Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Khash

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 26
Occupation: Research Technician/COPE Health Manager
Residence: Van Nuys, CA
Performance Date: 3/21/12
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: English and Russian

“If an Armenian makes a serious face and says he will be VERY busy in the morning on a weekend, that means he is invited for Khash. Khash is a tradition and a dense soup of beef tripe and trotters, and seasoned in garlic. It is prepared overnight and served early in the morning upon sunrise with dried Lavash, the armenian bread. Other items to be served with khash include vegetables, and vodka. Khash was the food of the poor. It is made strictly from beef trotters which was the only piece of animal available after the wealthy obtained the richer parts of the cow. Having only dirty cow feet, the poor organized a great feast and celebration that eventually began to be noticed and used by the wealthy. Ultimately winning its way into the popular culture, the meal has won itself a great popularity and widespread acceptance. If you ever visit Armenia, don’t be shy when you’re invited for Khash! You will become a part of a memorable ritual! It is interesting to me because of its never-failing nature of bringing joy and laughter around a single table.”

The informant was born and raised in Armenia and moved to the United States when she was about fifteen years old. She told me that it was a complete culture shock for her, because everything seemed segregated and not in sync as the Armenian culture. We were discussing family gatherings during a lunch outing at an Armenian restaurant. She told me about this food called “Khash,” which happened to appear on the menu. She claimed it was a food for togetherness, which brings family and friends together on a random morning on a weekend that nobody can really say “no” to. It is often performed in Armenian households, because the people of Armenia can organize a feast by spending the least amount of money and enjoy it as a result.

Armenian children learn about this tradition from family, while organizing their first Khash weekend. It is interesting to her, because she claimed that she has developed senses to know when a day of Khash is coming. Anyone is invited regardless of social rank, and typically those who are invited will show up for the event. She made note that in preparation of Khash, the table is set with minimal silverware and eating utensils.

After hearing many forms of Armenian lore, there appears to be this recurring theme of communal ties. It is representative of most Armenian institutions, where restaurants often serve family style portions and churches are typically open to the public. Even though the majority of the Armenian community are geographically isolated, they seem to use folk foods and rituals to bind them spiritually. This is one of many instances where we find Armenian customs seeking to find some unity with their culture and people. Something that has been previously undervalued, such as Khash food, can be what binds the people of a nation together. I believe the whole preparation, rather than the food itself, has some significance in perpetuating togetherness among Armenians.

Trndez (or Candlemas Day)

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 26
Occupation: Research Technician/COPE Health Manager
Residence: Van Nuys, CA
Performance Date: 3/22/12
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: English and Russian

“The tradition says that during the time a couple is engaged, the husband-to-be may not see his future wife except on Candlemas day. The wood to be burned on Candlemas Day is blessed by the priest before being taken to be used for the tradition. The wood is set on fire and let burn until it dies out, and the carbon is then used to cross the doors of the wife-to-be to protect her from evil. The tradition dates back to pagan times as fire is a symbol of pagan traditions, but the Christian Apostolic church still holds true to the tradition and adopted it to their beliefs due to its positive message of love and fertility.”

The informant was born and raised in Armenia and moved to the United States when she was about fifteen years old. It was a time that she was dating a non-Armenian individual and who her parents were somewhat hesitant to accept. However, she was able to lighten the mood by engaging in a discussion about an Armenian wedding tradition, where people gather in the yard of the newly engaged young woman, and set up a fire and take turns to jump over it. The ritual is performed as part of preparation for the future of newly formed couples, as it acts to diminish the evils and misfortunes by bringing to light good fortune and happiness. The wedding ritual is typically taught during the time a daughter was expected to marry.

She informed me about the history. Forty days after Jesus’ birth on the night of February 13th, the ritual of Trndez was usually performed outside of the young bride-to-be’s house. The ritual involves the family of the future bride and groom. What makes it so interesting for the informant is that it plays on tradition coming from thousands of years ago with an unconventional twist (i.e. jumping over fire). Nonetheless, it is a celebration of love and support for newly formed couples and their families.

