit in the ditches of this field, one arshin deep, so that the begs and aghas can play jeered [Turkish, cirit] over you “ “Oh, a black day, a black day,” yelled out and cried the poor old man, and then continued. “We cried a lot, we begged a lot, we pleaded a lot, and went to kiss the feet of these begs so that they have pity on us. But what was the use? Our crying and salty tears were heard neither by God and nor by those non-believer God begs. They took out all us men and sat us in the ditches dug in the field, and began to run their horses this and that way, and played over us. Alas, alas, alas, the poor Armenians! Some died; some had their heads broken; some had their intestines spill out; some had their arms broken, others their thighs; eyes were blinded…who knows, what other things took place. When I became forty years old, these areas were still thus. On the day of God, battalions of Janissaries, Chechens, Circassians, Albanians, and men with fezzes would come to our villages. And when they would come here, they would sit in our homes, stand, eat, drink, and at nights, sleep. When they were going to eat, first of all they would demand from us the dish kìrasê [diş kırası, Turkish for tooth rent], let me tell my agha. If we did not give it, there was no escape for us from their hands. But what could we do to them who had swords and guns in their hands, and we had nothing. Do you understand, my agha? In short, our condition in these parts was like that until Reshid Pasha came from Constantiople, and, let me tell my agha, he began to hang, burn, flay, and skin all the derebeys, aghas, sheikhs, big heads, and notables…my dear, did not Reshid Pasha of blessed memory [CHECK] do it this way? Fear spread among all the Turks and Kurds. Many would say, “This pasha is an infidel.” When he went to Diyarbekir they poisoned him there and killed that poor man, saying that this is an infidel, and that he will establish a kingdom of the infidels. Why should I give you a headache? In short, when we heard that Reshid Pasha had come to Kharpert and was defending the Armenians of that place, my brother of blessed memory and I consulted, and thought that we should go to Kharpert and complain about the begs of this place. However when the begs of this place heard that there were such things (Reshid Pasha’s fervent defense of us Armenians) they placed men all over Chàrsanjak so that the Armenians of this place could not go to Kharpert and tell things about them. Let them place men in this way; we too on our part will look to our work. Let me tell my agha that I and my brother of blessed memory got up and fled at night and went to Kharpert, and as soon as we arrived there, we fashioned a good petition and gave it to Reshid Pasha. And what kind of a petition--do you know, if a dog ate it he would have gotten angry. Don’t ask. Yes, two days after giving that petition, my dear, what did we see; it is good. We saw once that all the begs, aghas, sheikhs and notables with their hands tied behind them were brought to Kharpert. They brought them one evening, and then the next morning they took all of them out and took them to Aslan Spring [Footnote: Aslan Spring is exactly between the old and new cities of Kharpert, at the base of the mountain, where various large and small roads meet and separate in order to go to various cities]. There they hanged some of them, beheaded some, placed some on thick stakes, poured kerosene on some and burned them, flayed some and skinned them [Footnote: I also heard this latter part from my 120-year-old grandmother, who was an eyewitness to Reshid Pasha’s actions in Kharpert. She would relate that when Reshid Pasha was marching, Kharpert’s Ch`ôt`él Zade Haji Khanêm with a large crowd showed a great resistance to the Ottoman army, which had been sent from Constantinople for reforms, and massacred many soldiers. However the local Armenians gave fervent assistance to Reshid Pasha until he, after warring for a long time, was able to cross the united Euphrates to enter Kharpert (Antranig, Dérsim).], and some of them they struck on the achùgh burghusinCHECK??. Who knows, what things there are that they did to them. Then their voices, forgive me Lord, you don’t say it, filled the world…yaman, madat (help, God [but according to the Redhouse Ottoman Turkish dictionary, these words mean “cruel, help”]), all the mountains were in an uproar…did you understand, my agha? No heart could withstand it. On God’s day they were going to bring eight to ten big head notables there and they were going to hang and cut them. The Dajigs then, don’t ask at all, were looking for one thousand k`ésa [Footnote: Each k`ésa [kese, Turkish] is equal to one hundred thousand (100,000) kuruş] in a mouse hole, but, what was the use, it did not exist. They were fearing this pasha more and more since Reshid Pasha did not kill them all at once so that they would be freed, but would hang them from their soft flesh on hooks so that they would be like this for four days; they would be yelling, yelling, and dying. Reshid pasha in this way remaining several months in Kharpert established a great degree of peace. The Dajigs no longer would rebel. All of them were peaceful because Reshid Pasha dressed in a poor man’s outfit would wander around everywhere and examine the condition of the country…henceforth who could make a sound. Who could tell the Armenian that there is or is not an eyebrow above your eye, or, who are you, who are you not, where do you go, where don’t you go. Because, my effendi, everywhere there was law and the police. Whoever looked askance at anybody, God no longer had any business there; they would punish him. Several weeks passed. My dear, we saw once more, they said that Reshid Pasha had summoned all the nobles of Kharpert and said, “My sons, I see that you are greatly troubled at the hands of these Dajigs and you do not see the sun during the day. Now I want to separate this nation from you, and either send you to Diyarbekir (Dikranagerd) and bring the Dajigs there here, or send the Dajigs here to there, and then bring the Armenians of that place here. Whichever one you wish, tell me so that I do it.” “Pasha Effendi,” said the great notables. “How can we, in what way can we be separated? We are afraid that they at that time will attack us.” “Son,” said the pasha, “I know all that and I have thought of it. How to do it is my business. Now you decide among yourselves which place you want. I will separate you and give you weapons too. I will do everything for you. At that time you will create a force (police) from amongst yourselves, and if God brings me to Constantinople alive and well, I will send you one smart Armenian pasha. You only send your military tax every year to our living king.” “Pasha Effendi, let us kiss your feet,” again spoke our princes, “Let the living[CHECK] king remain alive. Give us three days’ time so that we can deliberate well.” The pasha gave the princes three days’ time so that they, let me tell my agha, would go and deliberate. The princes all went to deliberate. We too with our brother of blessed memory went and were present at that meeting. We entered, my dear, and went to the sakù of the stable, and what we saw saw was good. We saw that all the white bearded great pcines were arrayed on the bench and apparently were consulting with one another. If you were there and saw their heads once you would have said that their heads were larger than their bellies. With wine and liquor placed out, they were drinking. When they saw us they called and began to make us too drink, but my brother of blessed memory did not drink. Why should I hurt your head? Heads had gotten very heated, and all were riding white and red horses [Footnote: This is an allegorical way of speaking which we use when somebody has been drinking and is drunk. If the man became drunk on liquor [ôghi], they would say “He is riding the white horse,” and if he is drunk on wine, they would say, “He is riding the red horse.”]. The chairman of the meeting said, “Well, boys, I know that you too have seen much and heard much. You know a lot and understand. Now what do you say of these words of Reshid Pasha?” A man from over there got up and said, “Brothers, this is special from God that a Dajig pasha comes to separate us from the hand of these lawless ones…come, let us separate.” Another one from over here said, “If you want us to separate, let us ask for Diyarbekir, because its city has walls.” One, said yes, another said no, and thus the meeting was mixed up and they began to yell and to yell. Nobody could understand what the other was saying. My brother of blessed memory at that time got up and said, “Lower your voices because, brothers, I too am going to say something. Yes, do you know that these Dajigs have become brave and rich because they have settled in the country’s good places, but we are crowded in the fields? We live, we work. They come and seize from our hands. They are rich, and we are poor. Now if you want to be men, then come so that we separate and ask for this Kharpert. Why, because this place is very good. Everything is possible. When they take the Dajigs here to that place and bring the Armenains there here, many of us will go and settle in the high mountains of Dersim. There there is much wood; there is also much fruit, and there is much of everything. We will also keep sheep. It is enough that the pasha gives us weapons. At that time everything will be plentiful and good. When an enemy comes against us at that time we in turn like braves will fight them. Then who can stand against us? If we are one heart and one soul, God be our witness, our back will not strike the ground. The place you call Diyarbekir is a salt plain. It is a tùran zhashdCHECK, they call it Diyarbekir’s çöl [desert]. It would make a man’s mother cry, do you know. All of us would die there. We cannot live there since we are not accustomed to the climate there. Inshort, such a place is not good for people like us. What good is it for? Let us ask for this place, brothers, why do you fear?” Again somebody said yes, another said no, and again everything got mixed up. The chairman at that time said, “Boys, do not yell. You are still young, but I have boys like you. Hey, this white head has encountered so many, many tribulations and has passed through all of them. Now stop and let me talk. True, as much as the pasha spoke, but he still does not know our woes well, our pain. They (the Dajigs) are the ass’s waste. Whenever you put them in the water, they will again rise to the surface. But we are the cow’s dung. Whenever we fall into the water, we cannot come to the surface. We remain at the bottom of the water. Did you understand, my boys? Again the best of all is that we fall at the feet and hands of the pasha and say pasha effendi, may god grant the living [CHECK] king and you long life for having left this much peace in the land. Now we are very very satisfied with the Dajigs. They are our big brothers, and we are their little ones. They are the crown on our heads. Our mouths will bend in order to say as much as a hair to them [CHECK]…we also do not want anything. Now, what tàpùrCHECK do you say then? How do you see these words? Speak in front of me out of respect for me. Don’t be afraid, boys.” The meeting again grew disturbed. They all began to yell and curse the chairman. My brother of blessed memory grew angry and left that meeting of the stable sakù, and I left following him. Let me tell my agha--why should I give you a headache—in short, the next day Reshid Pasha summoned the chairman of that meeting and asked, “What did you do, my lambs? Before the great princes, the chairman said what they had decided the prior evening. My agha, as soon as that pasha heard what the Armenians had decided, my dear, don’t say it, he became angry and had them pulled under the pàlakha [Turkish, falaka :staff with a loop of rope let through two holes by which the feet are held up for bastinado] and beaten well. Afterwards, he expelled all of them from his presence. Three or four months passed, let me tell my agha, and my brother and I again got up and came here. It was very good. There was hràtùtìwn [CHECK] in these parts because all the derebeys had been killed, and their whelps were not able to rebel as before. Again, although the country’s lands and water were in their hands, we prospered greatly. Finally, let me tell my agha, as long as Reshid Pasha was in Kharpert, we were good and comfortable, but when he went and left, again the whelps of those begs of prior times and were like their ancestors. The government took their side too; God also took their side, and every thing was on their side. Now both the begs snatch what we earn from our hands, and the government, whereas before there were only the whelps of the begs. Where can you go now? Where can you tell your woes? Where can you go? What is left? Oh, my dear [lit., my “eye”], wherever you go, the okka is still 400 dirhems (it is still the same injustice). There is no one to hear and listen to your voice. His one lie is greater than your one hundred truths. TegoyCHECK, let me see what your heart wants, and let me see how a man gives [dêllisCHECK], or how gives home and place, and you are going to keep/maintain your family. Ya, my son, they would engage in banditry, kill men, steal and do prostitution, and if they saw something good that we had, they would take that too from our hands. But we are pitiful, we are destitute; we cannot do banditry, we do not know how to plunder men and kill. We do not contrive to steal or engage in prostitution. We work, we labor hard, we earn. They come and seize [everything] from our hands and eat. The sweat off our brows has made them men; if not, their heads would swell from hunger. Teh, when there are no weapons, then how shall we cry, and how should we not build our house like a pit like this. How should we not wear old rags, and how should our women not cover their faces and not smear them with dung. If you were in our place, what would you do, when you saw that what you earned is not your, your house is not yours, your land, water, goods, and property are not yours, your honor is not yours, your family is not yours, in short, you only have a bare soul, and even that is not yours! Akh, which one should I relate, khur`ban [from Turkish kurban, meaning sacrifice— i.e. let me be your sacrifice],which one should I say and which one should I bewail? Permit, permit that I lower [CHECK var tnem] my bé- murad/aimless/intentionless/purposeless voice, my heart is boiling [“yaralu”—if this is eràlu; CHECK but if it is yaralı in Turkish, it means wounded], irar mi dak/do not fight/do not interfere/do not be dissatisifed. May God grant me silence, and to you patience, so that you can be patient, my sons.”

These feudal derebeys who had placed there nests in that corner of the Armenian land tortured our people for centuries. These immigrant nomadic peoples who invaded Armenia from the steppes of Persia, always driven by madness for plunder always also enjoyed the direct and indirect encouragement and permission of the Turkish government. Thus, they plucked from the Armenian villager’s hand the latter’s own property, garden, field, and everything. The rich Armenian and the villager gradually turned into raya [STANDARDIZE SPELLING], maraba, or a kind of slave who is not only deprived of his possessions but is at the same time deprived of the most fundamental right of the security of life. Others like Girô K’éhya have their heartrending stories of the living martyrdom fated to the Armenians in Ch`arsanjak from the black days of the past which surpass his. To learn what they have endured at the hands of those feudal begs, it is necessary to make them speak, like Girô K`éhyan, on the condition that listeners suppress their emotions. Every day, torture, kidnapping, and murder [took place] according to the caprices of the begs because “the beg was our God”; “if he wanted to, he would keep us; if he wanted to, he would not keep us” [these quotations are slightly different from the same ones above]. The begs, being owners of the property, also considered themselves owners of the lives of their marabas. They could sell, trade, or kill them whenever they wanted. They had absolute liberty to do whatever they wanted. This unbearable political and economic situation for the Armenains of Ch`arsanjak continued until 1900. In the early period, the Armenian peasant wanted to live and remain on the land of his ancestors at the price of great sacrifice. He plowed, sowed, harvested, and sweated as a maraba, but the product belonged to the beg. With this profit, the begs filled their warehouses while the ones who were really getting tired and weary remained famished, subject to unspeakable deprivation and difficulties. The Armenian villager in order to preserve his existence became frugal. He worked a lot but ate little. The hardiness and struggle for the existence of the Armenian continued in its amazing course, often revealing enviable aspects. The begs did not miss the patience of the Armenian villager in not only struggling for his existence, but also in enduring his life by means of thrift. The begs found the methods of exploitation that they had adopted lenient, when they saw the grain allotted for a large family which was sufficient for six months keep it alive one year. The gâvur [unbeliever] maraba must not be satiated, and especially not grow and multiply. The apparition of red-cheeked Armenian ragamuffins was, for the begs, a frightening appearance because this was a menace creating a nightmare for their future. It was necessary to crush more, to reduce further their means of living. The maraba must simply be a skinny, deformed, shabby, crawling creature, a phantom in the shape of a man, so that he will not have the force and ability to raise his head, so that the begs’ absolute rule is perpetualized. The ferocious and avaricious begs, aghas, and kholams began to use against the Armenian villagers increasingly bad and inhumane methods. The tithe of the crops, which was a governmental tax, was generally collected by the begs. Thus, the cotton and vineyard tithe taxes were decided in subjective measures. A field which could barely produce 100 ôkha of cotton, would be evaluated through the capricious arrangement of the beg at 150 to 200 ôkhas—that is, double its true capacity. Nobody would listen to the appeals, requests, and pleadings of the villager about this. If the cotton collected was less than the beg’s estimate, the villager would be required to make up the deficit by buying it from some place; otherwise, he would be subject to many types of false accusations and undergo unheard of oppressions and public seizures. This is just one picture of the hellish life lived by the Armenian villagers. My mother, Baghdad Erevanian, was born in Hoshé of the Zurnajian clan. Now eighty years old, she presents from her memories of the past the following episode.

My son, Kévork, let me say something, and you write it down in your book. I was barely six or seven years old. My father had died. Our house was one of the big houses in Hoshé. I had six brothers—Ghazar, Mardiros, Baghdasar, Hàrutìwn, Kirkor, and Markar. I also had two uncles on my father’s side—Melkòn and Hòvhannés. My father’s name was Garabed. Our family was composed of twenty-five members, and all were connected to each other with a love worthy of an Armenian patriarchal household. My mother was the one who administered our household. The one who took care of me and raised me was my brother Hàrutìwn’s wife, Mayram, who loved me a lot. I loved her as much as my own mother. It was the cold of winter. As it was holy Christmas, we were going to go to church to receive communion, so Mayram washed me in the tub and bringing me in front of the hearth, seated me. I was naked. She stood behind my back and began to dry my fisdan [Turkish fistan, for petticoat, dress, coat]. Suddenly I saw that Mayram was crying, and sobbing was saying something. I looked; I was moved, and asked why she was crying. “Nothing, there is nothing. You be quiet,” she responded, and continued to cry. I again asked with more interest the reason why she was crying. This time she began to cryin with an even louder voice and said, “Why are you so interested? What can I tell you? How can I make you understand? Akh, king, let your house be ruined. Let it be pêrêshag [CHECK perhaps same as perişan in Turkish, meaning ruined]…Hey, unbelievers, I said, is this something to be endured? Let God in heaven punish you bulakìm [CHECK]… We plow, we sow, we harvest, we collect, and give to them and in this way we remain naked and yearn for a jul [CHECK old clothing, rags??; cül in Turkish means horsecloth]. Oh, when will we be freed of this life?” Speaking in this manner she placed that fisdan, which was mended with patches and was my only clothing, on me, and plaited my hair. I ran with bare feet to the church in order to take communion. I was ten to twelve years old, but my mind was working. One day Mayram related to me what happened that day that she was crying, and explained it in detail. “That year, we had sown cotton in the field of the mill [CHECK chaghchi] near the stream. Growing the cotton was very difficult. How many times did we pull out the weeds, water it; it is necessary to gather the husks [bolls] of the cotton. I don’t know what else. It is not after the husks ripen that the agha comes to decide on the tithe. Brother Hàrutuìwn was there, in the field. The agha said that from this field a certain amount of cotton will be produced, and in a very inflated way determined the tithe. Hàrutìwn asked, he pleaded: “Agha, that much cotton cannot come from this field. Be fair and lower it a little.” The agha then got very angry, and drove his horse at your brother. He ran over him with the horse’s feet. Poor Hàrutìwn tumbled down dazed under the horse’s hooves. They sent word to us. We went and carried Hàrutìwn back home. His ribs were broken. After this, he could not stand on his feet, and he was in great, great pain until he died. Let me add that the cotton of that year came out to be less, as Hàrutìwn had said. We purchased the lacking cotton from neighbors and satisfied the agha, since otherwise we could for the same reason have had new victims. May God blind their family line [ôjakhnin-bujakhnin]. Not even a thread to be stringed through a needle is left us…Baghdad (this is my mother’s name), this is why I was crying that day. Do you understand?”

This was the situation, more or less, of all the Armenians found from one end of Chàrsanjak to the other. The takrirs [Turkish, memorandum] or applications sent to the Sublime Porte via the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople beginning in the 1850s remained without result. In 1865, the takrirs presented by the [Armenian] National General Assembly of Constantinople were fruitless. After the [restitution] of the Ottoman Constitution, in 1911, the revival and pursuit of the land question remained unsuccessful, until, during the black days of 1915-16, in accordance with the decision of the Turkish central government, the Armenian victims were sentenced to a final silence, by being brutally murdered and massacred by Kurdish begs, aghas, kholams, and their mobs. The Turkish government, after the massacre of the Armenians, began to employ its policy of persecution at an appropriate opportunity against the Kurds too, until they also were subjected to liquidation, putting an end to the Kurdish derebeys, aghas, and the tribes acting in accordance with their commands. We will not be able faithfully present the distressing state imposed on the Armenians of Chàrsanjak in the recent past. We will try sketch the history of the devilish conditions lived through with some quick recollections. The Chàrsanjak inhabitant was not only an Ottoman subject. This was the external and official form. In reality, before he reached this condition, the Chàrsanjak inhabitant in his political and economic existence, passed through a pair of crushing cylinders. The first was the group of men which kept in direct contact with the villagers in the name of its beg and agha. They were called kholams, “the khêzmét`kèars [hizmetkâr, Turkish (taken from the Persian) for servant] of the begs.” They were completely devoid of moral understanding, ignorant, merciless, bribe-taking, and bandits. In them, the inclination to commit usury, thievery, and crime had turned into character. Whatever the kholams said would be done; otherwise the villagers would be subjected to many kind sof persecution. It is possible to say that the kholams sometimes oprpressed the people of their region more than the begs. If someone did not submit to their will and caprice, they would merit unheard of blackening [CHECK sewats`rék`] by the ruling begs and aghas. The poor villager was afraid to say anything to his superiors about the misdeeds of this gang of khêzmét`kèars. Otherwise, not only the kholams, but the begs and aghas would become more stringent, and henceforth, may God help such unfortunates. It was for this reason that, in order to satisfy these men in the entourage of the begs, it was necessary to give them as a present their preferred foal, sheep, or other animal, clothing, etc., as a bribe. Generally thefts were organized by them. A day did not pass when a robbery or theft was not heard of. For example, in the morning it would be on people’s tongues that “they demolished the wall of Mkhso’s [CHECK NAME] stable, and drove off and took the cattle. They stole the sheep and goats from Bôghos’ pen. They robbed a tinsmith, plundered a peddler, and after taking whatever a jeweler had they killed him too.” Such things were ordinary. They were done day an dnight, and protest about them remained inaudible.

The second crushing cylinder was the begs and aghas. The true authority of Chàrsanjak was in their hands. They, nourished by feudal mentality, were insatiable, bloodthirsty tyrants whose word was a command, and whose will was law. The kholams would immediately apply the commands given to them with blind submission and loyalty. The government governed theland in accordance with their directions. The protest of a gâvur [Turkish for unbeliever] against injustice would not be taken into consideration. Even if an instruction came from the central government to the beg, not only would the latter ignore it or deride the government official who conveyed that instruction, but he would publicly slap the müdir or kaymakam so that he would not come back again and would flee in order to avoid more of the same. State authority in Chàrsanjak was only nominal and pro forma. The power of the government was only used strictly against the Armenians. Generally land and good property belonged to the begs and aghas. If there were some Armenians who could be counted with one’s fingers as property owners, they were every day subject to forcible seizures. Governemnt taxes would be levied from Armenian villagers, but the kôchàn (receipt) would be given in the name of the beg or agha of the area. The injustices borne by the Armenian villagers, the usury, kidnappings, and murders, form the bloody episodes of our recent past, and occupy a certain space in our history or literature. The Kurds, who have been related to us by blood, race, and fate, through a wrong education, turned into our scourges. They having inherited the custom of enjoying a life of plunder and no work from theTurks, turned into the complict enactors of their dark plans. The Turks used the Kurds until the Armenian deportations. Afterwards they used the same policy of persecution towards them. Thus the Armenian population of Chàrsanjak, after passing throughthetwo abovementioned cylinders,would reach the state leveling cylinder, which completed whatever was lacking in a life of torment, and thus created the Armenian odyssey. The conductors of the governmental leveling cylinder were the local governors, policemen, gendarmes, and tax collectors. Their indescribable oppressions were countless. The government existed not to protect the rights of the people through courts and executive officials, but to ponder over plans to persecute and annihiliate the Armenains, encourage workers in this direction, and every fifteen to twenty years, organize massacres and plunder led by the begs and aghas. In order to complete the genuine picture of the hell-like life of the Armenians of Chàrsanjak, we reproduce pages forty-eight to forty-nine from M. K.Nersisyan’s historical work, Hay zhoghovrti azadakragan baykàrê tùrkàgan pr`nabedut`yan tém, 1850-1870 t`. t`. [The Battle of Liberation of the Armenian People against Turkish Tyranny, 1850-1870] (Erevan, 1955).

The Armenian inhabitants of Ch`arsanjak in a petition sent in 1867 to Etchmiadzin, writing about the oppressions and harassment to which they were subject, declared, “When a virgin girl or a widow gets married, we have to pay from five hundred to one thousand five kuruş cash in coins to the agha living in the village so that he orders the wedding and afterwards we have permission to conduct the wedding ceremony. Everybody twelve months out of the year unfailingly, free, and without food—we have to take our food [paid] out of our purse with us—must cultivate without restraint the fields, vineyards, and gardens. Every home [i.e. family] must pay its agha fifty to sixty loads of wood each year, as well as offer oil, sheep, lamb, slippers, and all important necessities as much as is necessary to the prince for free. If we resist or omit something, or are a little late, the chain, the kelan [instrument of torture using a press or screw], poison, sword, and rifle are already prepared for us. It is over eighty years that we must pay their [the aghas’] imperial tax, while they remain free. We establish vineyards, gardens, and homes or receive them as paternal inheritances, while they take these from us when angry and give them to another, or expel us from the village. At one time there were three thousand houses in Ch`arsanjak; now one thousand five hundred remain. The government still takes their imperial tax from us.

The same author in his book (Madenataran, Archival Division, Gat`oghigosagan Divan 1867, Folder 202, Document 549) on page 55 adds the following.

In 1867, the Armenian inhabitants of Ch`arsanjak in their letter directed to the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople say that they pay taxes in order to bury the deceased in the cemetery; otherwise, no burial is permitted. The Turkish pashas, saying that the land is theirs, did not permit our dead to be placed in the cemetery.

Section 2 The Plunder of 1895

The lamentable condition of the Armenains in the six provinces known as Turkish Armenia (Garin [Erzurum], Van, Bitlis, Kharpert [Harput], Dikranagerd [Diyarbekir]) led to the Armenian Question in international ldiplomacy, which formed one important chain in the Eastern Question which engulfed Turkey and created the opportunity for the competition of the great states. Unfortunately thanks to the antagonisms of the European powers, the Armenian Question remained in its embryonic state and did not receive its just solution. Article 16 of the Treaty of San Stefano proposed by Russia to the sultan, Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin (which is the reverse of 16), and the collective notice submitted to the Sublime Porte in 1880 by the six states (which demanded the immediate enactment of the proposed reforms) were able to force the sultan to stop the anti- Armenian persecutions. Armenians in their native lands gradually were deprived of their property and were cast into despair. This unbearable torment and oppression forced the brave population of Sasun in 1894 to rebel led by the plenipotentiary representative of the Hnchàgean party Murad the Great (Hampartzum Bôyajian). Seizing this movment as a pretext, Sultan Hamid put to the sword not only Sasun and its surroundings but also the Armenians in all other places in his dominion. As everywhere else, in Chàrsanjak too, this annihilitary storm aimed at Armenians, with massacre and plunder, took place in the fall of 1895. The governor and officials of Chàrsanjak, following internal instructions, arranged it so that they would carry out the command of the Turkish government together with the begs and aghas, the Kurdish leaders of Dersim. The unarmed Armenian people, seeing this terrible tragedy, were subject to despair. First rumors spread about the evil event, which later turned into public declarations and threats by Turks. The ear of the Armenian villager was filled with rumors about the imminent attacks from Dersim. The morale of the people and its courage to resist the danger weakened. It felt that every day, drop by drop, it was dying, insensibly. Every moment, the red storm to which it was going to become the collective victim was outlined before its eyes. The disposition of Kurds and Turks to get Armenians to trust them as good neighbors increased. Acquaintances advised their “gâvur” friends to entrust their valuables with them. Armenians were in a confused state, and every day lived the terror of awaiting death, while at the same time, a human flood of Kurds from Dersim filled the Chàrsanjak region. They were armed with flintlock rifles, pistols, swords, sabers, axes, and many other types of weapons. This mob of people from Dersim came towards the plain of Chàrsanjak like famished wolves from Medzgerd and Tzorag, creating an uproar and plundering every Armenian village, house, and person. Then they left, like locusts leaving behind them a dry wasteland. The Armenians, in fear, withdrew amongst themselves writhing. What could they do? Where could they flee? Their surroundings were mountains, peaks, and valleys. The roads and passes were full of Kurds who first planned to plunder whatever they found, and then, to kill those who resisted. The black specter spread everywhere, and reached up to Perri. The Kurds swarmed over the mountains and fields, with their calls and cries [havars and lôlôs]. Begging, crying, sobbing, prayers are all useless. Flee? But where, no one knows. The mansions of the begs and aghas, the doors of influential Kurds, were shut in front of the Armenians. The aghas did not want even to defend their own marabas.

The Pillaging in Perri

While on the one hand, the Armenian villages of Ch`arsanjak one by one, one after the other, were being plundered and became desolate, Perri’s inhabitants in their turn earned the same fate. The Kurdish mob entered from the area of the bath, and the Armenian population began to flee, directing itself towards the south, which was the sole route of escape remaining. Crossing the Perri River, the Armenians were going to take refuge in the mountains and passes of Démirji, where they thought their traces would be lost. Unfortunately, when the Armenians were crossing the river they encountered the Kurdish hordes which were satisfied with only plundering the Armenian refugees. The Kurds, foreseeing a possible resistance to their entry into Perri, began the attack with a volley and a customary havar [cry for aid used during war]. The sound of the rifles together with the monstrous cries released by the human packs, created a frightful situation. The Kurds saw that there was no attempt at resistance. On the contrary, everybody was fleeing, pleading, and praying. It was at this time that the axes and hatchets went to work. They broke down doors, and plundered houses and stores, which gradually were emptied of their physical wealth. In this period, the Armenian priest of Perri, Khuri Beg (Dér Krikor K`ahanay Mazmanian) through his bravery turned into an authority for the Armenians, Turks, and Kurds. This courageous priest was one of the rare Armenians to turn to self-defense in the city, and as a result was murdered by several Kurds. Perri did not have that great a human loss in this incident; only fifteen Armenians and four to five Kurds were killed. It is worth listening to the memories of a living eyewitness to the 1895 incident, Mesrob Dérdérian of Hoshé, now living in America, who describes this sad event.

On September 23, 1895, I had gone to the forest in order to bring firewood with asses. On my return, a mullah and a Kurd attacked me. The mullah, more merciless, struck my head with a cane, and when, despite my resistance, he tried to continue his blows, the Kurd next to me, who was an acquaintance, wanted to stop him. However the blow of the mullah’s cane struck the Kurd’s hand, which shorpuetsàw CHECK. Finally I was in a bloody state, when I, running, reached the Hòvsépians’ watermill. There I saw Mkhsi Bedros, who despite the weight that eighty years brings, with energy worthy of the envy of a youth, holding a six-chamber rifle in his right hand, with a pàlaskha [CHECK] and cartridge-belt tied, reached me like a soul-taking angel and asked, “Masô [abbreviation or nickname for Mesrob] boy, what happened?” I related to him what happened to me. They gave thanks that I had remained alive, since our incident had its reverberations in Hoshé and the area in an exaggerated fashion, as a result of which my family was anxious. The Hòvsépìans’ mill was at the entrance to Hoshé, and at that time was full of sacks of wheat and barley. The Kurds, having gotten wind of this, came and the pillaging began. Avak, who was at the mill, immediately came to the village and related what was happening. Though a group of villagers, led by Mkhsi Bedros, reached the mill, they saw that it was emptied of Kurds. Mkhsi Bedro’s brother’s son Kasbar, having been seized alone by the Kurds, had been cruelly killed with dagger blows. Mardiros was also wounded, but Ghugas succeeds in escaping from their hands. There were not many guns among the villagers. Only Kasbar Bôghosian and Mkhsi Bedros had six-shooters, and my brother had a pistol. The others had mashgerd [CHECK?] gunpowder, which often would not take fire. When Mkhsi Bedros saw Kasbar’s corpse, with his hands in his belt, he grew angry at Avak: “Why did you not give word earlier, so that I could have laid down a few Kurds next to him and prove that Mkhsi Bedros has not died yet.” The next day Perri’s government officials came on inspection. Taking several mejidiyes as bribes, they returned. Kasbar’s body was taken to the village and buried. A rumor spread that Hoshé was surrounded by Kurds. Hoshé, on the eastern side of the Perri River, was the only Armenian village. The surrounding villages were Khara Yusuf, Démirchin, Sallar, Chàlkhadan, Baghshis, Kàrê, Jafêkan, K`érk`éznin, Kholagin, Pìadan, and Déng. All these villages were Kurdish-inhabited and had not one Armenian inhabitant. The Kurds besieging Hoshé were these very Kurds. The Armenians began to fear and think of fleeing. At this point, a cavalry gendarme from Palu arrived in Hoshé: “Damn swinish gâvurs! No gâvur is left in Palu. You are still alive. Wait until I reach Perri and you will see what will happen to you!” A little later Démirchin’s Haji Yusuf, Haji Dêmêrents` Molla, and Khellô, with their kholams, came to Hoshé, assembled all the males, and gave their guns to them. They said, “We cannot defend you here. Every man should go stay with his kìrva or acquaintance. If you do not resist they will not kill. However there is a categoric order to plunder you.” Though the Zurnajians did not have property in Hoshé, they were a large family. They enjoyed great respect and honor in the villages of the area, and had won many friends among the Kurds. Bérkhôghlu Molla was their friend. Melkòn advised that they should transfer all their possessions before dark to their house. Démirchin was one hour distant from Hoshé. The molla then turning to us ordered that we take K’éshish Ôghlu [Turkish for son of the priest] with us becauses the molla was friends with Dér Aràkèl and my father, Dér Krikor. Upon this, we took our possessions to Démirchin to the molla’s house. The next morning, September 25, the Kurds attacked Perri. There was a little resistance in Perri. Hàrutìwn Érmoyian was shooting with his çifte [double-barrelled rifle] at the Kurds going to the market. The molla saving us, who was a famous bandit chief who would never go to Perri, that day went with the desire to pillage. He approached Hàrutìwn Érmoyian’s house. A sound of a rifle was heard, upon which the molla ordered érmoyan to cease firing because he had come to save him and swears on his honor. Poor Érmoyan naively believed him and stopped shooting. The molla kept his promise and despite many difficulties saved Érmoyian and his family. The molla’s disappointment was paparnet when he saw in Érmoyian’s hand a çifte and not a Martini rifle, which he had a great desire to have. In Perri, Mkhsi Mkàyelenk` and In Perri, Mkhsi Mkàyelenk` and gunsmith Nazar Puchigian, as well as Dér Krikor Kàhanay Mazmanian, who was called by the Turks and Kurds Khuri Beg, won fame as resisters. They conducted the holy attle of self-defense, and afterwards disappeared. The aforementioned Dér Krikor Kàhanay Mazmanian, had been ordained a priest together with my grandfather Dér Aràk`él. Dér Krikor had carried out many acts of bravery. He always kept a gun next to the cross, and a sword with the Gospel. During the days of the incident, he had placed on his head the külah [Turkish for large conical hat] worn by the Dersim people, his six-shooter in his hand, and his revolver and dagger in his belt. Lying next to the chimney on his roof, he shot mercilessly wherever he saw the enemy. Perri’s Sadêk Beg, seeing Khuri Beg from his mansion in this state, wanted to settle scores with him with the bullets he shot. However the priest, noticing his crooked aim, immediately fired back. The bullets fired on both sides did not reach their goals and caused no harm. On September 27 the government sent word to the molla that he should send out the Armenians he was keeping. The molla gave us a few supplies left us and we went to the mountains of Démirchin, whence we could very clearly see what was taking place in Perri. Not one gunshot was heard any longer. The village appeared empty. Seyyid Hüseyin of Chàlkhadan went to Hoshé to keep the Zhamgochìans cattle, when our molla arrived with his followers, who had gone to move the Zhamgochìans to Démirchin. Seyyid Hüseyin and his son wanted to resist, upon which the molla’s men killed the seyyid and his son. During this clash, two fingers of the molla were broken. The molla naturally was angry, and yells at the Armenians, “Look, the two fingers of my hand are broken and two men were killed there. All this is because of you. Do not wait here any longer. Leave, because the Izôl ashiret to which Seyyid Hüseyin and his son belong is going to attack us in order to take their revenge for their men from us. At that time much harm may befall you. It would be good if you were not seen around here.” We were forced to return to Hoshé. The houses’ doors and windows were broken, and their contents emptied. Neither food nor clothing remained. When we went to the Zhamgochìans’ house to look for food, se saw that they had hanged Bôghos Zhamgochìan upsidedown in a wine jug [garas] with his belly spitted. There were heartrending scenes everywhere. The Hòvsépìans’ hosue was still burning. We could no longer remain in Hoshé. We went on to Perri, which at that time seemed to present a more peaceful situation. Then we went to Apkar Effendi Buludian’s home. One Friday, the government had the town crier announce that the Armenian refugees from the villages and survivors should assemble at the threshing-floors, while the Armenians of Perri should fill the mosque, and convert to Islam. Otherwise they would all be massacred without mercy. The Armenians who gathered at the threshing-floors were surrounded on all sides by armed forces. The Perri Armenians assembling in the mosque were faced with the same situation. At this time, a man named Nshan Effendi of Ch`mshagadzak, who was sandık emini (state treasurer) in Perri, was always close to the kaymakam. He learned what dark fate awaited the Armenians. Nshan Effendi, together with the kaymakam, thought of a way to save these Armenians. In the end, the kaymakam, accepting all the accompanying dangers, sent fake telegrams everywhere stating that the sultan supposedly had forgiven the Armenians, and that any further spilling of Armenian blood would be severely punished. Every Armenian who accepted the hak dini (true religion), Islam, would be saved. Through this stratagem Nshan Effendi and the kaymakam saved the Armenians from certain death. In fact, several days later, new [genuine] telegrams with the same import arrived from Constantinople. Among the Armenians filling the mosque in order to convert to Islam, Sarkis Aghpar [“Brother”] Hòvsépìan, with a white piece of cotton cloth wrapped hurriedly around his head, began to fervently cross his face, without realizing what he was doing. Upon this, he was warned to stop making the sign of the cross, because a Muslim does not do so. The molla and the hodja [hoca, Muslim teacher] declared that he slowly must learn the Muslim prayer or namaz. They seized Mkhsi Bedros at the threshing-floor and making him go on his knees ordered Ali Khaya of Pìadan to Islamicize Mkhsi. Ali Khaya said, “Mkhsi, pronounce the sélavat` [salâvat, Turkish for prayers, or the formula calling God’s benediction on the Prophet].” Mkhsi crossing himself yelled, “In the name of God and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The Kurd, seeing that it was impossible to turn this khart [CHECK] gâvur into a Muslim, together with the agha decided to kill him. However, what do you see but that Ali Khaya, who had eaten much of Mkhsi’s food and being connected thus by agh u hats` [“salt and bread,” meaning thus being intimates], whispered in Mkhsi’s ear, “I will shoot my gun fruitlessly and will say that because Mkhsi is just, the bullet did not affect him.” Thus, after shooting the gun several times and saying that because Mkhsi is holy bullets do not work, he saved him from death, and also won him the reputation of a saint. Only we survivors know with what suffering and tribulations we got through those days of plunder. Our food was bread prepared from broad bean (fava), millet, and gêlgêl flour until the new harvest, while our clothing no longer was in a state fit to be worn.

May those dates pass and never come back. In several days, the Kurdish mob like locusts descended on our fields and houses. They devoured, ruined, and took all the possessions of the Armenians of Ch`arsanjak, leaving ruins and desolation, lamentation and bewailing, it their wake. The Armenians remained hungry and naked in their ruined houses. They, assembled around their extinguished hearths, began to live not only with the deprivations of a lamentable present, but also with painful perspectives on the imminent future, because what was coming was the merciless winter, with its dreadful menace. What was going to be the fate of large families, when their food, clothing, and cattle by which the poor villager was earning his livelihood with great difficulty had been taken from their hands? What was the Armenian craftsman going to do when together with all his possessions his tools with which he secured through his salty sweat his and his family’s livelihood were taken away? The answer to all this is hidden in the miraculous creativity of the Armenian people and its god-given strength. Yes, soonor or later, the Armenian people thanks to its unyielding industriousness will be able to remedy all this and again shine and display a situation which would excite the envy of its wicked natured neighbors, blinded by the mania of pillage and massacre.

Section 3 The Proclamation of the Ottoman Constitution, July 10 [23 in the Gregorian calendar], 1908

Thirteen years passed after those black days, when the Armneians of Ch`arsanjak underwent a hellish calamity as a part of and companion in fate of the Turkish Armenians. However through superhuman efforts and its constructive inclinations it was able to remedy the injuries it bore. During the short period of 1895 to 1908, the Armenian villager was again able to fill its stables and pens with living breath, and make its petags [containers] overflow with life-giving crops. Every house and family, satisfying its economic needs, began to relax and devote itself to its happiness. Then came the proclamation of the Constitution on July 10 [July 23], 1908. An era began which was going to be guided by a completely new spirit, with humane and progressive principles, having as its motto the words liberty, justice and equality (hürriyet, adalet, müsavat [in Turkish]) proclaimed by the French revolution. The population of Turkey generally, and in particular the non-Muslims, especially the Armenians, were like those men who after being condemned to live in the dark for a long time, suddenly come out from it and finding htemsleves in a bright reality, for a time hesitate to accept what they see. However gradually they become familiar with the new reality, they live a confused life, nourished by the old and expressed by the new, and full of excesses. We in that deceptive period witnessed and heard of many strange things, which could be the natural results of those attaining liberty after a period of despotism and advancing from realities that were incorrectly understood and interpreted. The watchword of the people was, “Yaşasın hürriyet, adalet, müsavat. Yaşasın millet! [Long live liberty, justice, equality! Long live the nation!]” These cries were heard everywhere. This was all good, but the Armenian villager did not want to believe his eyes andears. What would he understand by saying liberty? Which official, agha, or beg would not ask him, “Hey gâvur, where are you going?> What are you doing? Where are you coming from?” Could justice exist in Turkey, or could there be equality between the agha and maraba? All this, particularly in the mind of the Armenian peasant, created huge, serious questions, insolvable riddles and suspicions. As a result of this suspicion, the Armenian was not very enthusiastic about the new situation and remained reserved, and even, based on certain facts, had the premonition that a shining trap was being set. Alas, those dreamy days of deception passed and were succeeded by moments of bitter disillusionment…then bloody and black days. Our uneducated and naïve Armenian villagers were not wrong when they were suspicious of the radiant cries of “Hürriyet, adalet, müsavat,” as well as of the sincere friendship of the Turks and the subjected Kurds.

* * *

The proclamation of the constitution was conducted throughout Turkey with special ceremony. In perry too, the government building, marketplace, and important centers were decorated with flags that day. The davul and zurna [drum and double- reeded loud folk instrument] enflamed the excitement of the people. The Turks were extremely happy and wanted the Armenians to also participate in the festivities of the day. Were not the Armenians, who until now lived the unfree life of a serf, more than anybody going to take advantage of the benefits brought by the constitution, especially since the Armenians too had a part in the achievement of this success? Several days before the ceremony, the students of the Armenian school were in a special frenzy. They were learning through the great efforts of their teachres sthe Turkish songs dedicated to the day in order to sing them at the ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, more than three hundred Armenian students, wearing clean and presentable clothing, and led by their teachers headed by the principal and the Armenian national authorities, went with large flags and songs towards the government building and square, winning everybody’s attention. The students were continually signing songs that were new and had not been heard by the public. The Turks were amazed at this ingenious initiative of the Armenians. Where had the Armenians learned these songs? This solemn Armenian procession reached the center with applause and cries, and took its worthy place in military order. The kaymakam appeared at the threshold of the government building with his retinue around him, including the Armenian prelate in the place of honor. After us, the students of the Turkish medrese [school] arrived, with a very poor external appearance, in a disorderly condition and led by a hafız [one who knows the whole Quran by heart]. They barely were able to occupy a corner by pushing and shoving. The ceremony began with the march of the day, from which I recall the following stanza:

Sancağımız şanımız, Osmanlı unvanımız Vatan bizim canımız, feda olsun kanımız

[Our flag, our glory, our Ottoman pride Homeland our soul, let our blood be sacrificed].