This ritual reminds me of the African rendition of  “jumping the broom,” where couples are asked to jump over a broomstick after relaying their vows. But it in this case, Trndez is done prior to the wedding. Like the “jumping the broom” tradition, it is indicative of a liminal phase between the engagement and the wedding. I believe it serves, in many ways, to alleviate the fears that come with being officially married. Like jumping over the fire, marriage can be perceived as a challenge, as it indicates one’s status in society and provides one with more responsibilities. Having these unique ethnic rituals is also indicative of how certain cultures form relationships. For example, in traditional Armenian culture, parents often prefer Armenians to marry within their culture. And the fact that they have their own group rituals makes it easier to accept individuals within their culture that are most likely going to understand how and why these rituals are performed, rather than those who have not received such exposure (i.e. non-Armenians). Nonetheless, it can be understood as a way to identify certain ethnic groups.

Tamasha (Maharashtra Folk Dance)

Nationality: Indian
Age: 60
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Dubai
Performance Date: 4/7/12
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)
Language: English, Marathi

“In Maharashtra, there are two types of Tamasha, first is Dholaki Fadcha Tamasha and the other is Sangeet Baaricha Tamasha. Search on Youtube and you could see examples of how it is performed. Dholaki Fadcha tamasha is a complete art, which includes song, dance, and theater. Now in Maharashtra there are only 18 to 20 full time Tamasha parties. Each Tamasha Manadal performs approximately 210 days in all over Maharashtra and also some border villages of Karnataka and Gujarat. It is original Marathi folk art, but the name Tamasha has some ancient origin from Persian language which means “Fun and Play.”

The informant is the mother of one of my friends, who came to visit her son from her hometown of Dubai, India. She seemed very interested in talking about the lore of her culture, and told me about this type of folk dance the Maharashtra people perform, called Tamasha. She was able to perform it in front of me; however, she did not want me to record it on video. It appears to be a type of free-style dance, in which involves the hips, hands, and feet. She indicated that there are numerous versions of the dance online and was able to provide a description and background about the dance. She found this piece to be interesting to talk about, because it is a traditional form of folk art as part of the Marathi culture, where she is originally from.

It is often performed for entertainment, coupled with singing, and widely performed by local groups within Maharashtra, India. It can also be found in Marathi films. She learned it in grade school from hearing stories and observing stage performances. Later, she saw it in Marathi movies where it played a significant role in forming the plot. It was further integrated in Hindi movies. The informant always found Tamasha to be very interesting to her, because it is influenced by many Indian art forms and draws from diverse traditions of India, such as Kavali culture (location in East India), ghazals (poems), Kathak dance, Dashvatara (10 principle Avatars, an Indian philosophy), Lalit (Indian classical music) and Kirtan (a form of Indian chant).

After looking at both forms of Marathi dance on the internet, the style of dance clearly exhibits the Tamasha art form, which is expected to be some kind of spectacle, show, and commotion that exudes excitement. Because this type of dance seems to be unique to the Marathi culture, it is probably used as a form of identification. According to the informant, everyone in Maharashtra knows about Tamasha and Marathi dance. Therefore, it can serve not only as a source of entertainment but can be indicative of the Marathi people.

Days of “Mourning” and Night

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 22
Occupation: Teaching Assistant/Undergraduate Student
Residence: Altadena, CA
Performance Date: 3/4/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish and Danish

“There are numerous methods in which diverse cultures mourn for the death of a loved one. In my culture, we have a particular method of dealing with the dead. My family mourns the death of a loved one as a community. After the death of a loved one, my family finds a place to gather and mourn for the death of the person who has passed away, typically a relative’s home. The mourning process can last days to weeks. During each day, there is a praying session followed by a gathering. The mourning process ends on the day of the funeral when everyone says their final good-bye’s.”

My informant is of Mexican descent and finds his culture’s death-related folklore to be the most interesting to him. He learns the lore of his culture primarily by remembering those that have some relation to death. He informed me about a time that he was able to use one of his culture’s folk rituals to mourn for the death of a family member. He found it interesting that his family was able to integrate this ritual into U.S. culture, where apparently, mourning rituals differ greatly. During the mourning process, family members take time off in a day to pay respects to the deceased person. He indicated that there should be no excuses for not coming unless the person was ill; however, they would have to be chronically ill. He joins in performing this type of ritual out of a sign of respect and, interestingly, as a method to cope with his own issues. The death of a family member can be very difficult to overcome. Therefore, spending time with the family provides an alternative way to deal with such tragedies. Moreover, during the time of mourning, prayers are performed to bless the body in the afterlife.

The informant learned this as a child from his mother, who introduced him to this ritual after the death of his cousin. His mother described it as a custom they performed in their hometown of Colima, Mexico. He mentioned that children don’t really understand death in a way that is positive. Rather, they find it to be horrifying. As he grew up and witnessed deaths of his own loved ones, he came to realize that mourning the way his culture did helped him become more comfortable with the event.

My take on this ritual is that I notice these types of mourning rituals to be highly used in cultures that believe in life after death. These rituals may be used to alleviate the fear and irrational emotions that comes with an unfortunate event. It can help maintain sanity for people who have to deal with these outcomes. One can observe a similar rendition of this type of death-related ritual in the Filipino culture, for example. I remember after one of my grandmothers died, we spent exactly a week after her death visiting a particular family members home. Each day of the week, there was a different event scheduled, such as an initial gathering, speaking about the positives about the deceased member, reciting chants and prayers, etc. Together, these rituals have provided a way for people to see death in a different light and as a way to acknowledge this person for the positive things about them. Hence, it can be perceived as a commemoration for that individual rather than as a time for pity.

Vardavar-Armenian Water Festival

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 26
Occupation: Research Technician/COPE Health Manager
Residence: Van Nuys, CA
Performance Date: 3/20/12
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: English and Russian

“Vardavar is born from the word “vard” which means rose in Armenian. All night long the day of Vardavar, young girls of town go out to the field to collect roses. The petals are then soaked in water overnight in water collected from seven mines only to be used to drench the young men of town the next morning. The buckets are then used by the young men to hide talismans in and the lucky girl who selects the talisman is destined to marry the original owner. Currently, a Christian Tradition, it is celebrated on the last day of the year according to the old Armenian calendar. The roots date far back into the Armenian pagan times and are associated with multiple songs written on this beautiful celebration of love, fertility and purity.

In modern times, anyone walking the streets of Armenia cannot expect to remain dry. While being accepted as a fun festival, people also see the togetherness component of the celebration as the day is filled with laughter by people of all ages.”

Informant: “To me, the idea of the tradition is to eliminate anger and promote love. I have enjoyed it throughout my childhood and now, because it has brought me close with people and produced unlimited amount of joy.”

The informant was born and raised in Armenia and moved to the United States when she was about fifteen years old. She told me that not only was it a complete culture shock for her, but the city where she was living lacked the sense of community that was present in neighborhoods of Armenia. In the summertime, all people, old and young, bathe each other in water. She claimed “it is the most interesting and fun time during the summer for everyone of Armenian culture and brings strangers together for fun, and it is creative way to get back at the person you hate and bond with the people you don’t know.”

The tradition traces back to the goddess of love, Astghik, who was showered with rose petals and water. To resemble this treat, fourteen weeks after Easter, the people would do the same on a hot summer day. All rules of social etiquette are thrown out the window and random strangers are given permission by some arbitrary force to water one another in the streets. The tradition has been accepted and celebrated among Armenians since pagan times; thus, the exact date of the tradition is not known. All Armenians are exposed to it at a very young age, and there is not a single year that it is not being celebrated.

Naturally, the tale is recited in Armenian; however, the informant did not provide it in the original language in which it is recited. She was able to provide a translated version.

The Vardavar-Armenian Water festival uses a folk tale to establish a custom that has been ritualized by the Armenian community for a number of years. Because the Armenian population is spread out across the European map, this kind of festival can appear to unify the culture since the ritual is widespread. Alternatively, it can be seen as a tribute to the people of Armenia helping establish  the country and its people nationally and socially among different ethnic groups and cultures.

From another perspective, the festival can take form as a superstition. I heard from an additional source that the essence of the rituals is to embrace water that is considered to have some kind of curative and powerful effect. That is, it can be used to foretell the future, drive away the evil, and make women more fertile and ill people healthy again.