Then the speeches by men of state and the leaders of the communities began, dedicated to the constitution which brought love and union to the celebrations of the day. Proof of Muslim-non-Muslim brotherhood was given through hugs, kisses, and reciprocated cries of long live, good wishes, and deafening applause. At the end of the ceremony, acccording to a signal given from above, the people began to disperse. On our return, we sang along with the Turkish songs, many revolutionary and [Armenian] patriotic songs in the market: “Heràwor ergir [Distant Land],” “Gr`vets`ék` Dgherk` [Fight, Boys],” “Azadn Asduadz [Free God],” “Dalvorig [village in the Sasun district],” “Menk` angeghdz zinvor enk` [We are Sincere Soldiers],” “Tartzeal pàylets` [It Shined Again],” etc. We dispersed at a late hour to our homes. Our childish imaginations and enthusiasm reached their zenith and we continued our celebration at home. When night fell, torches and lamps were lit everywhere and illuminations were done. Of course the sounds of the davul and zurna unceasingly resounded in the air, and a folk dance began (the halay). It was perhaps the first time that Ardashés hand in hand and side by side with Mehmet danced drunk on patriotism as true vatandaşs [fellow citizens]. Multitudes crowded onto the roofs watched satisfied and enjoyed this dazzling surprise brought by hürriyet. The days followed each other. Life engendered novelties. Showing off before people, a group of begs and aghas came to an understanding with wronged Armenians. They began to joke with their maraba gâvurs. They even called them by their real Armenian names, without the epithet of fla [literally fellâh or farmer in Turkish, but with the connotation of serf] or gâvur. These were unprecedented things and were considered to be some of the benefits brought, and still to be brought, by the constitution; through their charm, they attempted to intoxicate the Armenians. Let us honestly confess that this powerful deception continued for several months without creating suspicion or occasions to inspire suspicion. Armenian national life in Perri began to show signs of a renaissance. The Social Democrat Hnchàgean Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation gave new impetus to their activities. They opened lecture halls. Eloquent speeches followed one after the other. Until this date, no popular public podium existed in Perri. Efforts made in this direction were secret. The people went in large numbers to the lecture halls and followed the orations with unsatiated desire. The Armenian youth, enthusiastic about the inclinations of the day, made the gun and dagger never missing from their waists. Sometimes they even made unruly and wounding exclamations. The Armenians began weapons training in the vineyards, gardens, mountains, and valleys. The Armenians went so far ahead that in Perri the Turks began to act cautiously and prudently in order not to have problems with them. Compared with life in the villages of Chàrsanjak, Perri lived happier days. Commerce, small-scale trade, and the crafts experienced noticeable booms. Perri became a prominent center. The surrounding Armenian villages began to empty, with the intention of assembling in Perri, while the latter was not in a position to contain this influx. Consequently, construction immediately began to satisfy the demand. Gradually the emigrants who had left due to unfavorable incidents to America, Constantinople, and elsewhere began to return. With the finaincal wealth that they brought, they contributed to the economic and commercial flourishing of Perri. This political freedom and economic upturn of course were going to have their effects on [Armenian] national and educational life. Qualified forces were gradually obtained for places of learning. The teaching level of the school was also elevated, rising from a basic to a high elementary school. The building, offices, and other parts were gradually improved. Armenian language, history, song, and exercise received new strength, and they inspired new visions of the future and views in the new generation’s souls. The Alumni Association was formed. Its theater group presented for the first time in Perri, creating great interest, the play Çarşılı Artin Ağa [Tradesman Artin Agha]. Everywhere there was excitement and enthusiasm. What more could our creative people have been able to do if it had been given occasions and opportunities! If there was a territory throughout all the land of Turkey where the constitution quickly wilted like an oriental flower, it would be the region of Chàrsanjak. The Ittihad [Ittihad ve Terakki is Turkish for the Committee of Union and Progress] very quickly took off its mask. Under the influence of the feudal begs and aghas, the old despotic period with its bad relations began again, exhibited by the Turkish and Kurdish rulers and their followers, who for a short period of time were suppressed as a result of their constitutional inclinations. The victim again was the Armenian people. Oprpession, beating, insult, dishonor, and varoius persecutions succeeded one another, and the venom of hatred that the Armenophobic Turks and Kurdish mob kept in again began to drip onto the gâvurs. The Armenians began to gradually become disillusioned. This strengthened their conviction that it is possible to speak about freedom in Turkey, but it is not possible to realize it because fanatical nationalism and blind submission to religious fanaticism dominates there. It is as if the constitution had come on a visit to Turkey, but seeing hte sad reality there, quickly fled from that place.

Reactionary Movement

Although Sultan Abdül Hamid had given way, turning the method of governance of the country from absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, and entrusting the government to the Ittihad ve Terakki political party of the Young Turks, he still continued to work through his intrigues to condemn all this to sterility and to reestablish his absolute dominion for the glory and profit of his “gifted by God” person and his wicked entourage. The extension of this constiutional and liberal period was completely unfavorable for him and for the dark interests of his clique. Therefore he began to use the xenophobic, religiously fanatic, ignorant element of Muslims, the softas [Muslim theology students] and mollas. They were given an opporutnity to defend the Turks, deprived of justice, and the Turkish government, against the gâvur elements which supposedly were becoming dangerous for Ottoman supreme interests and the rise and spread of the Muslim religion. This reactionary movement was born in Constantinople and then quickly spread to various areas of the country. The movement was religious in appearance, but in reality, was political. Abdül Hamid planned to make his lost glory and interests succeed through it, by assembling around him the most backward elements of the country. Sultan Hamid advanced his policy of Armenian persecutions. The Committee of Union and Progress at the head of the government at that time also pursued this goal. Barely one year after the proclamation of the constitution, Hamid was able to bring about the well known Adana calamity on April 1 [April 14 in the Gregorian calendar], 1909, to which thirty thousand Armenians fell victim, along with their wealth worth millions. The Ittihadists, turning out to be more cunning, ascribed the responsibility for this massacre to Sultan Hamid and were able to raise to the throne somebody more appropriate for their goals, Sultan Hamid’s brother Muhammed Reshad. Thus, not only did they carry out one of their important plans by making Reshad, spineless and completely their tool, sultan in place of their enemy Hamid, but they also appeared to Armenians as compassionate and as the righteous judge who punished the author of the black act. The Ittihadists had the cunning to strike two birds with one stone, and succeeded. Adana was famous in Turkey for its vastness, agriculture, and wealth of crops. Every year, thousands of laborers would go there for the cultivate and harvesting of wheat and cotton in order to earn money through their work. For this reason, many farmers also left from the Chàrsanjak area to Adana for sila (emigration). Many of these Armenian laborers fell victim to that calamity of Adana, while those who remained alive, returning to their families, presented the tragic life reserved for the Armenians of Adana in a very heartrending fashion. That dark and dreadful news descended like a blow of a club on the heads of Armenians. They were still stunned by the hellish crimes and lived in terror of the malignant mischances reserved for them. Gradually the same signs of Armenian persecution became clearer. Traveling from Perri to Dersim ecame dangerous. The Kurds of Khràn, Shadé, and Izoli began robing and killing. Armenian merchants nad craftsmen could not freely circulate. The Armenians of Chàrsanjak, seeing all these signs of forewarning, recalled the days of the 1895 plunder, and consequently, lived a life engulfed in anxiety, pregnant with the unexpected and possible. Lıfe demanded that a means of emerging from this terrible forthcoming unknown with little injury be seriously thought about.

Section 4 Efforts at Self-Defense

During the course of the ephemeral freedom brought by the constitutional means of government, the Hnchàgeans and Tashnagtsàgans began to act, after revealing their secret organizations. Cultivating communications with other districts, all regions were informed in a reciprocating fashion of pan-Armenian movements. Revolutionary figures from the Caucasus, Van, and Garin often visited the Armenian villages of Chàrsanjak and in particular Perri. The work of organization daily received powerful impetus and strength. One part of our people believed that all these events were “divine dispositions.” Others preached “blind subjection to laws ordained by God and towards govenrors.” Some also considered that the torment and deprivations endured by the people were “divine tests,” or “atonement for sins.” According to some, the means to salvation consisted in satisfying the Turks and Kurds at all price, or enduring and living through all blows with patience. Similar medieval and strange mentalities still existed. Those who were aware of fundamental human and national rights and were convinced that force was the best and most practical method to defend and value these rights were few. They invited the people to remain alert, to recognize their rights, and in order to value and take hold of the latter, to resort to self-defense, and of necessity to organize. This method of action was the viewpoint of the Armenian revolutionaries, who worked in two groups known under the names Hnchàgean and Tashnagtsàgan. Under these conditoins it was antural that organizations called to serve the people which took oaths to this end would be dedicated to the safety of that people whose only path was being realized through organiation and the possession of weapons. Avedis Kazanjian (Avedô), the Chan [or Jan] Fédayi [roughly meaning, “Dear Self-Sacrificing Fighter”], one of Chàrsanjak’s true children, played a role in the holy work of self-defense and the spread of revolutionary spirit in the Chàrsanjak area. We will speak about him in its turn. Our people saw the 1895 plunder and slaughter, as well as the politics hidden beneath the facepaint of the constitution. It had the virtue of emancipating itself from the psychology of a bent neck [i.e. subservience], having seen that in all this those who came out with the least injury were those who had guns and used them. Taking advantage of the lessons of the past, the Chàrsanjak inhabitant did not want to be like sheep led to the slaughterhouse, but to confront what was coming with a virile attitude, and if required to become a hero through an honorable death. During the two years after the constitution (1908-1910), the oppressions of the begs, aghas, and government officials gradually became pronounced. The Armenian peasant began to be tormented in inhuman ways surpassing the prior periods. The prelacy of Perri daily would send protests and appeals about what was taking place to the government and, through the Constantinople Patriarchate, to the Sublime Porte, but these remained without result. The usurpations, kidnappings (or rapes), oppressions, and numerous acts of lawlessness continued in an even more unbridled fashion, often in public. The Armenian prelate Hòvhannés Vartabed Hàgopian telegraphed the Patriarchate the following in vain: “The begs and aghas forcibly seize the possessions of the Armenians and expel the owners from their houses, gardens, and fields. What will be the end of this?” A spirit of reciprocal hatred and tension grew to great proportions between Armenians and Muslims. The Hnchàgean and Tashnagtsàgan leaders convened meetings day and night and organized the work of self-defense. In those days, stories of Kurdish raids again began to circulate. The government’s goal in this was to excite the Kurds against the Armenians, while at the same time spreading the rumor that the Armenians had applied to the govenrment to work together against the Kurdish incursions and give them a lesson. The government did not look upon the Armenian movements with a favorable eye, and it used all the means at its disposal in order not only to divide the Armenians from one another, but also to excite the Turks and Kurds. The Turkish government could lead the constitutent elements of the Empire in the path of its interests and desires by keeping them divided. The Turks were applying the age old policy of divide and conquer in a successful manner. When the signs of a Kurdish attack began to be noticed in Perri, the govenrment immediately, feigning a desire to take measures, invited the Armenians to participate in the work of self-defense. The government, with the secret goal of obtaining a true idea of the strength of the Armenians, proposed registering the forces, as well as organizing a small military exercise. The northern part of Perri, which formed the probable path of entry of the invading Kurds, was divided into two parts. One, the eastern path, was the road of the bath and Khushi. The other, from the west, was the road of the Turkish cemetery. The Armenian and Turkish Perri inhabitants, assembled at the area of the potters, discussed positions for self-defense. Finally they came to the following agreement. The Turks would defend the western path, whiel the Armenians would defend the eastern, using as a natural bulwark the old Armenian cemetery, which was right at the edge of this path. The tombstones and mounds of soil could be used as barricades. Aside from these arrangements, the Armenians also planned the internal defense of the city. Houses and roofs, where suitable positions could be quickly used, were taken into consideration for the defense of the streets. Every man began to oil and clean his guns, secure cartridges, and strengthen doors and pasasges. In a word, the people of Perri were roused and preparing for self-defense. The Turks began internally to worry when they saw that the movements of the Armenians were very powerful and could one day place them before an ugly surprise. When they saw the Armenians’ force, taking this into consideration they began to cultivate on the one hand friendly relations with the Armenians, but on the other hand, secretly sent word to Khôzat` and demanded military forces in order to stop if necessary an attack by the Armenians on them. It is necessary to confess that the Armenians resorted to excesses. Instead of working secretly and quietly, they began to openly work and talk. The gun trade became a public topic. The Turks too knew that the Armenians daily were secretly receiving weapons from Kharpert and elsewhere. Every Armenain began to openly carry a gun. In the market, during a small fight, guns and daggers would be drawn out. During the period of the vineyards, gun shots accompanying the cries of k`éyf [Turkish, keyif, pleasure, merriment] turned into volleys. The Armenians became unbearable for the Turks in government and commercial circles, with their audacity, free talk, and shortsighted acts. Until that date, the auctioned office of collecting the tithe from the villages of Chàrsanjak was the monoply of a group of feudal landowners of the area, who suddenly found opposite them a dangerous rival like Alek`san Gopòyian. Truly, Alek`san Gopòyian in a very short period of time turned into an authoritative figure not only for the Armenians but among the Turks and Kurds too. He forced himself on the people and in government circles. This was a threat to the landowning aghas and begs. What does it mean, they yelled, that a gâvur gradually rules in an unbridled fashion in front of our eyes. This is a transgression againstthe supremacy of the begs. In order to stop this situation, they began to work both overtly and secretly. However, Alek`san Gopòyian was endowned with such a powerful personality, physical attributes, and economic means, that he was not a morsel to be easily and quickly digested. Alek`san’s allure and influence, despite this intense battle, daily grew stronger. This courageous and freethinking Armenian henceforth had to be taken into consideration by the frightening begs and aghas. His mansion of three stories, with modern furnishings, had turned into a central meeting place for state officials, important guests, and the upper strata of the population. During those days, he would dress with magnificence exceeding that of the begs and aghas leading the most splendid and luxurious lives. Seated on his noble Arabian steed, with a German Mauser in front of him, his ten-shooter at his side, and his cartridge belts crossed from right to left, he would pass through the marketplace. Legends had begun to be woven around the words, work, bravery, and nobility of Alek`san Agha. This situation continued until 1912, when new and palpable shocks created new worries for the Armenian people.

Gop`oyian’s Murder

The relationships created by the constitution brought about a type of new way of life and social situation. In Perri, tables of Armenian and Turkish friendship and happiness, and merriment and festivities in the vineyards became widespread. İn the summer of 1912, the well known Hüsni Beg of Perri was invited to a k`éyf by Alek`san Gopòyian. They went with fifteen people on a raft on the Perri River to a spot endowned with natural beauty and set up a table. Liquor and wine was plentifully supplied along with appropriate appetizers. Glasses were emptied together with reciprocal wishes of toasts. Songs and music livened the mood of the table companions. The k`éyf continued until night. The duel between Hüsni Beg and Alek`san in emptying glasses had not yet ended. According to the understanding of our people, whoever was defeated in this drinking competition would not be viewed well. This was a sort of championship duel. In this competition of emptying glasses, Alek`san Agha defeated Hüsni Beg who was facing him. When the k`éyf finished, the table companions left the place of amusement with reddened eyes. The retinue set off. Hüsni Beg emptied his pistol several times in honor of Élô (in our area, they say Élô for Alek`san, as an abbreviated form of the name). Alek`san replied to Hüsni Beg with his German ten-shooter with repeated shots. Thus, side by side and with displays of friendship, they reached the Kholopigians’ vineyard. There, Hüsni Beg remained several steps behind. The pistosl again spoke. Suddenly Élô swayed and fell. Those rushing to pick him up saw that blood flowed from his head. Alek`san’s eyes closed forever. Alek`san had been treacherously murdered. The news of Alek`san’s murder reached Perri. The people were shocked, and did not want to believe what they heard. However bitter reality dissipated all doubts. Alek`san’s body was transferred to the prelacy’s hall. Inspecting judges and gendarmerie sergeants came one after the other, with unending investigations. Suspicions centered on Hüsni Beg. Hesitations, ill-omened premonitions… The matter immediately was transferred to the mutasarrıf [governor] of Khôzat`. Witnesses for months came and went. Gopòyian’s wife pursued the case until 1915. This incident agitated the hearts of the Armenians. Armenian-Turkish relations practically were broken off. The atmosphere of trust was succeeded by mistrust. The people considered Alek`san Gopòyian’s treacherous murder as a portent of new storms of Armenian annihilation. What a bitter fate was that of the Armenian! However, the Armenian lived reconciled with that fate.

Recollections

The following is from M. K. Nersisyan’s Hay zhoghovrti azadakragan baykàrê t`rkàgan pr`nabedutèan tém, Erevan, 1955, pp. 124-125.

A similar popular occurence took place in 1865 in the district of Chàrsanjak. Frederick Millingen (Osman Seyfi Bey), in La Turquie sous le règne d’Abdul-Aziz (1862-1867), [Paris, 1868], (pages 174-175), relates the following. “In 1865, the Armenian population of Chàrsanjak (a district of Mush) was subject to new brutalities and violence. Alarm spread among all the Armenian communities of Kurdistan. They rebelled and took the decision to send a new delegation composed of twenty-four deputies representing the twenty-four cities of Armenia. This delegation was charged with presenting to His Imperial Majesty the Sultan a petition requesting the justice that the ministry until that day had so stubbornly denied them. This petition was, in effect, submitted on March 31, 1865 to His Majesty, who, as per custom, sent it to his alter ego, Fuad Pasha. The minister, instead of listening to the just complaints of the population …had fifteen members of the delegation arrested for having dared to attract his anger by exposing their griefs to the souvereign. These people were kept in prison throughout all of the holy week and the festivities of Easter, and were only released on condition that they immediately return to their land.” Millingen only relates this much about the popular events which took place in Mush, Chàrsanjak, and other districts. Unfortunatley we do not have other information about these events. However, Millingen’s memoirs give us the basis to say that in 1863 and 1865, popular liberational incidents had been kindled in Mush and Chàrsanjak too. As evidence shows us, in the 1860s, rebellions of the Western Armenian people and incidents took place in Zeytun (1862), Van (1862), Mush (1863), and Chàrsanjak (1865).

Section 5 The Entry of the Political Parties into Ch`arsanjak

Despite our work and searches, we have not been able to ascertain who had spread the first seeds of revolutionary political party life in our region, and at what date. The historical political parties and elderly compatriots were not able to provide us with certain, documentary informatoin. Only this is clear, that the revolutionary movement, being extremely secretive in its early stage, kept knowledge of its actions restricted to its participants. It is a well known truth that the populace suffering under the boot of despotism heartily embraced it, when it saw the gleam of freedom. The more persecution grew severe, the righter the flame of liberty and patriotism burned. In 1887, the Hnchàgean “chief [mayr]” political party, the first revolutionary organization, was born on foreign and free shores (in Geneva). It quickly and enthusiastically was accepted in the provinces of Armenia. Even before the good news of its birth, ready inclinations and small groups existed. The Hnchàgean party turned this inclinations to practical use; it brought together the isolated, small, patriotic or liberty loving groups in order to serve a goal in a centralized manner. Revolutionary activity was extremely secret and constrained, but they struck deep and soul-stirring roots in the populace tired of torment. In the 1900s, the enracinated movement appeared under the names Hnchàgean and Tashnagtsàgan. This was because three years after the founding of the Hnchàgean party (1890), a different organization was born under the name Federation of Armenian Revolutionaries with the goal of uniting the divided Armenian revolutionary movement. Later it became the Armenian Revolutionary Federation [Hay Hèghapòkhagan Tashnagtsùtìwn]. In more popular terms, the Hnchàgean and Tashnagtsàgan political parties began to operate with their distinct programs and agents. Chàrsanjak, in the interior districts of Armenia, was a self-contained and in a certain way isolated region. However the unheard of deprivations and torments it was subjected to at the hands of the begs, aghas, and government of the region, with the latter’s corrupt and wicked officials, impelled it towards greater interest in the new revolutionary movement. Immediately after the proclamation of the 1908 Ottoman constitution, the until then restrained and secretive Social Democrat Hunchàgean party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation officially became public. They were not only not satisfied with bringing forth local forces, but through their agents invited from abroad initiated public activity. The popularity of this pair of organizations immediately after surfacing is an irrefutable proof of the reality that despite their new appearance in public, they already had sprouts which had previously germinated, as we had seen previously above. The people of Perri, the center of Chàrsanjak, rallied around the two main political parties. They represented the progressive element of the Armenians, and they attempted to serve our people through their practical sacrifices. The Hnchàgean party, as the first and chief political party of the Armenians, having occupied its place early on, exercised an authoritative influence on the people. It must be confessed that the Tashnagtsàgans too gradually with their forces began to impose themselves. The independent manner of action of the two parties was not able to divide the people from one another, promote the breaking off of relations, or open the way to internal struggles. Perri’s population was tightly connected to one other by close and distant family ties. In the first part of the constitutional era, these two political parties opened lecture halls. Each organization would speak in its preferred manner, and in appearance act independently. However, in essence their goals were one. The prominent battles between the Hnchàgeans and Tashnagtsàgans did not appear in Chàrsanjak until the years 1912-1913. They even tried to elaborate a united self-defense plan, and were even able together to obtain a certain amount of weapons. Unfortunately, they were not able to use these weapons. In 1909 after the well known massacre of Adana, the Ittihad’s plan to annihilate the Armenians was unmasked and the Ottoman constitution’s false and deceitful interior was striped of its temporary makeup. The people expressed its sympathy towards the political parties and supported them. If we have in front of our eyes the geographical position of Chàrsanjak, we will see that it is directly surrounded by Kurds and Zazas. The issue of an armed rebellion becomes serious and difficult if the agreement of the Kurds is not obtained. In the fall of 1912, the murder of Alek`san Gopòyian had a profound effect on the people of Perri. Of course that incident was a planned preliminary step to the anti- Armenian dark actions that were to henceforth gradually increase. This omen of the coming terrible storm moved our two political parties to unite in order to discuss and act together for the sake of self-defense. In order to lead Perri’s self-defense successfully, the following were necessary: 1) The unity of the Armenian people; 2) Armenian cooperation with the Kurds; 3) Under contrary circumstances, effective measures to neutralize the incursion of Kurds towards the city. The sad reality blocking these possibilities was that the Kurdish ashiret chiefs, as a result of the government’s indications, were nurturing very bad dispositions against the Armenians. The Armenians meanwhile had not carried out the necessary preparations to endure this unfortunate reality. Unfortunately the efforts of the Armenians to reach an understanding with the people of Dersim always were condemned to sterility due to the clever officials working on behalf of the government. The imminent Kurdish attack against Armenian homes, with the itch to plunder and kill, hanged over the head of all Chàrsanjak and its center Perri like a Damoclean sword. This was the concern of the peopel of Perri. They never paid importance to the one hundred homes of Turks in Perri since there were four times as many armed Armenians. Suppressing the Turks was a very easy job. It was the expedition of the Kurds that was important in those days. It is good to listen to our neighbor Mustafa Zêròyents` about this. In 1920, when I returned to Perri, he candidly related to me the following.

The day of the murder of Élô (Alek`san Gop`oyian), all us Turks of Perri lived in fear and terror. We had heard that the Armenians were preparing something. We knew that you had had many guns brought with German dumdum cartridges. You had many fédayis (at that time, Avedis of Méshéd was in Perri). Consequently, we passed that night until the morning waiting. If the first gun was fired, I had decided to take refuge with my family in your house, confident that your father would try in every way to save us, thus carrying out his obligation as a good man and neighbor towards us. You did not have any news of this. Now however let me reveal that on that night, I secretly approached the door of your house from the roof, and listened in order to understand what was happening inside. I did not hear or see anything to cause us fear but the nightmare had engulfed us. We had no sleep or rest that night and the next day, as we saw death standing in front of the threshold of our door each minute. Our anxiety dissipated a little when sufficient soldiers arrived in Perri to defend us as a result of the telegram we had sent to Khôzat`.

An amazing juxtaposition! While the Turks on the one hand during those same days were living with such terrible fear, we Armenians too in our corners were going through days of agony, engulfed by the terror of the Kurds’ expedition. This situation continued until the end of 1914.

The Entry of the Fédayis

After 1908, the Armenians of Chàrsanjak had unknown and unexpected guests who came gradually from Van, Erzerum, the Caucasus, and other places. Their clothing and way of speaking was unusual for us. Various things were related about each one of them. They were each heroes or saints in the eyes of the populace. They came came to fan the patriotic sparks buried in the soul of the people and covered by ashes, and with their flames, set the people ablaze with the fire of freedom. Among these guests, the most genuine and sympathetic was Avedô of Méshéd, whose real name was Avedis Kazanjian, from the village of Ismayil. Those who saw him represented him to the populace with legendary attributes. The people wanted to watch him insatiably. These visits not only left a certain impression on the people, but these patriotic and devoted sons of the Armenian people observably inspired the population. Each Armenian who had a woe opened his heart to them, in the hope of finding a remedy. Before the mind of the Armenian farmer, exploıted for centuries, tortured, robbed, and enserfed, but intact in spirit and feeling, opened up the horizon of freedom. In order to reach it, he made the unwavering and decisive decision to fight with weapons. Perri as well as the large Armenian populated villages of Chàrsanjak began to organize a revolutionary movement. Committees and branches were founded which established ties with the center of Perri. Hoshé, Khusuin, Ismayil, Kuradil, Urtz, Pashaghag, Vasgerd, Lusadarich`, Tìl, Pertag, and Svjogh had their revolutionary bodies, and, what was most important, every villager was imbued with the desire to sell his cow or sheep in order to buy guns. The echoes of Armenian revolutionary songs were heard from every house. “We are convinced that the Armenian’s salvation is only through the gun.” “May the wicked chain crumble, and a new sun be born…”

Avedis of Méshéd

Avedis K. Kazanjian (his father’s name was Krikor, and his mother’s was Hrìp`simé) was born in 1868, in Chàrsanjak’s Ismayeltsìk` (Zmaylé) village. At twenty years of age he married Miss Eghisapét` simonian from Abdal Mézré (Pashaghag’s Mézré), from whom he had a son by the name of Vagharshag. Around 1891, he left for Batum together with his fellow villager Simon Baghdasarian and the latter’s son Garabed, and from there went to Etchmiadzin. Five to six months after reaching Etchmiadzin he wrote the first letter to his parents and enclosed two gold coins. The years passed, and no news arrived from anywhere about him. His wife Eghisapét`, after waiting a long time, married Mgrdich` Museghents` of his same village, and moved to Gorjan village. They had four or five children. We knew that Avedis was with the revolutionaries. In Hamid’s era, who would dare to ask where he was? Finally in 1904, he came on a special mission to Dersim. While he spent the night in K`ghi’s Akarag village, he was betrayed and arrested, and was taken to Paghésh [Bitlis]. He was sentenced to 101 years of imprisonmnet, and transferred to the prison of Génj, where he remained until 1908 (the year of the Ottoman constitution’s reinstitution). For four years he was placed in a dungeon without any sunlight. On the occasion of the constitution, like others, he won a pardon and was released. As soon as he was released, he came to Palu’s Hawav village by way of Jabaghchur. He remained one night in the house of the Dôlbashians, where he heard that his wife had remarried. The next day he left for Perri (it is a three hours journey from Hawav to Perri), where after resting one or two hours, he came to his birhtplace of Ismayeltsì`k`. According to accepted custom, when a person who had been away as an emigrant for a long time returned to his birthplace, he must go first to the house of his godfather. Avedis too did this. Upon his return from Perri he went straight to the house of the Chìt`jians because for years they had been his [family’s] godfathers. Disguising his identity, he presneted himself as Garabed of K`ghi. Among other things, he said in conversation that he knew Avedis Kazanjian, who had a beer [manufacturing] job in Gars. News was givne to his father’s brother, who came with the whole family, bringing with him also Avedis’ son Vagharsh, so that he could have some news. However Avedis did not cease from being Garabed of K`ghi, and turning to his son, said, “Do you want me to take you to your father?” Upon the boy’s positive answer, he continued, “Is it not true that you are engaged and will marry in the fall? How will you be able to come?” The son answered, “Mr. Garabed, my father left his wife and one-year-old child, and his elderly parents, and left, while I have not yet married. Why should I not be able to come, especially when I know what my father does there? My godfather Dikran has related to me everything. Therefore, I will accompany you very gladly to join my father.” It was only Dér Nersés Kàhanay Chìt`jian who said, “This is our godchild Avedis.” Finally at night they went to their house while he remained in his godfather’s house. In the morning when he got up from bed, he said, “Reverend father, I want to take communion.” My father [presumably this story is provided by the son of Fr. Chìt`jian] answered, “Walk—let us go to the church. There you will receive holy communion.” During the time for confession, the priest exhorted as follows: “At this moment you must know that God the Creator watches over us. You who will taste of Christ’s body and blood must speak correctly about yourself.” At that time, Avedis of Méshéd raising his head exclaimed, “Reverend father godfather, I am your godson Avedis Kazanjian. My father’s name is Krikor, to who they had given the epithet of Zhizhi [Cicada, Grasshopper]. When I married, your son Dikran held my cross. I have not sent word home for sixteen or seventeen years because I was involved in a national obligation, dear godfather. During that period of time, I have slaughtered kàhanay and vartabed. I sent traitor Armenian betrayers to the other world. Kurd, Turk, the number I have killed exceeds one thousand. But from the moral point of view, I return a virgin to my birthplace just as I left the house. This is my story.” After taking communion he returned home. Word was given to his family and he was led to their house. After that, he went twice to Kharpert and returned. On January 19, 1909 a telegraph came to Perri from Mézré of Kharpert, form Murad of Govdun, who had come to Kharpert and wanted to meet with Avedô of Méshéd. The contents of the telegram was communicated from Perri’s telegraph office to the derebeys of Pashaghag village, the brothers Arslan and Sherif, who sent word in turn to Démirji village’s infamous bandit chief Bérkhôghli Mêlla [Molla]. The molla, together with five bandits as bloodthirsty as him, rushed to Pashaghag village. It was after they arrived in Pashaghag that the telegram was given to Avedô. Avedô’s departure was delayed a few days because of a snowstorm. Finally on January 24, Saturday (the day at the end of the fast of St. Sarkis) he left towards Kharpert. While he was passing Vasgerd village, 2 ½ hours distant from our [Ismayéltsì`k`] village, suddenly in the middle of a valley, he found himself face to face with the molla and his group. After greeting him respectifully, the molla said, “You were going to go to Kharpert. Why did you not go on the T’ézêkan road?? Avedô replied, “I am amazed that that my going to Kharpert on this or that road is of interest to you.” Finally, after much talking, they left each other in a friendly fashion. Avedô went towards Urèg village in order to reach Kharpert the next day, while the molla and his group returned to Ismayeltsì`k` village to spend the night at Ahmed Agha’s mansion. The molla related his meeting with Avedô. The aghas, upset, remarked to him, “You were summoned to kill this fédayi. How is it that you encountered him in that kind of a valley and allow him to freely leave?” In reply, the molla said the following, word for word, “Aghas, raising one’s hand against such a brave is not the work at least of a man. Although I am a bandit, as I have said, towards such a brave, as a man, I have respect. Keep this well in mind, Bérkhôghli. The molla is not a man who has fallen that much.” This store of the mansion was related by Puzig Haso, the khêzmét`k`éar of Ahmed Agha. The next day Avedô of Méshéd reached Kharpert, and on the Hiwseynig road was met by Murad and the comrades of Mezré. The embrace of the two companions in arms was very moving. In the fall of 1909, Avedô again went to Mush and Paghésh, where General Sebuh’s wedding took place. After one or two months he returned to his birthplace. Upon his return from Mush, he went to Kharpert, together with Dirkan Chìt`jian, who related this episode. They were present at the meeting of the central committee of Ler`nasar of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, where the question of organizing Chàrsanjak’s villages was studied. Finally it was decided that Avedô and Dikran Chìt`jian, taking the necessary official letters of recommendation and statutes and constitution of the organization with them, return to Chàrsanjak and set to work. They occasionally visited the villages. They gathered the people in the church. In the middle of the chancel, they placed on the lectern the Holy Gospel, and on top of this Avedô’s double-edged sword of justice. Saying “Hak var, şeriat yok [Turkish for Justice exists, but not Muslim religious law],” Avedô bared the sword, pulling it out of its case. After the opening of the meeting, Avedô began to speak. Though he did not know how to read or write, he had become a tried, perfect rabble-rousing orator in the school of revolution, especially when with his sword in hand he said, “Compatriots, it seems strange to you now why we place the sword on top of the Holy Gospel. It is because though the Gospel is sacred, it is paper. The enemy does not recognize holiness. It rips and throws it into the fire. Similarly by trampling on all our sanctities and honor it massacres us too. So that similar things do ont happen and we too do not become martyred for nothing [ésh nahadag], it is necessary that we have this sword and the corresponding gun in our hands, t odefend in case of necessity both the Holy Gospel and all our sanctities, and our lives.” The sole fédayi of Chàrsanjak, Avedis Kazanjian (Méshédi Avedô) through his words and deeds brought into being the idea among the Armenians of Chàrsanjak of living free. He taught the oppressed, plundered, and exploited Armenian the art of fighting for his rights. He preached the indispensability of having weapons for defense against those who stole the land that had been ours for centuries, the pillagers of our just sweat, and the bandit chiefs and oppressors who grew fat without working from the bread of the Armenians. Humble but daring, brave and good, Avedô of Méshéd battled against tyranny and exploitation for the sake of the liberation of the Armenian people and its peace. Mr. Dikran Chìt`jian concludes his recollection thus.

In order to escape the pursuit of the Turkish government, on August 4, 1913 I was forced to give my last kiss to the noble brow of my beloved godson [through his father] Avedô of Méshéd, and saying farewell leave my beloved birthplace Zmaylé village in order to travel towards Kharpert, and from there to America. Avedis continued his work, over which my unlucky father Dér Nersés Kàhanay Chìt`jian watched like a guardian angel. After my departure, Avedô and my father together continued his work until the calamity of 1915, when Avedô unexpectedly was arrested in his house while lying sick. At the same time my father was arrested. The two, tortured terribly, were taken to Perri, the headquarters of the government of Chàrsanjak. Avedô was kept in the prison of Perri, while my father was sent to Kharpert Mezré’s prison. After he was kept there in prison for four months, horseshoes were nailed onto my father’s feet. After taking him around Mezré, in the valley leading to the city (which they called Zeva), they anointed his body with kerosene and set it on fire. As for Avedô, they tied him together with his son Vagharshag, and took him from the prison of Perri to the bridge of the Mntzur. There they killed them and tying large stones from their necks threw them into the river. Avedis Kazanjian’s revolutionary life began in 1891 and lasted until 1908. For seventeen years he uninterruptedly served the cause of the liberation of the Armenian nation as a brave fédayi. The areas of his activities were Gars, Khlat`, and Van. He participated in the Sasun battles. General Sebuh writes in his memoirs, “Avedis of Méshéd was from Ismayil village of Chàrsanjak district. According to what he related, that area was the site of habitation of begs and aghas, and the Armenians were all, without exception, the marabas of the begs. Avedis of Méshéd was himself a maraba. However, not able to endure the oppressions of the begs, after causing much damage, he went off and left. He went to Russia, wandered much from city to city, and finally one day reached Tiflis. He had a double-edged sword hanging from his waist. He gave the sword the name, “There is justice, but there is no court.” He participated in the Khanasor expedition and showed great courage. He had been a companion of General Sebuh and Murad of Govdun.

Minas Ch`ukasêzian

After the 1895 Armenian massacres, under the pressure of the European states, Sutlan Hmid promised reforms in the Armenian provinces. As a result of all this, the assistants or seconds-in-command to governor-generals, mutasarrıfs, and kaymakams were to be Armenians or Christians. According to this reform, Bôghos Tòt`vayian was appointed as the assistant to the kaymakam of Perri. He had barely taken office when he was killed by the kholams of Arslan Beg of Charsanjak for not standing up in the presence of the beg. This poor victim of criminals had been pierced through in twenty-five spots, and listeners did not dare to rush to help despite his heartrending cries. The responsibility for this crime was ascribed to the Protestant pastor of Perri, Very Reverend Asadur Nigoghosian, the door of whose house had been painted with the blood of the victim beforehand. It was during these days that Minas Effendi Chùkasêzian arrived in Perri in order to take charge of the office of assistant to the kaymakam. Below we present the information sent by Mr. Vahan Chùkasêzian about his father.

When I reached Perri, my father said, nobody dared to give me a house for rent or a room. One day when I was going to rent a house, the in-law of the landlord in conversation with the latter mumbled under his breath, “He has come to be a sacrifice.” I said in Turkish with strong words, “Olan, gâvurca söyleme ([hey son,] don’t speak in the language of the gâvur), and shocked them. My father had been a member of the court for years in Sepasdia, as well as having held many positions in the prelacy. Through his experience, he had mastered the art of winning over people, making friends, and disarming enemies. When his landlord found out after a while that the one renting his house was an Armenian, on the one hand he became happy, but on the other was seized with horror because perhaps this newcomer would be subject to the same fate as T`ot`vayian and thus create tribulations for him. After this, he began to get to know everybody, and he became loved by all, but he always also relied on his six shooter gun which he secretly bore. After we arrived in Perri with our family, one day while sitting in the room and speaking, suddenly a huge Kurd planted himself above our stairs and wanted to see Baghdô, an acquaintance of our landlord. My father became suspicious and suddenly became incensed. His saying in the Turkish language, “now I’m going to pull out my six-shooter and fill your belly with fire” was accompanied by his firing his gun. As a result, the Kurd, terrified, threw himself down the stairs and fled, without even looking behind him. In 1904, in order to suppress the rebellion in Arabia, Turkey was collecting soldiers and had filled Perri with around one thousand soldiers, placing the local Armenians in a delicate situation. One day, I went to the market with my father, and we saw that Kapriél Bézirganian, a butcher, was in a fight with a soldier. As a well known official, my father yelled, “Ne olmuş? Ne olmuş? (What happened? What happened?),” in the Turkish language. The butcher, unaware of the situation at the time, turning to my father said, “Effendi, effendi, this man bought meat and is not paying.” My father’s answer was in Turkish, “Sesini kes, kelp [kalp] oğlu kelp [kalp]! [Shut up, dog son of a dog!].” Summoning a policeman, he had both the Armenian and the Turk led to prison. The crowd which had gathered there remained dumbstruck. I looked at my father’s face in order to understand the reason for this injustice. He wanted to make me understand something with his eye. Later when we continued on our way, he said, “Son, was this incomprehensible to you?” Later I learned that after going to the government building, he told the kaymakam that he had sent Bézirgénian [spelling is different than the first time but it is not clear which is the correct one] to prison in order to avoid a big incident, since that place was full of soldiers, and the two of them bore a grave responsibility. The butcher was released free. My father turning to him said, “Hey, go to the villages and stay there a few weeks until the soldiers leave. Otherwise you will bring great trouble to us all, and before anybody else, to yourself.” Another time, a new kaymakam had arrived in Perri from Sepasdia. My father knew him. One day we heard that the sons of the begs had tried to kidnap during the night the daughter of a watchmaker who lived in Perri. The new kaymakam was decisive. My father had confidence in him. He related the details of the incident and the sons of the begs were imprisoned. And oh, Turkish justice! A few weeks later, the kaymakam was expelled from office. One day that beg came to the prelacy, and in the presence of my father and Goriwn Vartabed, directed curses, spit, and disparagement at Sultan Hamid and all his associates.

Section 6 Ch`arsanjak’s Land Case

We saw that the Armenians of Chàrsanjak historically have been this land’s indigenous element, and thus, the ancient lord and master of its soil and water. Invasions have taken place during stormy periods. Though this Armenian territory has fallen under Roman, Greek, and Persian rule, the indigenous element—the Armenian people—has always remained on its soil and been the master of its property. It was during Ottoman rule, after the fifteenth century, when the derebeys invading from the Persian steppes with their tribal groups became established on Chàrsanjak’s land, that the newcomers seized from the Armenian people its fields, gardens, and homes. This region of Dersim, with its mixed Armenian and Kurdish population, from the beginning had been considered spurious for the Ottoman state. For this reason too Dersim always remained in rebellion, with its semi-independent status. The fate of the Armenians was in the hands of the derebeys established there. It was probably in the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries that forcible seizure of lands by the begs took place. In those years, the Armenians of Chàrsanjak were subject to unprecedented pressure, oppression, and all types of barbarities. The permissive and indifferent attitude of the Ottoman government towards the usurpation of Armenian lands and the difficult condition that was created as a result for the Armenians further complicated the situation. Any attempt at protest by the Armenians led to new repression, including the death of those involved. However, this issue of deprivation of rights was passed down from generation to generation and finally reached the 1860s, when it became possible to make the voice of the heirs heard about the issue of Armenian lands again even as far as the capital of Turkey, Constantinople. As can be concluded from the report of the Central Executive of the [Armenian] National Civil Council in Constantinople, the Armenians of Chàrsanjak had protested much earlier than 1865 against the injustices of the begs. The result of those petitions remain unknown, but one thing is clear, that the land issue entered the path of judicial action from 1872-73, when official takrirs [memoranda] were submitted to the Sublime Porte by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the following pages, we present the report of the meetings of the Central Executive of the Civil Council, the reading of which will give a complete picture of the Chàrsanjak land case, the various stages of its pursuit, the active players, and justificative details. The documents that are presented are the authentic copies of those found in the Patriarchate’s archives, which have been assembled by Mr. Arshag Albôyajian.

Ch`arsanjak’s Land Issue: Report of the Central Executive of the Civil Council (1865)

We read on pages 33 to 34 of this official publication the following under the section named “Oppressions.”

Ch`arsanjak

Chàrsanjak’s issue began to be stirred up in the days of the previous council, and still continues, not having found a definitive solution, though the necessary arrangements were done up to now. The protests of the Chàrsanjak Armenians at first were against the injustices inflicted by the twenty-four derebeys, and the unjust division of the state taxes. The task of investigating these protests was entrusted by command of the Sublime Porte to Dervish Pasha, the commander-in- chief of the imperial army of Asia. In the latter’s report, which was also signed by the [Armenian] prelate of Chàrsanjak, the accusation of oppressions was presented as unfounded to the Sublime Porte, while the demand of taxes in an unjust manner was presented as accurate. However the inhabitants of Chàrsanjak, always dissatisfied, always protested to the National Executive, and insisted that the seven chief derebeys be brought to Constantinople in order to engage in litigation agains them. The Civil Council, after receiving new information, examined the essential point of their case through mature investigation, and understood that the matter is an issue of land ownership. On the one hand the Armenain of Chàrsanjak insisted that the field, garden, and vineyard he cultivated were his, along with the house he lived in and his store, while on the other hand, the derebey, imperious due to his authorization a long time ago to be landowner there, had seized fields, vineyards, and stores, or collected dues from them. The Civil Council began again to negotiation for the solution of this serious issue both through its memoranda and through the mediation of His Beatitude the president [the Patriarch] with the assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the president of the Secondary Court, and the Grand Vizier. However, the matter is not yet solved.

* * *

Report of the National Central Executive (1872-1873, the year 1874)

We see from this printed report that the Civil Council in its four meetings of July 27, August 3, and September 23, 1872, and May 5, 1873, had the Ch`arsanjak issue on its agenda. In the second of these meetings (August 3, 1872), a takrir was prepared, which was signed the same day and presented to the Sublime Porte. The copy of this takrir was published in this report (pages 15-16), from which we identically reproduce it [obviously here it is in English translation].

The homes, vineyards, gardens, and fields of the people of the Armenian millet [nation] living in the kaza of Charsanjak subject to the province of Diyarbekir which have been recognized as their property continually from generation to generation have been usurped by the aghas of the villages who are Muslim subjects, and the people of the Armenian millet are considered as renters. In addition, under the pretext of collecting taxes and so forth, the aforementioned Armenians are continually subject to oppression and torment. After twelve years of protests of Armenians to their local government and the Patriarchate to the Sublime Porte, in 1285 [1868], it was established through an investigation by the [Ottoman] State Council that the viewpoint of the aghas was baseless and meaningless. The report prepared on this occasion was confirmed by imperial edict and sent to the abovementioned province for execution. However, due to the opposition and resistance of the local aghas, the matter was again returned to the State Council, and this time the decision to make a preliminary investigation on the spot, without reference to the prior decision and the imperial edict, was taken. Since the opponents are the influential aghas of the place, while the Christian people are poor and defenseless, as soon as the principle of a local investigation is accepted, just as it was for the previous twelve years, it will be the same after this: the issue by being postponed will not lead to a result, and only the Christian people will suffer from this, by being subjected to an even more pitiful and worse situation. Consequently, after declaring that a different decision than one confirmed by an imperial edict will be useless, we asked that your eminent commands be communicated to the necessary places for the defense of the just rights of the Armenian subjects. Despite this, not only have the aforementioned rights not been recognized, but the Armenians are being expelled from the houses, gardens, and fields which they created through long labor and one thousand difficulties. Therefore I ask Your Sublime Excellence to be so good as to reach anarragnement in accordance with the decision of the State Council whose copy is enclosed, and give your commands wherever appropriate to confirm the Armenians’ rights, for which I remain now and always grateful to You and subject to all Your Eminence’s commands.

1289 Cemazil ahır 13 (August 5, 1872) * * *

We understand from the same report of the Civil Council that Krikor Ôdian’s mediation was requested for the Ch`arsanjak issue, and he had negotiated with Béyligji Bey. All efforts were in vain and the matter received no positive result until the deportations.

Ch`arsanjak’s Land Issue and the [Armenian] National Representative General Assembly of Constantinople

The Patriarchate of Constantinople dealt with this issue for the first time after the reestablishment of the Ottoman constitution in 1908, along with similar land issues. The Sublime Porte gave evasive answers about the Chàrsanjak land issue (whose origins were quite old and even had been decided a long time ago in favor of the Armenians), as for all land matters. After this, it appears that the people of Chàrsanjak in order to make some noise and uproar, spread a rumor that they were going to convert to the Russian faith [Russian Orthodoxy], and this news reverberated in the Armenian newspapers. Pera’s preacher Bishop Hmayeag Timak`sian, hero of cheap nationalism or nationalism in words, having found an appropriate opportunity to show himself, on July 1, 1911 sent a letter to the chairman of the [Armenian] National Assembly, which was read in the seventh meeting (July 1, 1911) of the 1911-1912 session of the National Assembly. Patriarchal locum tenens Bishop Vahram Manguni presided over the assembly that day, while the chairman was Mr. Hrant Asadur. We present below the portion of the minutes of that meeting which concerns the land issue of Chàrsanjak.

Question Concerning the Land Issue of Ch`arsanjak

Chairman Effendi: His Grace Hmayeag Timak`sian has a proposal concerning the land issue of Ch`arsanjak.

The Secretary Effendi read the following proposal.

Noble Chairman Effendi of the National Representative Assembly

We learn from the newspapers that the Armenian farming people of Chàrsanjak, completely in despair because the numerous appeals by the National Patriarchate and themselves over many years to the Constitutional government concerning the forcible seizures of their land property and misdeeds carried out by Kurdish begs have been fruitless, have applied to convert to the Russian faith [Orthodoxy]. The news of this type of nationally injurious application by Armenian people of Chàrsanjak in its state of desperation has caused every Armenian’s heart deep sorrow, because if this news is confirmed, unfortunately the nation will lose around 20,000 individuals from its bosom. Now, we want to know whether it is certain that the Armenians of Chàrsanjak have applied to the Russian faith. What information does the National Executive possess, and what measures have been undertaken? It is clear that the Ottoman constitutional government continues its old behavior and the provincial government of Kharpert still supposedly has no news about the misdeeds of Chàrsanjak’s Kurdish begs, so supposedly the complaints that have arrived are baseless too. We read this amazing publication in the morning newspapers communicated by the “istìkhbarét` [istihbarat, Turkish for intelligence, news, or news bureau].”

Pera, July 1, 1911 Prayerfully, Bishop Hmayeag Timak`sian

Bishop Hmayeag Timak`sian: As the proposal’s originator, I want to say a few words. I do not know why the issue of the oppressions of the Armenian-populated realm was completely removed from the agenda, while incidents augment daily and take on a contagious nature. One day from Samson (Footnote: Probably this is a typographical error and it must read from Sasun—A. Albôyajian), another day from Khaskiwgh, (Footnote: Mush’s Khaskiwgh must be understood and not that of Constantinople—A. Albôyajian) they reverberate and upset the people. We think that when a matter is sent to the Executive it isfinished. While the offspring of the Armenian people is spilling blood under the Ottoman flag in one place, in the other oppressions continue and 20,000 people apply to the Russian faith. Has the Executive considered the necessary measures, and what means has it undertaken?

Chairman Effendi: In answer to Your Grace, I point out that the issue of oppressions has not been taken off the agenda, but because it has been sent to the Executive, its answer is being awaited.

A. Fndêklian Effendi: The Executive has taken this isue into consideration and prepared a memorandum which it will present in the next meeting. There we will see the measures taken for Ch`arsanjak, so we cannot say anything now.

Hmayeag Srpazan [His Grace]: Could the Executive at least answer whether the news obtained is ture?

Dér Krikoris Vartabed: The Executive has taken the matter into consideration and has protested in a strict manner. His Grace the locum tenens too has applied in the name of the Executive in a very effective manner. However for the present we cannot provide information, as we consider it premature.

H. Arameants` Effendi: The explanation given by the Executive is sufficient. When an executive promises to bring its plan in the forthcoming meeting, it is not fitting that we force it.

Chairman Effendi: Therefore we consider the issue closed.

Question about the Ch`arsanjak Issue (July 8, 1911 meeting, pages 275-276)

Chairman Effendi: M[ik`ayél]. Giwrjian Effendi has a letter about the Ch`arsanjak land issue. It will be read.

Noble Gentleman Chairman of the Venerable National Representative Assembly

Sarkis Kàhanay Zakàrian and Dônabed K`éhya Sémérjian, on behalf of all the Armenians of Chàrsanjak have applied to me as the representative of their neighboring district, asking that I present a proposal to the venerable General Assembly about their bitter state. They say that by applying for the last three years to both the Patriarchate and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they had hopes until lately that justice would be carried out between them and several begs of Chàrsanjak who had forcibly taken overtheir lands and lately applied forcible measures to remove them from their homes, depriving them of their gardens and vineyards. The most sad part is that while they had hoped to finally find at least partial defense for the rights they already possessed, the eminent minister of the interior declared that already it had become mürur-i zaman [Turkish for the time limitation had passed] so that he could do nothing. Now, what can those poor people in that condition do? What measures have een thought of for these suffering 25-30,000 Armenians of Chàrsanjak?

June 8, 1911 National Representative M[ik`ayél]. Giwrjian

Chairman Effendi (Hrant Asadur): We will send this letter too to the Executive.

H`[arut`iwn]. Jangiwlian Effendi: It must however be explained how true are the things said about this matter during these last days.

His Grace the President (the locum tenens, Bishop Vahram Manguni): A fairly long takrir was sent about the Ch`arsanjak matter but an answer still has not been received. It is heard outside that an objection of mürur-i zaman has been made, but nothing officially about this has been sent to us. Considering this much sufficient, I come to ask the Assembly whether I should send a letter in the sense of a writing with the signatures of thirty-four communities like that received earlier from Tiflis to the diocesan tribunal of Tblisi for ratification, or bring it here?

Chairman Effendi: Do what you find to be appropriate.

D[ér]. Hmayeag Srpazan: The land issue of Ch`arsanjak is one of our urgent issues because thousands of Armenians in a state of dying from famine, have remained naked and without shelter. If we wait for the results of applications, there is no end to it. Let us think of another means for the reforms of Armenia. I have no intention of accusing the Executive, because I too have been a chairman of the Religious Council, and seeing that our efforts remained fruitless, I withdrew in despair. In any case, nothing has happened for months. Let us think of what we are going to do.

Chairman Effendi: There is no doubt that the nation is concerned with this situation; however we are going to send this letter now to the Executive so that it continues its efforts. On the other hand, we will take it into account again on the occasion of the issue of oppressions.

(While the administrative hierarchy of that day’s meeting was speaking about the issue on the agenda, taking advantage of the opportunity, the following question and answer were exchanged between H`arut`iwn Jangiwlian and Aram Halajian.)

H`[arut`iwn]. Jangiwlian: Since Halajian Effendi is present, it is desirable that he give his answer about what was written in yesterday’s newspapers concerning the meeting which took place with the Minister of Internal Affairs on the land issue of Ch`arsanjak.

A[ram]. Halajian Effendi: We will answer at the next meeting.

V[ahan]. T`ék`éyan Effendi: In what capacity?

Kh[ntir]. Simonian Effendi: It is known that there was a proposal presented three years before by Hmayeag Srpazan about preparing a memorandum to be presented to the [Ottoman] chamber of deputies concerning the oppressions issue. In saying the oppressions issue all the appeals that have been conducted are understood, and all of them will be taken into consideration as oneissue, so that there is no need for a new report.

Chairman Effendi: Naturally all of them will be taken into consideration at once.

H. Khôjasarian Effendi: The entire meeting must not be occupied with this type of discussions. Therefore I propose to immediately close the issue and to pass on to the agenda.

(From 1911 Session, Meeting 8, July 8, 1911, p. 278) [CHECK WITH ORIGINAL in microfilm UCLA]

In the next meeting (meeting number 8, July 22, 1911), whose president was again locum tenens Bishop Vahram Manguni and the secretary Hrant Asadur, a third question was presented, this time by Smpad Piwrad, about the matter of Ch`arsanjak. This time, it becomes clear from the information given by Bishop Manguni that the locum tenens had been placed in a trap by some elements. Below we present these useful minutes in their entirety (see the 8th meeting of the 1911 session, pages 300-310).

Question about the Ch`arsanjak Issue

Chairman Effendi (Hrant Asadur): S[mpad]. Piwrad Effendi has a question about the Ch`arsanjak issue.

(The Secretary Effendi read the following letter.)

Noble Hrant Effendi Asadur Chairman of the National Representative Assembly

Recently in an important organ of our capital’s national press, I read an accusation against patriarchal locum tenens Manguni Srpazan concerning the land issue, in particular on the question of Ch`arsanjak, which is at this moment preoccupying public opinion—a publication which is that serious as much as it is directed against a high ranking clergyman who is in such a delicate position which is called to the defense of national interests. Until now unfortunately no official refutation appeared of this publication confirming the justification of His Grace the locum tenens. Consequently I wish to ask whether it is positive that His Grace the locum tenens made a declaration with this meaning concerning the Ch`arsanjak matter to the Ministry of Internal Affairs—a declaration through which an Armenian political party was given a suspect nature in the known matter. Now Chairman Effendi, since sufficient explanation has not been given about this by His Grace the locum tenens, I am forced to consider him under the same accusation, and consequently, to consider his staying in office impossible.

I remain respectifully, National Representative of Zéyt`un-Marash S[mpad]. Piwrad

President Srpazan (Bishop Manguni): Answering this question pertains to me because the question is directed at me. Reading in the newspapers that this matter will be discussed in today’s meeting, I prepared my answer in writing in order not to give rise to varied interpretations, and I present it to the Assembly together with the takrir that I had submitted.

Het`um Set`ian Effendi: We have trust.

President Srpazan: The Assembly however must know what official activity took place since on the other hand we heard this question.

Chairman Effendi: Do you have any demand about the meeting being open or closed door, Srpazan?

President Srpazan: I demand that it be closed door, because I have written about official relations and the words of the minister in my writing, which only the assembly members have the right to know.

M. Kôchùnian Effendi [Footnote: Misak` Kochùnian is the founder of the newspaper Zhamanag, whose nom de plume is Kàsim.]: Would it not be better if thepopele are convinced of the truth? What reason is there for keeping the meeting closed door?

President Srpazan: If you wish my personal thoughts, I want thousands of people to listen, but my position prevents the viewpoints of the nation and official negotations on such delicate matteres from being publicly said.

Chairman Effendi: Since the president wishes to have the meeting closed-door, and this is his right according to the internal by-laws, we cannot refuse his proposal.

(After the meeting was made closed-door, the following writings were read.)

The Letter of Explanation of His Grace the Locum Tenens

The issue of Chàrsanjak is not new, but it did not have that powerful momentum which immediately began after the second proclamation of the Ottoman constitution almost three years ago. The general situation of the land question is different from that of Chàrsanjak’s (although in some place sit is the same), because as the result of one state initiative, in accordance with the demands of the Patriarchate, some thirty to forty years ago a clear verdict and its execution had been ordered through an imperial edict and the State Council, though it remained without beneficial results. This time due to the new energy the situation has taken, representatives of the population, a priest and a layman, had come and tried through the appeals of the Patriarchate to remedy the situation and establish the rights of the people without however ever achieving a satisfactory result. The situation grew more complicated and serious, and the misfortunate Armenians, and even ordinary Kurds, were subject to greater deprivations; various threats rained down, they were deprived of homes and other property, and kidnappings, murders, and expulsions succeeded one another. The landowning and village owning Kurd or Ottoman held a stronger and more influential position, and enjoyed the protection of the local government and officials, and, let me say, also of Constantinople. It was in such a situation that in last February I was obligated to assume the position of locum tenens and together with other complicated and critical issues, I found myself facing the matter of Chàrsanjak. The representatives of Chàrsanjak, the telegrams, petitions, and reports full of misery and grief from Chàrsanjak and Kharpert, as well as important Armenians forced the National Central Executive and me to pursue it in order to find a possible remedy for the lamentable situation of the Armenians. Now, it appears from my research on the Chàrsanjak issue, along with my investigations, and the information given by representative Sarkis Kàhanay and his layman companion, that the conditions pertaining to the extensive lands called arpalık and ağalık and the villages have existed between the Armenians (as well as Kurds and Ottomans) and foreign landowners and village owners, and [the latter were] attempting to strengthen the same in Chàrsanjak and other places. In accordance with this, the conditions of the icare {Turkish for rent} and tithe, as well as the conditions of “gisovi” {by halves} gradually took strange directions and grew burdensome to that extent that even the houses built by villagers, stores, watermills, planted gardens and vineyards, and of course churches and schools, wherever they might be, were subject to the idea or supposition that they were considered the possessions of the village owners and property owners, and the Armenians were considered to be their renters or guests. State circles also had such wrong and unforgivable convictions, and insisted, with owners of land, fields, and villages found among them. Thus it was necessary to immediately save the people through a temporary arrangement from their bitter state until the government became serious thinking and had the goodwill to make a final and decisive arrangement at the proper time. Consequently, on the occasion of the calamitous and poignant situation of the representatives and the people, and in accordance with their requests, on February 12, after paying the necessary visit to my minister, my first appeal among others (after my feet pain lessened on March 30) was specially to the Minister of Internal Affairs, who barely proposed that the Armenians sit in their homes without making any noise, and apply to the government through lawsuits, if they possess tapus (property deeds) for all properties—without this and without the court the government is not willing to intervene in a executive-governmental (idareten) manner. In my opinion, this will end in forever depriving the Armenians if the same approach is or was put into place. After considerable argument, the minister deigned to agree that the plowing and sowing continue in the gisovi manner, the Armenians remain owners of the houses and properties without raising the issue of tapus, they remain free from corvee (angarya {in Turkish}), and they can go and continue with their work. And in conformance with that, it was promised to carry out a considerable defense [of the Armenians] after receiving my takrir. I communicated in very abbreviated fashion the result of this negotiation in the last Central Mixed Assembly, which approved. It proposed at the same time as a precaution that the agreement of the representatives of Chàrsanjak with it be obtained so that there be no disagreement now and in the future. And I proposed to Sarkis Kàhanay and his companion to bring such a document of agreement, and also had the first takrir prepared so that when the agreement document arrived, I would seal the takrir and send it to the minister. The document of agreement, despite the earlier orally expressed consent, until today has not existed. As for their appeals to me, there was no end. Ambiguous and hesitant talk also had no end. It was during those days that I was approached. Supposedly two Armenians had gone to Salonica and come to an agreement with the Ottoman committee {i.e. the Committee of Union and Progress} for the completely successful conclusion of the Chàrsanjak matter, and for educational and other issues. These will quickly be finished. I did not hide from Aram Effendi Halajian and Vràmian Effendi that the promises have always been criticizable, as had been until that time nearly all promises, and, I added, nevertheless I will delayed the takrir one month and wait. One month became three, and while on the one hand a successful result still has not been seen, more unfavorable and grievous results erupted together with bloodshed and other calamitous events. Consequently applications to me increased and grew more intense together with the bitter events and information here from Chàrsanjak and Kharpert. Finally, I ended the delayed and when His Majesty the Sultan had returned from Rumeli, with whom the respectable Minister of Internal Affairs had gone, on June 30, Thursday, I, with the chargé d’affaires Kamer Effendi, whose presence with me at every official visit to the minister as a witness I have made obligatory and fulfill, spoke again among various matters about the Chàrsanjak issue. I used an obscure telegram of command given by him as the occasion, and I argued a lot, defending the rights of the Armenians. I criticized his objections and the local judicial means that he insisted on, and asked that a neutral official body be sent from here to solve both Chàrsanjak’s issues and all land questions, with all that follows. It was during this meeting and discussion that the minister absolutely said that the clergy and Tashnagtsàgans incite and instigate the Armenians [Footnote: these words were underlined in the locum tenen’s explanatory writing]. This was not the first time that I had heard such an accusation from the mouth of a minister, and it was not only that minister who made such indications. Even during the last great fire of Constantinople, when an important official came the night of Monday to Tuesday morning to the Patriarchate, having with him for security the muhtar {Turkish for headman} of Kumkapı {quarter} Levon Effendi [Footnote: Pàmbuk`jian, now deceased], he made such a reference at one point. As I pointed out with a brief mention in the paragraph of questions in my opening speech on the occasion of the inauguration of the present session of the Representative Assembly, I was obligated to and {indeed} defended both the clergy and the Tashnagtsàgans, expressing amazement that contrary to the behavior shown by the Young Turk and Ittihad Committee, I heard such an accusation against the Tashnagtsàgans, as I also told the minister. I have a great deal more to say, but I cannot forgive myself henceforth for bring up and further enlarging more matters, and I consider this much already too much and excessive, though I was forced to it unwillinging. My sacred obligation is to preserve love of unity and cooperation. I conclude my words and by showing a proof which cries out more absolutely, I invite the venerable Representative Assembly to look over or hear both my first takrir, which I have not given, as I recalled in its place, and my last long takrir about the Chàrsanjak matter, which I gave to its addressees, and which reveals my orientation and confirms that what was spread was an absolute unconscionable calumny. According to this, my word and what I write cannot be different from one another, and on the occasion of a quarrel with two respected Armenians the adding of a protest to the aforementioned takrir also condemns the calumniator. I have never been capable of following betrayal and calumny, because my prior position at Etchmiadzin, which under the command of my spiritual parent was practically equivalent to authority, and my present position, though not that authoritative, gave and give me the means to speak, act, and determine sovereignly.

July 21, 1911 in the Patriarchate Bishop Vahram Manguni

* * * After the communication of His Grace the locum tenens, the two takrirs presented to the Sublime Porte were read. As they were written in Turkish, we present them in their literal translation {into Armenian; here however they are translated one more time into English}.

The Copy of the First Takrir Translated from the Original Text

To the Ministry of Internal Affairs

This is the request of this supplicant. Several days ago during the meeting I had with Your Excellence, I spoke, along with several requests, about the important property issue raised between the local begs and Armenian inhabitants of Ch`arsanjak kaza, and I had expressed a few ideas. Your justice-loving Excellence having impartially examined the matter, found that as the houses, watermills, gardens, and vineyards were brought into existence by the money, labor, and sacrifice of Armenians in the aforementioned land properties, they consequently are the possessions of the Armenians. The begs thus do not have the right to ask for rent on their account or to expel them from those places. However, coming to the lands, it was considered appropriate that while they were ploughed and cultivated and sown by the Armenians, they were given by the begs, so the revenues must be equally divided between both sides. Taking into consideration the complaints of the poor and miserable Armenian people who have no other means of livelihood other than agriculture, I ask Your Sublime Excellence to first of all carry out the abovementioned thoughts deemed appropriate y Your Excellence—that is, to make the necessary arrangements to transfer to the name of the Armenians the houses, gardens, and vineyards, register them, and give the property documents to them too.

Copy of the July 1 1327 (1911) Takrir to the Ministry of Justice and Religions {CHECK OFFICIAL NAME} Translated from the Original {again, into Armenian, and now into English}

It is known to Your Sublime Excellence that there is an issue which has continued for fifty years called the land issue of the Chàrsanjak Armenians. These lands as a result of the force and oppression of the local begs and aghas was taken from their former owners and registered in the names of the begs. At that time by arrangement of the Sublime Porte a commission was formed to investigate on the spot. The report prepared by this body was in turn examined by the Council of State’s civil branch and some appropriate decisions taken, and these decisions were ratified by imperial edict. As is understood from these decisions of 1285 [Footnote: The Turkish year 1289 is equivalent to the Christian year 1868-69], the homes in which the Chàrsanjak Armenians lived were built by them, and the trees and vines in the gardens and vineyards were planted and brought forth by them. This point of view today is not accepted by the aghas and begs, and the villagers are even being expelled from their places contrary to the most fundamental principal of justice. These properties are the ancestral inheritances of the Armenians, of which they have continually been the owners. It is for this that the decision to leave these properties to the Armenians was taken at the aforementioned date. This decision was at the abovementioned date placed into execution, which is confirmed by the contents of the letter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated November 27, 1288 and bearing the number 27, sent to this supplicant [the Patriarchate]. In the end the execution of the abovementioned document was postponed to the point that the opposite intent was carried out. That is, the property deeds to the houses, gardens and vineyards which were the topic of the dispute were not given to their owners. The property documents for state lands were, instead of being distributed to the villagers without auction for their equivalent value, given to the begs despite the reality that these lands were tilled, cultivated, and borught to a productive state by the villagers. As a result of this unlawful action, the state has lost, and the poor villagers have been deprived of their natural rights. This is proven in an absolute manner thorugh the contents of the abovementioned document, and by the unlawful distribution of the property deeds. The abovementioned decision issued by the State Council, which in accordance with the formalities of its time passed into the rank of law, was not only not executed by the relevant authorities, but, contrary to our expectation, those who carried out accountable acts remained unpunished, while trampling the interests of the state and the rights of the villagers. The present constitutional government too not only has not carried out its responsibility, but despotic ways and acts which had not even been performed under the prior regime take place. The villagers are being expelled from the houses, gardens, and vineyards which they had owned as a result of their ancestral inheritance and personal possession. They find neither protection agains these violations, nor do the authors of such acts get criticized. On the contrary, according to the information provided by the newspapers, the abovmentioned acts are even refuted. In order to find a way to improve this situation and assure justice, while awaiting the measures to be initiated by You, some notifications were provided in a telegram of May 22, 1327 from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the governor of M[amuret ül]. Aziz, and in these notifications supposedly the central government was not aware of the abovementioned decision of the Council of State and its execution, and this was considered a matter raised by the villagers for an ulterior motive, a tale. As a conclusion, it is declared that the local government does not have any means to do whatever has not been carried out until today. It is considered that only through the court is it possible to estealbihs the rights of the two sides. However a change in the present condition is declared to be impermissible. Aside from this, ascribing the demand of the villagers for the execution of the abovementioned document and to be inscribed in the property registry to an ulterior motive, and not to subject the begs to any investigation and control means to condemn the villagers with an unfavorable decision. Coming to the mention of the “preservation of the present situation,” its goal is to leave the villager defenseless, which must be the result of advice unjustly presented by the province [vilayet]. Since the aforementioned mazbata’s [Turkish for report] significance is decisive and it has remained inexecutable (for which no reason can be imagined), and since there is no court that can overturn that verdict, by this very logic, no need remains for the villagers to demand property titles through judicial means against the begs. When doubt is expressed about the Armenian being qualified for a property deed, the right of his opponent to ownership is recognized, which is contrary to the abovementioned verdict and the dispositions of the land law, and to the detriment of the interests of the state treasury. The registration in the name of the begs of uncultivated fields without auction, through trickery, cannot be considered as the right of ownership. With the right of ownership still not ratified, the existence of property deeds too becomes meaningless. Thus I am forced to declare that to consider the property deeds prepared in favor of the begs as acceptable and favor or defend them in any way is something that I did not expect from Your knowledgable about law [CHECK--GET ONE WORD EQUIVALENT??] and just Excellence. The land issue of Chàrsanjak is not a simple case of rights, but a vital issue of a populous community crushed in the despotic claws of merciless feudal lords. The only way to solve it is the execution of the abovementioned decision. Aside from this, the villager has no ulterior motive and does not have and cannot have any [other] intention. The fabrication of an “ulterior motive” attributed to the villagers was publicly declared by a [parliament] representative who is a relative of the begs, and slandered the nation of this supplicant, and for this reason the heart of every single individual of this nation is filled with pain and sorrow. Instead of every individual, without discrimination of religion and nationality, especially those deprived of justice, being helped from the benefits of the Constitution brought forth by the efforts of the heroes of the homeland, it is being attempted by means of Your Excellence’s ministry to complete what despotism left undone, instead of definitively removing the sicknesses it has left, the traces of despotism, presented on this occasion. Contrary to Asım Bey’s insult and defamations, I hope and believe that one day the rays of justice will spread in Chàrsanjak too, and an end will be put to despotism. Consequently, I ask of your Excellence that the dispositions of the abovementioned decisions be carried out as soon as possible. Let those expelled from homes, gardens, and vineyards be returned to their places. Let those who carry out despotism be held responsible. Let the begs be definitively prohibited from interfering in matters pertaining to homes, vineyards, and gardens. Let land titles given from the date of the decision of the State Council be reexamined. Let property registers devoid of validity be reformed. Begs who do not agree with these arrangements will be free to apply to the courts for the defense of their rights. Villagers will be required not to interrupt their work so that, with an interruption of plowing and sowing, a famine does not occur in the future, which could cause a different type of occupation for the state. For these reasons I ask Your Excellency that the necessary measures be taken as rapidly as possible and this matter is ended as soon as possible. On this occasion and in any circumstance, the order for an appropriate arrangement belongs to Your Excellency.

After the reading of the takrirs, the discussions continue.

Dér Hmayeag Srpazan: What is the date of this last takrir?

Chairman Effendi: July 1. I give the floor to Smpad Piwrad Effendi, in order to speak about his question.

S. Piwrad Effendi: I retain all my respect concerning the person of His Grace the locum tenens, but I requested an explanation about such a delicate matter which has appeared in journalism and has become the topic of conversation among the people. The issue revolves around a grave declaration, and the documents read only contain official speech. The Assembly writes them and after placing its seal on them sends them off. I cannot consider them the answer to my demand. There is a point which must be made clear. His Grace is completely convinced that the political parties and the press have raised the issue, and that the Ch`arsanjak Armenians do not have the right to some lands, while they do have the right to some other lands. It is just this point that confuses minds and until His Grace does not change his idea he will not be able to defend the issue. He has said these words in my presence too. The chairman of Khask’éôy [Hasköy]’s Parish Council was also present.

President Srpazan: I have defended the right of the people in those writings, as well as orally, and how is it possible to write one thing and say something else? Consequently those goals ascribed to me, which I supposedly declared in the presence of this or that person, are absolutely false. In concluding my words, I say that when the conviction of the Assembly is that which is written in this question, accept my resignation!

Het`um Set`ian Effendi: We are confident in you.

Nersés Ôhanian Effendi: We even consider it superfluous to continue this discussion.

Mihran Haygazn Effendi: I concur.

Vahan T’ék`éyan Effendi: I read with amazement in the newspapers those words which His Grace the locum tenens supposedly said in an official place aginast the legality of the land issue of Ch`arsanjak. However the refutation of His Grace the locum tenens dissipated our amazement and naturally we also have no reason to doubt the sincerity of those words, especially based on the rumors published in the newspapers. His Grace the locum tenens says also that the chargé d’affairs was also present during the discussion and talk in the meaning stated did not take place. Under these circumstances we can at least in our minds decide the matter. There is however another point. Two takrirs written about the Ch`arsanjak issue were read, of which the first one was not presented because the locum tenens was approached. It was said that some undertakings had taken place about the land issue and the first takrir must be delayed for one month. However it was delayed not one month but three, and no result was produced. I declare my profound sorrow about this because two unofficial individuals were able to delay a takrir written by decision of the Executive, and three months passed in this fashion. Then, this first takrir was so short; I asked His Grace the locum tenens and I was informed that jurisprudents had not prepared it. Now it is important to know why such an important appeal was delayed through such an unofficial appeal, and in the future, what guarantee exists that similar circumstances will not reoccur. My goal is to hold the administration high, as much as possible.

H[arutìwn]. Jangiwlian Effendi: His Grace the locum tenens supposedly said about the Chàrsanjak matter that this matter is not the issue of Chàrsanjak; it is a political party issue. I am amazed that there are those who believe in such rumors. How is it possible that His Grace the locum tenens could present an issue which has existed for years among all Armenians in that light? I conclude at least from this thing that it is a ploy so that we tear each other to pieces about our internal matters, and they have time to take advantage of the opportunity. My idea is that this is simply a ruse prepared by the government.

Arisdagés Kasbarian Effendi: As far as I know, the discussion has veered from its purpose. The issue concerns a discussion which took place in connection with the affair of Ch`arsanjak, about which the oral and written explanations provided were already sufficient. Consequently, there is no need to question whether appeals had been made by this or that side, they exerted influence on the Executive and locum tenens, [or] his personal conviction was this or that. We do not need that. We have no business examining the personal thoughts of somebody in office. Our business is with his work in office. With this point of view, I propose that this matter be left without conclusion.

M. Haygazn Effendi: If there are representatives who say that while meeting with them His Grace the locum tenens considered this or that political party as responsible in the land issue of Chàrsanjak, I then as a representative declare that I have met with His Grace the locum tenens on the same issue. He declared that the lands belong to the Armenians. However there is a point which must be clarified. His Grace the locum tenens said to me that the Minister of Internal Affairs said that the gardens and vineyards belong to the Armenians, while the fields belong to the Turkish begs. Before giving any answer, I see the need for me to call Sarkis Kàhanay and another one whose name I do not remember, and meet with them about the various details of the matter. There is also another circumstance which I submit to your attention. Ahmed Riza Bey at one time attempted to divide the Tashnagtsàgans and Hnchàgeans against each other, but when the time arrived to come face to face and expose the truth, he ran away. This too is that sort of affair. I think that this much will be sufficient for us, because the same things have occurred in the past too.

D[ér]. Hmayeag Srpazan: We were informed from what was said that today’s situation is the continuation of the prevalent situation in the time of Hüseyin Hilmi and Tevfik Pashas, when it is said that the clerics and the Tashnagts`agans are the inciters of the people. I do not think that His Grace the locum tenens had said those words which have been ascribed to him, but they have found him to be naïve; otherwise, they are the author of those words. However, it is necessary to know that the Armenian clerics are the preservers of their people’s rights and play no role in inciting the poeploe, but rather demand the popular interest.

President Srpazan: I do not accept those words of Hmayeag Srpazan that the ministers have found me naïve and deceived me. I am not naïve as he thinks. When the minister made reference to the clergymen and Tashnagts`agans, I responded that the clergymen are always the fathers of the people and advise peace to them; they are officials of peace. As for the Tashnagts`agans, they are the ones with whom you came to an agreement concerning the progress of the country. I said these words to show their contradictions. I added that “Denize düşen yılana sarılır [He who falls into the sea will cling to a snake].” Today the people wants to become Orthodox, expecting its salvation from this.

H. Khosrovian Efendi: We all have respect for the person of His Grace the locum tenens. Consequently there is no accusation. What has taken place is simply a question, and it is necessary that this point be verified because the Armenian nation is composed of clerymen and laymen, and it is through their harmony that the nation remains standing. I cannot consider this a ruse of the government, but the naivety of His Grace the locum tenens, because at the same time he said that “he who falls into the sea will cling to a snake.”

Voices: It was said about Orthodoxy.

Chairman Effendi: Yes, his words are understood in that fashion.

H. Khosrovian Effendi (continuing): I accept that they were said in this spirit, but this is a question to which an answer must be given by the Executive.

H. Khôjarsarian Effendi: A moment ago, the National Assembly expressed its anger against Osman Pasha who had spoken with the intent of discrediting the Tashnagts`ut`iwn. A moment later it wants to see those words verified with which supposedly the president of this Assembly wanted to accuse a political party, with which we may have other issues; but we are united when such an accusation is made against him. The entire nation in these matters is unanimous and of one will on these matters, and it is only possible in that manner to defend the issue. Otherwise if the Assembly denies its confidence to the president, it will have undertaken a course of behavior contrary to national interests.

Krikoris Vartabed Balakian: The issue is that when anybody as president makes such an accusation, he ceases to hold office. However, His Grace the president refutes that point and says that he did not act independently, and did not say such a thing. Consequently I propose that this Assembly consider the answer given as sufficient.

Aram Halajian Effendi: I too am a proponent of considering the discussion conducted as sufficient, because after the protest against Osman Pasha’s declaration, going as far as to cause the resignation of the locum tenens will mean destroying the effect of that protest. Coming to the Ch`arsanjak matter, we heard the takrir that was read. It is well written. His Grace the locum tenens also read it to us. I too was pursuing the matter as it was asked of me by the people. Without going into any details, I will only say this much, that we are demanding the execution of a decision made twenty years ago. Under these circumstances I propose considering the matter closed. I see that a scam is about to be formed based on the words of the Osman Pashas, Asım Beys, and others, and it is being attempted to legalize the usurpations. We must not only be satisfied with demanding a declaration from the government, but also must ask for measures to be taken in order to prevent this situation, which can only be done by getting those who think like Osman Pasha removed from office.

A[rshag]. Vràmian effendi: This matter interests me from the point of view that in order to create dissension among us it helps supposedly that the Armenian political parties and the Armenian people have points of view different from one another on such a fundamental issue. The cause of the matter coming here was that article which Shahrigian Effendi wrote, and if he were present here today, there is no doubt that he would have the necessary sources from which he obtained this information. We listened to the explanations given and we understood that nothing more than a weak and failed defense took place, since for us the fundamental matter is the interest of the Armenian people. If there are different ideas about this or that administrative matter facing the Armenian people, there is one front, there are not two fronts. If the Armenian people, with respect to its political parties, was not zealous in the defense of its interests, of course they would not be opposed to it and if we do not know how to defend the issue from this point of view, Osman Pasha’s declaration will be confirmed. I heard a little while ago that supposedly the postponement of any proposal concerning the land issue is being discussed. That matter is not how it is being understood. First of all let me say that no document concerning the land question in general has been postponed, but when wereturned from Salonica, we heard that Khalil {Halil} Beg, as a great landowner, wanted to cast the Chàrsanjak land issue in the same basket. We said that the matter is on the wrong path because a contract is demanded of the people of Chàrsanjak through which they will not become owners of the fields. We demanded that this contract not be given, which was a trap against them.

Doctor Krikor Jélal Effendi: Vr`amian Effendi a little while ago said that we went to Salonica but there was no talk of general matters; the discussion was only about the takrir. However I wonder why we do not arrange our issues through the law? I regret that the real state of things is not what we want to see. If [this were] not [so], such a disgraceful telegram would not have been sent to the governor-general of Kharpert, which we consider the result of the dominant mentality in official circles. It is this mentality which must be remedied, because we have numerous demands for the satisfaction of which it is necessary that these ideas be remedied. I propose that Smpad Effendi’s letter be dispatched to the Executive so that the latter will examine it and in this way close the matter.

President Srpazan: There is a point which must be clarified. After returning from Salonica, when they came to me and said that it is necessary to postpone it one month, I replied that they still are playing around with us a lot. But finally we delayed, and afterwards one month became several months. And when during this period of time a proposal came from the government about the settlement of the land issue of Chàrsanjak, I communicated it to the Mixed Assembly and there it was Alek`san Effendi T`ôpàlian who said that the Chàrsanjak inhabitants must give a letter of agreement. Aside from this I have defended this case on behalf of the whole nation and never in a weak or failed manner. I ask the speakers to be careful in their allusions. Was it my fault when the Minister of Interior Affairs contrary to his promise sent such a confused telegram?

Smpad Piwrad Effendi: I as the originator of the question feel it necessary to say that I have no intention of showing any disrespect towards His Grace the locum tenens, nor of accusing him. I ask for an explanation of what I saw in a newspaper. If the Assembly finds the explanation given to be sufficient, it can close or not close the matter. I do not think that that would be a lack of respect.

Chairman Effendi: As the matter has been spoken about, both in its favor and against it, I present to you two resolutions, one from Vr`amian Effendi, and the other from Albôyajian Effendi. I submit these two resolutions for your vote.

First Resolution

Considering that the Patriarchate’s Second Chargé d’Affaires has been present officially during the discussion of the patriarchal locum tenens with the Minsiter of Internal Affairs, Considering also that the Natoinal Asembly has not had the opportunity to also hear representative H`{arut`iwn}. Shahrigian’s expalantoins about his accusation in the public press, The Assembly decides to ask that the National Executive, after conducting a detailed investigation about this matter, report about it in the next meeting of the National Assembly.

A[rshag]. Vr`amian

Second Resolution

This Assembly, hearing the explanations of His Grace the locum tenens, considers them sufficient and declares its confidence in His Grace.

Arshag Albôyajian

The Assembly accepted from these two resolutions that of Albôyajian Effendi with a vote of 37 to 7, and the meeting was closed at 6:30.

National General Assembly Secretary Chairman Ônnig Ch`ift’é Sarraf Hrant Asadur

This was the sad conclusion of the land case of the Chàrsanjak Armenians. Turkish {e.g. Hamidian} despotism, and the vatandaş {Turkish for citizen} government of the Ittihad which succeded it, did not listen to the just protest of the Armenians of Chàrsanjak, strangled justice, and permitted that the lands which were the halal {or helâl, Turkish for legitimate, lawful}property of the Armenians be usurped by several plunderer aghas and begs. In 1912 the members of the committee for the land case, Dér Sarkis Kàhanay Zakòyian and Dônabed K`éhyay Sémérjian, returned emptyhanded from Constantinople. Three years later our enemy silenced the voice of protest too, and led all the Armenians of Chàrsanjak to the slaughterhouse.

Section 7 The First World War

On July 28, 1914, in the city of Sarajevo in Serbia, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, prince and heir to the Austrian throne, was killed by a Serbian student named Princip. The Austrian emperor, Franz Joseph, declared war against Serbia on June 28, 1914, and Germany against Russia (on August 1) and France (August 3). On August 4, Germany occupied Luxembourg. On the same day, England in order to preserve Belgium’s neutrality, sent an ultimatum to Germany and then declared war. A Triple Entente was formed between England, France, and Russia. On the other side, the Germans formed the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austrio-Hungary, and Italy, on whose side Turkey also entered the war on August 6, signing a military alliance with Germany. Thus the First World War was born. The United States, Japan, Romania, Greece, and thirteen other states joined the isde of the Entente, while Turkey and Bulgaria strengthened the front of the Triple Alliance.

Military Conscription in Ch`arsanjak

Although rumors about the war circulated, the people had no news from the outside world until one day, town crier Ibrahim standing in the center of the marketplace of Perri next to the Miwséllé Stone declared in a loud voice Turkey’s participation in the First World War: “Seferberlig {seferberlik} var! Asker olan silah altına davet olunuyor, ey.” This call of the war passed from quarter to quarter. The Armenians, who even during times of peace do not see the sun and the day {i.e. did not have a happy life}, were filled at that moment with a shudder of fear, guessing their uncertain but definitely black fate. It was as if they had scattered ashes on the heads of the people of Perri. They, anxious and alert, followed events. The following morning papers were plastere don walls and information pertaining to the age of military conscription was given. From every family with three sons of military age, only two people would be taken. Aside from this, the rich, in order to remain exempt from the obligation of military registration, were obligated to pay a bedel (exemption tax), which was forty-five Ottoman gold coins per person. There was also an arrangement for villagers. Those who were of military age taking an ass or a horse could enroll in the transportation branch (demirbaş). They would serve on the Erzerum line and transport military provisions. Many in Perri paid bedel, while the majority of the villagers registered as demirbaş. The remainder were sent as soldiers to various places in amele taburus {Turkish for labor battalion}, with the obligation of working in the construction of roads. The Armenians of Chàrsanjak were never kept informed about the stages of development of the war. They only knew for certain that Turkey was warring against Russia--Mosgof {or Moskof, meaning Moscovite or Russian}, and if the Turks and Kurds did not plunder and kill the Armenians, in a short time Kèrì {Uncle}, the Christ-worshipping Mosgof, would come and free the Armenian people. Workers were lacking. The villager had difficulty in plowing and sowing. Minors, the elderly, women, and girls were put to excessive work. Production decreased noticeably, as a result of which the aghas and begs began to trouble the poor villager. The government placed extra taxes so that sufficient provisions did not remain to the village families. The villagers tried to win time by taking on debt and helping one another. Perri’s business too halted. The subjugated Kurdish ashirets were registered as soldiers and gendarmes (Shadé, Izôli, Khràn), while Dersim’s independent ashirets neither gave soldiers, nor descended to the cities for trade. In the fall of 1914, the Armenians of Chàrsanjak lived thorugh days of alarm. The Turks began to evidence hostile behavior in a clear manner. Enver Pasha, they said, had occupied Ardahan and Sarıkamış. The Turks were singing “Bize verseler Khars ile Batum {If they give us Kars and Batum}.” The Armenian demirbaş workers who were going back and forth from Erzerum did not bring good news. All of those whose horses or mules stopped on the road were left in a terrible situation. Those who were unable to buy a new mule or were absent were subject to unrelatable tortures. Finally the severe winter of Erzerum and Chàrsanjak arrived. Enver Pasha’s aggressive offensive on the eastern front failed and deserters and fugitives from the destroyed army, all Kurds or Turks, filled the villages. The military force in Perri multiplied in size. The Hamidiye Alayı {Hamidiye Regiment} was formed. This army formed of criminals and bandits began to plunder, attack, and oppress the Armenian population in an unbridled fashion. On the pretext of searching for military deserters, the gendarmerie and the Hamidiye Regiment besieged Armenian houses, beat large and small, and robbed. In the month of March in 1915, gendarmes had seized two Kurdish deserters in Chàlkhadan village and brought them to Perri. They had two holes dug in a field near the potters, and, making those deserters stand in the holes, publicly executed them by shooting. The Armenians were extremely overwhelmed. Many thought of taking refuge in Dersi, but that too was not possible. In order to reach Dersim it was necessary to cross through the subjugated Kurdish ashirets who already were doing what the government had left undone. There was even a stubborn rumor that began to circulate that Dersim was again to attack Perri. The Turks were unimaginably angry against the Armenians. They would insult them, call them khayin gâvur {hain gâvur, Turkish for treacherous unbeliever}. They in broad daylight took away the rights of the merchant and craftsmen on various pretexts: “You have underweighed it...you sell it expensively…you are sheltering military deserters…there are fédayis in the mountains—you are helping them.” Through such fabricated accusations, they kept all the Armenians of Chàrsanjak under the threat of death. The Chàrsanjak inhabitant, who endured centuries of despotism, also lasted through this tribulation, hoping that one day this would pass like the incidents of the past. However he did not know that the tribulations this time would become a pan-natoinal calmanity, or the final reckoning.

The Criminal Decision

After the battle of Sarıkamış and the destruction of the Turkish army, when Enver Pasha reutrned to constantinople, the Ittihad political party held a meeting with the participation of Enver, Talat, Cemal, Dr. Behaddin Şakir, Dr. Nazım, Hüseyin Cahid, Kara Kemal, and Ömer Naci. It is in that secret meeting where, with the agreement of the Germans, the decision was given to deport the Armenians of the six Armenian provinces. This was a satanic decision to kill two birds with one stone—to both annihilate the Armenians and once and for all be freed of the Armenian issue. In April 1915, a new Ittihadist kaymakam came to Perri named Edhem Bey, and immediately after his arrival arrests began. Initally, Perri’s {Armenian} national leaders, Apkar Effendi Buludian (member of the Administrative Council), Krikor Effendi Holopigian (mayor), and Hàrutìwn Effendi Érmoyian (State Treasurer), were summoned to the government building. The kaymakam and major demanded of them the disarmament of the Armenians. A very short deadline was given by which time all each Armenian must rush to bring and surrender his weapons to the government. This was the first order that was communicated. The national bodies and notables rushed to the prelacy and under the chairmanship of the prelate held a meeting to answer the government’s demand. In consideration of the very critical situation, the emotional sessions continued for several days. The decisions taken by those meeting remained unknown. One truth however definitely became clear. This was that the convened national assembly did not come to the conclusion to surrender weapons, since such an instruction was not communicated by the prelacy to the populace, and no Armenian voluntarily surrendered his weapon to the government. One week after the kaymakam’s order remained without effect, gendarmes led to prison sixteen of the the national leaders and well known figures of Perri. The people of Perri remained informed daily of the state of the prisoners. The Ittihad had undertaken the use of unheard of and unprecedented tortures. Every morning the families of the prisoners would receive wet clothing from the gendarmes, and would send dry ones in their place. The arrested Armenians were subject day and night to unlawful torments with the employment of unimaginable savageries. They burned Apkar Buludian’s back with red hot iron, pulled out the nails from Hàrutìwn Érmoyian’s feet, placed the head of one person in pincers, and nailed horsehoes to the feet of another. These hellish tortures surpassed one another in their Turkish-moral and inhuman scope so that the subjects would confess the place where they hid their weapons, their number, and the names of their friends and collaborators. But our revolutionaries remained mute. Not one confession, not one name flew from their mouths. They even suffocated cries of pain in their throats in order not to provide joy to their monsters in human form. The houses of the prisoners were meticulously inspected but nothing was found. The notables and k`éhyas of Chàrsanjak’s villages were in their turn arrested, and led to Perri’s prison. After being beaten for a few days, they were relased so that they go and assemble their villages’ weapons for surrender to the government. One day, as many as fifty gendarmes surrounded the national prelacy, school, and church, and began searching until evening. The condition of those innocent students had to be seen, the fear that they felt had to be imagined, and their crying and wailing heard. It was absolutely forbidden for parents to approach the school. Miss Aghavni Kasbarian had helped some of the little ones of the kindergarten escape by lowering them from a window at the south side of the school. The gendarmes arrested and imprisoned her with the accusation of having hidden guns. They collected and took away all the books and archives that were found in the school and prelacy. At a late hour they borugh the students outside, close dthe school, and sealed its doors, which became the final closure of this Armenian educational hearth.

Mass Arrests

With the arrests of the national leaders on the one hand, and the closure of the school on the other, the populace was placed in a sad state, and feared even to go out on the street or open stores. Fields, gardens, and vineyards were all deserted. Work halted. The uncertainty of the future destroyed the people’s power to resist. The government began using new methods. Several harsh gendarmes brought from outside for the execution of a specially conceived plan began to conduct house-to- house searches. The elders of the house were taken out and beaten mercilessly, and hidden guns were demanded from them. In one day, over one thousand of Perri’s notable individuals and youths were plucked from their homes and led to prison. These innocent Armenians were subjected to terrible tortures on the pretext of getting them to surrender hidden weapons. Numoerous Turks receiving money from imprisoned Armenians each brought a few broken ch`akhmakhli rifles to the government and registered them in an Armenian’s name. The cows, oxen, and sheep of the villagers were forcibly seized and after collecting several useless pieces of iron they were taken to the government in Perri. This method was the modern method of robbery, conceived by the Ittihad’s “genius.”

The First Caravan of Butchery

While large houses designated as prisons became crowded with arrested Armenians, one morning we learned that first of all the imprisoned notables of Perri, sixteen in number, would be put on the road to be taken to Kharpert. The very same night we learned of their tragic fate. The gendarmes taking them upon their return unreservedly declared that they had all been killed at the Muzur Bridge and thrown into the river. These barbarians also related the misadventure of Armenag Melidosian, Perri’s teacher. He had succeeded in throwing himself into the river and swimming a good distance, reaching the middle of the width of the river. However Kör Başçavuş [“Blind Sergeant-Major”] aimed and killed him in the river. Our “heartbroken” Turkish neighbors gave us information about our first martyrs too. They expressed their sorrow with false feeling, saying what can we do, it is the command of the sultan. As a proof of being good neighbors, these wicked creatures proposed that we transfer our valuable and necessary goods to their homes, with the “promise” of giving them back in the future. Below we present the first martyrs of intellectuals of the city of Perri and the ruling class, who were brutally murdered at the edge of the Mntzur (Muzur) Riever, barely two hours distant from the city, with the first caravan.

1) Bedros Effendi Srabian: born in K`ghi, 58 to 60 years old; an educator-teacher with many years of experience. He served for several years in Perri’s school as general director together with his wife. After 1912, he was appointed as the traveling educational inspector for the United Association’s schools (in Perri, Palu, K`ghi, etc.).

2) Verabadveli [Very Reverend Fr.] Asadur Nigoghosian: born in Khulakiwgh (Kharpert province) in 1860. He graduated Euphrates College with high honors. He then pursued theology there. In 1892 he was sent to Perri as a preacher for the city’s Evangelical community (see page 308 {in the original}).

3) Apkar Effendi Buludian: member of the Civil Council (Meclis-i İdare). Erudite and specialist in the Turkish language. He was a Tashnagts`agan leader and a personality blessed with extraordinary talent as a jurist. He was unbeatable with language and pen in the city. He was a permanentmemberof the National Civil Council. His opinion in local, national, and political matters was always sought after equally in Armenian and Turkish circles. He always participated in church, national, and educational affairs, to which he gave direction.

4) Hàrutìwn Effendi Érmoyian: administrative official for civil tax collection (tahsildar memuri). An erudite Turcologist; an influential and venerable personality. An energetic Tashnagtsàgan leader. A respected and beloved figure in national, religious, and educational matters. He was a fierce patriot with organizational skills.

5) Armenag Melidosian: A young Tashnagts`agan teacher; tall, handsome, and impressive (see page 334 in the original).

6) Bedros Puchigian: A large titan, and a rebellions and vengeful Tashnagts`agan. He had no special education. He worked as a muleteer in Trabizond, Samsun, Girason and Aleppo. He was a reliable and fervent patriot. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation secretly transported guns through him. Bedros knew with his cleverness how it was necessary to transport weapons in order to remain free from pursuit and capture. His unwaverying belief was expressed in the slogan: “The Armenians’ salvation comes only through weapons.”

7) Mardiros Ch`ulfayian: A handsome and enthusiastic youth. A faithful Hnch`agean leader, patriotic who closely followed national and educational affairs, n which he always participated. He returned from America to the homeland in 1910, having been in contact with the idea of liberty and enjoying its benefits in free America. For this very reason he was a praiser and preacher of the idea of liberty. The Armenian nation too was to enjoy the benefits of liberty.

8) Sdepàn Gopòyian: Educator-teacher and fervent Tashnagtsàgan. His studious soul led him to self-defense (see page 335 in the original).

9) Hayg Enovkìan: chairman of the Grtàgan Madagarar Marmin {Educational Management Body}. Enthusiastic Tashnagtsàgan, he was a fervent patriot endowed with a handsome and impressive exterior. He returned to America in 1910. He participated with real interest and dedication in national educational work.

10) Hàrutìwn Urfalian: a convinced Hnchàgean leader, respected personality, and participant in national educational affairs. He returned to the homeland from America in1909, and wanted through fervent patriotism to revolutionize the prevalent spirit of sufferance and servitude.

11) Baghdasar Holopigian: a neutral and respected personality, and participant in national educational affairs. His word and voice enjoyed credence and priority in national matters.

12) Soghomon Effendi R`ahanian: A learned pedagogue and educator born in K`ghi’s T`émran village on March 3, 1890 (see page 331 in the original).

13) Baghdasar Bôyajian: Physically large, a respected personality, and well known Tashnagts`agan leader, he was a respected and enterprising merchant in the city. He returned from America in 1909. He was a participant and a leader in national- educational affairs. He had the talent and skill of an organizer. He was an enthusiastic patriot but also a prudent and cautious individual.

14) Krikor Holopigian: Neutral {in Armenian politics}, he was a leading personality in the Protestant community. He was a much respected person equally in Armenian and Turkish circles, sober, serious, and a possessor of intellectual learning, whose declarations were impressive and garnered respect. A learned Turcologist and city administrator (belediye reisi, {mayor in Turkish}), he had graduated Euphrates College. Together with his oldest son Aràk’el he attempted to introduce sericulture in the city, but as a result of the hostility of the Turks and some other reasons, he abandoned this effort and sent his son Aràkèl to America to keep him distant from enemies and free.

15) Dikran Ch`akmakjian: a vengeful and fiery Tashnagts`agan, young, enthusiastic, and active, he returned from America to the homeland in 1909. Full of freedom loving ideas, he supported progressive concepts and had an unusual ability to create movement. He participated in national and educational affairs and was a trustee of the school.

16) Mardiros Takésian: a Tashnagts`agan leader, he was a sober an drepsected merchant. He was a member of the Civil Council and participated in all educational, church, and national matters, with opinions that carried weight and were valuable. He was an enterprising organizer, and warm patriot.

Section 8 The 1915 Slaughter and Deportation

The Armenian-Devouring Slaughter

The slaughter had begun. Every day we would hear disturbing news of martyrdom. Hàrutìwn Érmoyian’s wife and three girls had taken refuge in a Kurd’s home in Garsan illage. The gendarmes, finding their hidingplace, slaughtered the four of them at the banks of the Perri River, and threw their corpses in the river. Khosrov Urfalian and Haygaz Nalpantian (both of them fifteen to sixteen year old students) at Khorshuk` Spring, and Mesrob Erevanian at the banks of the Perri River, were killed with unheard of tortures. Heartrending news also arrived of the compatriots held in large prisons. At night, those in nearby houses heard the heartrending cries of our loved ones being subjected to beatings and torture. One day, my father came home in the company of a local gendarme. He was completely changed. He did not even want to speak. He looked at our faces for a long time with moist eyes. My mother cried bitterly. We all were upset. The premonitions of an ill-boding storm gradually became stronger in our nnocent souls. After a short period of “rest,” my father left for prison with the same gendarme without a farewell, or a last fatherly kiss. He was a living corpse with a colorless face. Every home would bring food to the prison for its imprisoned members. One day, the food was also brought back. The gendarmes said that the prisoners were not here. Oh, what a gloomy and dark day! It was as if Perri had turned into a cemetery, though without the dead… Cries and lamentation reached the heavens from each roof as protest and curses against monstrous injustice. Within two or three days all the prisons were emptied. Every night, two to three hundred people, tied firmly to each other, like medieval slaves, were taken to the fortress of Tìl and brutally slaughtered and dismembered with knives or hatchets. They called that criminal monster Kör Başçavuş who each time after annihilating a caravan would return “victorious” and with unimaginable effrontery and perfect serenity of conscience would publicly relate the writhings of his victims and their death agonies, which cause shudders [Footnote: In 1920, when we had returned to Perri from the deportations, that same night the kholams of Géôk` T`ép`é’s Ahmed Beg entered Başçavuş’s home and killed that Armenian-devouring executioner in his bed.] This human monster proudly would describe the Golgotha of young Hrant (son of Hàrutìwn Érmoyian), especially that dreadful moment when his sword had pierced hapless Hrant’s heart. He was not ever ashamed or frightened of teling Armenian youths “It was I who killed your father.” With a smile he derided and mimicked the unfortunate victims’ painful minutes. During the span of one week, all the men of Perri were massacred and killed, as well as all the {male} youth over fifteen years of age. Women, girls, and adolescents remained leaderless in their calamity. Pretty girls were taken and raped on the pretext of being defended and freed. Again plunder an dpilalging began. Rich families willingly gave their money to the gendarmes, with the hope of remaining free from their torments. All the Armenian populated villages of Chàrsanjak turned into vast slaughterhouses. Armenian laborers and farmers were killed in their village, field, garden, or vineyard. The begs and aghas remained silent spectators to this huge slaughter in which the Armenian marabas who worked for them became innocent victims. The Armenian villagers’ animals, oxen, cows, buffaloes, horses, and sheep, filled the stables of the aghas and begs. A certain portion of this booty was distributed to the Kurdish kholams as reward for their passive attitude. The first forcible deportation began from the villages. The women and children of surrounding villages were assembled in Perri, and were divided among and placed in the houses of Perri. The deportation of Hoshé presented a unique and heartrending scene. Thousands of cattle, like orphaned masterless creatures, were dispersed in Hoshé’s plain and river banks. Their bellowing like orphans harmoniously conincided with their owners’ crying and wailing. Several mangy gendarmes worked and struggled to make both the booty and Hoshé’s women and children corss the river. Even the mindless beasts did not wish to be separated from their plain. Often they would flee and try to return to their irthplace, towards the village. Only the female buffaloes (cows), like mourning broken-hearted members in a funeral procession, silently followed the footsteps of their mistresses. The female buffalo recognized from that large crowd Eghso, who took care of her, and as a proof of her faithfulness, did not wish to separate from her at that moment when woman and child were crossing Perri’s ford. The long and languishing bellows of the masterless animals could be heard for days on end, both day and night. Even house cats and dogs seemed to lament this awful and hellish downfall. It was possible to see from Perri’s location clearly below the terrible drama that extended along the river bank in all its tragic details. That day, several adolescents descended to the river bank to watch with innocent interest the tragedy of their compatriots.

The First Adolescent Victim

This is what our compatriot Bôghos Démirjian relates as eyewitness testimony.

It was immediately before the bloody calamity. Together with my school friend Mesrob Erevanian, standing on the bank of the river which flowed in front of Perri we watched with anger Hoshé village, spread on the other bank of the river, whence the peasant women and children, like wounded does, for the final time left their ancestral hearths, arrested by Turkish and Kurdish gendarmes and surrounded by başıbozuks [Turkish for irregular soldiers]. The abandoned human flock was accompanied by the spoils of thousands of domesticated animals which were going to be surrendered to Perri’s government. The closer the multitude approached us, the more heartrending became the scene. An infinite sadness encompassed our adolescent existences each time that we heard the animals’ diverse, extraordinary, and doleful sounds. Joined together like rational beings, it was as if they were performing an expression of protest against being carried off by force from their legitimate places, while we, struck by the awfulness of the unfolding drama, watched with wet eyes. A bullet shot from behind us by a debauched Turkish zaptiye {gendarme in Turkish} unexpectedly knocked down ten-year-old beloved Mesrob Erevanian. The body of the hapless adolescent tumbled down into the eddy of the river. Frightened and horrified, and upsest by the specter of death, I began to run aghast and bewildered with the sole thought of reaching home as soon as possible. The misfortunate Mesrob became our region’s first adolescent victim. His martyrdom was considered the portent of widespread mourning not only for Perri but for all of the Armenians of Ch`arsanjak.

This sad incident was a sharper blow to all mothers, who thought that after this, the Turks would spare at least the boys and minors. The disillusionment was great. Bheold a ten year old innocent adolescent was mercilessly and wickedly killed by a bloodthirsty Turk. Was this incident not a warning? Were not large and small, boy and girl, all, all, all Armenians going to be annihilated tomorrow in equally and perhaps more chilling conditions? Armenian mothers, with ashes scattered on their heads, began to assemble around them their close ones who, like does seeing hyenas, gathered round under the protection of their motherly skirts as the most reliable, safest refuge, squeezed against one another and taking courage from one another. Those defenseless children cowered in dark corners of the house. They were afraid even to cry out lout because the Hannibal of the twentieth century, the Turk, was barbarously pursuing his unarmed victim in the dark.

Turkification

The horror and terror increased daily with unparalleled speed to great degrees. An inexplicable fear engulfed the beings of the Armenians of Ch`arsanjak. An ill- omened premonition sketched with black colors the vision of the worst calamity. Then suddenly the voice of the town crier announcing sinister news was heard, its waves reeking of death spreading from one end of the city to the other: “All children over five years old, boy or girl, must absolutely surrender to the government.” The next day, the hall and courtyard of the [Protestant CHECK] chapel filled with children. In the first few days, the government distributed bread and food was given to them. A group of Armenian women undertook the responsibility of service, cleaning, and care. For two weeks straight, the government of Perri provided flour from the Armenians’ inexhaustible storehouses. The Armeniann mothers baked bread; every day cows and sheep were slaughtered. They made a favor of Armenian property to the Armenian orphans. After turning them into orphans for fifteen days nonstop, considering them now abandoned creatures, they began the monstrous job of Turkifying the Armenian little ones. One morning, a turbaned molla and several government people came to the chapel, bringing with them notebooks and ink. All of them sat around a huge table in order to undertake the ceremony of religious conversion. A savage, devilish smile shown on the faces of the molla and his companions.

“Gel bakalım, oğlum. Senin adının ne dır? [Come let’s see, son. What is your name?]”

The adolescent did not answer. “Yaz, molla effendi, İbrahim oğlu Abdullah. [Write, Molla Effendi, Ibrahim son of Abdullah.]”

He asked another one, “Senin adın ne dir [What is your name?]”

“Benim adım Haygaz dır [My name is Haygaz.]”

“Ne, it oğlu it? [What, dog son of a dog?],” angrily exclaimed the molla.

“Haygaz, maygaz kalmadı. Senin adın Dursun dur. [Haygaz, maygaz, does not remain. Your name is Dursun.] ”

“Gel oğlum, sana güzel bir isim koyacağım. Bundan sonra senin adım Khıdır [Hıdır or Hızır] dır. [Come son. I’m going to give you a beautiful name. Henceforth, your name is Khıdır [Hıdır or Hızır].]”

In this way, the names of over three hundred Armenian children imprinted with the seal of Holy Miwròn {chrism—applied in this case after baptism}were changed, being exchanged for Süleyman, İbrahim, Hasan, Sabri, and other Turkish names. Frequently contradictory apeparances appear in human life. Often, death and life begin to joke with one another. It was one drama in the tragedy of national life that was enacted that evening when, after the departure of the molla and the other Turks, several twelve-to-fourteen-year-old adolescents from the orphans, taking pen and paper, ascended the stage to play a great farce after the saddest drama of tragedy. They began to examine the Turkified orphans and read out loud, “Dursun Azadian, Süleyman Krikorian, Hasan Khachàdurian, Khıdır Gopòyian…” And the giggles mixed with sorrow were strangled in the throats inflamed from bitterness of that multitude of children. This uncertain situation lasted several days. The colorful shirts of religious conversion that we were made to wear were ripped to shreds by invisible spirits and disappeared. We again remained with the names of our faith, to be called gâvur oğli gâvur.

Deportatıon

The Ittihad, with the agreement of its accomplices, was now going to execute the final part of its program for the annihilation of the Armenian people. It was as if the axing of the spinal column of the Armenians of Chàrsanjak, the leading of all men to the slaughterhouse, the forcible seizure of Armenian property and wealth, the kidnapping of beautiful Armenian females with the intention of adorning their harems, the moral corruption of attempting to Turkify Armenian children, and finally the lament and wialing of Armenian mothers underneath the roofs of delapidated houses were not sufficient. The Ittihadist bestial and barbaric expedients of “civliization” were not enough—it was necessary to complete and perfect the final part of the Armenian- devouring plan to annihilate the remainder of the already smashed Armenians of Chàrsanjak by the scorching wind of banishment and deportation. The Golgotha of the deportation began. The inexhaustible ranks of caravans were put on the road, unsheltered and unprotected, towards uncertain horizons in unknown directions. The caravans of exiles only ended when not the slightest Armenian breath was left in Chàrsanjak. All of those who had close relatives in America were sent out in the first caravan. The government, in order to hide its secret goal, justified the deportation by declaring that “we will send them to America, to their relatives.” Thus they were removed from Chàrsanjak, one part of them via Palu, and the other in the direction of Kharpert. Only very few “fortunate” ones from these poor people were able to reach Der Zor. I present what I saw, what I lived through, my Golgotha, which was also the Golgotha of the entire Armenian people, via long or short journeys, as a sample paradigm of martyrdom concerning the departure and annihilation of the last caravan of Perri. At the end of July 1915, the remnants assembled at Perri’s threshing-floors— roughly 300-350 people, largely women and children, a few craftsmen, some sick people, and the weak; in other words, an amry of those considered useless. The Kurds from surrounding villages came and were crowded around us. Each one had brought an ass to facilitate the transportation of our caravan. They chained us and distributed to each a portion (tayin) of bread. Kaymakam Edhem Bey, Captain Mecid Bey, Kör Başçavuş, state officials and a large number of Turkish neighbors came to send us off. After the gendarmes gave the necessary commands, the kaymakam ordered that the caravan start moving. Before the departure, a spiritual movement took place. The place was full of dirges and sounds of lamentation. It was the final farewell of the final separation, given to our myriads of loved ones eternally asleep in our birthplace and in its bosom. We knew that our end was very near, perhaps at the Muzur bridge, but we did not know what sort of death was reserved for us. It was our last day, and so, our last eruption. I was the big adolescent of the caravan, fifteen years old and with a sensitive temperament. Before casting my steps towards the abyss of death, I turned back and with my two hands displayed wanted to embrace, kiss, and love for the last time all memories of my childhood. Our house before my eyes resembled an empty cage. I wanted to run and reach our house, cling to its door sand widows, so that nobody could separate us from each other. Final words of farewell exploded from my agitated heart, my bloodied soul of an Armenian adolescent, my wounded chest of a young man aware of what was to happen, like lava spouting from the mouth of a volcano. I do not know what sort of invocations I made that the crowd, burnt from the bonfire of the flames of feelings, with one voice collectively in waves of groans echoed my soul shaking cries. This united sound of protest ascended upwards “from which God perhaps trembled in the heavens.” At that moment, a gendarme approached me, pulled me by my arm out of the caravan, and took me next to the government officials. I was already reconciled with the fate reserved for me. I approached them like a man condemned to death, ready t ohear my death sentence. I observed the faces of the executioners for a moment. Nüfus Memuru [Population Registrar] Mstàfa {Mustafa} Effendi was the one who had called me. Two years ago he had come from Ch`mshgadzak and settled in Perri. He was an honest and good man, and at the same time, my father’s best customer. In 1914, after I graduated school, my father (a butcher) took me into his business and taught me the art of butchering goats, sheep, and buffaloes. After he returned from America, my father’s brother’s son Apraham had brought me all kinds of butcher’s knives and a special leather belt. I quickly learnt the craft and mastered all its secrets, turning into Perri’s famous “Küçük Khasab [Little Butcher].” Mstàfa Effendi was a neighbor of ours. They would take the meat they bought personally to their homes and hand it to the khanêm [hanım, Turkish for lady, mistress of the household]. It was this man who calling me said, “Küçük Khasab, buraya gel {Küçük Khasab, come here}. I approached him. His eyes were wet. Yes, he was crying from emotion. In the eyes of the Turk I noticed the unfeigned tears of compassion. Mstàfa Effendi taking my hand brought me to the kaymakam. They spoke with each other and giving a piece of paper to the çavuş {sergeant} leading our caravan, they ordered that he take me to Ch`mshgadzak and hand me over to Haji Yasin (Mstàfa Effenid’s uncle). Mstàfa Effendi encouraged me; he said that I should never fear and gave me the address of his home. A little later the caravan began to move and took the Khràj road. They sat the elderly and children on asses. Some twenty gendarmes and fifty Kurdish ass-drivers accompanied the caravan. A moment later Perri disappeared from our view and we passed through vineyards in fear and trembling. One hour later we reached Zéri village and began to go higher. It was noon already when we descended from the summit of the mountain. At a great distance from amidst the mist the bridge appeared, with the appearance of a black gallows. It was there that Perri’s leading Armenians were slaughtered. A mysterious whispering made its way from one end of the caravan to the other. The closer we approached the bridge and river, the greater our silence was engulfed by an inexplicable fear. Suddenly, a Turkish youth of Perri who was accompanying us came towards me waving his pistol in the air and yelled, “Get ready, Érvan Ôghli, it is your turn.” He aimed the barrel of the gun at me. My mother let out a terrible scream. Confusion and extraordinary alarm spread through the caravan. The sergeant immediately came to us in order to calm the enraged beast. A fierce argument took place between the gendarme with rank and the Turk. The sergeant insisted, “The order of the kaymakam bey exists, that we bring this boy alive to Ch`mshgadzak.” The other obstinately held to his decision to kill me, and was not ashamed to declare that he had accompanied the caravan in order to carry out that aim. The argument became intense and the sergeant threatened to use brute force to prevent the crime that was to be carried out. The other gendmares assembled and forced that crursed one to resign from his intention and return to Perri. This was my first salvation. We arrived at the river bank. The caravan rested a little under the mulberry trees. This noontime weariness was particularly difficult for the pregnant women, who in that condition were also forced to carry their three to four year old little ones. We crossed over the wooden swaying bridge. Two brides surrendered the children they were carry to the river’s eddies in order to save them from their unbearable existence. One hour later we were in the forests of Vasgerd. There was no road. We now were following foot paths. There were impassable places which could not be crossed by two people together. We were walking along a stony, steep, and mountainous footpath like an army of ants. Brides, girls, or young women did not dare sit on animals. First, they feared attracting the attention of the immoral monsters, and then, the saddles {hamed} of asses in our area resembled cradles of death. Whoever sat on them had to have the agility of an acrobat in order to keep his balance. How many tumbled off along the way, and how many broke their arms and heads! For inexperienced and burdened women this ascent was as hard as a death agony. We were carrying my one and one half year old brother. We could not allow him to ride an animal alone due to his young age, so that we were forced in turns to carry him. We were ascending a hill covered with hazel trees near Vasgerd. The road was rocky. Carrying my brother, I was walking with great difficulty and dripping in sweat. My mother was in spiritual agony and greatly despairing. It clearly appeared from her expression that she pitied my situation. I encouraged her. Pulling my brother higher and holding him tightly we continued on our way. We reached Pashaghag late at night and crowded onto the threshing-floors. I was in deep sleep when my mother woke me. The gendarmes were in the midst of the caravan and were seeking people. Sixty people were separated from the caravan. They were the craftsmen who had remained in Perri, as well as the elderly and women who could not walk. The gendarmes took them. Half an hour later sounds of gunfire were heard. In the morning when the caravan set out, we learned that all of them had been mercilessly killed in a nearby valley. The stopping place for the second day of deportation was going to be Pertag. The air was suffocating. Walking on foot was nearly impossible. Those who fell back received powerful blows from the gendarmes. Those who lost their loved ones the previous night were crying and walked with great difficulty, considering death preferable. We reached the valley near Pertag. The gendarmes gave the order to halt. For a time we thought that our last moment had arrived. Guessing our fears, the gendarmes approached us and said, “Do not be afraid. We will not kill you, but let whoever has money surrender it.” We had fifty Ottoman gold coins which we had divided up and sewn into various places in our clothing. Twenty gold coins were with me. A gendarme who was one of my father’s acquaintances approached and said to me, “They are going to search you. If you have any money with you, give it to me. I will return it as soon as we reach Pertag.” I believed in his sincerity and gave all my wealth to him. What could I do even if I did not believe his words? The plundering had already begun. We were subjected to a meticulous search. They found all of what some had and took it. From others they were only able to find part. It was already dark when we reached Pertag. They put us in a huge khan {Turkish han, for inn}and placed special guards in front of the door. The next morning the gendarmes who had come from Perri returned and entrusted their jobs to their local colleagues of Pertag. The sergeant from Perri took me to the police station and introduced me to the sergeant of Pertag and at the same time gave to him the written orders of the kaymakam instructing that I be brought alive and well to Ch`mshagadzak. The Kurdish gendarme who had taken the money from me returned before his departure twenty Ottoman gold coins. I remained truly astounded, and as a reward for his keeping his word, gave him five gold coins as a present, with expressions of thanks. We remained two days in Pertag. We passed unbearable hours, hungry and thirsty, in that stable which was lacking a window and dirty. The pitiful mark of a refugee was stamped on all our faces. We turned into exhausted, sweaty, physically dirty and spiritually despairing beings with pitiable faces. Our caravan was a collection of orphans, widows, and defenseless children. There were some one hundred women, and two hundred children and adolescents of ten to twelve years old. On the last day, the Turks of Pertag filled the khan and began to select boys and girls, either to free them or to adopt them. Each one holding the hand of the little one he had chosen took him home. Pretending to be sick, I was lying down in rags. Suddenly my mother began to cry. They were taking my younger brother Khosrov. We asked the name of the one taking him. It is Haji Beg they said. A little later my five-year-old sister was subjected to the same fate. “Eh, let them take them…at least they will be freed from this torment and certain death,” we said in order console each other, my mother and I. In this fashion they took fifty children of both sexes to the homes of the Turks of Pertag. Towards evening the gendarmes took out the rmaining 150 children and assembled them in the square. Children of the Armenians, without master or defender… I heard their childish innocent crying. They did not want to be separated from the caravan. They had no mother, but there were women resembling their mothers there, just as affectionate and just as selfless, especially in those moments. Several children attempted to turn back and join the caravan, with an instinctive impulse. I witnessed the writhing of a little one who was knocked lifeless to the ground by the blows of a gendarme’s rifle butt. Oh, I saw the despairing look in their bjlig {tiny} eyes. I heard their soulwrenching wailing, and their heartrending sobs. They took those innocent lambs, roughly dragging and pushing htem. The next day we heard their tragedy. The Armenian children had been condemned to be thrown off of a cliff near Pertag one by one into the current of the Aradzani and drown [Footnote: Among those children thrown to the waves of the Aradzani was Siranush Dôlashian, five years old. The river’s current cast this doll to the shore, and she was saved from certain death. Wandering gypsies while passing through that area saw her and took her with them. A few moths later, those poshas {gypsies} went to Ch`mshgadzak, where Almasd Halajian, one of the survivors from our caravan, encountered them in the gardens, and immediately recognized her niece Siranush. Giving the belt on her waist to the gypsies, she took Siranush from them. Siranush grew up, and married Asadur Antàràmian of Perri (in America). Today this Armenian girl who had been saved by a miracle from the eddies of the river is a mother of children in Soviet Armenia.] That night the stable of Pertag became the final station of hell. Armenian mothers balled up in dark corners were writhing with their awful pain. There was no fire, no light, and no hope. Not one single Armenian child remained any longer with the caravan. The next morning they took us on the road from Pertag in order to take us to Ch`mshgadzak. We were accompanied by five or six gendarmes from the guard station at Pertag. Approximately sixty to seventy people had remained of us, all women with the exception of my existence, which was the equivalent of a miracle. Our caravan henceforth was a group of phantoms, speechless and noiseless, each plunged in his sorrows, interred in the wait for his imminent death. We were the final remnants of a large caravan annihilated within the span of one week. We left behind us our loved ones. Pehraps we too were living our last day. But there was no time to sit, lament our sorrow, and recall our brothers and sisters. It was necessary that we walk, go further forward, in order to approach our crucifixion. The road from Pertag to Ch`mshgadzak, a journey of two hours, turned into a veritable Golgotha. We possessed no means of transportation—neither cart nor mule. We had to walk on foot and that on condition that we did not fall behind the mounted gendarmes. Sultàn Kìrajian of Khêzêl-Kìlisé, her daughter-in-law Mariam, and the latter’s five-year-old son were in this caravan. On the road there was some whispering among the gendarmes about these two women. They expressed a sort of anger, when they walked by them. Sultàn had succeeded in buying an ass in Pertag for a tidy sum. She sat on the beast, with her grandson on her lap. Mariam walked alongside them. We had already traversed the road for three hours when we reached a mountainous, rocky place. Sultàn and Mariam were in the last part of the caravan, and I too was near them. Two gendarmes were walking in front of me. Suddenly they stopped and allowed me to pass. I had barely walked two steps when I heard the firing of two rifles behind me. Naturally I was not the one killed, since I was able to turn around and see Sutlàn’s body, which had fallen off the ass to the ground. The bride Mariam with a frantic and soul-shattering cry ran and threw herself on her mother and son. I cannot describe this heartwrenching sight and Mariam’s crazed state. But I saw that the gendarmes rushed to them and wanted to separate Mariam from her family. A new battle was created, the battle to separate or not to separate. Mariam had tightly clasped to her bosom her beloved son, and with two hands firmly enclosed Sultàn, who was wallowing in effusions of blood. The force of all the human animals was not sufficient to even move these two lovely beings, united in an oath of death, a hair’s breadth from one another. Only a final means of violence remained. The thunder of two bullets more was heard, the first for Mariam, and the second, for the little child. The curtain fell on the drama of the last remnants of a great patriarchal family of Khêzêl-Kìlisé on the side of a rocky mountain. The caravan contracted in on itself. Like a flock of frightened sheep, it began to press in on itself in defense against attacking wolves. The gendarmes approached us with stern faces and bloodthirsty eyes, and ordered that we separate and walk. The group did not want to separate. “Let us live together, and die together.” There was apparently a consolation even in dying together. And for amoment, all of us squeezed together remained until the sergeant’s patience ran out and grabing my arm he pulled me to one side. He sternly ordered that my relatives follow my example and separate from the others. Who could understand that of the groups divided into two which one was condemned to live and which to die? Those with me (I who still was the sole living Armenian boy) or those on the other side, poor defenseless women? The entire group made this decision. The extirpated, oppressed, and massacred Armenian flotsam simultaneously surrounded me, pulled in more tightly, and gave the same answer to the sergeant: “I am his father’s sister. I am his mother’s sister. I amhis sister…” Oh, at that moment all were my relatives, my sisters, and who genuine, how unfeigned was this confession. They wanted to die for me, to die with me. If I was a chip {e.g. of wood} of salvation in the ocean, they would embrace me as the last raft of hope. The sergeant and gendarmes withdrew and consulted among themselves for a few minutes. Then the sergeant declared, “Do not be afraid. Henceforth we will not kill you, but will take you to Ch`mshgadzak.” Was there any way other than even unwilling belief? That evening, we were filled into a stable in an inglorious village. Judging from appearances, the hope of reaching Ch`mshgadzak well and alive grew stronger, because the sergeant was a Kurd and we believed his promise. For this purpose, we collected some money hidden in rags and gave it to him. He again swore that there would no longer be any murders. Meanwhile the gendarmes behaved well. Sometimes they would stop so that the women falling behind would reach the group. In a few places they allowed us to rest. But the road was long and we had to arrive. Several elderly women were incapable of taking even one more step. The gendarmes ended their torment with a bullet to each. Forty one years have passed after those days, but I still picture before my eyes the image of the death of one of them. She was a young, plump, red faced, rosy cheeked bride. Her house was next to the Anbar Spring. She had come from the villages and settled in Perri. That bride had cradled a one-year-old little boy and was walking with us. She began to show signs of weakness the last day. She fell behind several times. We asked the sergeant to have pity on her. Not much remained before reaching Ch`mshgadzak, when we saw that blood was flowing from her feet and she could no longer walk. The gendarmes wanted to take the little one from her arms and kill him. She did not allow it. She already was not speaking either. She stood like a statue, without fear and unwavering, with her loved one pressed to her chest. The gendarme went back a few steps and aimed the barrel of his rifle towards the bride. The gun fired. The young Armenian woman collapsed on herself like a wall with the child, lifeless and without a murmer. This poor woman with her child was the final victim on our bloody path. We reached Ch`mshgadzak in the evening. Th sergeant took me, my mother, and my little brother to the address which had been given to him. He knocked on a door. An old woman opened it. It was Mstàfa Effendi’s mother. The gendarme gave the paper in his hand to her and wanted to leave, but the woman stopped him and objected about my mother and younger brother, because on the paper only my name was written. We asked her to only accept us in that night. Finally she agreed. She took us in and showed us our place, the t’onir room. They gave us bread and water, especially water for washing and cleaning. The light of the dawn under the roof of our savior brought us beneficence and work. My hardy and cleanliness loving mother began the daily work of the house with one thousand blessings. And I, with two vases, began carrying water. They had a horse and cow. And we were not useless creatures. They saw our work and were presuaded of the usefulness that we could present. In exchange they graced us with the beneficence of staying there and saving our lives. Here the Golgotha of the collective deportation of Chàrsanjak ends, and for the survivors begins the difficulties of an exile’s life. Its story is already that of a different, distinct life.

Story of a Witness

Compatriot Mardiros Mardirosian (of Khushi village) presents the following recollection about the 149 martyrs of the fortress of T`il.

It was the beginning of the June of an unfortunate year. The two sides of the road of our village were covered with golden marguerites and dignugs [CHECK could this be digin medasan zhamuts`--eleven o’clock lady (common star of Bethlehem)? flowers]. The dwarf mallow with its wide arms had spread everywhere on the road to Jrìg Spring over the threshing- floors. The arrested Armenian elite of Chàrsanjak’s villages, imprisoned in Perri’s prisons, was going to pass through this place. In the morning around three o’clock, a woman wrapped in a black çarşaf [Turkish for sheet, woman’s outer garment] stretching on top of her toes along the half- wall, approached our bedroom, where our beds were spread touching one another. This open air place was Jémal Beg’s mansion in our village, where we had been taken as captives because of our young age in order to work and become Turkified. The woman in the çarşaf softly whispered “Careful boys, the caravan is passing by.” This black news spread with the speed of lightning among us. Many took refuge in the lower stable, hiding among the animals, where there were thousands of cattle seized from the Armenians. Those of a younger age ran to the haremlik {Turkish for women’s section of the house} whence the scene could be better observed. The caravan of death passed by. Thirty-seven rows of four people each. The prisoners’ arms were tied with rope and tightened on their backs. They walked without complaining, sorrowful, troubled, appearing numb and distracted. They at that moment, forgetting their existence, were thinking of their old and young loved ones and were tormented by this. “Where did they remain? Under what stone, in which corner were they dismembered? Which predator devoured their body and heart?” But they still have the strength to walk, in order and with coordinated steps—the Armenian prisoners of Chàrsanjak, 149 in number. Alongside them twenty armed zaptiyes {Turkish for gendarmes} walked—twenty monsters, twenty executioners of Armenians. A kàhanay walked in front of the caravan. The prayer on his lips was transformed occasionally into a protest, and occasionally a curse, and was noticed in the evening darkness. Jémal Beg’s sons who were my age took me with them to follow those people for whom I probably would be the sole mourning escort. Near the Jaràyians’ threshing-floor, the priest slipped and fell. A gendarme approached and howled, “On your feet, papaz {priest, in Turkish}, on your feet!” This howl together with the cool morning breeze reached as far as the village. The caravan took the road of the plain towards the fortress of Tìl. Under the blows of a cane, their feet swollen, broken spirited, emaciated physically and exhausted, our loved ones dragged their bodies toward certain death. The dawn broke and the rays of the sun colored the peaks of towering mountains. Below on the ills a variegated mob swarmed. Kurds from surrounding villages, like dogs on a scent, had crowded there early to receive their share of the spoils from the slaughterhouse, in order to cover their nakedness with the clothing of the ragged and bloodied Armenians. The caravan had reached the place of crucifixion. Beneath the fortress of Tìl there was a cavity like a bay, several thousand square meters wide and three meters deep. The spring floods had destroyed this area of the fields between the fortress and Khushi, which was going to become the open air cemetery of our unburied martyrs. They arranged them in that pit in some ten groups. Not one movement, not one flinching, not one sound. Everyone’s posture was straight, head held high, like stone statues. The order of the gendarmerie chief was to kill 149 people with 100 cartridges. Twenty zaptiyes were given five cartridges each. The zaptiyes were divided into four groups in order to harvest with furious monstrosity the life of the Armenian people. The priest, with ears of wheat in his hand, was crumbling the grains and singing, “Come and eat,” giving last communion to his flock, the communion of death to the faithful lambs of Christ. The voice of the gendarmerie chief was heard. You would think it was the howl of an animal. “Ôlan, papaz {Hey, you priest}, you only have five minutes. Whatever you are going to do, do it quickly!” Later I learned that upon the request of the reverend father, this monster had the magnanimity to grant ten minutes time in order to carry out the final religious obligation. The priest rushed. He went from line to line and distributed the crushed grains in his hand to all. The ceremony of communion concluded, and the priest came and stood in front of the first row. He stretched his arms to the heavens and turned entirely into prayer and soul. The signal was immediately given and the thunder of the volley filled the space. I saw the fall of the priest with the cross in his hand. He fell on top of the corpses of his children. Row by row, like harvested ears, they all lay out on the ground. Death rattles, heartrending screeches, screams, and cries rose in the air to reach heaven. The bayonets of the zaptiyes went to work, ripping up the hearts of those who remained alive in order to silence them for all time. But how did I witness this awful slaughter? Why did I come? How did I last and why did my heart not burst when hell’s lightning fell upon them? I was a child of an Armenian, and I was witnessing the martyrdom of Armenians. The Kurdish mob descended like vultures to plunder the dead. I do not remember how I fled and entered the wheat fields. The ears of wheat watered by the sweat of Armenian farmers covered my head and my eyes so that I would not disturb, would not upset, the final peace of the Armenian martyrs.

Part Eight Ch`arsanjak’s [Armenian] National Life

Section 1 The Type of the Ch`arsanjak Inhabitant

The people of Ch`arsanjak have a distinct and particular anatomy: average height, dark skinned (the color of wheat), round craniums, black eyes, and black eyebrows. The various parts of the body are proportionate with one another. They have a small mouth, Armenian aquiline nose, hirsute, round face, short neck, a resounding and powerful voice, a mysterious look, and generally a very reserved expression. Blondish-red hair and blue eyes are rare and are considered foreign. In the Armenian villages of the mountainous area people are found who are manifestly huge with strong physiques. They often are reminiscent of our historical Dork`-Ankegh [ADD FOOTNOTE?]. The female sex also nearly represents the Armenian type: full and erect breasts, thin waist, black eyes, black eyebrows, and abundant and thick hair which descends to the waist in three or four plaits. They were extremely fearful, careful, bashful, and firm maintainers of moral values.

1.1 Character

The Chàrsanjak native has an extremely zealous understanding of the implementation and preservation of his moral values. He is hospitable and generous. He is loyal and patriotic. He is hardy in work. The deceiving and plotting Kurd has turned him suspicious. He is brave in battle, stubbon in defense of his point of view, easily excitable, critical, and often xenophobic and incommunicative. He is unique in withstanding pain. It is not possible to say anything decisive about the mental standards of the Chàrsanjak people. There is some natural brightness and cleverness. Ignorance had wrought great ruin in this sphere because the majority of the population was uneducated and those who knew how to read and write could be counted on one’s fingers. The bright side was that recently education had begun to blossom. However this period did not last long because the April calamity arrived. In spiritual life, the Chàrsanjak Armenian was an immortal being. In each one’s soul lived Hayg, Sahag and Mesrob, Vartan, and David of Sasun—in short, the glorious epic of our past.

1.2 Costume

The costume of the Chàrsanjak people was very simple and uniform: a thick linen shirt and undershirt, shaped and cut very wide; a shalvar {baggy trousers} and a vest or waistcoat made of hair, a shapêk` [CHECK] with a half-sleeve, and a woolen {shal}belt around the waist; on their heads, a felt hat around which chintz was wrapped; on their feet, woolen puj (short socks), then a drékh or yemeni. Boys or girls until ten to twelve years old wore a long one-piece zbun (robe or gown), and over it a large pocket made of chìtàray or blue linen. Mature girls wore printed calico cloth which reached down to their feet, with wide borders and folds. They would tie a wide apron in front of them. They would tie yazma {printed or painted cloth} on their heads. They would hang p`énézs (fake gold coins) from the ends of their plaited tresses. Housewives and old women would wear wide blue drawers (jot`étùmban). They would tie a belt around their waists. They would cover their head in two ways: one was from the forehead towards the back of the head; the other, above it, from under the jaw towards the top of the head. Thus only their eyes would appear. Woe to that bride whose chin and mouth was seen—this was the greatest shame. Housewives, aside from their large aprons, would also pass a bracelet or armlet (kholchàgh {kolçak in Turkish}) around their arms. This was the distinguishing costume of the housewife. The costume of the people of Perri differed from this ordinary village costume. The former would wear ishlig [in Turkish işlik or içlik], a shirt made of lined silk cloth with blue or white buttons, on top of their undershirt. The form and material (chùkhay) of the shalvar would have more of a city style and would be of higher quality. They would tie a woolen belt (ts`p`sié), made in various types with beautiful colors and delicate work, around their waists. In place of the shapêk`, they would wear a vest or jacket made of wool and silk. They wore a fez {fes in Turkish} on their heads, while the fez used by the youth was called “dal fés.” Some also wrapped on their heads pùshi {ın Turkish puşu, light turban or kerchief worn around the head; see also several paragraphs below, implying silk} or chìt`. In place of the villagers’ drékh they wore the p`érna yemeni¸ which was famous in the areas of Chàrsanjak and Dersim. The rich would wear shiny European shoes, which they called pòtìn {earlier in this book it is called bôtìn} and was made locally, while the wives of rich men had galoshes. Socks were delicately woven and embroidered. They generally were the handiwork of the girls and brides of Perri. Change in costume and beautification took place after 1908 in Perri, when some compatriots returned from America. Their modern dress and accessories created the taste of dressing in the wealthy class. They gradually began to wear pants, use collars, and put on ties. {Armenian} national functionaries, state officials, and teachers differed in their clothing from ordinary people. Their clothing was modern. Hòvhannés Mazmanian, senior teacher in Perri’s national school, would wear a “smôkìn” {smoking jacket} summer and winter. The Armenian and Kurdish population of the villages practically wore the same costume. The situation was the same for the Armenians and Turks of Perri. The Kurds were only distinguished by their white shalvars. The Armenian women and mature girls of Perri would wrap themselves in a white sheet when they would go out of their homes to church or elsewhere. This was called an izar {in Turkish izar refers to a waist wrapper covering the entire body below the waist like a petticoat}. It was just like the black Turkish çarşaf, except that the Armenians preferred the white color in order to be distinguished from the Turks. The women covered their faces with pùshi (a silk veil), while girls covered their heads with a large colorful shal {shawl} with which their chests were covered down to their waists. This situation of Armenian women going around veiled (a type of namahremlik {Turkish for a state or condition of canonically being a stranger}) continued until the calamity of 1915.

1.3 Food

The people of Perri, practically without exception, were great carnivores and could win awards for this in that environment. Thus meat occupied the first place in foods. We will not be exaggerating if we say that meat was daily sustenance for our compatriots. It would not be missing from their table, cooked with food, boiled, broiled, fried, or roasted. The people followed the saying, “Where meat enters, woes and doctors do not.” In life, extremes and excess are generally harmful. Perhaps it was due to this extreme carnivorousness that the average lifespan for the people of Perri barely was forty-five years. The healthy climate and life-giving, high quality water and food should have made the inhabitants more long-lived. The second important food was cracked wheat (tzawar in Armenian, bulğur in Turkish) from which was prepared khêyma (mixed with raw meat), michov kùfta,[ADD DEFINITIONS?] hénts` {plain?CHECK} kùfta, blorig kùfta {little meatballs}, and pilaf with khavurma [cracked wheat pilaf with braised meat] (eghints`). The inhabitants of Perri had two concerns for the winter—one was securing supplies of khavurma, the other, of cracked wheat. The other foods were not subjects of great worry because these two formed the important portion of the winter’s food. We would not be exaggerating if we said that that they would eat pilaf with khshig {minced onions} for weeks on end and did not get tired of it. Rice was a fantasy which they would call alafranga {Turkish for European style}, and sometimes they would deride the eaters of rice with the epithet “khodager” {“herbivore,” “grass eater”}. Our dinner tables would very infrequently be adorned with rice. The exception was banquets, when rice would be used to increase the kinds of foods. Contrary to the abundance of grains, legumes, and vegetables, the people of Perri were won over to meat-eating, naturally inseparable only from bulğur. It is worth recalling here some of the most important of our dishes, not only to make the mouths water, as they say, of our compatriots, but also to invoke the life we lived and the food we took in order to entrust it to history. Some of these still continue to hold their place of honor on the menus of our compatriots who are zealous in their patriarchal life style. Unfortunately, modernity here too wants to establish its sway today with new kinds of foods which often do not satisfy the palate and taste of the old generation. Let us then give a brief list of the national foods of the people of Perri: lamb or kid, with the belly filled with cracked wheat; stuffed khaburgha reddened in the tònir; chicken with its belly stuffed; michov kùfta; khêyma; fried kùfta; blor kùfta; pilaf with meat; pilaf with khavurma; pilaf with artichokes; pilaf with chickpeas; pilaf with lvinj {a type of plant}; pilaf with gullêk {in Armenian, gulig means a type of greens like leek; in the glossary on page 546 of the original of this volume, it is defined as an edible green whose roots are dried and ground to make a ch`êréz [Turkish çerez meaning appetizer or snack}} (all these dishes are with cracked wheat). These pilafs are all accompanied by khshig (minced onion), which was fried in a pan and sprinkled on top of the pilaf. Some more dishes include kàshgag (harissa) {in Turkish keşkek}, {meat} made with beaten wheat, egg cracked on top of khavurma, pieces of bread (French toast); types of stuffed eggplant, squash, tomato, grape leaves, and sheep intestines (bunbar); and khash made of sheep, goat, or cow with all their parts and kinds (that is, the head, feet, and belly or intestine are boiled). The tastiest of all is food cooked in the tònir. Gomba {gombay, according to the glossary in the original volume on p. 545, is made from a large kneaded mass of dough which is placed on the heated stone of the hearth and cooked with a soft flame; the outside is cleaned of ashes, and then the soft interior is removed with a knife, torn into pieces by hand, and then filled back in the hardened bread; butter and dried yogurt with water are poured on it, and then it is eaten by hand}, sêrùm {according to the glossary in the original volume on p. 566, thin bread cooked on a saj (thin metal tray or plate) is twisted and cut into pieces with a knife; these pieces are dipped in dried yogurt mixed with garlic and then placed in a large tray, after which they are placed on the fire and dried yogurt with water and heated butter are added}, pilaf with butter, tànkhash {sour or tart food made of yogurt, flour and butter}, jumilé {appears to be the same as jimila in the glossary of the original on p. 551: it is a food prepared with rùb, bread, and purified butter}, k`éléjôgh {appears to be the same as kàlajôsh in the glossary on p. 573 of the original: moistened bread is cut into pieces and fileld into a container; on it is poured melted chòrtàn or yogurt; mixing into it beaten garlic, it is heaten on a fire, and afterwards butter is melted and filled on top of it; it is a type of sêrùm}, and pilaf with p`êt`p`êtìg [CHECK??] are prepared with purified butter (artar iwgh). Secondary dishes include tànabur {yogurt soup}, lentil soup, p’erp’er {purslane}, pòkhind {spelled pòkhint earlier in the book: gruel or roasted and ground wheat or barley flour}, beans, and other food with legumes. The foods of Great Lent must be recalled as important: kùfta with chickpeas, and on the night of the breaking of the fast (khtùm), Lenten cracked wheat kùfta, both of which would be stuffed with onions, sesame, and walnuts. These Lenten kùftas were prepared in large quantities, so that after sending neighbors, in-laws, and relatives their separate shares, those in the home would barely be able to finish it after eating them for one whole week. Fish was eaten in Perri only in the winter. The fish of Perri’s river were very tasty. Its trout and yellowbelly were famous in our region. Fishing was done in the following fashion. In January, when the river froze, master fishermen knew in which corner the fish would have taken refuge and assembled. Taking hatchets, nets, and bags, they went to the indicated spot (generally a small gulf or bay) and broke the ice with the hatchet. When they had opened a crack of five to six meters wide, they lowered the net there and breaking the ice in a circle pulled the net towards the bank. When the last part of the ice at the river’s shore was broken, an interesting scene was revealed. The fish would be so crowded on top of one another that, not finding any way to escape, they would begin to jump towards shore. It was sat this time that tens of sacks would be filled with white fleshy fish, which, loaded on asses, would be brought early in the morning to Perri. Fish were sold by the okka. The fishermen would tie a string with a packing needlethrough the fish’s mouth and twirl it around in order to display it. The trout and herring were little, while the yellowbelly would weigh at least one okka. Thanks to the proximity of the river, and the speed of fishing and sale, sometimes the fish would have remained alive, so that those who wanted to keep them alive would take pleasure in putting them in water. Fish were cooked in three ways. First, after cleaning the insides well and drying it, they would be roasted directly on a fire of hazel wood. Second, they would be fried with oil. Third, after cleaning the belly they would be stuffed and cooked—this was called tzgashok`. Eating fish had its traditions and sayings. It was said that a fish does not die after leaving the water, while being fried in the pan, or while being roasted, but, after going through various difficulties, he dies when you suffocate him with wine in your stomach. This is why Perri natives savoring fish drink one more tol {according to the glossary on page 530 it means a cup or mug with a handle made out of a kind of squash (chrtêtum) used to take wine out of a garas}—to suffocate the fish in their stomachs. They would never eat fish in summertime, but youths would like to fish with a hook or fish poison for fun. The villagers of Chàrsanjak, like the Perri natives, preferred to secure six months of provisions for the winter. It was always wheat, flour, cracked wheat, lentil, kùshay {spurrey} (for animals), salt, soap, wine, liquor, salty and sour baj, dried yogurt, and dried meat. Consequently there was no need to go to the market for purchases every day as we do today. Every person to the extent of his ability stored the foods necessary for him. Only fresh meat was brought several times a week from the market. They would bake bread in large quantities in the tònir—sometimes enough for one month. They would wet dried bread a little to soften it before eating. The people of Perri customarily kept cows in their homes in order to provide the milk needed. Thus, milk, yogurt, cream, purified butter, yogurt drink (tàn), and chòrtàn were plentiful. Domestic poultry raising was also advanced in Perri. Eggs were very plentiful and cheap.

1.4 Health

The people of Chàrsanjak, living a natural life in the bosom of nature, were healthy. They generally did not give much importance to the present rules of healthy living and medicine. This of course was chiefly the result of the ignorance prevalent there. People were born, lived, and died there according to luck and fate. For them, life was something preordained. Whatever would happen would happen no matter how much you would try to prevent it. They understood life in this way, and they interpreted incidents and appearances with the approach of prejudiced people. They would blindly and submissively accept the misfortunes and caprices of nature. As the “beneficent” government of the sultans sought the basis for its existence and strength in the ignorance of the people, it never wanted to improve and elevate the mind and lifestyle of the latter. On the contrary, it attempted to keep it in a primitive and natural state. Depsite the fact that there were mayoralties (belediye) in important centers, their goal was more to provide officials serving to oppress them with jobs rather than serve the populace. The Turkish monarchical government was anchored in ignorance. It is for this that it never was interested in the needs and conditions of its subjects’ culture, way of life, and welfare. The ignorant and uneducated Turk, Armenian, Kurd, and members of other communities lived in a very lamentable fashion, always waiting for the sun which rose in the morning to set and the darkness of night to come in order to sleep in it and forget their miserable daily life. Based on census information, in 1873 Perri had 500 homes of inhabitants, or, roughly calculated, 2,500 people. If the natural rate of population growth is taken into account, during the twenty-seven years from 1873 to 1914, the population of Perri should have doubled. The 1914 census does not confirm this truth. The construction of houses after 1908 was the result of the demand of those who moved from the villages to Perri. Perri’s natives did not increase in number. It must be remembered here also that mass massacres of Armenians did not take place in this region, and despite the Perri native having many children, due to infant mortality in particular, there was no increase. They remained where they were in numbers fifty years earlier. Why this miserable result, when youths would marry young and have many children? In twenty years time, a married couple would bring forth to this world at least ten to twelve children, but in the final calculus, only two or three of them would remain alive. Surviving mothers from Perri can testify in this regard with their sad memories. Ask them and they will answer thus: “I bore six boys and four girls, and of these only one boy and one girl remained,” or, “I had eight boys and five girls, and today I have four boys and one girl.” I know a poor forsaken old woman of Perri, Mak`ô Baji Kòrtigents` {Kòrtigian}. They would say that she had had thirty children, and all of them had died while still young. Malaria, smallpox, measles, and whooping cough, compounded with ignorance, would wreak ruin and cause mothers to cry. They accepted those disastrous infectious diseases as “evils determined by fate,” and often repeated a popular saying: “In such-and-such a year, this many of my children were lost and died in the massacre of children.” Neither the populace nor the government was concerned with preventing or isolating these malignant diseases. They consoled themselves during these ravages and sorrows by saying, “God gave, and God took. It was not only mine but all those children who died.” It would not be an exaggeration to say that no doctor had ever stepped foot in Chàrsanjak. There were only some old ladies and barbers who had their special methods of treatment and medicines. A village center like Perri had no pharmacies. There were some herbalists (attar) who sold well known medicines. Their list of medicines in the latest period, was somewhat enriched—it contained quinine sulfate and castor oil. Practically the same medicine was used for various illnesses on the recommendation of grandmothers. For example, if somebody’s belly ached, first they would have them drink a little liquor. If the pain continued, they would heat a stone and place it on the spot that hurt. If it was a case of appendicitis, the patient would already be on his way to the other world. In a case of pleurisy, they would use cupping glasses on the back. There were elderly women who won renown in this lien of work. Their medicines generally were herbal. They would use medicine and remedies without satisfying today’s demands for diagnosis. When somebody had felt any pain, they would not enter into details. It did not matter if it originated from various causes. It was necessary first to drink liquor. If somebody got very frightened they would have him drink urine. For somebody who had jaundice, they would beat dog dung and, mixing it with honey, make him eat it. In the villages of Chàrsanjak and Perri the following sicknesses were known: togh {ague, or most likely, malaria—see below}, gragts`nel {?CHECKfever}, khosdgodil {intestinal pain or colic}, small pox, measles, khush bôgha {CHECK}, whooping cough, jaundice, belly ache, parag tsàv {consumption or tuberculosis}, and kùturum {rabies?? CHECK}. The types of wounds or sores that are known are ts`r`ts`rug {diarrhea—BUT THIS IS NOT A WOUND/SORE}, ilanjugh [CHECK??], gadzug [CHECK], itch, and blister. Togh: Generally children and adolescents were subjected to this sickness. It would start in the summer and continue until winter. There were several types of togh. First the child would get cold and have chills, with his face turning pale. He would be made to lie down, and they would cover him well with double blankets, and if necessary throw a carpet or some other heavy covering on top of that, without considering in what condition the subject would be under such a weight. After all this, the sick one had to become hot. When the fever turned extreme, they would anoint his head and forehead with liquor and vinegar with soaked rags so that the fever would weaken and pass. After this, the patient would gradually get well. As much as he got better, stood on his feet, ate, drank, and played, the paleness of his face would still continue in a fixed fashion. A different type of togh started with a fever too. The face of the sick person would immediately turn bright red, as well as his eyes. The poor sick one would melt like a candle with a severe fever. The first medicine for togh was quinine sulfate, while others would be taken to cold springs to bathe. There were also those who tried to cure their loved ones with various types of talismens. Some also relied on mediating saints in places of pilgrimage. In Perri Noroyents` Spring enjoyed great fame and had many “customers,” including those who came from distant places. There was a prìnch` tree at the head of this spring. All the sick who came for a cure would tie a piece of their clothing to the branches of this tree. Supposedly in this way they would have tied the togh. The aigue would last a long time for many children. They called this daretogh. On New Year’s night, they would place those with daretogh up in a tree, and from below ask them:

---Bedo, what are you doing in the tree? ---I’m shaking mulberries. ---You rascal, are there mulberries in winter?

From on high the sick one would conclude: “Well then, is there togh in winter?” This togh, which troubled the people of Perri and crushed their energy was a type of malaria familiar to us which originated from the dirtiness of the surroundings. In summertime flies and mosquitoes would take birth in the rotting materials thrown into the street and the abundant fruits, and quickly grow and multiply in stagnant waters. Their numbers grew also as a result of political and governmental indifference. The women of Perri were very meticulous concerning cleanliness in their homes. Two times a year they would coat the inside and the outside of the house with cement, and every week or fifteen days they would certainly coat the interior walls of the house with white sweet-smelling gaghji. The broom always worked in homes. Once a week they weould do laundry and take baths, young and old. Despite this domestic family hygiene, sicknesses were prevalent among the people. Escaping from lice was a major worry. Khosdgodil: These were sharp pains in the belly felt as a result of getting a cold. They would seat the subject on the ground with legs crossed and arms cruciform. From behind, somebody would seize the sick person by his two hands, placing his knee at his back, and powerfully pull him towards himself. A “chàt`-chàt`” sound would emerge from the sick person’s back. They would call this “khulinj goyrel.” After doing this sort of cracking two or three times, they would massage the back with their hands, and the pain passed. And if the pain continued, then they would have the sick one drink “blessed” liquor until… Smallpox: Smallpox was the number one enemy of children, especially in backward countries like Turkey when vaccinations still did not exist. Even when vaccinations were by law obligatiory they were very rare. You can imagine the fear and trembling of the poor villagers of not falling victim to an epidemic of smallpox. After the universalization of vaccinations, once every two or three years, a vaccination official would come from Kharpert and would vaccinate children in a very careless fashion. Who dared to say anything, to make any remark? Sometimes only one-tenth of the vaccinated (p`érp`én) children were properly inoculated. Numerous mothers of Chàrsanjak rightfully feared the scourge of smallpox, which mercilessly and pitilessly reaped children. Measles: This became very dangerous in wintertime, especially in Perri’s severe cold, when this disease required being hot. A slight disregard or carelessness would turn the patient’s condition fatal. Whooping cough: This vexatious disease would consume the sick, who suffered until spontaneously after squeezing out the last of the vitality of the little one it would “cehennem êllar ertàr {go to hell and leave}.” There was no medicine or remedy for it. Jaundice: We must confess that the parents of Perri did not concern themselves much with the state and condition of their children. As we said, they faced life with a fatalistic understanding. For them, what took place and what would take place were born with man, and it was not possible to avoid them. They would say, “what will be will be” and for this reason would not take preventative and prohibitive measures. Among the sickensses we listed jaundice too was increasing. They would say “he has gotten the yellowness” when the whites of the eyes of a subject took on a completely yellow color. As the only remedy, they would beat the dried dung of a dog and after mixing it with honey, would make the patient eat it until the yellowness passed. Var tsàv: This sickness must have been typhoid, because the sick one would be bedridden for a long time until he got well. The number of people who died from this was much greater than those who recovered. Parag tsàv: This sickness was very rare in our region. The sick one gradually would waste away and die. Very likely it was tuberculosis. This rarely occurring sickness caused much fear among the people due to its infectious nature, and because whoever was infected would lose strength insensibly but continually and die without a remedy. They would not freely speak about this sickness, but whisper in each other’s ear that so-and-so’s son or daugther was suffering from parag ts’av, it is a shame. Venereal disease: The people of Chàrsanjak, due to its clean and abstemious lifestyle, nearly was free from the destructive venereal diseases. Parents would marry off their children at an early age. Those getting married would remain faithful to their family sanctity, and would grow old with one marriage “on one pillow.” Eye pain: It began in the beginning of autumn. Those infected generally were children. The only person who won fame as a curer-doctor for eye pains was Mrs. Chànchòyian. She would prepare red, blue, and yellow medicines, either as powder or water. There was also a natural remedy for eye pains. A grass grew in the vineyards and fields which was called khdud. The sick were made to lie down next to those grasses. They would cut them a little above their roots. They would fill the eyes of the sick person with the resultant sap, which was white like milk. Sometimes this type of treatment was beneficial and the eye of the sick person would get better. Chàrsanjak’s climate was very healthy, and its waters clean. The populace was supplied with as much as necessary from the point of view of food. Vegetables, meat, legumes, eggs, cream, utter, and honey were extremely plentiful and accessible. The villagers in particular were healthier and more energetic than the residents of Perri, as well as more long-lived, because they were not meat eaters and drinkers like the people of Perri. The togh, eye pain, and some other chronic diseases of Perri would disappear when winter became more severe. The severe weather would sweep out and remove those kinds of sicknesses. While the average lifespan of the people of Perri was forty- five to fifty years, the villagers had an average lifespan of sixty-five to seventy years. There were many one-hundred- and even one-hundred-and-twenty-year-old people in the villages. Let us recall one of the unhealthy conditions. As the winter was very severe in Chàrsanjak, every house would tightly close the already insufficient windows that it had and its door, not even leaving a small hole. All the inhabitants of the house would be crowded into one room. They would cook, eat, sit, and sleep there. They had little understanding of pollution of the air, and would confuse this with heat. What was more dreadful was that at nighttime, they would keep kerosene and olive oil lamps lit with wicks. The smoke from this was enough to create an unhealthy situation. Often the entire room would be filled with black smoke. They would breathe that air and sleep in that state. They wouldalso remain for hours in stables whose air was polluted by numerous cattle, and often would sleep there in order to enjoy the heat, as opposed to the unbearable cold. I present an interesting episode from my life in this connection to my respectable readers, so that the miserable life of this period, with its piteous conditions, becomes clearer. In 1913, though I went to school, my father, being a butcher, made me a participant in his business in order to get me used to ordinary life. One day, we butchered a cow. As a student I preferred to study the the internal organs of animals. I took out the lung of the slaughtered cow and by blowing in the esophagus I inflated it. I saw with amazement that the red lung was covered with black blisters. I cut open one with a knife and noticed the soot in it which had come from the smoke of the lamps. Answering my question, my father confirmed that it was the result of the result of the lamlps lit in the stable. Then what ravages the smoke of these lamps would not have caused in human lungs… Let us relate another incident. In 1919 I and my friend Levon Melidosian were going to the town of Kêzêl- K’ilisé in Dersim. It was winter. After passing the villages of Tzorag and Blan, we reached Mokhêndi, a village many of whose inhabitants were our customer-kìrvas. When it was heard that Lavé Sarkis had come, everybody wanted to host us. The notable of the village was Ali Kìrva, and we gave our preference to him that night. Fifteen to twenty people were crowded in his guestroom. We sat at the head of the hearth. There was no lamp. The crackling pieces of hazel wood provided both heat and light to the room, one corner of which was reserved for animals as a stable. In our present understanding, it was not an environment suitable for habitation. The lady of the house began the preparation of food. They brought onions in containers. They began to clean, break, and cut up the kachéner [CHECK??]. They brought out dusty, rusted copper dishes that were left from a long time ago and unused since then. Here it must be confessed that those copper dishes had not been tin-plated. They immediately filled them with hot water and cracked wheat, added walnut kernels, and began mixing. The lady of the house began to make balls where she was sitting, each of which it would not be an exaggeration to say weighed half a kilogram. Levon and I were watching. After all, we were “kàghk`êtsìner {city folk},” especially since having lived two years in Kharpert also had refined my tastes a little. We exchanged looks in order to understand whether they were preparing these things for us, or for the animals in the habitation. Finally they brought the large copper container and placed it on top of the hearth’s stone, filled it with water, and dropped into it hundreds of balls resembling basketballs. One hour later we sat cross-legged in front of the hearth on top of felt spreads. A wooden khoncha {a round wooden table}was set down with barley bread. The huge tub containing the globules was set out. All the household members sat down in order. Kìrva Ali was next to us. He began with two hands to serve us with foods that we had never seen or eaten to that day. The Kurds were very sensitive. They would be greatly offended if a guest did not eat like them, and especially if he did not say it is very tasty and good. I knew this, since my father had often been among the Kurds and knew about their way of life and customs. My older uncle on my father’s side, Bôghos, who spent six months out of the year with the Kurds of Dersim, had related many things about their life. I kept my friend Levon informed. We began with great “appetite” to sample the food, praising the preparers and the culinary skill of the lady of the house. Meanwhile in reality, what we ate would not go down our throats. We were practically forcibly eating this food, which for them was their most beloved and delicious national food. They prepared it only for special guests who had earned their love and respect. The preparation of this food was superior for them than the slaughter of a sheep or the making of gomba. We understood these things from Kìrva Ali’s fawning exclamations too. He would repeat “sér séran, sér chavan (on my head, on my face) and “Lavé Sarkis, bukhô (Sarkis’ son, eat).” It turned out that these globes the size of small watermelon were Dersim’s k’uftas. This food was composed of Dersim’s sweet and fragrant butter, onion, walnuts, mountain mint’s core, and cracked wheat, all mixed together. Being hungry, and especially being obligated to respect the customs of our environment, we were forced to eat. After dinner, they prepared our places for sleep, spreading pàlas’s, jéjims, and felt up and down the right and left sides of the hearth. The two of us slept in one bed. K’irva Ali’s older son lay down next to Levon, and next to him was his sister. IN this fashion, ten people lay down in one row next to one another. On the left side of the hearth, Kìrva Ali, his wife, the bride, and the children formed an equivalent number. There were barely one or two spans of free space on my left or right. As the wood of the hearth by now had become charcoal, they no longer produced smoke. Kìrva Ali had firmly closed the sole remaining open hole of the chimney of the room so that the heat inside would not escape, and the cold of the outdoors would not enter. It was the time for sleep. We got undressed and lay down. The members of the household next to us, accustomed to these conditions, quickly fell asleep. We also needed to sleep, as staying awake at night in a house of Dersim was considered treacherous, so we firmly closed our eyes and pretended to sleep. Only he who has been in such a situation can know how difficult it was to pretend to be asleep in bed. We thus passed an uncomfortable night. Let me express another truth—the people of Chàrsanjak are not greatly affected by fleas and lice, or our fleas and lice have become familiar with us and do not torment us. Tired and sleepless, our situation forced us to sleep in order to peacefully be saved from the long winter night’s adversities. I do not know how long we had been asleep when Levon pushing me woke me up and barely was able to whisper, “Kévork, I’m dying. Wake up!” I turned towards him to find out what his problem was. Meanwhile unpleasant explosions succeeded one another. The smell released by them engulfed us. We were swimming in sweat. Smells, smells, released by poisonous gases, which were not explicable!

“Get up. Now I’m suffocating. It is unbearable,” Levon repeated.

“I feel the same, but…how to do it?”

To leave that house and go outside required risk-taking more than courage. The freezing cold outside on the one hand, and the fear of disrespecting the hospitable host on the other, were points worthy of consideration. There was another more real fear. We barely had escaped from the frightening and huge mastiff during the day in the company of Kìrva Ali. Now it was nighttime, and how would we be able to pass through that danger zone? When we were in this state, those around us again began their bombardment. Onion gas…poisonous and unbreathable! I felt the terribleness of the danger. Levon, no longer able to be patient, again exclaimed: “Dzo, get up! I’m dying now. My belly also hurts.” It was no longer possible to keep Levon from moving. We got on our feet, held each others’ hands, and slowly and cautiously walked through the narrow path towards the door. Before lying down, Kìrva Ali had shown us that path by which we had to pass in order to ascend to the roof, in case of necessity, and we went up to the roof by the stairs next to the outside door. Offf, there was indeed a world. Air, air, but what air! It was as if we were swalling ice. The sky of Dersim was bright, but the cold cut our faces like a knife. Below, hearing the sounds of our feet, the mastiff began his frightful warning. After heavy and low barking one by one, “hav, hav, hav,” he began to threateningly growl. We did not want to descend from the roof. Even if it were cold, we would not die, while below there was hell, there was suffocation. We wanted to remain on the roof until morning, but here too there was danger. If the black mastiff would go up to the roof, woe to us. We procrastinated so that the dog would sleep. However, he was watching, and this time, standing on his paws. His voice gradually drew closer. We, balled up like apparitions, rolled ourselves down from the kapank` {according to the Armenian original of this book’s glossary (p. 527), a door built at the head of the stairs to the roof or to a subterranean floor}and slowly approached the ehad of the hearth. Outside, pure air and cold, inside hot like an oven with foul-smelling gases. We did not sleep any more, and suffered until the dawn, until the doors were opened and air rushed inside. The cover to the hearth was opened and Kìrva Ali and his family awoke. That morning, after eating our breakfast, we thanked Kìrva Ali and his family members. We gave one thousand blessings and thanks to God that we had not suffocated that night, and today remaining alive we were traveling along our path of salvation. The years have passed, but my companionship with Levon that night is always fresh in my mind. While I write these lines, I am impelled to wonder how the Kurds were able to live what appeared to us as a hellish and difficult life. Poor people—they turned a land like paradise blessed with the wonders of nature and climatic suitability into a hell through ignorance and the lack of a solicitous government.

1.5 Family Life

The villagers of the Ch`arsanjak region and the people of Perri lived according to primitive and patriarchal unwritten rules, understanding, and customs. Brothers who had become heads of households lived under one roof with their wives, children, bridges, and grandchildren. Having somebody elderly was a sign of blessing. The greatness of age was very very respected. Separation of brothers oonly took placewhen the house was not sufficient for all its members. It was very difficult to separate from one another. Generally the elder of the family would become the leader of the house. All would obey his orders and arrangements without dissatisfaction or reservations. The head of the house would conduct the division of work, and directed the household economy. His word and arrangements were respected. He had broad authority, in exchange for which it was natural that he also had responsibilities for his work to all of them. First he had to be unbiased with respect to all. He would behave in the same just and appropriate manner towards all. His, his brother’s or his father’s brother’s children all enjoyed equal rights and had equal responsibilities. Reward was also meted in the same spirit. On holidays, when he would go to the market for clothing and other items, he would bring to the others whatever he would get for his own child, of the same value and the same kind. There was no difference between brides and daughters. Well-bred and noble leaders often would subject themselves, and even their immediate family members, to deprivations if the means for satisfying general needs were to be lacking. In any case, distribution was based on the principle of equality. In the house, the relations between old and young were based on the rules of custom. The fifty-year-old elder of the house could get angry and rebuke his brother younger than him by a few years, even if the latter was married and had his own children. If rebuke and reproach had no result, they would be followed by inescapable punishment, without giving way in the least before protest and objection. Young or old, everybody had his place in the family circle, and would not cross its limits. The well being and happiness of a family were guaranteed by patriarchal unwritten clan rules. Young and old members of the family had their own tasks. All without exception labored. The larger a family was, the more income it had because the land and garden provided by the agha needed working hands, and the more workers there were, the greater the profit. Large houses with one hundred people in the villages were in a comparatively better condition with their collective labor and profit, than those with fewer members. Both profits and expenses followed the centralized system of work. Thanks to these measures, our people were morally and economically helped.

Section 2 Ch`arsanjak’s Customs

Mr. Dikran Ch`it`jian, of our surviving old generation, describes in the following manner the festivities conducted in Ch`arsanjak, and the traditions respected with faith and meticulousness by the populace on those occasions.

2. 1 New Year

The last week of the year is a period of cleaning. They clean the house, do laundry, bathe young and old, and change clothes. Thus, when Gaghant Baba {literally, “New Year’s Father”; equivalent of Santa Claus who comes at New Year}comes, he will see both the house, and the members of the house as clean, especially the little ones, so that he can distribute presents. First of all, he brings to all the members of the household love, unity, and success in work; to the older ones, patience, to the youth prudence, to the brides, modesty and submission, and to the little ones, almonds, walnuts, basdegh, ròjig, raisins, and various types of toys. On the last day of the year they bake New Year’s bread on the tònir. That day, the lady of the house and the brides prepare bread with various images; for example, cows, oxen, men, hearts, pens, swords, scythes, and rings. They also prepare images of girls and boys. In the evening, the lady of the house cooks hadig abur, mixing together twelve different kinds of legumes and foods, including cracked wheat, beaten {wheat}, chickpeas, and lentils. After eating the food in the evening, either the house servant or one of the young people brings a large tree block or trunk from the woodshed to place in the hearth. Finally, accepting a present from one of the elders of the house, he places it in the hearth to burn. This log burns for three days and three nights without extinguishing. After three days, the lady of the house keeps the remnant of the log until the night of the breaking of the Easter fast (khtùm), in order to burn it under yogurt soup. The members of the household assemble next to the hearth and surround the lady of the house and the mamig {“grandmother”} in order to hear the story of the dadig {“grandmother”}about the log. The dadig says, “My children, you must stay awake this night in order to see how at midnight a white bear will come out from the log when the fire reaches it, and flee outside from the door. Immediately after it flees, Gaghant Baba will bring various fruits and sweets and distribute them to you all.” The dadig also would tell old fairy tales until midnight in order to keep the little ones awake. At night, the boys of the village, tying a sock at the end of their belts, would hang them down the chimneys of their neighbors and say, “Golden woman, get up and go to the pantry. Hold it short, cut it long; do not let the knife cut your hand.” This was called the kôdegakh {lit. “hanging of the belt”}. The woman of the house, filling the hanging sock with various types of gifts, would congratulate the arrival of Gaghant Baba. At midnight, filling the bread with images in a basket, and taking a piece of iron and a little barley with them, the youth would go to the spring to make the bread wet. According to tradition, during the first minute of the new year, a few drops of gold water flow from the spring. During that minute, if the jug of a bride is found in front of a spout, the contents of the water urn would turn into gold immedatiely. We saw that those with fevers would also go to the spring that night, bathe in it, and without drying themselves, completely naked, climb the tree next to it to “shake down mulberries.” New brides and girls about to become brides would wash their hands and faces with pure flowing water on the occasion of the New Year and each would solicit her wish from Gaghant Baba. Maidens offer their wish to become engaged with the boy they loved, new brides to have a male child during their first childbirth, and others for the good behavior of their children, so that they sleep comfortably at night, and not bother them. Then, when they wet the bread and fill the jugs, they drop the piece of iron in the water and say, “Take the iron for yourself; give us silver.” When they drop the barley, they say the following, “Take the barley for yourself; give us good.” Thus reciting numerous sayings remaining from patriarchal traditions, they return home. The new bride filling the ibrékh {Turkish ibrik} (copper urn or ewer) with New Year’s water, took it with the légén {leğen in Turkish, for large bowl or basin} to her father-in-law, who after washing would receive new life and vitality, and heartfeltly bless the bride. Thus, all the inhabitants the house, after washing with the water of the New Year, would gaghantel {make New Year’s gifts of} their work and tools. The women and brides would spin on a chayr (spindle). The maidens would do handiwork. Some men would embroider several arms’ lengths of linen. Others would spin wool or hair. Some would weave hemp thread with a lagdan {according to page 536 in the Armenian original’s glossary, a wooden tool for spinning}. The young people would run to the stable to give fodder to the oxen, buffaloes, horses, and other animals, and to clean them. The ladies of the house in particular would feed the milk-giving cows and dams one piece each of the wettened bread so that they would provide abundant butter and milk. The school children would gaghantel their school books, by reading and writing a little. The lady of the house would enter the pantry. First making the sign of the cross on the flour container, she would say the “Hayr mer {Lord’s Prayer}.” Then she would go to the gods {medium-sized urns or cylindrical containers} of khavurma and oil, and then approach with special reverence the blessed garas of wine She would sample it with a little tol. In this way she would “gaghantel” all the various types of food and drinks found in the pantry, and reciting the Lord’s Prayer, she would read the bereket {blessing, good fortune} of the house. After carrying out all of the patriarchal traditions, she would go to sleep. In the morning, it is January 1, New Year. Every person goes to church and after offering congratulatory prayers for the New Year returns home. The lady of the house cooked Lenten foods: small balls with chickpeas (kìwft`é), small balls of millet filled with sesame, pilaf with shirig (shirig is the oil of sesame or melon seeds), khushab {according to the glossary in the original Armenian-language volume on page 542, it is a syrup or stew cooked with raisins and dried apricots}, and other items. After the food, they would go to each other’s house to convey the following congratulations on the New Year: “Shnorhavor Nor Dari ev Pari Gaghant {Happy New Year and a Good New Year’s Day}.” The response would be, “Happiness to the whole world. May you see many years in peace.” The ladies of the house in honor of their visitors would run to the pantry. Saying “In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit” they would make the sign of the cross and approach the gods. Filling ròjig, basdegh, almonds, walnuts, dates, raisins, dried mulberries, figs, and various types of appetizers in plates, they serve the guests. This is how New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are spent.

2.2 Christmas

The evening of January 5 is called Jrakaloyts` {Lighting of the Lamps}. They would bake bread in the tònir from the morning. Young and all, all would bathe and be cleaned. The little ones would go to church in order to take holy communion, while young brides and girls kept a fast until evening in order to take communion during the evening’s mass. The entire day of Jrakaloyts` the priest remained in the church. Those who are in a fight with one another, have grudges, or have offended somebody, kiss and make up before taking communion, and then confess before the priest. At the end of the mass, when the deacon sings “Ergiwghiw ew havadov, hàràch madik` ew srputèamp haghortetsàruk` {With reverential fear and faith, come forward and commune in Holiness},” the faithful people approach in a line to receive holy communion. People also wait during the morning mass. Before the start of services on the evening of Jrakaloyts`, the church was already full of the faithful. There was no room even for a needle to drop in the women’s section. The young brides and girls adorned with colorful clothes suitable for the day, were standing next to each other in order to speak about this or that youth. The members of the choir (tbrats` tas), wearing white shabigs {tunics or albs} bearing red crosses on the chest and back were arrayed in the church chancel in order, with the choirmaster in the middle. The singing appropriate for the day would be carried out. First of all the readings would be read. When the turn came for the Book of Daniel, the reader or the one asking for the reading must give a present to the church. This procedure took on the exact nature of an auction. Whoever donated a lot would read, or would have somebody from the choir do the reading. After the book was finished, the divine liturgy would begin. During the Lord’s Prayer, the kàhanay performing the ceremony would turn toward the people in order to deliver a short sermon appropriate for the day. The topic was the birth of Jesus. “Beloved and blessed people, today is the day of the birth of our savior Jesus—that is, its anniversary. Three magi from distant lands, Melkòn, Kasbar, and Baghdasar, came with numerous gifts to see Jesus the Savior. Just as the magi with their presents approached Jesus, we too in order to see our savior must bring our heartfelt gifts here, so that our wishes are realized and our church remains bright.” The collection of donations was begun. Every person participated to the extent of his ability. Some participated during the baptism ceremony the following morning. Women also made separate donations. After the remaining part of the divine liturgy was completed, the choristers sang:

Today is the festivity of the Birth…good news Our lord and revelation…good news Melk`on, Kasbar, and Baghdasar…good news They saw Jesus and were amazed…good news

Mystery great and wonderful, which was revealed on this day Shepherds sing with this angel, give good news to the world.

Everybody would present their congratulations to their acquaintances: “Christ was born and manifested. Merry Christmas and Epiphany.” “Congratulations to all the world.” Then the people would leave for their homes. On the night of breaking of the fast, fish and purslane were indispensable foods. The purslane cooked that day, on top of which yogurt would be filled, was called alaja p`érp’ér. It was kept up to fifteen days without spoiling and without losing its fresh taste. January 6 was Christmas. After the divine liturgy the ceremony of baptism was celebrated. Before this, those giving gifts to the church would have already seen the trustees and given them. The names of the donors and the amount of the sum given would be announced in the church. In order to take the cross out of the water, they would dress whoever had given a large present with a white shabig and place the corss in his hand. The people in order would approach and kiss the cross, and after drinking a spoonful of the water mixed with miwròn {chrism}, would leave. During the Chrôrhnék` or Blessing of the Waters {in honor of the baptism of Christ}, if the miwròn spread, it meant that the winter would be a mild one. In the contrary instance, the populace (Armenian and local non-Armenians) believed that the winter would be a severe one. After the conclusion of church, the faithful congratulating one another would say, “Shnorhavor Dznunt ev Mgrdutìwn, sirov ev paregamov, shnorhavor amenayn ashkharhi {Congratulations on Christmas and the Baptism, with love and friends, congratulations to the whole world}.” Traditional visits of congratulation would also be made. From the very first day of the holiday of the Holy Birth the parish priest would carry out blessings of homes. He would visit all the homes and give the appropriate blessings, and in exchange receive heartfelt gifts or the ôrhnakin {blessing cost}.

2.3 Presentation of the Lord in the Temple [Dearn`nêntar`ach]

February 14 is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple [Dearn`nêntar`ach]. At night everybody would go to church. They would take newborn infants with them too, in memory of the infant Jesus’ coming to the temple where the elder Simeon, having taken Jesus onto his lap, expresses his satisfaction to the Heavenly Lord. While the k`ahanay reads from the Gospel, those present light candles. After the conclusion of the ceremony in church, those lit candles are taken home, and great care is paid so that they do not get extinguished. Those grooms who were newly married that year would bring one load of maple or blackberry brushwood to the roof of the church or to the square, and in the presence of a crowd of people would set the woodpile on fire. This was called méléméd {??CHECK meaning--?? Turkish for melâmet, meaning blame, criticism?? Doesn’t seem right}. Those infants who urinated on themselves would be taken around the woodpile so that they would not wet themselves during the night. Sometimes however the opposite would take place: the infant would not only wet himself, but also would … This already had been turned into a saying: “We promenaded the child all around the méléméd so that he would not wet himself, but instead he dirtied himself.” The Turks would say, “It is the pagan’s head which burns.” In truth, the burning of the woodpile was a tradition remaining from paganism.

2.4 Paregentan [Good Living] and St. Sarkis

Sunday is Paregentan, while Monday is Lent. Many new brides and girls keep fasts, some for the entire week and some only until Wednesday noon. The brides keep fasts in the desire to give birth to a male child, and girls in the hope of marrying the boy they loved. Others, being sick, do it in the belief that St. Sarkis would cure them. Those who keep fasts do not eat any food or drink water until Wednesday. They go to church at noon on Wednesday, and return home after praying in order to eat the meal prepared for them (for only one hour). Then they fast again until Saturday morning. When the vines are uncovered, when the roosters call, the lady of the house immediately gets up and prepares a special food for those fasting, jmur` {a hot dish in which fresh bread is crumbled} with melted butter, and fried eggs. The eating by the fasters is called lôs tzkel. The week of the Fast of the Catechumens [Arachavorats` Bahk`], they roast and grind coarsely the wheat to make pòkhint {see earlier references in the text}. That day, every house cooks pòkhint and filling butter or oil on it, eats it. Many would fill the pòkhint into a plate and leave it on the roof at night in the belief that St. Sarkis would pass through the sky on his horse, and the horse’s foot would touch the pòkhint. They also say that sometimes miracles were seen. On Saturday and Sunday, on the occasion of the celebration of the name days of St. Sarkis and his son Mardiros, festivities would be organized in the houses of their namesakes together with neighbors, relatives, and friends who would come to give their congratulations. Practically no one would work on the week of Pun Paregentan {literally Main, or Real, Good Living, it is the equivalent of Carnival, prior to Lent} because it was a week of happiness and festivities. Every day, from morning until evening, with the aid fo the brides, all kinds of foods would be prepared. Thursday was the holiday of the Brave Vartanians (Vartanants`). It is a sacred day. All work halts. The youth of the village, assembling together, decide to present an ôyinbazutìwn {Turkish for oyunbazlık}, a farce or performance. They are disguised in various colors, with old ragged clothing, and become completely unrecognizable and transformed. They chose their leader. They place on his head a headcovering {for males only} made of chicken feathers, and hang from his waist with a khayish (a leather band or strap {Turkish, kayış) a tripod or trivet from a tònir as a sword. They place in his had a long piece of wood as a lance, and the cover of a cauldron as a shield. This is the commander. They dress one of the friends in the group in women’s clothing and stand him next to the leader as his wife. They dress another friend in a black outfit with long hems, placing on his face a beard made of the hair of a white horse. They make him stand next to the leader as the religious leader and advisor. In this way, the group of ôyinbazs {players} was henceforth organized and ready. Suddenly the leader, as a military man, pulls out the sword-trivet from his waist and commands the ôyinbazs, who in perfect order, holding long pieces of wood (poles) in their hands, form ranks. Behold, the davul and zurna which form the military band make the air ring with their deafening sounds. As a result of the noise, the entire population of the village comes outside in order to watch the games of the ôyinbazs. In accordance with the command from on high, the group, divided into two, begins to fight amongst themselves. Before the war, the youngest youth of the group, disguised as a girl, takes a red piece of cloth in his hand as a flag and brings it to the leader, and, bowing his head, presents it. Walking backwards, he returns. After the war finishes, various types of games take place, leaps, Indian dances, and so forth. That day, the entire village is enjoying itself. The group of ôyinbazs traveled to the houses with its music in order to collect food and drink. Sometimes it would “kidnap” one member of a household. It would take as ransom one liter of wine or some sort of food, and then “free” the victim. Thus, by the evening, after amusing the people with their games or tricks, they would assemble in a house with the provisions they had amassed and make merry until dawn. The Friday at the end of the week of Pun Paregentan was the day of dzung goyel, while Saturday was the day of bone pain, meaning that the knees of those who did work on Friday would break and the bones of those who worked on Saturday would hurt. Sunday was the last day of Pun Paregentan. On that day, three to four households would unite, and take their food to the roof to have an open-air party. Thus, the people of the village, divided into groups, would have fund and try to exceed one another in eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. Brides and girls, holding each others hands, would do circle dances and sing:

Again the long days of spring have come, Again the zerug [CHECK] grasses of the stream have sprouted, Let me take my yar {love} and go up the lofty peaks, Let me gaze with awe, with difficulty [CHECK zarov], on the green fields.

Then they would jump, stamp their feet on the groupnd, and again sing:

Ha, go I am coming, hey, go I’m coming, I’m coming, Let me put on my red shoes and come, I am coming, Let me cover my Agha Pasha and come, I am coming.

Then, a little distant from one another and holding hands, they continue:

Yar ali, yar ali [??CHECK yaralı in Turkish means wounded, OR this could mean noble/sublime heart], two jugs of eggplant, Yar ali, yar ali, the léylég’s {Turkish leylek, meaning stork} red khonjan [belt].

The dancing and festivities continued in this way until midnight. After this, each one, eating an egg, would say, “Let us fast with an egg in order to eat our Easter fast.” The Paregentan of the Armenians of Ch`arsanjak was concluded in this way. Monday morning was the start of the great fast of Lent, which was called Mêdên ôr. Nobody would work, so that the mice would not harm the sowing of the villagers. This was one of the most tiring times for housewives. All the containers in the house, cauldrons, frying pans, plates, spoons, and containers for spoons, had to be washed by boiling because henceforth Lenten foods would be eaten: sesame oil, shirig (the oil from melon seeds), a dish made with sesame, balls made with sesame (they make it by boiling and kneading millet, and then filling its middle with beaten sesame, they cook it), k`ufta with chickpeas (after softening the chickpeas well in water, they pound it in a mortar until it becomes pulp; at that time, they knead it with a little flour and form balls, in which they place minced onions and beaten sesame—it is very good), lentil soup, lentil khêyma, purslane, and various foods in which there is no meat or butter. They call the Wednesday of the fourth week of the great fast michink` {the “middle” or “median” day of Lent}. On that day, housewives descend to the pantry and bring out the sweets left over from Christmas and distribute it to the household members.

2.5 Palm Sunday and Easter

The sixth Sunday is Palm Sunday (Dzaghgazart), which in our area is also called Zartarar. On the Saturday immediately preceeding Palm Sunday, eight to fifteen year old boys cut fresh willow branches, and take off the bark. They then color them spirally green and red, and call them dajginag. Sunday morning after the divine liturgy, they begin the game of dajginag either in the church courtyard or outside. One of them leans the dajginag wood against the wall, giving it a triangular positioning. The other, with his dajginag held in his hand, strikes it three times. This action continues in turns until somebody’s dajginag is broken. The pieces of wood of this broken dajginag are taken home so that they will be burned under the yogurt soup of Easter’s khtùm. Great Thursday {the equivalent of Maundy Thursday} is the day of the Washing of the Feet. After the evening service and the ceremony of the Washing of the Feet, each person from the populace takes a pinch of blessed oil which the ladies of the house place in the gods of oil so that its bereket [blessing] would spread. Good Friday is the day of Khavarum {Darkness} and Torment. All the people go to the church to pray and to hear Christ’s last words or will. They say that when the will is being read, whoever spills two drops of tears will receive Christ’s absolution for all his sins. At midnight, the church is full of believers. In the middle of the service appropriate for that day, the lights of the lanterns and candles are extinguished. After singing three stanzas, the choristors in a dramatic fashion began to sing “Pàr`k` i partzuns Asdudzoy {Glory to God on high, or Gloria in Excelsis Deo}.” It was at this moment that the Jews placed Christ on the cross. It was said that while he was nailed to the cross, one nail was missing. Supposedly the gypsies stole it and for this reason the thievery of the gypsies is not considered a sin. Saturday night there was the Jrakaloyts` mass. The books are read. When the deacon sings the chant of the Introit, “K`risdos hàreaw i mer’elots` {Christ is risen from the dead},” then each person breaks the egg he brought with him and eats it. After the conclusion of church they go home, while the youths battle with red eggs in the church courtyard or outside. The eggs are boiled on the night of Good Friday with onion skins, which gives them the exact color of blood. They do this as a symbol of Christ’s red blood. Upon returning from the church the housewife already had prepared the tanabur {yogurt soup} made with taghtz (taghtz is a wild type of mint). Everybody, congratulating one another, begin to eat the yogurt soup and red eggs. The form of the congratulations was as follows, “To you and to us the great news, Christ is risen from the dead!”} The person opposite would respond, “Blessed is the resurrection of Christ. Light has dawned on creation.” Sunday morning is Easter. A solemn divine liturgy is performed. After the sermon of the officiant, a short break is given, during which the people gives its voluntary donations in the form of payment for candles or oil for the improvement of the church, after which the services continue. For a whole week, those who encounter one another either in the village or outside it congratulate one another: “Christ is risen from the dead,” “Blessed is the resurrection of Christ. Light has dawned on creation.” Even the plower congratulates the traveler in this way, and the traveler the plower. The following has turned into a saying: a man encountered a farmer and congratulated him. The cultivator, not understanding what the man said, yelled to his son, “Boy, drive the oxen to the place the man said. Good morning, good evening (akhshamên khér, sabahên khér), they say what is easy, and leave what is difficult to us.” Forty days after Easter, Thursday is Ascension Day (Hampartzum)—that is, fortune {telling}. The new brides who had married that year would go at Easter to their mother’s house and remain there until Hampartzum. They would say for this the bride has gone back {harsn tartz knatsàdz é}. This also would be used in a metaphorical sense. When somebody went some place and was late, they would say, “He went back {‘to tartz’} and is not coming back.” On the Thursday of fortune, early in the morning, the brides and girls of the village wearing the festive clothing, dressed up, would assemble and taking one water urn or jug {sapòr}, would go in a group outside the village. They would fill water from seven springs in the urns, and throw seven kinds of flowers in the water. After having the kàhanay bless it, they would throw a veil on the urn and begin to walk around the village. After finishing the circumambulation of the village, they would assembly in a large hall or on a roof, in order to publicly draw lots. After this, various types of objects—ring, earring, pen, and so forth—would be dropped in the blessed water. Some also would write names on paper, fold the paper, and place it under the cover of the urn. After completing all these preparations, they would seat a six or seven year old girl next to the urn. Let me not forget to say that the brides and girls, when they approached the river or spring with the urns on their shoulders, would first wash. It is about this time that our poet sings,

Armenian girl standing next to the cold spring, Urn on her shoulder, she was beautiful.

The little girl would begin to take out the objects in the jug one by one. The experienced woman telling the fortunes would begin the task of reciting her poetry, thus increasing the interest of those watching.

A. A pair of fidan {Turkish, literally young tree or sapling but metaphorically here tall and slender men} comes from above, Of course they give one to me Let me take him and go to the upper room Let me get a little kiss {bac`hig}, let me give a kiss {hampoyr}.

They would open the paper which bore Dôno’s name. The girls laughing would attack Dôno, yelling, “You daima {Turkish for always} are always after such things, you naughty boy.”

B. Let me go up the high mountains, Let me look at the green fields; I sighed akh, and then vakh {alas}, But the darderê {Turkish for pains, woes} of my belly did not go away.

“K`a {Hey}, that is Manush. Poor girl…The pains in her belly won’t go away because of her love {sevda} for Ago.”

C. The mulberry tree with my height, I did not eat mulberry with my belly; What a prêshag {ruined, wretched} world this is, I did not find a yar with my heart.

“And that is Bazô (the son of the beg).” The girls say to each other, “Dé, dé, he is k`ênzh {?? CHECK??}; Aved is good.”

D. They tied a bunch of parsley, They burned {daghets`in} my little liver {jigérigs, i.e. loved one}; The loved one is not for my heart, They married me to him {im klkhus gabets`in}.

“Kà, that is Tàrviz. It came out exactly fitting {t`êpkhi t`êpkhêna, or in modern Turkish, tıpkı tıpkısına}—Mikàyél is not at all appropriate for that poor Tàrviz.”

Istanbul’s sea is undulating {dalgha, dalgha, or in standard Turkish, dalga, dalga}, How sweetly blows the wind of love; May the lord make it my lot {nasib, Turkish} that I go to him, I would obtain my desire {murazs} and fall into the sea.

Thus all, each one receiving fortunes, would joyfully return home under the influence of sweet unforgettable memories.

2.6 Vartavar`

On the Sunday morning of Vartavar`, whoever gets out of bed early would scatter water on those sleeping. They go on that day to gardens and vineyards. They have fun and throw water on each other. This too was a tradition remaining from the pagan customs of the Armenians. They scatter the ashes of the bonfire which burned on the evening of Dear`nêntaràch in the gardens and vegetable patches so that the underground beetles would not enter the plants and damage them. The maonsteries would be filled with pilgrims in Chàrsanjak on Vartavar`. In particular, Kodarij village’s St. Kévork and St. Asdvadzadzin, and Medzgerd’s Kàràsun Mangunk` monasteries would be deluged with Armenian and Kurdish pilgrims, with their offerings. The Kurds, when they approached the monastery, would take off their shoes, and would advance on their knees, crawling. First they would kiss the door’s threshold, and then enter the church and present their plentiful gifts. The skin of the slaughtered sacrifice and the right part were the portion of the kàhanay, whom they called khachvor. The head, feet, and entrails went to the steward. After the divine liturgy, the sacrifices {i.e. the remaining meat from the animal} would be distributed to the people. Pilgrims even came from foreign countries on that day, especially to Mush’s Sultàn Surp Garabed monastery. After the conclusion of the mass and the distribution of the sacrifices, the Navasartian festivity would begin. Doves would be made to fly, bulls or buffalo would have duels; the youth would wrestle in various styles (kôdemard, êmpshamard}, box, play on the sharids [?? CHECK], jump a certain distance, jump over a rod, throw a heavy stone with one hand, and place each other on their hands and lift them up. Horse races, and one thousand and one kinds of games and competitions would take place. At the very end the géôvénd {type of dance} and shurchbar {circle dance} would begin. Boys and girls would dance together. The festivities reached their high point. Vartavar` outwardly has a Christian appearance, but deep down, it has the nature of a festivity remaining from paganism.

2.7 Surp Asdvadzadzin

The day of Surp Asdvadzadzin {Holy Mother of God}, like Vartavar`, is a day of pilgrimage. During this holiday of Assumption, the faithful in huge crowds go to visit the monasteries and churches that are places of pilgrimage. On the Sunday morning of Surp Asdvadzadzin, at the conclusion of the divine liturgy, the ceremony of the blessing of the grapes takes place. The blessed grapes are distributed to the people. In exchange, the masses leave their heartfelt gifts in the alms box. It was a carefully respected custom not to eat grapes until the Sunday of Surp Asvadzadzin. On the occasion of the holiday of Assumption, vineyards and gardensturn into places of rejoicing. Happy days…which alas have passed and left never to return.

2.8 Khachverats`

Khachverats` {Exaltation of the Cross} is the last of the five major {daghavar} feasts of the liturgical year. Agaqin the monasteries and churches are filled with fervent believers and pilgrims. The holiday of Khachverats` generally occurs at the start of the beginning of autumn—that is, it is a time of preparation in order to endure the winter season and assemble provisions.

2.9 Engagement (Nshanduk`)

Generally betrothal depended on the good will of the parents of the boy and girl. When the parents were known to each other, as a traditional custom or formality, the parents of the boy, together with their godfather, would go to the house of ht egirl in order to drink a few glasses of wine. After the preliminary discussions, the godfather would begin by saying, “Today we have come here for an extremely good matter, and we wish that with the command of God we establish a closer friendship with you through marriage. It is our fervent desire that we betroth your daughter, Anahid, with our son Dikran. Thus, we will both have realized a national obligation and respected God’s message. Let us not forget also that ever since the creation of the world, until today and forever, it has become the rule of the world that a daughter does not stay in her father’s house. Now the word is yours.” The parents of the girl, after withdrawing alone for a bit, return and respond, “If the Lord wills it, we have nothing to say. We only wish to learn the wishes of her uncle {father’s brother}. After that, we will inform you.” The parents of the boy and the godmother return home with hope. During the course of the next week, one day, they invite the girl’s uncle to their home. After imbibing several glasses of wine and liquor, the topic of the engagement comes up spontaneously. The uncle says, “I am in agreement with all my heart. Diran is the boy I love the most in the village. I have also expressed my accord to my brother. On the day decided for the engagement, I am with you.” The parents of the girl, according to their promise, first inform the uncle of the matter and then give the news to the boy’s parents. Taking with them the engagement ring that has been prepared, a pair of earrings (wrapped in a silken gauze), plentiful wine, a bottle of liquor, and a supply of various foods and fruits, the boy’s mother and father, as well as the godfather and godmother, go to the girl’s house two weeks later. The girl’s uncle is already there before them. The village priest is also immediately summoned. The table has been prepared in a suitable manner. The k`ahanay blesses it. The eating and drinking commence, and at that time, the engagement ring appears, after which follows the religious ceremony. Then glasses are clinked with congratulations of “ach`k`i loys.” After an interval of six months, a year, or sometimes even longer, the preparations for the wedding begin.

2.10 Wedding

In Chàrsanjak, the wedding begins on the last Friday evening of Hìsnag {Advent, or literally “fifty-day period”). At this time, some of the guests assemble in the boy’s house in order to prepare for the harsnarùm {“going to get the bride”} on Saturday as well as to make some other necessary arrangements. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they also eat the unavoidable purslane and drink red wine. The parents of the boy on Friday send one of the best sheep to the house of their in-laws for the preparations for Saturday’s wedding guests. That sheep is called aghvésug. Beginning on Saturday morning, the davul and zurna players put the entire village in motion. The village takes on a festive air. The entire population of the village, without distinction of nationality or religion, Armenian, Turk, or Kurd, all affected by the wedding gaiety, are in a happy mood. From morning to night the little ones of the village joyfully chirp, make noise, skip about, and make short bounds as if they were swallows bringing good news, full of the unforgettable memories of happy days. The roofs of the village are all the same dimensions and next to one another so that the space is wide and large. The youth, dressed, fancied up, with colorful red handkerchiefs tied at their necks, holding hands and next to each other, dance the halay, géôvénd, and other dances led by the davul and zurna. With their various melodies, the latter bring out the nerve and passion of the dancers, and give the watchers too a pleasant time. Among the dancers, placing all the parts of their body into motion, one attempts to surpass the other. At the conclusion of the d ànce, davulji {davul drummer} Khach`ô turns his davul upside down in front of the dancers and spectators. Both the dancers and the spectators, drunk from the festivities of the day, open the mouths of their moneybags and dang, dang, dang, place five kuruş, ten kuruş, and one mejidiye {mecidiye}coins on the davul. This sum is the right of the davul and zurna players. A little in the distance, the house of the father of the girl who is becoming a new bride is also in a commotion. The new brides and girls of the village, wearing their colorful, pretty clothing, assembled around the bride-to-be, form a circle holding hands, and accompanied by violin and tambourine music, dance and sing with vibrating voices the following peasant song.

The vineyard’s almond tree blossomed, léylana, My yar lies down underneath it, léylana, A ch`almég {probably çalma in Turkish, meaning head scarf or turban} tied on his head, léylana, He sent me violets, léylana.

The ch’almég was of three colors, léylana, The Mosin rifle was at his shoulder, léylana, In order to fight the dushman {duşman, Turkish for enemy}, léylana, He had wanted me too near him, léylana.

Let me go to help my yar, léylana, In order to bring gunpowder, cartridges, léylana, We have sworn together, léylana, To fight against the dushman, léylana.

Dancing and singing in this fashion they amused themselves, with each girl sing the praises of the boy she loved. After noon, the wedding participants assembly in the house of the boy’s father, organized and ready to go for the harsnarùm. They bring all the objects and supplies that are going to be taken to the bride’s home, placed on two sinis {trays, in Turkish}. On one sini a huge roasted lamb was placed in the middle, and on its sides were placed twelve roasted chickens, and a long-necked large wine gourd, full of the immortal red wine of the Armenians. A sparmach`ét {CHECK papier-mâché} candle was placed on top of each chicken, and a large colored candle was placed on top of the lamb. Next to each chicken was placed one pomegranate, quince, or red apple. A large melon rested on top of the lamb. All of this was covered with a white sheet. On the second sini was placed the new bride’s halav {outfit, clothing} in a package. Three boxes are placed on top of the package. In one of them was the new bride’s wedding ring, in another, a necklace, and in the third, a pair of earrings. Twelve pomegranates, quinces, or red apples were arranged in a circle around the package, and all around them were set plates full of various types of sweets and legumes (red and white raisins, ròjig, basdegh, walnut cores, almond cores, lablabus made out of roasted salty and unsalted chickpeas, mint sugar, almond sugar, dried mulberries, mulberry flour, hélva {a sweet made out of various cereals and syrup, sugar, or honey}, etc.). A large box of henna was also placed on top of the package in order to color the hands of the bride. Next to these sinis stand three youths, ready and waiting for the signal to walk. The godmother, the priest’s wife, the mother of the groom, and twelve other women (yenge {Turkish for an elderly woman who attends a bride}) wrapped in white sheets, with their faces covered by silken veils, as well as all the participants in the wedding, led by the davul and zurna are directed toward the bride’s home. When they near the house of the in-laws, one of the servants or boys shuts the door in front of the wedding party and demands a present (baghshish). The welcoming ceremony is conducted at the first opportunity with several glasses of liquor and wine. After this the eating and drinking begin, especially blôrig kùftà {a type of meatball}, which in its taste surpasses all foods. Before long, the kàhanay taking a Mashdots` (book of rituals) out of his bosom, exclaims, “Blessed, be quick, bring the halav so that I bless it. I cannot remain long. They await me in another place too.” The command is carried out immediately. The kàhanay carries out the ceremony of blessing with the aid of the teacher who sits next to him. They then bring the sini to the women’s side. In general the women do not have the custom of sitting together at the table with the men. The kàhanay also blesses the second tray, lights the twelve candles arranged around the lamb on top of the chickens, and filling three cups from the long-necked wine gourd gives one to the girl’s father, another to the father of the groom, and takes the third himself. He then says, “Hàgop K’ehya, Mardiros aghpar {brother}, congratulations to you both. You are making your children flourish. I wish you two friends, love and union, and to the newly married couple, unfading nuptials and good luck. May all the young people be next.” The kàhanay pointing with his finger to the lamb and making the sign of the cross over its face speaks as follows, “This lamb is the symbol of Jesus Christ. The chickens arranged around it represent the twelve apostles, and this wine symbolizes the blood spilled during the crucifixion of Christ from his side.” After the priest’s congratulations and explanation, the three drink from their cups, after which it is the turn of the others in the room. Over there, a youth with his sleeves rolled up, cuts the lamb. Its right side with two bones is the portion of the kàhanay. The latter after receiving his share leaves together with the zhamgoch` {beadle or steward}. The neck of the lamb is the share of the zurna and davul players, while the two thighs belong to the women. The remaining parts and the chickens are divided among all the people in the room, who begin to eat, drink, and make merry. On the women’s side, the elderly ladies gathered around the table together with eating and drinking, putting their heads together like sheep, foretell the fortune of the girl who has ecome a new bride, and the maidens who are candidates for bridehood. A short distance away, behind the curtain, the young brides and girls enjoy themselves listening to secret discussions particular to their sex and the advice and suggests given to the new bride. After the eating and drinking finish on the women’s side, led by the godmother, the bride-to-be is brought to the priest’s wife. They bring out all of the jiéz {Turkish çeyiz, trousseau} and veil of the new bride, wrapped in a bôghchà {Turkish, bohça, package, wrapper for a package, square shawl}. According to custom, they make the little sister of the bride-to-be, or a little girl of the house sit on the bundle. After receiving a gift, she descends from it. The wife of the priest, with the assistance of the women next to her, opens the package and begins to show one by one its contents: needlework done by the bride, various types of objects, clothing, fisdan (dress or gown), belt for the waist, silver k`émér {in Turkish, kemer means belt or girdle}, and a kèaghêd ichì yazma {Turkish, kağıt içi yazma a handpainted kerchief (yazma) inside (wrapping?) paper} to be tied on the head, with beads embroidered on all sides. There are gloves, socks, purses {kese, Turkish} with handles in which money can be filled, handkerchiefs embroidered on a khasnakh {Turkish kasnak, embroidery frame}, lacework, crocheted items, and other things which are to be given as khlat` (gifts) for the new groom. All the women in unison exclaim, “May God make it khaylu {Turkish hayırlı, blessed}, and cut it {CHECK gêdêrdé} with saghutìwn {good health}. May she not shame God. Wherever she goes, let her foot be lucky {Turkish uğur}. May she leave her father and mother’s faces white. May she go a girl and come back a bride. May the grace of the mother of God Mother Mariam be upon her. May she be obedient to her father-in-law and mother-in-law. May God make her with one bread, and one fate. May her foot encounter no stone. May they grow old on one cushion. May all girls be the next.” The wife of the priest uncovers the head of the new bride. Some of the maidens scratch her head in order to become worthy of the same fate, while others plait her hair. Then the wife of the priest covers the brides head and places a white veil on it. The time comes for the henna dance. A beautiful maiden, holding the plate of henna in her hand and led by the davul and zurna, moves about like a peacock, and dances hopping like a partridge. A little later other maidens also participate in the play, and the young men accompany them. Happiness reaches its zenith. After this dance, they apply henna to the hands and feet of the bride. They mix the henna with wine and also mix in a little shab (alum) so that it will be strong and the red color does not dry out. Late at night the wedding participants disperse. Some steal a spoon or fork, others a plate or any object as a joke, with the condition that they will return it the next day for a present. Sunday morning before breakfast, the davul and zurna are in action outside. All the people have taken to the roofs, while the youth dance the halay and géovénd until the evening. Sunday evening is the time to bless the halav of the groom and to praise him. All the wedding particpants have assembled in the groom’s house. The table is ready. All types of food and appetizers have been placed there, especially the type of plant called béza, which is a plant like asparagus which they salt or pickle, and during drinks they eat as maza {Turkish meze, appetizer}. The khadeghji ({Turkish kadehçi} cup bearer) unceasingly fills wine in cups and giving them to the wedding participants wishes them welcome. The group of youths sit at the lower end of the table and chat. Sometimes talk of fédayis take place, and revolutionary and nationalistic songs are sung, with some caution. Finally the groom, shaved and clean, with an aba {Turkish, coarse woolen cloth or cloak} placed on his head, is brought to the priest, led by the godfather and twelve pèsay-manugs {literally groom-boys, or ushers}. He kneels before the priest. Bringing the halav, they place it on the table. The priest after placing a cross and sword on top of it carries out the blessing of the halav. After this, taking a cup fo wine he makes the sign of the cross and inviting the father of the groom, says, “Hàgop K`éhya, congratulations, you are making your son flourish. May it be a felicitous wedding. May they grow old with one wedding, and be worthy of an unfading marriage. I wish the same for all the youth.” Hàgop K`éhya taking the cup stands up and responds, “Bless the Lord, happiness to you, you are all welcome, {I swear} upon my head and eye. May the next be all your jahils {Turkish cahil, young one}.” Then he empties the cup. All drink. Finally the time comes for the ritual of dressing and praising the groom. First they make the groom stand up in the middle, with the godfather at his side and the twelve ushers surrounding him. The diratsù with a good voice sings “Khorhurt khorin {Profound Mystery}.” After this the ushers open the groom’s halav bundle. While they dress the groom, they sing the following songs.

Say shnavor {Armenian shnorhavor, graced, gracious, felicitous} hay {hey}, this king’s halav shnavor, may he enjoy it shnavor; Dress him with this king’s ch`ukha {Turkish çuha, broadcloth} shalvar, say shnavor; Say shnavor hay, may he enjoy it shnavor, the shalvar of this little boy king shnavor.

Dress him with the khut`ni elgégn {Turkish, kutni meaning a type of silk and cotton cloth, and yelek, vest or waistcoat}, on his chest the gold, diamond buttons, Say shnavor hay, may he enjoy it shnavor, button this king’s khut`ni elgégn, shnavor.

Dress him with this chùkha salt`gég {Turkish salta, a kind of short jacket with sleeves}, dress him, hang from his shoulders a golden threaded bow {p`nchìg} Say shnavor hay, may he enjoy it shnavor, this king’s chùkha salt`gég, shnavor.

Place the golden crown of the Armenians on his head, tie the ch`almég of three colors on it, Say shnavor, hey, the crown shnavor, the crown with its ch`almég, may he enjoy it, shnavor.

Tie it on, tie on the sword of the king, may the sword be sharp, all of you say it, Take him and sit him on the golden throne, say shnavor hay, may he enjoy it shnavor. Drink a toast to the health of the new king. Dress him with a shirt, make the little mother {mérig} cry, say shnavor Your little boy flourishes. Dress him with an ishlig {Turkish içlik, shirt}, make the sister cry, say shnavor your brother flourishes Dress him with a zêbgég {Armenian zbun, Turkish zıbın, robe, gown, jacket}, make the father cry, say shnavor your little boy flourishes. Put the belt on, make the brother cry, say shnavor your brother flourishes. Say shnavor, let him enjoy it shnavor, drink a toast of wine to the health of the new king.

At that moment, striking the glasses full of wine against each other, they cry in unison,

Yaşasın {Turkish, long live} our new king. May the t`akhd (throne) be his, the sword be sharp, the head of the enemy daima {Turkish, always} be under foot, may he live a thousand!” Turning to the father of the boy, they continue, “H`agop K`éhya, congratulations. You have made your son flourish. May God make him with one loaf of bread and one fate. May God make his home joyful. May he not shame God, and be worthy of an unfading marriage. He achieves his muraz {goal, desire} – next time for the remaining jahils.

On behalf of the groom, somebody sings thus:

Mother, I have imbibed your milk, make it halal {Turkish, lawful, legitimate} for me, Father, I have grown on your bread, make it halal for me.

The mother, kissing her child, answers:

May the milk I gave to you be halal; Do not forget your nation is enslaved, palay {Turkish bala, child, babe}; Sleepless I suckled you nights Along with my milk with vengeance, palay!

The father similarly kissing his child gives the appropriate blessing: “My son, do not ever forget the message of sacred vengeance given by your mother! Teach the same message to your child too, and his children, until the dawn breaks.” Some youth leaving the table approach the new groom. They attack the newly enthroned king as enemies, with the intention of slapping him. But the slaps touch the ushers and the godfather instead of the ruler. The attacking youths attempt to take a handkerchief from the pocket of the groom or godfather as spoils, andsucceed. Often it happens that they kidnap the groom and taking a gift from the godfather (enough to eat and drink), return him. Thius, after some fun, they give a colorful red handkerchief to the new groom. He then holding this handkerchief between the thumb and index finger of his left hand, keeps it against his mouth, and stands silently, as if he has become a man condemned to death. With his right hand he holds the hilt of the sword, while the godfather holds the other end of the sword. The two go together towards the door, and sit on a golden t`akhd made of a special wood. Afterwards the eating and drinking begins, during which there also are group songs, intervening dances, and unlimited joy. The turn of the henna of the new groom to dance {CHECK hina khaghts`nel} came. They rub it in the hands of the bride and groom and tie it with a cloth. A few hours later it turns red as a rose and the color does not change for months. The godfather dances with the plate of henna in his hand. Others accompany him. After the dance, they henna the hands of the new groom. The fun continues until late night. Monday morning, the wedding participants gather at the house of the new groom, and from there go to the new bride’s house, led by the davul and zurna in order to take the bride to church. Standing next to the door, the davul and zurna players perform especially soft and vibrating {CHECK BETTER WORD for t`rt`r`un??}melodies in order to make the girl’s mother cry. Inside, the godmother on one side of the new bride, and on the other a yenge (one of the women participating in the wedding ceremonies) take the bride first to kiss her father’s hand and then to obtain his blessing—that is, to say goodbye. The girl, crying honkur-honkur {Turkish hüngür hüngür, violently or bitterly} and sobbing, kisses her father’s hand. The father then gives his blessing and, kissing his daughter’s forehead, says, “I wish you good luck and a happy and long life. Be meek and humble. Acknowledge your responsibilities. Do not leave us in shame. Good bye. God be with you.” From there they take her to her mother. Trembling and sobbing, the girl falls in her mother’s embrace. Another woman standing nearby sings the following in her soft woman’s voice, on behalf of the girl.

Mommy you gave me birth with great pain, During the nights you would remain without sleep singing lullabies; You raised me, you together with my father, Fate came to separate me from you today.

After taking her out of the house, they advance with slow steps led by the davul and zurna towards the church. They also take the new groom out of the boy’s house, surrounded by the ushers, and lead him towards the church. After the marriage ceremony ends, the kàhanay divests the sword of its scabbard, places it between the heads of the groom and bride which are touching each other, and separates the two. The meaning is that two hearts loving each other sincerely can only be separated from one another by the sword. The entire population of the village watches with joy the procession of the newly married couple. The villagers offer the members of the wedding party in various places wine, liquor, and various foods. They cast millet and rice on the groom and bride so that the generation to arise from them will be countless like the grains of millet and rice. When they arrive in front of the house, a lamb is ready lying on the threshold. The groom draws the sword and with one blow cuts the lamb’s neck. Crossing over his victim, he goes inside. The mother and father hold their hands in the form of an arch in the middle of the door so that the bride and groom pass under that arch. The mother of the groom, with a food ladle in one hand, and the tayna (a piece of cloth) used to wash pots in the other, dancing, they went inside. The new groom and the godfather stand at the inside of the entrance of the door on top of the golden throne of the plank of the wheat threshing board that was specially prepared for them. They take the new bride to a corner of the house to sit on the specially prepared cushion throne of a queen made of exceptionally soft wool. The sisters of the bride and many maidens surround it. The members of the wedding party, after congratulating the groom with handshakes, take theirplaces. The tables are already loaded with lambs, chicken, and various types of food. Several youths, taking the long-necked wine gourds, fill the glasses. They give the first one to the kàhanay, who repeats his blessings and good wishes one more time. The second glass is destined for the boy’s father. He responds, “Bless the Lord, happiness to you, you are welcome, a thousand times welcome. If anything is lacking on our part, please ignore it. May all the young people be next.” And he swigs down the wine. Those present exclaim, “May your drink have been pleasant, brother Hàgop,” to which the following answer is given, “May you all remain well and sweet.” The third glass belongs to the godfather. “May your reward be complete—you have made your godson flourish,” they exclaim in unison. It is now the turn of the youth, who holding hands with the bride and groom, form a circle and sing and dance a circle dance. This is their song.

Boy: Girl, come to our orchard, Nazô yars {my love}, Nazô jan {my soul}; Bring with you a pair of sweet melons, Nazô yars, Nazô jan; Let us sit under the almond tree, Nazô yars, Nazô jan; The nightingale sings from above, Nazô yars, Nazô jan.

Girl: Come to my garden let me see you, Garô yars, Garô jan; Let me give you a basketful of cherries, Garô yars, Garô jan; Let us sit under the almond tree, Garô yars, Garô jan; Let me give you a pair of sweet melons, Garô yars, Garô jan.

Boy: Girl, come to our orchard, Nazô yars, Nazô jan; Golden thread falling off of your breast, Nazô yars, Nazô jan; Your sweet melon breasts in your bosom, Nazô yars, Nazô jan, Have sprouted like mushrooms, Nazô yars, Nazô jan.

Girl: The almond tree has blossomed, Garô yars, Garô jan; My yar is lying down underneath it, Garô yars, Garô jan; Upon the sweet melon kept in my bosom, Garô yars, Garô jan; He has placed his hand, Garô yars, Garô jan.

Boy: Your face is a red apple, Nazô yars, Nazô jan; Your chest is white marble, Nazô yars, Nazô jan; With your golden threaded hair, Nazô yars, Nazô jan, Your heart has woven love, Nazô yars, Nazô jan.

Girl: My yar is seated next to me, Garô yars, Garô jan; He has loved my sweet melon breasts, Garô yars, Garô jan; The nightingale from the tree above, Garô yars, Garô jan, Has witnessed our secret, Garô yars, Garô jan.

After all this they chose the dôlu bashi (toastmaster or head of the table{Turkish dolu başı}). Whoever is chosen immediately stands up. In order for him to carry out his office, a large kèars (a glass) full of wine is given to him. This glass holds ten times more wine than the other ordinary glasses. The dôlu bashi, holding the glass in his two hands, says, “Listen assembly, I became dôlu bashi through your voluntary will, but you know that I am not a very kèafir {kâfir, Turkish for unbeliever} man. I am an Armenian Lusavorchàgan Christian man, and I believe in Christ’s words. Christ said that first of all, you must act, and later teach others. And I will act in this fashion so that you have an example. First of all, I will drink, and afterwards, whoever I indicate will drink. There is no I cannot, I am not…all of you will drink from my glass. And whoever wants to give in can leave the khonchà {round wooden table} now.” It is contrary to everybody’s honor to leave the table. The dôlu bashi, looking at the glass he is holding in his hand, continues, “Hey miwbarék` {mübarek, Turkish for blessed, holy, good}, whoever drinks from you will go straight to the center of jénnet` {cennet, Turkish for heaven}.Bless oh Lord, Lord Father, this assembly. Happiness and long life to You. May God not place stones in front of the new groom’s feet.” He drinks once, without leaving one drop in his glass. The dôlu bashi has an apple in his hand. Whoever he throws the apple to is required to empty at one time the large full glass of wine. The members of the wedding party scatter at night. The godfather remains with the groom. When it is time to sleep, they lie the new bride down in a corner of the house distant from the groom. The new groom and the godfather lie down in another corner of the house. According to old traditions, both the groom and the bride begin to search for one another with the goal of stealing something from each other. The next day the stolen item is returned in exchange for a gift. Tuesday morning, the kàhanay comes to take off the marriage crown of the groom and bride. They remove the white veil from the new bride’s head. In its place they cast a black chìt` (cloth) or a kèaghêd ichì yazma. The bride goes to kiss the hands of all the members of the house, and becomes one of the household members. That day they kidnap the groom in order to take him to the godfather’s house. The godfather and the twelve ushers, with davul and zurna take the groom to the roof. A huge crowd of people begin dancing the géôvénd or halay. Davul player Khach`ô and zurna player Ôhan from Géôk`t`épé village spare no effort with various melodies in order to make this last act of the wedding pelasant. After the dancing finishes, they take the groom to the lower spring of the village. There the groom pulls the sword out of its scabbard and makes the sign of the cross over the flowing water of the spring. In this fashion, the sword which was painted with the blood of the lamb of the prior day is cleansed with water. The following has become a saying in Chàrsanjak: “Blood is not washed with blood, but blood is washed with water.” They stand the groom at the upper part of the spring. As a remnant of patriarchal customs, they break the kata {kadeh, Turkish for drinking glass} on his head. In the kata an egg is kept. After breaking the goblet, the ushers divide it amongst themselves. Whoever gets the egg in his part will be lucky. After the ceremony of the kata also finishes, they take the groom to the godfather’s house, where he remains until Friday. The members of the wedding party, being invited from house to house in the village, continue their festivities until Thursday night. That day is the last day of the wedding festivities.Friday morning, the wedding guests who have come from other villages say goodbye and disperse to their places. The wedding is finally over. Friday night, the godfather takes the groom to the father’s house. That night the members of the household are absent from the house. Only the groom and bride remain in the house. The bed of the newly married couple is prepared in a special manner in one corner of the house where they will pass the first night of their honeymoon. Behold, the wedding of the Armenian villagers of Chàrsanjak takes place in this manner. Blessed days…but days which have gone irretrievably…only the memory of which remains today.

Section 3 Ch`arsanjak’s Dialect

Similar to Armenia which did not have a homogenous population but a mixed one, our homeland of Ch’arsanjak probably did not have a population speaking the same language. In truth, there are numerous proofs that Armenia’s population did not speak the same language (see Badmagan Hayasdani sahmannerê, p. 26). Taking Dzop`k` into separate consideration, we find ourselves before the same situation. It was noted that the Urartians lived in Antzit` (sixth century B.C.), and had their own language which was different from Armenian and Assyrian (Hübschmann, p. 55). However this does not mean that Armenian was not spoken in Fourth Armenia. Strabo testifies that the lands conquered after the year 190 B.C. by Ardashés and Zareh from the territories in the area were all speaking the same language by the Christian era. Hübschmann, considering this testimony by Strabo to be improbably, says that this statement of Strabo must not be considered to be factual, but must be understood in the sense that the Armenian language was understood throughout Armenia as the dominant tongue. Only in the old provinces of Ayrarad, Duruperan, Fourth Armenia, and Aghtznik` was it customarily spoken (see Hübschmann, pp. 16, 52). However it appears that Fourth Armenia also had its own provincial dialect since Hòvhannés Vartabed Erzngatsì on the occasion of the interpretation of the old translation of Dionysius Thrax’s grammar made it clear that versions of the Armenian language called Osdanig, Michergreay {central, midland}, and Ezeragan {marginal, peripheral} existed. The Osdanig dialect was the language of the royal court or the capital, as well as the language of the Ayraradian province. The Michergreay was the language of the central districts, especially of Darôn, which did not differ in essence from the Osdanig dialect. The Ezeragans were those of Gorjayk`, Dayk`, Khutàyk`, Sber, Siwnik`, Artsàkh, and Fourth Armenia. Unfortunately it is difficult to ascertain whether these Ezeragans, including that of Fourth Armenia, are dialects or completely distinct languages of the old inhabitants of these provinces. Hübschmann considers them distinct languages (Haygagan kèraganutìwn, page 519), while others such as Eghishé Turian, consider the Ezeragans dialects, which is more likely and logical, since the realm of Dzop`k` or Fourth Armenia was one of the first of Armenia’s provinces to become Armenized. Somebody called Simnatsì, who under this name in a piece of writing entitled “Ch`mshgadzak and Its Villages” (see Sarkis Pakhdigian, Osgekidag, Volume III, Beirut, 1948, pp. 244-272) writes that “Ch`mshgadzak and its villages, like other districts, do not have their own dialect.” However, this observation is not correct, neither for Ch`mshgadzak nor for the comparatively more backwards Chàrsanjak, about which Bishop Karekin Srvantzdeants` (Tòros Aghpar, volume 2, p. 152) writes: “The people speak proper Armenian. The Kurd and Turk also know Armenian.” When he says “proper Armenian,” what does Srvantzdeants` mean? In any case, the Armenian spoken in Chàrsanjak may not be ruined by foreign words, perhaps because the district is isolated. However it is clear that it had a dialect of its own, which according to the investigation of the world-famous linguist Professor Hràcheay Ajarìan was a sub-dialect of the Kharpert-Erznga dialect (see Hrachèay Ajarìan, “Hay parparàkidutèan uruakidz ew tasaworutìwn hay parpar`neri {An Outline of Armenian Dialectology and Classification of Armenian Dialects},” in Éminian azkakragan zhoghovadzu {Eminian Ethnological Compilation}, Moscow-Nor Nakhichewan: Lazarian College of Oriental Languages, 1911, pp. 167-173). According to Hrachèay Ajarìan’s research, the two main centers of the dialect were Kharpert and Erznga—one at the southern extreme and the other at the northern extreme. The other chief places conforming to this dialect are Palu, Jabaghchur, Ch`mshgadzak, Chàrsanjak, K`ghi, Dersim, and Gamakh. According to Ajarìan the western border of this dialect is formed by the Euphrates River along its entire length. On the north, it is a line of the Pontic mountains, while the other borders are fixed by the borders of the dialects of Garin, Mush, and Dikranagerd. H. Ajarìan mentions the texts written in the subdialects of this dialect in his work (pages 168-169) and presents its phonetic structure. Ajarìan says that the Kharpert-Erznga dialect recognizes the vowels {A} (ậ [Footnote: Ajarìan uses an upside down letter ayp in Armenian for the sound between and . Here, for technical reasons, we are using ậ in its stead.]), {É}, {Ê}, {E}, {O}, and {U}, but {ÉÔ}, {IW}, {E}, and {O} are lacking. The following phonetic changes are noticeable in the vowels and dipthongs.

{OY}= {O}, so that {loys} = {lôs}, {k`oyr}= {k`ôr}, and {êngoyz} = {êngôz}; {IW} = {I}, so that {ariwn}= {arin}, {aghpiwr}= {akhpir}, {aliwr}= {alir}, and {eghchiwr}= {akhchir}; {E} at the beginning of monosyllabic words becomes {YÉ}, but in all other cases becomes {É}, as in {ezn} = {yézn}, {erp} = {yép}, and {ereral} = {éréral}; {O} everywhere turns into {Ô}, as in {oghch} = {ôkhch}, {osb}= {ôsp}, {odk`} = {ôtk`} , [orp] = {ôrp}, {orom} = {ôrôm}, {orodal} = {ôrôdal}, and {oghormil} = {ôghôrmil}; The dipthong {AY} turns into {U}, which the dialect presents as the middle value between the {É} and {A} vocalic values, as in {mayr} = ậ {mậr}, {p`ayd}= ậ {p`ậd}, and {hayeli}= ậ {hậyli}.

There are three degrees or types of consonants in the dialect: t’rt`rùn {?voiced, vibrating}, shnchàvor t`rtr`rùn {voiced XXX CHECK}, and tàv {aspirated}. The set of mute or voiceless consonants does not exist. The t`rt`run sounds of Classical Armenian become shnchàvor t`rtr`rùn, and the voiceless sounds become t`rt`rùn, while the aspirated ones remain aspirated. Aside from these the palatal consonants {KY} and {PY} have been created. Each time {Gh} and {P} succeed the vowels {É} and {I}, they are transformed into the palatal consonants {KY}and {PY}. The following are the most important of the transformations of consonants. 1. The sound {D}, following by {N}, through assimilation turns into {N}. For example, ậ {mdậnel} = {mênnel}, and ậ {kdậnel} = {kênnel}. 2. The {S} sound at the beginning of a word immediately preceeding the sounds {B} and {D} disappears. For example, {sbanel} = {bannel}, {sbidag} = {bidag}, {sdeghdzel} = {deghdzel}, {sdebghin} = {dapghin}, and {sderch} = {dérch}. 3. The words {nôsr}, {tàntzr}, {partzr}, and {kàghts`r} both in Erznga and Kharpert become {nôrs}, {tàrz}, {pars}, and {kàr`s}. 4. The words {dzanr}, {manr}, and {sandr} become {dzayr}, {mayr}, and {sayr}. 5. The Dersim district also presents an amazing novelty. The sounds {J}, {Ch`}, {Z}, and {Sh} are transformed into {Dz}, {Tz}, {Ts`}, and {S}. There are no special novelties in the grammar. The dialect of Kharpert-Erznga, as a paradigm for all the remaining dialects, recognizes six cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative and locative. The dative case is always the same as the genitive, and the nominative the same as the accusative, without any difference between animate and inanimate objects. The ablative particle is {é}. The signifiers for plural are - {-ér}, and - {-nér}. Of the pronouns, we can mention {indzis}, {êndzis}, {zis}, {imminé}, {kùminé}, {irminé}, {mizi}, , {kìzi}, {tziz}, {mérminé}, {kùminé}, and {tzerminé}. Verbs are very simple. The rule that the vowel {E} transforms into {I} only takes place in the first person singular and first person plural, while the third person ends in ậ (in the first conjugation):

{gê sirim} {gê sirés} ậ {gê sirậ} {gê sirink`} {ge sirék`} {gê sirén}.

The imperfect and perfect are like the classical forms. The future is formed with the particle {tê}, which is the abbreviated form of {bidi}. In the future negative, this {b} sound changes into {v}; for example, {ch`êvdi sirim} and {ch`êvdi siréi}. The contrary form {bidi ch`sirim} does not exist. In the participial form of passive verbs, the ending - {-vadz} is transformed into - {-mun}; for example, {garvadz} = {garmun}, {gabvadz} = {gabmun}, {var`vadz} = {var`mun}, {kots`vadz} = {kots`mun}, {trvadz} = {trmun}, and {krvadz} = {krmun}.

[Subsection 3.2, the glossary of dialectical words in Ch`arsanjak, on pages 522 to 575, has been omitted.]

3.3 Antiquarian: A Newly Discovered Armenian Cuneiform Inscription in Ghêzêl-Ghala

Ch`arsanjak has been a territory rich in monuments. Unfortunately the unfavorable political, economic, and social conditions prevalent there have been an oblstacle to investigations, excavations, or even simple critical rsearch. For this reason, manuscripts with historical value, parchments which have been transmitted generation to generation, as well as numerous monuments, subject to the ruins of continual political storms, are buried forever in Ch`arsanjak’s bowels. One irrefutable proof of this historical reality, an incontestable testimony, is G. H`. Pasmajian’s study which appeared in the antiquarian, historical, philological, and critical journal Panasér (volume 1, 1899, book 4). In the aforementioned study, G. H`. Pasmajian writes about a newly discovered cuneiform inscription which was found in Ghêzêl-Ghala. Below we present this cuneiform text authentically. Mr. Pasmajian writes as follows.

A copy of the inscription was sent by Mr. R`. Zartarian, one of the teachers of Kharpert’s National School. Although the inscription is found today to the east of Medzgerd four and one-half hours distant in an Armenian village, it was taken there from the ruined fortress nearby called Ghêzêl-Ghala (“Red Fortress”). A village called Baghin is found at the banks of the Miws Kayl River. Near it there are hot springs and a fortress. Ruins and inaccessable places are seen at the latter. The hot springs, as places of piligrimage, are often frequented by the people of the region. However no building remains on top of them now. Between this Baghin and Medzgerd, that is, to the east of Medzgerd, three and one half hours distant {sic?? The distance was given earlier as a 4 ½ hour journey}, there is a village and a half-ruined fortress, which is called Ghêzêl-Ghala. The village is called by the fortress’ name too. It is from this fortress that the inscription above {an image of the inscription is given in the book and, presumably, in the original article, along with a transliteration of the cuneiform into the Armenian alphabet} was taken for the church of the aforementioned Armenian village. We present here our translation of this inscription, which is the following:

1. had inscribed 2. of the Chaldians 3. great ones {or leaders, notables: medzats`} 4. Menuash 5. of Ishbuini, 6. powerful king, 7. great king, 8. king of the land of the people of Van, 9. is going to the city of Dosb 10. Menuash I 11. established Tìtàn [as pagan priest] {sic—according to the transcription, as well as the discussion below, it should read Tìtìan}, 12. being proper for this priest. 13. Of the Chaldians 14. the merciful 15. lord 16. Menuash 17. of Ishbuini 18. this inscription 19. had inscribed. 20. of the Chaldians 21. great ones.

What is important for scholarship in this inscription is the point that for the first time we become acquainted with the name Tìtìan. As is seen from the eleventh and twelfth lines, this Tìtìan is appointed as an appropriate individual to the ministry of the same place as pagan priest by Menuash for the chapel or temple of Ghêzêl-Ghala. The second important point is that the inscription, which is written on a stone one and one-half meters long, is in high relief. This is only the second from general cuneiform inscriptions, which is written in high relief like this. It remains now to find out whether this inscription begins with the words “had inscribed,” since it is meaningless to say “had inscribed” without the name of the one who “had inscribed.” Consequently wesuppose that at least one line has worn out or has been erased and disappeared due to destructive hands above the line we indicated with our number 1.

This is only one of the myriad of monuments and inscriptions which are lost forever in an untouched state.

Section 4 Sayings and Amusements

Ch`arsanjak had a rich supply of sayings and amusements, which had been accumulated and spread in popular circles over the course of many years. All this had a close connection with the patriarchal life that they led, as well as wit hthe character and chief activities of the population.

4.1 Sayings {this is only a partial selection from pages 579-580}

The priest does not eat kat`a every day.

A good day is evident from a “good morning.”

On a rainy day there are many who give the chickens water.

The wind brought it, the wind took it away.

Today to me, tomorrow to you.

The crazy man went to the house of the wedding. He said it is beter here than our house.

You cannot wash blood with blood.

They do not take the scythe from the hand of the farmer.

They do not tie the mouth of the ox which thrashes the threshing-floor.

The container falls. It makes a noise.

I know many songs. I don’t have [a good] voice.

The kitty-cats went outside. The mice began to play.

It is easy to grow a beard. Cutting it is hard.

The cow with diarrhea ruins the reputation of the stable.

A man does not call his yogurt-drink sour.

The dog by barking brings the wolf.

A plentiful egg laying hen is worth a milk cow.

Did your hem touch [something] bad? Cut it off and throw it away.

When the camel dies, its skin {leather} becomes a load for the ass.

He licks our door; he barks at another’s door.

They do not say “Bless me, Father” to the priest of the house.

One house two housewives; the floor does not see a broom.

Until the fat person grows thin, the thin person has a difficult time.

See the hem, take the cloth; see the mother and take the daughter.

Don’t go to the one who makes you laugh; go to the one who makes you cry.

The tumbling pot found its lid.

[The parts on Curses, and Blessings, from pages 580 to 582 were skipped]

4.2 Funny Anecdotal Episodes These are episodes taken from the real life of the Armenian population of Ch`arsanjak which reveals its honest, naïve, and sometimes thanks to ignorance unpolished but genuinely pleasant character in its way of life and work. Below we present several samples provided by compatriot Mardiros Mardirosian.

[Anecdotes were skipped from pages 582-584, and 585-590]

The Hoshé Villager and the Peddlar

A peddler encounters a villager of Hoshé and carefully looking at his face says, “Friend, it seems as if I have seen your face in Masdan.” The villager responds, “This is impossible. Ever since my birth I have borne on me the face of a native of Hoshé.”

The Buzzard or Kite {Urur}

The buzzard is a rapacious bird of prey. There were many of those buzzards in Chàrsanjak which they called tsìn. The people of Chàrsanjak noticed that female chicks were always being eated by the abovementioned raptors. In order to stop this terrible destruction they decide to capture the buzzard. They set a trap and succeed in attaining their goal. Discussions are carried out concerning the severity of the punishment to be decided upon so that the chicks will be definitively saved from this scourge. The discussions end with a conclusion. They imprison the buzzard in a churn, lock the cover securely, and throw it down from the peak of Tzorag’s rocks towards the very deep valley so that it will be broken to pieces. After the very first tumbles the churn itself breaks into pieces and the buzzard inside it flies into the sky alive and well. The villagers return to the village and console themselves thus: “It flew and did not die, but it was so frightened that even this was sufficient for it. It will never be able to fly over our village again {the original Armenian is in the local dialect}.”

The Barber of Kodarij

The skin on the face of Khêdêr Agha, one of the begs of Tzorag, was very tough. Every time that he was shaved, his face would bleed, and for this reason he would curse the barbers. One day, Khêdêr Agha was doing his namaz {prayers} above the rocks of Tzorag near a spring. He saw that a barber from Kodarij, with his bag on his shoulder, was passing by that place. He called to him.

“Hey, Usda {Master}, could you shave me?”

“Yes, my beg, very gladly.”

“But I have a condition. If you are able to shave me well, without making me bleed, I will give you a present. But if you hurt me and extract some of my blood, I will kill you.”

Saying this, he placed his six-shooter on one side, and one gold coin on the other. The barber began to shave the face of the beg. The job was going well, and the agha’s face did not bleed. Remaining very pleased, the agha rewarded the barber with one ottoman gold coin, and asked him:

“Tell me now, how did your hands not shake in the presence of this revolver?”

“We people of Kodarij since the incident of the buzzard {see the prior anecdote} have come to our senses. If a little drop of blood would have come out of your face, I would have immediately cut your throat and thrown your body off this rock.”

4.3 Songs

It is said that “Only the wicked have no songs.” Although the people of Chàrsanjak are not evil, they have no happy songs. Their songs are of grief and anguish, pain and sighs, alas’s and woes. One who is persecuted day and night, living with fear and being tormented cannot creat songs. The people of Chàrsanjak did not see happy days so that they could create happy songs. Our ancestors received spiritual satisfaction from the verses of sharagans {hymns}. They ardently sang “Aràvôd lusoy {Morning of Light},” “Surp surp {Holy, Holy},” and other soul-sustaining melodies. Love songs also have little place in Chàrsanjak because the expression of love was considered to fall in the ranks of the great sins. In the conviction of the Chàrsanjak Armenian, love must be unspoken, enclosed in the folds of the heart. In the most audacious cases only the eyes had the right to speak with each other, and this, secretly, distant from interested observers. After all, love was a sacred feeling which was not to see light so that it could remain unblemished. There were pastoral peasant love songs, secretly learned and secretly sung. Singing songs before elders was considered a great shame. Boys and girls would sing in the fields, in a corner of the gardens, and when alone. Armenian song was also tightly fettered among the Armenian-speaking circles of the people of Chàrsanjak. During weddings or other joyous occasions, Turkish songs would be sung and danced to, accompanied by davul and zurna. Theys were called maya or harén. Here is a sample from the harén’s sung by our ancestors.

Yavru, yavru,

Bir kara kaş, bir khumar {humar} göz sende var, Görülmemiş deli gönül bende var Yedi yıl dur {dır} derde derman ararım Heç {hiç} demezsin derdin derman bende var.

Darling, darling {literally, yavru means the young of any animal in Turkish but it is a term of affection}

You have black eyebrows, languishing eyes; I have a crazy heart never seen; It is seven years that I seek a remedy for my affliction, Do not ever say it, the remedy for your affliction is with me.

These Turkish mayas would be sung during festivities and during farewells to those leaving for America. All the national songs devised after the Armenian renaissance {of the nineteenth century} were sung, especially the revolutionary ones. Belwo we present a few examples of Ch`arsanjak’s village songs.

[Skipped New Year {Gaghant}’s Song and Minstrel Song, pp. 591-592]

Sirerk {Love Song}

The fruit of the garden has ripened, The rose has opened and is cold, I kiss the face of my yar, I fear my mother has heard.

He is hungry for mulberry békméz, Can the son of a foreigner {or of anotherCHECK??--élin} be a yar? Whoever takes the son of a foreigner {or of another??} Will have many sorrows.

I have an apple, it has been bitten; The place where it was bitten is silver; My brother wanted it and I did not give it; It is what my yar has given.

4.4 Games

The games played in Ch`arsanjak were not many. However, comparing them with the songs we find that the games were of a greater variety and of a more joyous basis and nature. Below we present several examples.

To Play Ch`êr`

The players divide into two opposing groups. On a large roof a chimney is chosen as a kòz (target or goal). The first group surrounds the kòz. The second group tries to cut through the line of blockade and touch the kòz. If they succeed, they will have gotten one khllô (goal).

Lêngi

Two people stand facing one another. With one hand, they hold a foot from behind, and jumping on the other foot they try to strike one another with their back or shoulders (k`up` zarnel). The adversary whose hand is dislodged is considered defeated (they say “mer`av {died}).

Khach’é T`op` {top in Turkish means ball; could khach’é be hace in Turkish meaning master, ruler? CHECK}

A leather ball the size of an orange filled with cotton is played with. The group is divided into two parts. They play by running on large roofs, threshing-floors, or meadows. The group which has seized the ball of the opponents in the air more times than the other. This is a game particular to youths {probably meaning males}.

The Fortress Game

The group is divided into two parts. Exactly at the center of the play area a stone is placed as a fortress. One of the groups surrounds the fortress in order to defend it, while the opposing side attacks from outside in order to occupy it. One of the defenders of the fortress pursues the attacker. The latter is taken out of the game if the one chasing him succeeds in touching him with his hand. Reciprocally, ifone of the attackers are able toform a circle around one of the guards who goes away from the fortress (they call this gêyrel), then the guard is taken out of the game. This is an interesting game for adolescents.

Rope Game

This is a game special to youths which demands strength and endurance. Twelve players are divided into two groups. Four people from one group stay in the center of the playing area, bending down a little and their backs sticking out. Two other friends stand next to them as guards. One end of the rope is in the hands of the four who are lying down, and the other in the hands of the guards. The members of the second group, who are free, try to take advantage of the opportunity, and without being hit by the guards, jump over the backs. They can remain there “t`ar`adz {perched}” as long as they wish. They can also climb down and flee, in order to return again. The condition is not to be struck. The job of the guards of the group lying down is to not permit the opponents to get up on the back of one of his friends. If they succeed in touching the attacking opponent with a hand or foot, then the group struck lies down in a circle while the others take on the role of the attackers and their freedom. It is a very crude game.

Apémuz-Chr`té Jamuz

This is a winter game. A cushion is placed in the middle of a room. Two people lie on the floor alongside the cushion with their eyes tied and holding in their hands a knot or a large cloth. One announces to the other, “Apémuz, chr`té jamuz; sen seni sakla, geldi khara t`op`uz {CHECK the first part; the second part means “hide yourself, the black ball has come}.” After yelling this, he strikes the one opposite him with the cloth. If the latter, keeping to the left and right sides of the cushion, is able to avoid the blow, then he will have the right to make the same warning and to strike. This game demands great cunning. The clumsy receive a great beating and earn laughs from spectators.

Vrat`rug (Bashshari-Bashshari)

One person bends down with his hands on his knees. In a line, the players run and saying “bashshari, bashshari” place their hands on the back of the person bending down and jump over him. At each leap, the one bending down raises his back slowly. The player who is not able to jump over that height then lies down himself. It is a game demanding flexibility.

Swimming

In summertime, swimming in the river was a pleasant pastime for the adolescents and youths of Perri. There were several types of swimming: frog swimming, arm swimming, feet swimming, and swimming on the back. The type of swimming for races for adults was the arm swimming. Only brave swimmers could cross the river to the other side with arm swimming in the river’s current.

Other Games

There are also other children’s games which exist, which are customarily played in all lands: ch`éllig {Turkish çelik, tip-cat, also called cat, cat, dog}, vzhrig (vék) {knuckle-bones}, and kite flying. Girls would play t`ôp` (ball) with balls made of pure wool threads, in which some cotton would also be placed. They would strike the ball on the ground and count. Whoever counted the most would win.

4.5 Abbreviations of Personal Names and Ways of Usage

Sarkis Srkô Srkapar Hàgop Agô Agparar Bôghos Bôsô Bôghsapar Mardiros Mardô Mrdapar Giragos Girô Giramu Vartan Vrtô Vrtamu Kévork Kévô Kévapar Khachàdur Khach’ô Khachàpar Simon Simô Simapar Krikor Koko Kokapar Melkòn Mlk`ô Mlkàpar Hòvhannés Ovan Oynapar Baghdasar Baghdô Baghdapar Markar Markô Markapar

[REST OF THIS SECTION OMITTED pp. 596-597]

Part Nine The People of Ch`arsanjak in the Diaspora

Section 1 The Monument to Ch`arsanjak

[praise by compatriot Levon Melidosian of the value of this volume—omitted here, pp. 601-605]

Section 2 Compatriotic Organizations

2.1 America

The Compatriotic Union of Perri

This Union was formed on March 31, 1946 through the union of Perri’s Youths’ Philomathic Association and the Ch`arsanjak-Perri Philomathic Association. This Union’s goal was to help the needy of Perri who were in America and abroad, and in Armenia to build a village or neighborhood with the name of New Perri. The first praiseworthy work of this compatriotic union was to participate with $3,500 in the 1947 repatration, thanks to which a substantial number of Perri nativfes were able to repatriate to the homeland {obviously here not Perri but Soviet Armenia} with their family members. Afterwards the Union continued its activities, aiding needy compatriots of Perri who had taken refuge in various countries—France, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Greece. Every year it regularly sent a certain sum to the needy of these countries. It was also decided to support students in the name of the Union in institues of higher learning, but, not having suitable students until now, this decision will be carried out in forthcoming years if students are available who have graduated from elementary schools. For now, the work of the Union is restricted to assisting needy compatriots. Aside from this, it keeps traditional customs alive through various events and meetings, and strengthens the ties and communcations between scattered compatriots. The Union has branches in America, in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Fresno (dissolved), and in Beirut, Lebanon, Aleppo, Syria, and France. Many Perri natives still remain distant from this Union; others only attend its events and help. The Central {Executive} of the Compatriotic Union of Ch`arsanjak Natives has tried so many times to bring an agreement between the two sister Unions, but this has always remained without result.

The Pan-Ch`arsanjak Compatriotic Union

Compatriot Garabed Giragosian of Tìl gives the following information about the formation of the Pan-Chàrsanjak Compatriotic Union. At the end of the First World War, Armenians deprived of their ancestral hearths and patrimonial soil, walking through the Golgotha of emigration and deportation, were scattered to the four corners of the world as the exiled fragments of a great people. Chàrsanjak too was subject to the same destiny. The eyes of all the exiles were focused on the Armenian community of America as the only hope for financial assistance, which could extend the hand of brotherly assistance to its needy close ones. The campaign to form compatriotic unions was born due to the bitter reality of emigrant life in the United States. It was as if each compatriot living in America had the thirst to rush to aid his compatriots. Filled with a friendly envy to surpass one another, a desire to break the philanthropic competition record led them. Seeing this pan-Armenian movement, we Chàrsanjak natives outside of the United States also awaited the organization of our compatriots who were in a very pitiful state. However this miracle in a collective sense was delayed. It must be noted with pride here the name of Chàrsanjak-Perri’s Philomathic Assocation, which our compatriots formed in New York. From 1922 to 1928, it supported an imitable school led by several young compatriots found there whose salvation from the slaughter was equivalent to a miracle for the people in our period. It was a period during which disputes between villagers and city dwellers took on the nature of an infectious disease among the surviving exiled Armenians from American to distant communities. The villager wanted to help only his own village’s people, and the city dweller, his fellow city dweller. As a result of this mentality of rejecting the other, compatriotic unions created in the name of practically every village and city of Armenia began to sprout like mushrooms and then die, which created a confused situation and the enervation of forces in Armenian life. Naturally the people of Chàrsanjak were not going to remain exempt from the danger of becoming infected with this sickness. It is possible to say that in the Fresno area we people of Chàrsanjak were unorganized in the full sense of the word despite our numbers and quality. I cannot say that the Chàrsanjak people did not have a psirt of helping one another. On the contrary, they would contribute to all organizations. They would fully encourage their enterprises without discrimination. There were some 250 to 300 people of Chàrsanjak in the Fresno area, with well-to-do lives. In the hearts of all compatriotic love and the longing for close ones were ardent. There was no reason for them to remain indifferent towards people of their own blood who were afflicted with an ocean of needs under distant skies. People embued with organization skills were necessary to be harnessed to this task with faith in order to break the pessimistic mentality enrooted in our compatriots. On July 17, 1924, the people of Chàrsanjak had organized a picnic at the banks of the San Joaquin River at the Divervier {CHECK??} picnic area. Ideas proposed to that intent failed. The idea of creating a powerful organization gradually grew over the years, became vigorous, and finally became a reality at the membership meeting convened on February 5, 1945 under the presidency of compatriot Bedros Puchigian. On that date finally was founded the Pan-Chàrsanjak Compatriotic Union in the Californian city of Fresno. California is one of the regions with numerous compatriots from Chàrsanjak, especially the city of Fresno. The majority of the people of Chàrsanjak are well-to-do and land owners thanks to long years of hard work and deprivation. The majority of these compatriots work in viticulture. There are also small merchants and simple workers. The Union during its first year of formation already achieved significant successes. It awoke great interest among compatriots, who enrolled by the ttens in the Union. The number of member srose to one hundred. With the guidance of its carefully tended program/by-laws, it organized public events, compatriotic meetings, and summer picnics—all financially and morally productive. Great enthusiasm began to prevail among the compatriots. The desire and willingness to work increased among all. Full cooperation ruled everywhere without provincial discrimination. The name of the Union occupies its rightful place in the American community thanks to its accomplishments carried out in a short period of time. Despite only two years of life, it aids needy compatriots found in various countries with significant sums of money. Numerous helpless Chàrsanjak natives in Syria, Lebanon, Kharpert, Greece, France, and Iraq are assisted by this organization. In addition to this, it participated in the 1947 repatriation campaign with one thousand dollars. During a short period of time this fruitful and helpful activity has won the interest and praise of all compatriots. During the same year, a compatriotic association of Chàrsanjak people was also organized in New York, and it immediately raised one thousand dollars and contributed it to the repatriation. Unfortunately, personal and factional positions played a sad role, as a result of which the Union of New York was dissolved. Efforts have been made to reorganize our compatriots in New York who are significant in number. The situation is the same in the regions of Bridgeport, Binghamton, Philadelphia, and Boston, where there are also a significant number of compatriots. Fresno’s Pan-Chàrsanjak Compatriotic Union tries along with its preceding work to form branches in various regions. Branches are being formed in the cities of Fresno, Los Angeles, Chicago, Beirut, Aleppo, Marseille, and Lyon. The by-laws that have been created aid in the extraordinary successes of the Union: not one personal or factional word or consideration inside the Union. All are equal. The chief concern of all are the needy Chàrsanjak people and their offspring in pursuit of education. Another important condition is that for the Pan-Chàrsanjak Union there is no distinction between city dweller and villager, and it sends its assistance to all impartially. Perri, Pertag, and Medzgerd have equal responsibilities and rights with the most modest village and villager according to the provisions and clauses of its program. All the branches unselfishly, with a superlative readiness to work and aid, are connected with the central executive found in Fresno (California) and cooperate with it. This union formed ten years ago has given over $35,000 in aid to the needy of Chàrsanjak abroad, and to over 125 of their offspring in pursuit of education who study in Syria and Lebanon’s {Armenian} national elementary and high schools. The explanation of the numbers is the best practical evidence of the truly constructive activity of this union helpful for the nation. Only imitable efforts at reconciliation can give such praiseworthy results. The secret of the Union’s extraordinary successes lies solely in reciprocal love and conciliation. We believe that this collaboration will last and ever register new successes. The the latest and living proof of this Union is the publication of this present volume, the financial responsibility for which was assumed by its Central Executive. The Pan- Chàrsanjak Compatriotic Union without a doubt occupies a significant place in the chronicles of the Armenians of the diaspora through the work it has carried out, and it continues its national efforts and redeeming role through ever new accomplishments, immortalizing the name of Chàrsanjak in our history.

Village Unions in America

Village unions of the people of Ch`arsanjak have also existed in various cities of America. Their activity has been very limited to only the circle of people from that same village, without the pretension of pursuing notable goals. These unions have predominantly been formed with the desire of maintaining communications and ties between families from the same village, with the intent of keeping the memory of the native land alive along with compatriotic and family values, traditions, and customs. The following are among this type of village union:

The Village Union of Pashaghag Natives (in the New York region) The Village Union of Vasgerd Natives (in the Bridgeport region) The Village Union of Hoshé Natives (in the Chicago area) The Village Union of Ch`arsanjak Natives (in the Binghamton area) The Village Union of Ismayél Natives (in the Chicago area).

All these village unions had a short existence and over time were dissolved and dispersed. The larger part of their membership has joined now the Compatriotic Union of the Natives of Ch`arsanjak, which was formed in February 1945 in Fresno (California). During a ten-year existence, this union has carried out important and very useful work among the people of Ch`arsanjak in the diasproa, beginning from Kharpert (in Turkey), to Syria, Lebanon, Greece, Iraq, France, and America, by providing financial aid to needy and helpless compatriots.

2.2 Compatriotic Unions in France [This section from pages 617 to 622 has been skipped]

2. 3 Compatriotic Unions in Syria and Lebanon

Our compatriot from Beirut Kegham Puchigian in the following writing depicts the life and actions of the people of Ch`arsanjak in Syria and Lebanon.

[This subsection from pages 622 to 633 has been omitted except for the following excerpt from pp. 624-5]

Barely breathing freely in a free country, they did not remain indifferent to our wandering compatriots deprived of employment and a means to secure their livelihood. Encouraged by the general {Armenian} national enthusiasm, they formed in 1922 in Aleppo the Compatriotic Union of the People of Ch`arsanjak with over 70 members. We think that this was the first Compatriotic Union of the people of Ch`arsanjak formed in the diaspora, apparent from philomathic and cultural associations. …. Twelve families were completely impoverished and deprived of shelter (they were spending the nights in the streets and the church courtyard). The construction of a camp was started for them. The memers of the Union and specialist compatriots set to work and with their hands and means they built a camp with six large roms. Thus these twelve families sleeping outdoors were settled in this camp, thus saved from the nightmare of the severities of the seasons. They dug and prepared with their own hands a well to supply these families with water. It was possible through significant financial and moral sacrifices to settle the troubling issue of the habitation of these compatriots.

Section 3 Families and Figures of Ch`arsanjak

Levon Melidosian

He was born in Perri in 1904. His studies in the fourth grade of the local elementary school conincided with the 1915 catastrophe. Like the adolescents of his same age, Levon was left without parents. He succeeded in being saved from the deportations thanks to Perri’s Nufus Memuru {Turkish Nüfus Memuru, Population Registrar} Mustàfa Effendi. He remained in Ch`mshgadzak and Gaban-Madén from 1916 to 1919 practically always as K. Erevanian’s inseparable friend. In 1920 he left for Kharpert and found his two sisters. In 1922 with the last deportations he establishes himself in Aleppo. Thanks to the efforts of his brother Melidos living in America, he sends his two sisters to America, but he himself remains in Aleppo. In this city, he becomes one of the founders of the Chàrsanjak Compatriotic Union as well as the Community {Kaghtàyin} School. He works in this elementary school as an educator and teacher for two whole years with full dedication and sacrifice. In 1928 he leaves for France. Together with some zealous compatirotis there too he applies himself to the work of organization his compatriots. He becomes a leading force in France’s Union of Youths of Chàrsanjak and its athletic group. He achieved great accomplishments and reached an enviable position from the point of view of attaining a certain level of advancement and enriching his knowledge through self-education. The last stage of his moves was the city of New York in America’s United States, where he lives at presents. In America too he did not remain inactive. Everywhere he worked to strengthen compatriotic organizations and expended every effort to unite the compatriotic unions of the villages and cities to bring all under one name. He had a well-tended style and an eloquent tongue. He became the first and most fervent collaborator on this history book. He followed this work with unlimited enthusiasm, and provided useful information through great sacrifice to it. As a faithful and traditionalist native of Perri, he has the right to observe with satisfaction the present volume, which is an imperishable monument to his adored native land of Chàrsanjak.

[Osgan H`ovhannésian pages 635-6 was omitted]

H`ovhannés K. Déôk`méjian

He was born in Chàrsanjak’s Ismayel village. He received his elementary education in the local school. He saw and lived through the saddest days of the April catastrophe. Saved from the Turkish yataghan, he reached Aleppo in 1922. Through self-improvement he enriched his store of learning. He has played an important role in the organization of Aleppo’s Compatriotic Union. He is one of the founders of Chàrsanjak’s Community School, and has been a member of its board of trustees. He left to France for work. There too he dedicated himself to creating compatriotic movements and became the force behind their organizational activities. He plays a praiseworthy role in the continual prosperity of the active life of the compatriotic unions of Marseille and Lyon. It seems as if he has become a voluntary and dedicated actor in the activities of the people of Chàrsanjak. His inexhaustible dedication has won the praise, respect, and gratitude of his compatriots. He moved from France to Sao Paulo (Brazil) where he remains at present. He attempts to remain interested in compatriotic movements and activities with the same passion and fervor even on those distant shores.

Bedros Puchigian

He was born in Perri. He is the best representative of our old generation. It is possible to call him the patriarch of the people of Perri. He is one of the first Armenians to immigrate to America, and he is the sole survivor of his peers. Now he lives in California, where he has formed a large patriarchal family. This white-haired elder lives at present surrounded by the affection of his children, daughters- in-law, and grandchildren. Bedros Puchigian has kept the beautiful customs and traditions of Perri. He is one of the important pillars of the Compatriotic Union. He has formed a part of the Central Executive of the Pan-Ch`arsanjak Compatriotic Union for many years. This honorable compatriot living with the memories of our past is greatly excited by the volume History of Ch`arsanjak which presents our native land’s character and life.

H`arut`iwn Gop’oyian

He was born in Perri in 1873. He is one of the best reprsentatives of the old generation. He was the first person from Perri to immigrate to America. He completed his elementary education in Medzgerd’s school. For a certain time he held the position of secretary of Perri’s prelacy. His recollections of Medzger’s fortress and ruined churches correspond to the information that we have collected. Compatriot Gop`oyian writes: “In 1900, the Turks built a barracks, destroyin the walls fo the Armenain churches. During the excavations a forty-room bath was found inside which were copper water cups of the bath and various coins. Experts confirmed that these coins were Persian. He lived for many years in Americas. The catastrophe of 1915 had an extremely profound impact on him, radically shaking his being to the degree of endangering his health. He succeeded in being free from the deportations, and brought his children, Bedros, Jivan, and Mariam, to America. He had the good fortune of being able to satisfy his fatherly longing for his children, and through them, for his unfortunate compatriots. Unfortunately this good fortune was shortlived. Several years later he passed away on foreign soil. He was a fervent preserver of the Armenian heritage and a faithful servant of the work of national liberation. Blessed be his memory!

Giragos Puchigian

Giragos Puchigian is one of the oldest and most respected representatives of Chàrsanjak. He was born in Perri, where he received his elementary education in the local national school. He left for America extremely early. In 1910 he returned to Perri. He brought a very devoted and active participation to Chàrsanjak’s national, political, and educational life. For a long time he served as chairman of Perri’s Civil Council and parish council. His sincere and unselfish activity won everybody’s unreserved respect and sympathy. He was an intimate participant in national liberation movements, keeping ties with revolutionaries abroad. As a national leader, he was extremely helpful in the improvement of the education of Chàrsanjak’s new generation in the pre-war period. In the 1915 massacre, he was one of the first of the Armenians of Perri to be arrested. He resisted all kinds of tortures in prison with unheard of endurance, causing amazement to the executioners. He was one of the first of the sixteen Armenian martyrs at the Muzur Bridge. Glory to his unfading memory!

Baghdasar Puchigian

He was born in Perri. He belongs to our middle generation of the 1908 constitutional period, as a patriotic youth who closely followed the movements of national renaissance. He is interested in the revolutionary figures of Ch`arsanjak of those days. He met them and heard with great interest their words. He was greatly impressed by fédayi Avedis, with whom he kept close ties. He was a moving force in Perri’s cultural movements. From 1910 to 1912 he served as a strustee of the coeducational elementary school there, as well as the head of the library. In 1913 he left for America. Memories of Perri’s past live on in Baghdasar’s soul, always bright, always vivd.

H`agop Gop`oyian

He was born in 1872 in Perri. He received his elementary education in the local school. After the death of his wife he moved to Costanta, Romania, from which he passed to the United States in 1890. He gradually emerged from his conservatism and followed the national liberational movement with great interest. He became one of the founders of Perri’s Philomathic, and aided in the elevation of the school’s educational level as well as the plan to endown the prelacy with a new building. During the period of Ch`arsanjak’s land case he kept in constant communication with the Patriarchate and expended every effort to reach a successful result. He suddenly died on August 20, 1939, leaving his compatriots in deep mourning.

[Kévork T`atoyian’s biography was omitted on pages 642 to 643.]

Melidos Melidosian

Melidos Melidosian was born in Perri in 1894. He graduated the United Association school of Perri. In 1910 he left for America to his older brother Misag. The news of the 1915 catastrophe and the deportations buffet his patriotic and nationalistic soul with wild waves of vengeance. Without hesitation he enters the newly formed Armenian regiment and leaves for the Cilician front. For two years he ceaselessly combats the common enemy, always on the front lines. He is invited to serve as secretary for the newly formed National Union under the leadership of the late Mihran Damadian. He competently runs this office until the evacuation of Cilicia. During his period in office, he is both financially and morally helpeful to his deported compatriots. After great difficulties, he succeeds in returning to America and saves his two sisters and brother from the Turkish hell. For a certain time he was involved in commerce. He paid great attention to the education of his children. He suddenly died on June 30, 1945, leaving his compatriots in deep sorrow.

* * *

In the picture, next to Melidos Melidosian is Bedros Zak`oyian, from the village of Khushi. He belongs to the large and heroic Zak`yoian clan. Full of patriotic sentiments, Bedros entered the Armenian Legion and carried out significant acts of bravery on the Cilician front.

Mrs. Baghdad Erevanian

Baghdad Erevanian was born in Chàrsanjak’s Hoshé village. She belongs to the large and well known Zurnajian clan. She married Sarkis Erevanian of Perri. Mother Erevanian determines her age in this fashion: “I had been a bride for five years in the year of the plunder—1895.” During the 1915 slaughter she loses her husband and brothers. Together with five children she suffers on the Golgotha of deportation. Y a miracle she is saved from certain death and reassembling her deported family members she settles in Aleppo in 1922. She dedicates herself fully to the education of her children, as well as the construction of their future. Though she was unfamiliar with the letters created by Mesrob, she remained faithful to Armenian traditions and all unwritten sanctities, and as an educator fostered them in her children, brides, and grandchildren, implanting in their hearts the ways of life of Chàrsanjak and our national traditions. We owe the section on Chàrsanjak’s provincial dialect nearly completely to her. Through her helpful recollections she contributed to the enrichment of this volume. She closely followed the efforts of the author of the present volume and that of his eldest son Kévork. She became its inspiration and greatest aid. Mother Baghdad, about eighty-five years old, is one of the rare survivors of Chàrsanjak, and the last remnant of the tradition-keeping mothers who have kept Chàrsanjak’s spirit immortal. Let us wish that she has the good fortune of celebrating her centenary as a living witness of Chàrsanjak’s history and glory.

Mrs. Zabél Ch`akmakjian (Mother Zabél)

Mrs. Zabél Chàkmak`jian is one of the notable figures of the female sex of Chàrsanjak. She provided helpful services to the elderly, widows, and orphans who escaped the slaughter, and helpless children subject to th11e loss of Turkification She lost her mother at an early age. Her father was killed in the 1895 event. As an innocent and inexperienced child, she rested her head on her father’s lifeless corpse and stayed in this state for an entire night, thinking that her father was sleeping. She is from the Tàtoyian family. As a defenseless orphan she was placed in the care of a German orphanage. At seventeen years of age she married Kévork Chàkmak`jian, a native of the same city as she. She was separated during the 1915 catastrophe from her husband, as the latter was conscripted into the army. Her five children were scattered here and there, entering into the service of foreigners {i.e. non- Armenians} in order to preserve their existence. In 1916 she settled in Kharpert. She completely dedicated herself to the work of collecting orphans initiated by the Americans. In a short time she is appointed as the caretaker “mother” of the boys section of the orphanage. It was during those extremely dangerous days that she began the very dangerous task of collecting Armenian boys and adolescents found with Turkish or Kurdish families. She succeeds also in finding her own four children. She also helped the similarly powerless, unsheltered, unemployed, and practically naked elderly. Mrs. Zabél Chàkmak`jian continued this work of salvation until 1922, when the orphans entrusted to her care and attention were transferred towards free lands, keeping indelible in their hearts the memory of the nagle who saved and selflessly cared for them. Mrs.Zabél Chàkmak`jian is a praiseworthy paradigm of a patriotic Armenian woman devoted to her nation, who has given the best example of responsibility, dedication, and unwavering faith through her life and actions. In the American orphanage two Armenian women, Mrs. Zaruhi Mshmshian and Mrs. Giwzél {Güzel} (Zabél) Hakalmazian showed their motherly solicitude alongside of Mother Zabél.

[Bôghos Démirjian’s biography is omitted on pages 650-651]

Bedros Gop’oyian

He was born in Perri. He attended but did not graduate the local elementary school. He had shown unique talent in drawing while a student. The catastrophe of 1915 “killed” his brush in its embryonic state. Bedros saw and lived through that dark period of oppression. In 1920 he returned to Dersim. There he was arrested by Turkish gendarmes and taken to Kharpert. He rmained one year in Mezré’s prison, and then was released free. He was a friendly person endowned with a joyful personality. He was extremely generous and self-sacrificing for his compatriots. He was interested in the life of the compatriotic uions and assisted them. He greeted the publication of this volume with enthusiasm. At present, he lives together with his brother Jivan in Chicago. Those who know him have always sought him and his noble and joyful company.

[the biography of Vagharsh (Vik`t`ôr) Maghak`ian was omitted on pages 652 to 653, as well as those of Jan {John} Najarian on pages 653-654, Jorj {George} Dérdérian p. 654, Garabed Giragosian p. 655, and Etvart T`atoyian p. 655]

Khosrov Nalpandian

Khosrov Nalpandian was born in Perri. He belongs to the generation which escaped the 1915 April catastrophe. By a miracle he was saved from the slaughter. In 1920 he came to Kharpert. In order to escape from military service for months he hid in miserable hiding places. In 1922 he moved with his family to Aleppo. Khosrov, who had been subjected to torments and oppression, applied his untiring efforts to the work of organizing the Compatriotic Union in Aleppo. As one of the founders of the Community School, he also held a responsible position in the board of trustees. At present he lives in the city of Marseille in France. Khosrov Nalpandian preserves with affection the traditions of our ancestors. For this very reason, he has injected his children with a national upbringing and the fluid of the history of Ch`arsanjak in order to nourish and make them live with it.

Section 4 Memoirs

Section 4.1 Levon Melidosian

A) Adalet {Turkish, for justice}

This was her Turkish name. Her Armenian name was Eghsapét`. We carry impressions from adolescence which remain inerasably imprinted in our memory throughout our entire lives. And this girl’s odyssey was one of those impressions in my memory. It was the summer of 1918. I was in Gümüş Maden, and again united with my close friend Kévork, with whom I served in the same Turk’s house, sharing a salty-bitter morsel of bread like true brothers. We were consolation and encouragement to each other. In the house there was also an Armenian girl with the Turkish name of Adalet. She was a native of Gümüş Maden. She had been deported together with her mother and her only brother. Her father had been killed. But she had been taken out of the caravan and brought back in order to be married to our agha’s brother-in-law. The pen and words are insufficient to describe this Armenian girl’s extraordinary beauty: a harmonious and well-proportioned body, thick brown tresses which in two twin plaits reached to her knees; huge black eyes, a tiny mouth, and red cheeks. However, despite her incomparable beauty, she always had a mournful and sad appearance. You felt that even her occasional smiles were forced. She was left in a melancholy state which did not at all suit her elegance. She recalled her mother and brother on all occasions, and her boundless love for them would make this orphan girl bitterly cry night and day. Tears were never absent from her eyes when she was alone, to the degree that she often betrayed herself when she attempted to appear before the people of the house with dry eyes. The uncertain fate of her beloved mother and brother kept her soul in mourning and darkness. Added to this was the forcible dishonor of being married to a Turk, to which she could not be reconciled in soul and sentiment. She was like a little bird imprisoned in a cage, destined for a powerless and hopeless life. Infinite pangs of conscience tormented me, silent and unspeaking, but I was powerless to do anything. I knew that my friend Kévork had the same feelings towards this despairing Armenian girl, taciturn and always pensive. She only liked to speak about her mother and brother. Alone, she would sing and repeat one single Armenian song, which, it seems, was a consolation for her, a way of lightening her melancholy soul:

There was a time when we lived free, We would freely ascend the mountains and peaks/sar without fear.

And—an amazing thing—during the course of three years we heard no other song from the lips of this girl besides this one. How much she loved solitude! She would become happy when the people of the house would go some place and she would be left alone, able to sing her beloved song with a little more freedom. Time flew. The time for the Turkish boy to whom she was engaged to return from military service approached. And Adalet every day became more silent, sadder, and more melancholy with the foreknowledge of facing a bitter destiny. This state of hers even attracted the attention of the people of the house despite all her efforts not to awaken suspicion. But there are internal uncontrolled torments which are unwillingly depicted on people’s faces, and it is not possible to change them through forced efforts. Adalet with her anguished spiritual existence was condemned to this state. With her father murdered, and her mother and brother on the cruel roads of deportation, she had to prepare to surrender her peerless beauty and honor to an offspring of the race which was tormenting her dear ones and her nation. Is there a tragedy more terrible than this? Is there a fate harsher than this? It was a suffocating night. It was the Turk’s month of Ramazan. A letter had arrived from Adalet’s Turkish fiancé that he would arrive home in two weeks. I and Kévork were lying down on the roof. Adalet came to summon us to serve the guests. The next day was oruç {Turkish for fasting} for all. After the service, Adalet descended to the kitchen to prepare coffee. We awaited her. She was later than usual. I went down towards the kitchen to check whether the coffee was ready. It was a very dark and tenebrous night. When I went down the stairs, I saw that the hearth was burning near the candle, the door of the kitchen was closed, and the coffee pot was over the fire, but there was no Adalet. A confused agitation enveloped my heart. Twice I loudly called out her name. I shuddered terribly when from a well a few steps distant I heard the rattling of the death agony of somebody suffocating. I began to yell for help with all my strength. Losing control of myself, I instinctively took a pole which came to hand and ran towards the well. All the members of the household rushed down. Kévork, a little older and more composed, rushed to go down the well, holding in his hand a rope with hooks. All of us had assembled around the well. A Turkish neighbor also arrived who was more experienced in this kind of work. Efforts to extract her lasted over an hour. The task was more difficult because she had thrown herself into the well headfirst. After much effort, it was possible to remove poor Adalet’s lifeless body, which was laid out on the ground. There was a little piece/sherd of bread in her lips, as if she had given herself communion for the last time. All of us were stupified at this unexpected and terrible scene. I remember Kévork’s mother’s face, which appears before my eyes at this moment. Flushed of color, her entire body shaking, her lips were moving but she could not talk. She was striking her hands on her knees and head, and was swallowing her tears in order to fill her heart with them. After all, wasn’t even crying for the tragic death of a gâvur girl a crime for an Armenian? The lifeless body of an honorable Armenian girl who had committed suicide was spread on the ground. Below, I, Kévork, and Kévork’s mother, three Armenian mourners with bleeding hearts; above, the shining stars in the blue celestial vault, which that night, witnesses to a sad tragedy, were scattering tears over unfortunate Adalet’s corpse. Thus concluded the endeavor of the life of a vengeful Armenian girl, who preferred to commit suicide in order not to surrender her honor and virgin body to the animal desires of the Turk, and who had been preparing herself for this awful drama for months. Bloom and beauty still on her body, it was as if her lifeless body spoke, casting the pain of her heart and the bitterness onto the Turkish “liberators,” and cursing them.

B) April Memories

The bloody hand of the brutal and treacherous Turk, like a terrible and destructive parching wind, spread desolation and destruction everywhere. There are still ingenuous people who have doubts about the 1915 crime being planned and organized by the Turkish government. Here is one of the proofs. During the same period when weapons were being collected and seized in the city, Edhem Bey was sent from Constantinople to Khozat`-Dersim as the mutasarrıf of this district. Edhem Bey’s responsibility was to invite the Kurdish ashiret chiefs of Dersim to meet with him and instruct them to help the government in the work of massacring and deporting the Armenians. He promised as their reward the belongings and property of the Armenians. In this way they {the Ottoman government} wanted to counter the suspicion that the Armenians of this area being close to Dersim and having for many years enjoyed trade and relations with the Kurds, might find a common language with them and carry out a rebellion in this region. Through this promise, they could both counter this suspicion and turn the Kurds into helpers in the task of annihilating the Armenians of the villages. This affair was related to us and confirmed later by the Kurdish leaders. As a result of this conspiracy, the Kurds first began to plunder and kill the Armenians of the villages. Simultaneously, after collecting the weapons of the Armenians of the city, hundreds of men were filled into the prison in order to become the victims of the bloodthirsty Turks. A terrible and indescribable fear prevailed everywhere. The wives and children of the massacred Armenians of the villages rushed into the city terrified, and spent the night outside under the trees hungry and thirsty. The first group of imprisoned men, sixteen people, who were the notables and leaders of the Armenians of the city, were taken out with handcuffs at night towards the Mntzur River, where after being brutally slaughtered, they were cast into the current of the river. Several days later the second group of men, around two hundred people, were taken from prison at midnight to the fortress of T`il under the supervision of a group of ten armed gendarmes. The entire population of the city, women, children, old and young, filled with trembling, waited every minute, alertly watching and listening, for the tragic fate of their imprisoned loved ones. The prisoners were aware of their horrible fate. I will never, ever, forget that shudder-inducing scene of death, when the two-hundred-man group of prisoners, with their arms tied, were taken out of prison towards the fortress of T`il in order to be eliminated there. Among them was my father. That night of horror will remain indelibly engraved in my soul until the end of my life. Nobody was permitted even to say a final farewell to their loved ones. In the profound darkness of the night, when the captives were taken on the road alongside the pottery workshops, the whole city became filled with unrelatable and heartrending pitiful screams. The entire population, young and old, had filled the streets and roofs. It was prohibited to approach the caravan of the prisoners. Those being led to their deaths were yelling in the distance, mixed together with crying, “Be well, be well, loved ones. May food and drink be yours to have and enjoy. We are going to our deaths.” It was a deep, dark night. The hearts of five hundred Armenian families were also dark and wounded. The city’s men had been cleansed and annihilated. Only a handful of artisans had been spared out of the need for their handicrafts. The turn now had come for the women and children, for the families which were left defenseless and without leaders. Kel {Turkish for bald} Ôhan the town crier informed the people on the streets and on the roofs of the ill-omened news: “Those who have close relatives in America must prepare to go on the road.” Supposedly they were going to be sent to their relatives in America. The women and children who had remained without support ceaselessly cried for weeks. They were confused and stupefied, and did not know for whom to cry—for the loved ones who had left with no return, for the uncertain fate of their children, or for their houses and belongings which they obtained through years of salty sweat, which the bestial enemy was going to seize and enjoy without even a drop of sweat. We too were in the caravan of those who were going to leave for “America.” My mother was a woman of healthy instincts. Wihtout revealing anything to me, days earlier she had made the arrangement of entrusting me to the Turkish official who was our tenant. The Turk had agreed and said, “I will keep him with me, and in several months will take him to my family in Ch`mshgadzak.” I had no idea of any of this. On the last day, when the caravan was to assemble at the threshing-floors to depart, my mother called me to her, and with tears flowing down her cheeks and falling on her face, she hugged and kissed me, and said, “My tzakug {literally, Armenian for the young of any animal, but used here as a term of endearment—“little one”}, do you know you are going to stay here? We are going to go. I have spoken with our Turkish tenant. You will stay in his house.” When I heard this unexpected revelation, I wanted to flee with a loud cry, to escape towards the threshing-floors with the intention of mixing in with the caravan. My heart and mind were troubled by sinister and dark reveries. However my mother seized me by the arm, sat me on her knee, and began to persuade me. Her tears ran like water from her eyes, her heart beat with terrible force, and she was not able to continue what she was saying.

Listen, my little one. Be a little smart. They are saying America, but this is false. Perhaps they will take us and kill us in a valley a few hours distant or at the edge of the river, and throw us in the water. Why should all of us die? At least one of us will remain alive, so that one day the smoke of our hearth will not be completely extinguished. If they let us live, I will wear iron shoes and come and find you, my little one, wherever I may be. I only wish, I wish that at least one of us will survive. I have spoken with the Turk. He will take good care of you. Just be good, remain obedient, listen to what you sare told, so that they do not expel you and you do not remain hungry and vagrant.

And after every sentence, she kissed my face, my eyes, my head, and my hands with a profound and insatiable longing, as if with the premonition that she was getting her last fill.

Do not cry, my little one. Have pity on your mother. Whatever I have arranged and I say is for our benefit. Isn’t it difficult for me, consider… I’m cutting half of my heart off and leaving it here, and am taking half of it, bloody, with me. My arms are broken, my little one, what can I do? Just be good.

A heavy, unspeakable sorrow was scorching my heart. The plea “Have pity on your mother, my little one” was ripping apart my mind. I was stupefied. Placing a stone on all my feelings, I agreed with her decision. There was panic, alarm, tears, curses, and yelling everywhere in the city. My mother, gripping my arm, took me to entrust to the Turk. The official declared that he would not be able to take me in immediately because a new order had arrived. Boys up to fifteen years old and girls up to twenty years old must remain in the orphanage in order to be distributed among Turkish families. Consequently, I had to go and be registered for the orphanage. My mother instructed that I go register and return to see them off and have a last hug with my loved ones. I became the first to be registered in the belediye {mayoral} office for admission to the Turkish orphanage. After carrying out the formal registration, they entrusted me to Deveci {Turkish for camel driver} Osman, the gendarme who was standing by the door as a guard, so that he would take me to the mekteb {Turkish for school} of the Turks, where the little ones for the orphanage would be assembled. I begged to be allowed to return to say farewell to my mother and sisters. It was impossible. All my requests and pleading was in vai. They signaled Osman with their eyes not to pay any importance to my crying and yelling. He carried out his duty. He took me to the mekteb, locked the door behind me, and left. My mother, hopeless after efforts to find me and searches, returned to the threshing-floors, where neighborhood boys and friends asked for me. My mother related the situation with tearful eyes. Learning what happened, my friends also separated from their loved ones. Several hours later they brought over one hundred adolescents to the mekteb. Several days later they sent forth a second caravan in an unknown direction. The news spread everywhere, and the numbers of boys and girls in the orphanage exceeded three hundred. The mekteb henceforth became too small. The boys were brought to the Protestant church, while the girls were sent to the Krêk`ians’ house opposite it. They fed us with food brought from Armenian houses. They Turkified our names. When the city was completely emptied, three months after my being registered in the orphanage, the Turkish official who was a tenant in our house came to take me in order to bring me to his family in Ch`mshgadzak. All the boys and girls of the orphanage were divided among the Turks in the city and the surrounding area. The eighty to one hundred homes of Turks in the city overflowed with the belongings and property of five hundred Armenian families. The government wanted to sell goods, food, and furniture through auction, but there were no buyers. All the houses were filled with the Armenians wealth and goods. The remaining adolescents in the orphanage who were taken by no one, and the sick, were thrown into the water of Pertag. They also took ten to fifteen widowed women to Ch`mshagadzak. Thus the life of the Armenians of a once prosperous and vital city was darkened, and trouble, ruin, and desolation prevailed everywhere. I was going to go with my agha to Ch`mshagadzak. He had bought a cow belonging to Armenians for sixty paras. He and his gendarme guard sat on horses, while I, barefoot, holding the collar of the cow, was going to run after them in order to walk a two days journey. Despite the painful torments I endured throughout the journey, the cow became my salvation because the gendarme wanted to kill me, but then who would take care of the cow during the journey. I was twelve years old. I had never been separated from my parents. Now I was going to a different city, completely unknown, hopeless and defenseless. My mind was tormented by despairing and sad reveries. These troubling thoughts made me forget throughout the journey my hunger, my fatigue, and the pain of my bare and injured feet. Finally we arrived in Ch`mshgadzak at the house of my agha and his family. What a miraculous surprise! Barely had I entered the house when I found a friend from my native city, Kévork Erevanian, together with his mothe rand little brother. No episode in my life, no happy incident, no sight has been able to fill my soul with such passion and warmth as their unexpected presence. A hot shudder, a great consolation, an encouraging solace filled my heart, and I thought that I am no longer alone, I am not despairing and helpless. I have fellow sufferers with me. We embraced with yearning. The mother kissed me with the warmth of a relative, with teary eyes. I immediately hurried to find out whether they were always going to stay in that house. After receiving a positive response, my encouragement and hope increased. They also said that some ten or fifteen widowed women also had arrived there and were serving here and there. We served for about one year in that house with Kévork, with brotherly love and closeness, sharing each other’s sorrows, extreme deprivation, and the bitterness of being an orphan. Oh, such very, very hard and heartbreaking sad memories! The presence of Kévork and his family members which was such a providential solace was shortlived. The son-in-law of my agha had come from Gümüş Maden with his wife in order to see the members of the household. He was an official too, in Gümüş Maden. He was maliye müdiri {Turkish for finance director} and assistant to the governor. He took Kévork, his mother, and his brother back with him upon his return to serve in his home. I again remained alone, again discouraged and inconsolate. Kévork went with his family members. I was suffering alone, physically, with my heart, and with my soul. Occasionally when the women from Perri who had remained in Ch`mshagadzak would see me, with the heavy load as my burden, they would say with compassionate sighs, “May that home remain without a master! May it collapse on its owner’s head, by God! Carry little, my son. Go one more time. You will disable your back one day.” And they, with satiated bellies, would not even give me dry bread as a reward for this difficult labor—instead, in the evenings, a bowlful of soup without bread, with four grains of millet. Many times, when they would place the bowl of tasteless soup in front of me, Kévork and I would look at each other’s face, and thousands of things would pass through our minds. His heartbroken mother would watch us and did not know with what to encourage us. The Kurdish ashiret chiefs, seeing that the massacre and plunder of the Armenians had concluded but the reward promised to them was being deferred, at the end of 1916 rebelled and occupied Medzgerd, Perri, and Pertag, and reached as far as the fields of Kharpert. The Kurds also attacked Ch`mshgadzak. The members of the household had received word about this days earlier and they all had moved to Gümüş Maden, to the house of their in-law. Only I and their old mother had remained in the house. That woman was a real witch. When the attack of the Kurds on Ch`mshgadzak began, the news spread in the city that there were also Armenians and Russians among the attacking Kurds. The old woman instructed me that if the city was occupied I should stand in front of our door and begin to make the sign of the cross over my face so that they would not harm us and our house. My soul shuddered with immense joy upon hearing this fortunate news. In my mind I said, “Oh, devil hag, see, you have squeezed out my flesh and blood, and you want me to be your salavation. Let that day come. I know what I will say and do.” New military forces arrived from Kharpert. After waging bloody battles for one week, the Kurds retreated. My dreams of weeks again remained but a dream. The household members, learning in Gümüş Maden of the attack on Ch`mshgadzak, sent a Kurd to obtain information. A desperate idea impelled me to attempt to convince the old woman that I should accompany him and go to Gümüş Maden for one week, see the household members, and bring back detailed information. I succeeded. My goal was to go there and see Kévork. Perhaps fate would open a new path before me and I would again be with them. And it did happen in this way. We arrived in Gümüş Maden together with the Kurd. When I saw Kévork and his family, it was as if a world gone dark had become illuminated in my heart. They became just as happy. Again events separated me from my inseparable friend Kévork Erevanian. Destiny brought us together again, this time in Kharpert, where I also found my two sisters in an American orphanage. It is impossible for me to describe my spiritual turmoil and sweet excitement when I embraced my lost sisters. I thought that nobody from my loved ones was saved. My older sister, bloody, was saved, by a miracle, with scars from brutal blows on her head. My little sister remained alive thanks to an Armenian family from Dikranagerd {Diyarbakir}. My brother’s son, five years old, had been slaughtered with a sword. And my mother, oh, that pious woman whose whole life was prayer and blessings, was crudely slaughtered during the journey. With tottering knees, unable to walk any longer, my mother, with extremely thirsty lips, did not want to leave the spring near Palu when the caravan began moving. The threats of the bloodthirsty gendarmes were no use. She advised my sisters not to fall behind the caravan in order not to be exposed to danger. “You go on, my tzakugs. Let the end of my life be here. Just do not separate me from the water.” The caravan moved, and my sisters watched my mother with salty tears, while she gazed a last time at her loved ones, awaiting the minutes of cruel destiny. One of the executioners approached my mother and with blows from a gun destroyed her next to the spring. The caravan, with my sisters, walked on slowly, with bleeding hearts, and wet eyes. The story grew bigger; it expanded with the innocent blood of thousands of thousands, with unheard of and inhuman dreadful songs of lamentation. And still the story remains unfinished, and the full picture of the tragedy incomplete. However, the day will come, the day will come, when Great Nemesis will bring the good news of the decisive hour of compensation. Only after this will the history of the martyrdom of the most noble of people be completed and concluded.

Section 4.2 The Head of the Hero By Levon Erevanian

In the spring of 1915, the Armenian people of Perri were crying tears of blood. A hell exploded on their heads. Mothers forgot their children. The Turks were massacring the Armenians. One morning, very early, seated on mules with my father’s brother’s daughter Hayganush, we fled to Dersim with a Kurdish gendarme. Mamô Kuzh was the name of the gendarme. He came to save us, as a kìrvay friend. We passed over high mountains and through deep valleys, and in the dark of the night arrived at Khzêl Kìlisé, the village of the gendarme. What could an eight-year-old child understand about this terrible collapse, about a new environment and wild men. Two days later, as a Kurdish boy I had already turned into a shepherd. I went after the goats which ascended to their familiar grazing grounds. It appeared that the Armenians of Khzêl Kìlisé had been massacred much earlier, since I saw on my path numerous corpses, the hairs of which seemed to have been newly detached from their petrified heads. This was a very ordinary sight in those days. I was not afraid; I had no fear when I raised white skulls newly devoid of skin and flesh on the tip of my stick, with huge holes for eyes and naked teeth. I very quickly became familiar with this wild environment, as well as with the Kurdish lifestyle and customs. When the goats would ascend, always going upwards, and would be lost among the hazel tree branches, that pagan world would become my playground. I would pursue partridges flying under rocks and shrubs with a hail of stones. I would stubbornly go after squirrels on huge walnut trees. I would stone pear trees, and would jump up and up with numerous rabbits when they as a group would flee in front of me. They related that there were many wolves and bears in these forests. I never worried about them since I had with me two wolf-strangling huge leonid mastiffs, with whom I had become close friends. I would be seized by a vague sorrow and my body every time would prickle when I saw the circling dance over my head of the keçel tavuks {literally “bald chicken” in Turkish} (buzzard or kite), which sometimes descended to the ground at a certain point, and then immediately would rise back in the air. I feared these birds of prey. They would descend and taking the flesh of Armenians in their beaks again rise in the air. My relations with the Kurdish boys was good. They would tell me many things which I did not understand, but sister Hayganush would tell me that there were brave Armenians wandering the mountains who had tüfengs {Turkish for gun or rifle} and Martinis {a type of rifle}, and were killing men. Plenty of time passed. I learned Kurdish, which turned into my mother tongue. One day, a Kurdish boy related that Turkish gendarmes had killed Kìraji’s son (“Zaptayi t`rk, lavé Kìraji sharzhé kêré”). Another day, while I was passing by a mysterious house built at the entrance of the village, I saw two women in front of the door whose faces reminded me of my mother’s lachrymose face. Oh, how these flla (“Armenian”) women differed from the Kurmanj {Kurdish} women. One of them started speaking in Armenian: “Let me be a sacrifice for you, my yavru, come here.” I approached them instinctively. They kissed me with longing. They caressed my hair and filled my pocket with raisins and dried mulberries. When I came home I related this to sister Hayganush. The next morning I again passed in front of this house. It was as if they were awaiting me in front of the door. They took me inside and filled my pocket with raisins. I ran after my flock and went up the mountain. Two days later, in the evening, when I was returning to the village with my goats, as usual, the two women standing in front of their door told me that after I take the flock to the pen I should come to them. I did this. They took me to the room inside. Again they gave me dried mulberries, walnuts, and raisins. They were crying while they were asking me questions. Finally the younger of the two took my hand and took me in front of the window, and showed the distant huge walnut tree which was near the government building, and in a low voice said, “Kèazim—this was my new name—can you go up to that tree, dig next to the kök (Turkish for root) and…” she broke out in tears, and with a choking voice continued, “there is a head buried there. Place it in the bag and bring it to us.” A buried head! “I can do it. I will go and bring it,” I said. They gave me a huge bag woven of hair. Taking my thick cane, I flew outside. Night had fallen. I came to the walnut trees and I began to dig with the piece of wood in my hand in accordance with what they had said. The soil was soft and my cane was thrust halfway into it. I began to dig with my handsand throw the soil to one side. Suddenly, my hand touched a tuft of hair. I pulled it up, but I was not able to take it out. After cleaning the soil on all soids a lot, with great difficulty I took out of the cavity a huge head and placing it in the bag put it on my back and returned. Oh, how heavy that oppressive head weighed on my back! Alternately resting and carrying, I reached that door sweaty and worn out. The two women hastily embraced me and took me inside. A dim candle flickered in the dark room. Four hands in a flash entered the bag and took out the head. The two women, with their faces glued to that head, were playing with it like a doll and weeping. It was a heartrending sight. How I understood them! Only one who lived in hell and returned from it could describe such mind-blowing moments. A head separated from its body was gamboling? That head was dancing. A person seeing the severed head of her true child and her beloved husband was laughing? These human creatures were laughing. Can the awful storm be suppressed? These two women were suppressing their spiritual pain by chewing and swallowing, because freely crying was prohibited to them. There was an innocently sleeping little child in a cradle. That was the child of that head—the only survivor of the large and brave Kìrajian family. The embrace of these crazed people with death lasted for hours, or for years. It was not possible to ascertain this circumstance because this unspeakable may have had a beginning, but it did not have an end. The hearts of these poor women melted and turned into nothingness with the last flicker of the dim light. There eyes too crew cold and froze like the open eyes of the large head. I fled unnoticed from their side, engraving this drama uneradicably in my young memory. I fled like a thief without a sound, leaving them alone with their sorrow and torment. The next morning, when I passed in front of that house with careful steps, those poor ones, emaciated like ghosts, unable to speak, called me with movements of their eyes and heads and showed me the apple tree of their house’s garden. I understood what they meant. When darkness again descended on the heart of Dersim’s mountains, I went next to the trunk of their house’s apple tree in order to bury the heroic head of Kévork Kìrajian, one of the four brothers of Khêzêl Kìlisé, who had taken to the mountains during the days of the calamity in order to exact vengeance from the enemy executioners of his clan, fighting with a large number of gendarmes and killing many of them [Footnote: Kévork Kìrajian’s mother, wife, and child were martyred on the Ch`mshgadzak road (see page 464 in the Armenian original)].

Section 4.3 Medzgerd (Information about the Recent Past) By Osgan H`ovhannésian

Medzgerd had been an ancient historical magnificent fortress or citadel city, with sunny environs and surrounded by wonderful mountains. The climate was healthy and the water pure. Water trickled out from rocks. Human life like nature’s charm was clean there, beautiful and meaningful. Old Medzgerd, whose value and nobility cannot be accurately judged from its present position and extent, still remains a secret from the point of view of its many events and stages: how was ancient civilization born there? why were the amazingly built architectural monuments of the human mind and hand, which still stubbornly resist completely being thrust under the earth, destroyed? Medzgerd is rich with antiquities. Its borders extend from Ch`arsanjak to the depths of Dersim. It had been a bustling Armenian center whose essence, with its true colors and nature, would have been revealed if it were possible to conduct excavations throughout its huge expanse.

Medzgerd’s Fortress

The summit of Medzgerd’s closest, sharp-tipped mountain, surrounded by a chain of rocky mountains, concludes in a half-collapsed rampart, which is a colossal work of construction built with polished red stones. Each stone is joined to the other with lime, iron, and melted lead. There was a windmill at the top of the mountain, while at the bottom of the fortress are found underground dark passageways, as well as a current of water which rushes forth gurgling. This mountain with its ramparts and all its parts was called the fortress of Surp Sarkis {Saint Sarkis}.

Period of Backwardness

The traces and foundations of numerous other ruins, prosperous places of habitation, and sanctuaries appear together with Medzgerd’s ramparts. There centuries ago a prosperous life flourished but today it is desolate and uninhabited. Four decades ago the vaulted church Surp Hàgop {Saint James} still survived, surrounded by large orchards of walnut and mulberry trees. Surp Asdvadzadzin Church also existed, to which was attached the prelacy and the large halls of the school. Despite centuries of the yoke of bondage, the Armenians of Medzgerd through indomitable struggle preserved their national spirit and consciousness. However under the influence of Kurdish aghas and begs, the surrounding villages, such as Pàkh or Khêzêl Kìlisé, barely preserved an extenuated Armenian existence. Meanwhile a little further away in Dersim, the Armenians, completely isolated, were wasting away. They lost their mother tongue, and became uneducated mountain dwellers. Some Armenian customs and the worship of saints were barely noticeable among them. One of the reasons for Medzgerd’s backwardness was that the immigrant Turkish population, as officials or ordinary soldiers, seized the cultivatable lands. They attempted to make the Armenians farm these lands, while they as the “aristocratic” class, wanted to live a privileged and comfortable life.

The Friendship of Dersim

It was the days of the first massacre and plunder {i.e. 1895}. The Turkish government had planned to fundamentally eradicate the Armenians of Medzgerd. In order to successfully carry out this criminal goal there were neither clear pretexts nor effective measures within the limits of their forces, since the Turks in other places were greatly preoccupied with massacring Armenians. Consequently, the government applied to the Kurds of Dersim and the surrounding area with dazzling promises so that their ashirets would come, besiege, and massacre the Armenians of Medzgerd, from the young to the old. Already numerous Kurds had accepted the Turkish government’s invitation, but with this sole difference that they were coming not to reap lives, but to only plunder goods. The Turks were not at all pleased to see such a threatening display which did not intend to touch the lives of the Armenians but only had the nature of pillage. However this noisy wave of Kurdish movement suddenly ceased when the order came from T`émêr {spelled T’émr elsewhere} Agha, an ashiret chief of Dersim, not to touch the Armenians and to immediately withdraw. T’émr Agha was an influential and powerful tribal leader who fulfilled the role of governor. T’émr Agha along with the Kurds who also decided not to spill Armenian blood were the reason why Armenian Medzgerd did not hae any victims in the 1895 Turkish- inspired massacres. From those days on, the friendly relations between the Armenians of Medzgerd and Dersim grew stronger. There were also songs composed about this. The following is one sample.

Dolan, dolan, vay, vay, dolan, Ermeniler oldu talan; Kurt geliyor zurba zurba, Ekmek toplar torba torba; Kurt geliyor takım takım, Kurtler Ermeniye yakın.

{Encircling, encircling, alas, alas, encircling, The Armenians were looted; The Kurds are coming violently, violently, They are collecting bags and bags of bread; The Kurds are coming group by group, The Kurds close to the Armenians.}

The uneducated and poor Kurds were barely able to express the feelings of their hearts in Turkish in such an understandable language. Nevertheless the moving melody spread in the mountains and became popular.

The Holy Places of Medzgerd

We mentioned the fortress of Saint Sarkis, and the churches of Saint Hàgop and St. Asdvadzadzin. There were others besides these. A little outside the city St. Bôghos – Bedros {Paul-Peter} Church was found in a ruined state except for the spring, whose stone-built walls and roof were still strong. Surp P`rgich` {Holy Savior} and the monastery, in a ruined state, existed, while Kàràsun Manug {Forty Children} was on the heights of a mountain. There was a merry spring in Medzgerd’s Armenian quarter with flowing faucets. The water was supplied for drinking and hygienic needs, and also irrigated vegetable patches and gardens. There were ruins near this spring, among which a huge tower rose perpendicularly. The Turks used it as a minaret. The most magnificent and durable structure which existed was again in the same place a vaulted building built with very big stones. Its interior arches and columns through magnificent architecture formed a unity as if cast from one piece of stone. This building too was used by the Turks, as a mosque.

Patriarchal Life

It is not possible to accurately indicate the size of Medzgerd’s population because the registries of marriages and family members were destroyed in 1915. However, an approximate figure would be that three hundred large families lived in Medzgerd. It follows from this that there was a population of approximately 2,000 Armenians linving there in the recent past. The Turkish element, not included in this figure, formed a minority. The leaders of the family were the elder members, the grandfather and grandmother, to whom their children and the brides were subject. The fruit of labor belonged to the entire family. However when the elder of the family died or its members multiplied and it became impossible to govern them all under one roof, at that time a division occurred. Nevertheless, the former members preserved their clan memories; they did not cut off their ties of kinship, and helped each other when necessary. In Medzgerd the age of girls who were to be brides did not exceed fifteen to twenty years old. Though a vigorous, well-formed, and energetic youth matured grew up quickly there, there were other reasons for the rush to marriage. The main worry was that the Kurdish and Dajig {“Turkish”} element looked with envious and lewd eyes on young Armenian girls. Therefore parents would rush to give her hand in marriage to an Armenian youth so that he would become her master and protector. Zeal was great to keep Amrenian blood, soul, and values pure. A girl over twenty would be insulted as a “dêmna,” or left-at-home. It was clear that the people of Medzgerd would not give one victim to the foreigner in this manner, and would also not accept foreign girls {into their families}.

Beliefs and Superstitions

The people of Medzgerd believed in the Christian faith fervently, and the saints held a large place in this. They would keep the fasts of the saints piously. Among the saints Saint Sarkis was prominent. There wree many who kept one-week fasts for him, while others did it for half a week or one day. Saint Sarkis was Medzgerd’s hero. They would relate about him that he had been a brave and handsome general, invincible, courageous and patriotic. The Greeks moved by envy attempted to win the general’s heart and bring him to their side, and if not possible, to kill him through treachery. The Greeks sent him a beauty to carry out their plan. However, this Greek girl, spiritually dedicating herself to Saint Sarkis, reveals the secret and flees with him. The Greek secame so upset at this that every time that the fast of St. Sarkis was kept they wanted to somehow dishonor him. If they could not find meat or butter to eat, they would bite their drékhs {sandal-like shoes of raw hide} in order to do something contrary to St. Sarkis’ fast. The people of Dersim kept St. Sarkis’ fast just like the Armenians. The alk` were creatures particularly opposed to women suffering from the pains of pregnancy. They would pull out their livers from their mouths, and take them to drop in the water. It was possible to reestablish a liver that had not yet fallen into the water by prayer and thus save the subject. The alk` would also change newly born infants. They would say for an abnormal, sickly, misformed and thin child, “He looks like what the alk` changed.” Consequently, the delivery of women was kept under strict surveillance. The kaposay was another evil spirit. It would place its weight on top of people while they were sleeping. There have been people who suffered from such a weight but were saved through prayer. The k`ants` mez aghégner {“those better than us”} were also evil spirits which would make children dance or torment them while they were sick or had a fever. These spirits were so numerous that it was as if they intervened every day in human affairs. They practically materialized from being imagined. It was related that the Dér T`orosenk` had seized an alk`, and caused him to repent so that they would not approach their women in labor for seven generations. They succeeded in making the alk` work. His work was only miracles, and everything would be done on his command.

The Massacre of Medzgerd

The Armenian youth of Medzgerd were subjected to conscription during the days of the Constitution, in 1914. Then they were disarmed while in the army, and all killed in an unheard of manner upon the command of the Turkish government. Political party, intellectual, and influential men were arrested on various pretexts and imprisoned. Among them were Nahabed Avedian (a government scribe), the Yaghjians, the Kapriélians, and Sarkis Eréts`ginian. Many were also exiled. The terrorists of the Turkish government began searching house-to-house on the pretext of looking for weapons. They would mercilessly beat women and old men, who were obliged to surrender guns or knives to the government, whether they possessed them or not. In the case of refusal, the beating would be intensified, while if a knife, pistol, or hunting rifle were to be found, the subject would be arrested as guilty, and would be killed through unspeakable tortures. Events continued so unexpectedly and quickly that political party members and influential figures were caught in a trap and it was not possible to take any path of struggle. The prison was filled with Armenians, and a great crowd of prisoners was also taken to the fortress. The prisoners were taken off one at a time to be subjected to various kinds of tortures outside of the scope of the human imagination. Some were unable to withstand those tortures that are hard even to hear about, and died, while others sought poison in order to be able to be freed from that fire. They dragged Sarkis Eréts`ginian from the prison along the ground while still alive, and buried him in that trench where the foundation for his house that was to be newly built was going to be placed. Nahabed Avedian, whose neck they struck with a sword, was paraded around in a bloody state at the bases of the mountains at nighttime until he died. They placed Nazarét` Beddrosian, after tying his hands and feet, under a plank of wood, and trampled on it until he died exhausted. They killed Paparigian, a huge youth, through beatings and tortures. What red-hot irons, pincers, and knives they used to cause pain to the prisoners and deform them. During this same period the woman and children of Medzgerd became eyewitnesses to the incursion of hordes in the city. They were brought there from distant places. Their way of walking was like that of a herd of pigs. Wraplped in rags, blackened from the sun, they were wild and foul-smelling. They were the Zaza of Palu, who came to carry out the Great Calamity. They armed and besieged Medzgerd. The time for mass murder had arrived. It was the last time that the sun’s dusk was to touch the faces of the prisoners, when they, tied up, went out of the great gate of the barracks in the middle of a chain of soldiers. Women and children ran with cries and tears towards their loved ones, but the soldiers prevented their intermixing. The sergeant-major, with his pigmy height, his sword bared, and with a wicked, pitted face, was in a rush. Meanwhile the captives, innocent, were walking forward with unique human nobility in order to end their servitude through death. They walked with chests high and serious and thoughtful faces, willing to die for the name of the Armenian Nation, because that name for them was great, brighter than the sun in the sky, magnificent and inextinguishable. They died…so that the Armenian Nation may live with honor and free.

Section 4.4 Memories of the Fatherland By Baghdasar Puchigian

It was in the month of July in 1908. Perri’s town crier Apraham, with his sharp and high voice, was announcing the good news to the people of the proclamation of the Ottoman constitution. The Ottoman sultan had granted freedom to all of his subjectds without distinction of race or religion, so that the wolf and the lamb live side by side with love. And for this gift granted by the sultan, the populace was crying out heartfeltly, “Long live Freedom! Long live Justice!” The Armenians, considering that henceforth oppression and injustice had ended, became happy and were exhilarated. That day until evening, Armenians and Turks came together and were congratulating one another for the brotherly union. That evening bonfires were set in the marketplace. The populace, forming a procession, went to the mansion of Hüsni Beg, Perri’s beg, yelling “Yaşasın Hürriyet {Long live Freedom, in Turkish}!” Then going to the government building, the Armenian and Turkish leaders gave speeches and felicitations, which ended with cries of long live, and ardent applause. If the common people could not understand the meaning of hürriyet {freedom} and adalet {justice}, they knew that what was called hürriyet was a good ting, since everybody was happy. The next morning, Armenian and Turkish leaders gave each other reciprocal visits, both in the government hall and the Armenian prelacy. The Armenians shown with their wise and sparkling speeches, whose author was one of our nationals— Turcologist Apkar Effendi Buludian—while the reader was Armenag Melidosian. The youth sang national songs. The Turks were hosted in the prelacy hall, and the Armenians in the government courtyard, both in a worthy manner. Hüsni Beg too accepted the congratulations of the Armenian leadership, but though that monster, or more precisely tyrant, showed false happiness, internally he was an enraged beast, since hürriyet had taken place to his detriment. We young people were delighting in our freedom, but the elderly were more cautious, not believing in the friendship and sincerity of the Turk. Immediately after the proclamation of the constitution, the armenain political leaders taking advantage of the situation came forth openly and boldly in order to strengthen their union. During those days, the people of Perri became aware of the existence of the Hnchàgean and Tashnagtsàgan political parties. During the month of August in 1908 a secret meeting took place in the ouse of Mr. Giragos Puchigian, where the following individuals were present: Apkar Buludian, Hàrutìwn Érmoyian, Giragos Puchigian, Mardiros Takésian, Armén Milidosian, Sedpàn Gopòyian, Avedis Kasbarian, and Sarkis Marabanian. Sdepàn Gopòyian took out of his pocket the Tashnagtsàgan program/by-laws, and read it article by article, after which the first Gomidé {Committee} of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation was elected in Perri. Judging from the discussions which took place at this meeting, messieurs Mardiros Mazmanian, Mardiros Chùlfayian, and Mkhsi Tòpàl Baghdigian, as leaders, had already formed the Executive Body of the S {ocial}. D {emocratic}. Hnchàgean Political Party. These two political parties, which prior to that date had a secret existence, immediately after the Constitution manifested their distinct and free existence. I do not know how many members each political party had, or what the relations of these two political parties were. Unfortunately I have no information about this. I know well the truth that they were amiable towards each other and disputes did not exist. They worked together in national {Armenian} affairs, and each had a representative in the prelacy. During the days after the Constitution, along with the formation of political party bodies, a new impetus was given to church and school matters. The people of Chàrsanjak from birth revered education, and in this regard would do whatever he could in order to provide his child with a good education. In 1908, a group of youths founded a Philomathic Executive as a body to help the school founded in Perri by the United Association. The board of trustees of the school set to work together with this executive in order to elevate the level of education. The movement became inspirational. Undertakings succeeded one another, and the populace gathered around these youth. A library was founded through the arrangement of the board of trustees, with national and historical volumes. The executive of the library—Setrag D. Garabedian. Avedis Bôyajian, and Baghdasar Puchigian—would give out the books for a weekly payment. Readers grabbed these works that inspired a national spirit from hand to hand, and would read them raptly. A night class was formed in order to teach youth national and revolutionary songs. During those days a lady came from Havav village of Palu (whose name unfortunately I do not remember), stayed three weeks, and taught many songs. In 1909, a great lottery was organized for the sake of the school, and it had a good result. Celebrations of name-days had become the custom in Perri and the villages. The library executive would appear at these festivities and receive donations of money. During those days a theater group was organized, and the play Chàrshêlê Artìn Agha was performed for the first time. Nearly the entire population of Perri was present at this performance. In our time, Badveli [Reverend] Asadur Nigoghosian was present there with his charm. The excitement of the populace was indescribable. Enthused by the success of actor Kévork Erevanian, one of the students at our school, his father Sarkis Erevanian became the first to start off the fundraising with one mecidiye. This was followed by all those present, so that a sizable sum was secured for the school. As in all national affairs, especially concerning the school, Armenians were of one will without distinction of political party or denomination. All worked cooperatively, knowing that it is the school which will free our people from the psychological state of servility. I wished in honor of the people of our region to stress this situation here, and submit to the notice of our remnants so that henceforth they continue to give even greater impetus to educational work. It is Armenian culture that at present will have its useful role to play in the holy work of the preservation of Armenians. Every Sunday regular lectures were organized with capable speakers who were either local or visiting from surrounding districts. Together with educational work, efforts at the organization of national consciousness were being advanced. I was present at the revoluationary lecture of the hero of our native district, Avedis Kazanjian (Meshédi Avedô), who preached self-defense. One day Mr. Hàrutìwn Érmoyian was lecturing. He concluded his words in this manner, “If the Armenian people want sot live, it can obtain this right to live by becoming stronger and resorting to self-defense.” Mr. Kévork Chàkmakjian, one of those present, stood up to speak, and directed his words at the audience, saying, “Compatriots, instead of filling our houses with jugs of wine and drinking a lot, let us sell that wine and buy guns, guns!” Those present clapped frenziedly. Some time later, efforts at weapons training began in the school led by Bedros Puchigian. The youth, taking their guns, in pairs took to the Khràj road in order to go to Gagô-Déré, to the garden of the Khéléfians, where they would conduct gun practice. Bedros Puchigian, as a master gunmaker, was a wonderful weapons trainer and a good marksman whose fame had spread throughout the Armenian and Kurdish people of Chàrsanjak. The Armenians of Chàrsanjak lived through a period of revival, demonstrating its best national qualities, but alas, this did not last long, and with the manifestation of the falsehood of the Constitution, they lived an uncertain life until the well-known Great Crime.

Section 4.5 The Last Day By Aghavni Kasbarian

During the month of June 1915, the massacres henceforth began in my birthplace of Perri. Weeping and lamenting took place under each roof. Mourning prevailed. Hundreds of Armenian braves were filled in the prisons, and were taken caravan by caravan by Turkish gendarmes to the slaughterhouse. One morning my father came home under the supervision of two gendarmes. My joy at seeing him again had no measure or bounds. I did not know that this would be our last meeting. On my father’s suggestion, we prepared a well-laden table in the flower- bedecked hall of our house. We were going to honor two monsters with wolve’s eyes, who were going to eat the food of an Armenian, and weregoing to drink the blood of an Armenian. My father wanted to make this banquet last longer in order to remain at home for an hour or a minute more, and to fill his longing for us. The two gendarmes were devouring the food, and raising their glasses they would empty them with a short toast to my father, which they growled wantonly and savagely, “To your health…fédayi…ha, ha, ha.” My father silently endured this. Akh, I wonder what things he was thinking at that moment. We had many weapons which were buried in the stable below, and he, seated, was being derided by two jackels. “What do you think?” they were saying to my father. “You have a lot of wealth. You have as much money as the begs of Chàrsanjak. Give part of it to the government and they will release you; and you will give up on this gâvur-ness {“unbeliever-ness”}.” Mockery, insult! My father obtained permission, and went inside. He indicated to me with his eye that I should stay there. I filled the glasses with liquor, and brought new food to them. Suddenly, Sergeant Hasan, turning to me, commanded, “Sing the song of the ceremony— that song which you sang at the school ceremony. It was very good. If you do not sing it, I will kill your father.” My heart became agitated and I was in a state of confusion. His companion, Mahmed of Tìl, yelled with angry eyes, “Come on, sing, dog son of a dog!” Hasan gently intervened so that I would sing. I feared refusing, and so I sang the song my father loved, “Karahisar leran grdzkìn [At the bosom of the Karahisar Mountain] {this is a revolutionary song about a wounded and dying fighter}.” I could not continue. My emotion and tears led me to choke, and my song too fell wounded. I fled and went inside. What did I see? My father, surrounded by my mother, his sister, and my aunt Rèpega (P`éshék`érian), with them embracing his neck and crying, crying silently, biting their lips. My father hugged me too, kissed me, and told me to be brave during the coming days. He tried to comfort us by saying that he will come again tomorrow. The two gendarmes rushed inside. We surrounded my father. We did not want to be separated from him. When those executioners saw the scene before them, they attacked us and yelling “Vay, khinzir gâvurlar [Oh, you swinish unbelievers]!” they pushed us to one side and took away my father. My father was subjected to terrible tortures that same night in the prison. They had pulled out his nails and under the blows of a whip they reduced him to a half-dead state. At night, together with hundreds of prisoners, my father was placed on a mule and taken to Méléin Tzorê {Valley of Mélé?} on the Paghnik` road and murdered. The others were taken to the fortress of Tìl, the Armenian slaughterhouse of Perri. The next day, the monster called Mehmed of Tìl brought my father’s bloody clothes and came to our house. This bloodthirsty monster showed us the part of my father’s clothing which was pierced through, whence he had thrust his sword into my father’s heart. He shamelessly related the death agonies of my father and added that the end of the lives of fédayis were like this. We all became crazed. Many gendarmes also came. They took us out and closed the rooms. The tònir room became our last stop, and after two days they placed us on the road of exile/deportation. Forty years have passed since that black date, but I will take from world to world my feelings of vengeance of an Armenian girl.

Section 4.6 Pains of Deportation By Khosrov Erevanian

It was one of the black days, when they separated us from our mother’s skirts on the road to Golgotha in Pertag. What would a seven-year-old child feel when the enemy seizes him from his mother’s lap and takes him away? This inexplicable psychological state is the most tragic moment of life, and one that I too have lived through. The child’s memory before anything else keeps alive his mother’s memory. The first night, when I sat alone in the darkness in a corner of a stable, my mother’s soul- shaking yell—yavrus, yavrus [my little one, my little one]—continued to reverberate around me, and died down with time, like the Armenian’s pain. Our being hauled about from Perri to Pertag, the fatigue of the road, the death song of crying and lamentation, turned our tender soul into ruins—the monstrous faces of the Turkish gendarmes, oh those criminals, who during three days killed so many before our eyes. They again began circling around us when a Turk of Pertag taking me by the hand pulled and took me away. I do not know what the darkness of the first day took with it from my spiritual world. I opened my eyes on e morning, and there was no gendarme, there was no crying, and there was no death agony. And I turned into the goat shepherd of the Kurdish agha, as in a little fairy tale. In place of my kindergarten friends, the kids and lambs became my playmates. Days passed and I, together with my kids in the fields and mountains, became like a member of a family, and in the evenings lay side-by-side with them and breath-by- breath slept together. The tears in my eyes dried, as did the hope in my soul. I forgot everything. Sometimes the ghost of my mother would come to scratch my heart when I remained alone, with my head placed on a pillow of grass. How could I hope for the return of my mother, when a distant unfamiliar road divided us from one another? And where could I find her—in what valley, under what rock? I was Ali Beg’s little shepherd. They gave me two presents. One was my new name, Nazêm {Nazım}, and the other was an old coat for the winter, as a reward for my good service. I slowly entered under my agha’s family influence. God had created Agha Khanêm {the wife of the agha}, shepherd Nazêm, and every year new kids to live together always and without end. This was the new world. One hot summer evening, when I arrived home barefoot like the lambs of my flock, my agha Ali Beg standing in front of the door of the stable counted the herd and found that one was missing. What? One lamb missing? I endured many blows, but together with the blow of that day there was also a storm and anger. The blows of a cane seared my whole body, and the accusations began with a rain of curses. “Olan gâvur oğli gâvur {Rascal infidel son of an infidel},” you gave the lamb to Armenian ch’ét`és {Turkish for brigand or rebel}hiding in the mountains! My forgotten Armenianness was being crucified together with my pain and fear. Again my mother with her tears came before my eyes. Again the harsh shadows of the gendarmes surrounded me. I was trembling from my pain and fear when my agha commanded that I stand on the rock. He took down from his shoulder the Martini {rifle}, put in the cartridges, and roared, “I am going to kill you!” I had heard and seen this fate a lot of shepherds who had lost sheep, and I too like them rose on a rock to go towards death. At that moment two shadows appeared on the hillock. Could they be the witnesses of my death? They were two armed Kurds who came down and intervened with my agha’s implacable decision, and had him bring down the barrel of his gun. I was not killed—I lived and again forgot. The next evening I brought back with my flock the lost lamb which had hid in a cool cavity of a rock on the mountain. Time destroyed what there was in my memory. I turned into the perfect shepherd, barefoot, with torn-up raggedy clothing, and disorderly hair. My nourishment, including a piece of bread, was shared by an ashiret of lice, the happy citizens of my body. Again a trustworthy shepherd, the khanêm would tie the bundle of my bread, and I had the freedom to take my flock in any direction and let them graze. During the spring, the southern fields of Pertag have many places suitable as pastures. One day I turned home early. The kids had eaten well and I was happy. When I arrived home, my khanêm, seeing the rounded bodies of the kids, was going to smile and perhaps give me a piece of bread as a present. I was carried away with this happy revery when my wicked kids diverged from the path and entered the path of the gardens, alongside of which opened a large orchard of mulberry trees with nice meadows. I ran and reached them but they had already dispersed here and there. I had come to the front of a large house. I knew well the art of assembling them in one place with {the use of} pebbles. I collected them all at the side of the road. There, in front of the house, an incorrigible young calf remained next to a large tree, who without listening to me was rubbing his neck agains the trunk of the tree. I was late. I ran there angrily, and twisting the head of the calf I cast him to the ground. Upon this noise a thin little girl with tangled fair hair and wrapped in rags whom I had noticed a little earlier in the grasses jumped up and stood before me. Standing opposite each other our eyes remained fixed; neither did she flee, nor could I leave and join my kids. But we were not acquaintances. The gardens and the borders of roads are full of little girls like her. Why did she bind me? Sweet memories of childhood came and went. I too at one time had a sister who resembled her, who went to sevkiyat {Turkish for deportation} with my mother. How much time had passed since those days. I turned with my head bent towards my kids, but I could not walk. That little girl came closer to me, began to cry, and in Turkish said, “I too will come with you.” There was a two-ghurush coin in my rags. It was my entire wealth. I gave it to her and running reached the kids. That night in the stable, how my small brain was tormented for that little girl. I did not understand the language of my heart. The known and the unknown became mixed up with each other. One week later we again met, looked at each other, and without speaking separated. After this, how many, many times did I go to that large garden with the kids. I wanted to see her again but I did not find her. I did not see her and I forgot. If she was not there, then she had died. And there were so many of the dead. Winter came. Snow descended upon the mountains and fields. I entered the comfort of the stable together with my flock. There was no more fear of losing kid or lamb, but anguish in my soul, the feeling of being deprived, ignored, and remaining illegitimate, was crushing my heart. I remained alone with my indetermination during those long winter nights, and thus the meaningless existence of a gâvur shepherd continued. One morning in front of my agha’s door I again saw gendarmes. There was a quarrel and argument. For a moment I felt that I was being protected. My agha too had a gun. Especially when I heard my agha’s voice, “No, I won’t give {him}. It cannot be.” My agha began to walk with the gendarmes, and taking me with him, borught me to the center of the city, where he had taken me three years before. The courtyard of the police station was again filled with children like me and women. I remembered the old days. The appearance was the same, but there were no beatings and crying this time. An elderly woman approached me. She said: “Khosrov, my boy, come next to me. Do not be afraid. They will take us to Kharpert. We will go to your mother.” I recognized that old woman. It was our neighbor Ôghaper Baji. I understood two things—that I am Khosrov, and that my mother was also alive. The next day we set forth towards Kharpert. My agha also accompanied us up to Mezré, where they had assembled us in an open field. One hour later a crowd of Armenian women surrounded us. We heard Armenian names, Armenian words. They were giving questions, and each one, holding somebody’s hand, was taking him. They were being hugged and kissed, and were being happy. There were thirty to forty children like me. They came and took all of them. Only five or six people were left. But why did not my mother also come to take me? My agha was next to me. He consoled me. He was very nice that day. He said to me that if they do not take you, I will again bring you to our house. How difficult it is to remain defenseless! I cried like an orphan. My tears gushed forth. I am abandoned, without hope and without help. A women passerby crossed in front of us, carrying two tins of water. She placed them down in order to rest, and standing at our side, turned her eyes on us. It was obvious that she too was a seeker. When we looked at her in turn, suddenly her face slashed and opening her arms she cried to me, “My Khosrov, let me take your khadad [CHECK??haddeden çekmek? Turkish for examine carefully?]. I am your sister Almasd.” She embraced me, and kissed me: “Come on, your mother, your brothers, and your sister are alive.” The police registered my name. I went to sister Almasd’s home— hot water, bath, caresses, and a clean bed. All around me I heard the voices of Armenians. So there were also Armenian homes. I too it turns out am an Armenian, and in particular have a mother, brothers, and sister who are still living. Two days later, my liberator, the daughter of my father’s brother—sister Almasd—entrusted me to Mr. H`ovhannés Habéshian (at present in Beirut) and together we set forth towards Gaban Madén. At evening we reached that city compressed in the mountains and valleys. We stopped in front of a door. “Give my müjde {Turkish for good tidings},” said Mr. H`ovhannés. The door opened. My feet above the ground, in embraces, under a rain of kisses, they brought me inside. It was my mother, who pressing my head to her heart was crying with a melody. She did not believe it. Sometimes she pushed me back. She examined my face, she verified it, and again pressed me to her chest. I was being anointed with tears of happiness like the sunny rains of spring. I was surrounded on all sides. My mother called out to my loved ones. “Kévork, Levon, Isahag, Arak`si, come, it is Khosrov! My Khosrov! Glory to you, God,” she said. I looked at all of them. I was stunned, and sitting on my mother’s lap I watched that little girl. Yes, it was her! That tiny, lost girl whom I had seen in the big garden and lost, five years old, was my sister Arak`si.

Section 5 Ch`arsanjak Natives in Armenia

During the days of the 1915 calamity, there was very little possibility of taking refuge in Dersim from Chàrsanjak’s villages and cities. The Armenians of Chàrsanjak had little confidence in the Kurds of Izôl and Khràn because they handed over the few craftsmen among them to the Turkish gendarmes. If there was the possibility to pass through the {territories of the} ashirets of Shadé, Izôl, and Khran, which were adjacent to Dersim, into the independent region of Dersim, it must be said that a large number of Armenians of Chàrsanjak would have been saved from slaughter since the thousands of Armenians who reached Erzinga in 1918 were saved and reached Armenia. Our compatriots Medzig Tàtoyian and Kèror Melidosian of Perri who in those days were in Dersim were able to reach Armenia, as well as:

Shahin Mirakian of Shôrdan, Krikor Mirakian of Shôrdan, Nshan P`iloyian of Masdan, Garabed Nazoyian of Masdan, and Giragos Bôyajian of Svjogh.

In 1924, H`agop Holopigian and Sarkis Bôghosian from the new generation of enthusiastic and patriotic youth went from Aleppo to Armenia. The Ch`arsanjak natives in Armenia at present are the children saved from the slaughter by a miracle who repatriated in the years 1946 to 1947. Though we do not have a complete list, but we remember in this volume those compatriots who repatriated with their families.

LIST OF NAMES of Repatriates OMITTED pp. 692 to 693

Our efforts at creating an accurate census of all Ch`arsanjak natives in Armenia and the diaspora did not succeed. We submit this situation to the attention of the Central Executive of our Compatriotic Union, so that it will deal with this issue in the future. The banished survivors of ancient Ch`arsanjak live with memories of the past. Their always ardent faith is imparted from the eternal monuments of Holy Etchmiadzin, and on their lips the soul-stirring song of yearning for the homeland vibrates on their lips, which is trumpeted from the skies of the diaspora towards Masis {Mt. Ararat}.

“Pilgrim” POEM OMITTED pages 694-695

The End

[from pages 196-200, in the section on the villages]

Masdan

It is found to the north of Hayvat`li village. The churches of St. Giragos and St. Yughitay were in its vicinity. Osgian Nalpandian of Masdan gives the following information about his village.

Below we present the surviving families of Masdan, with the name of their leader and the country they inhabit noted.

Armenia

Nshan P`iloyan Garabed Nazoyian

United States

France

Nshan Tarpinian H’agop Shahinian Dônabed Shahinian Aprhaam Lusigian Giragos Khazarian Giragos Kéoyian Osgian Nalpandian

Aleppo

Asadur Nalpandian Mardiros Kljian Garabed Museghian Mrs. Sar`a Dérdérian

Kharpert

Garabed Kljian

Baghin