Armenian Childhoods, c. 1900
The customs and ceremonies attending the infancy of an Armenian child seem very curious to Americans.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“The Infancy of an Armenian Child” from When I Was a Boy in Armenia, by Manoog Der Alexanian, 1926.
Customs and Ceremonies
The customs and ceremonies attending the infancy of an Armenian child seem very curious to Americans. Customs are habits strongly fixed in the lives of individuals or a people; they cannot be eradicated easily. Our customs still survive as they were handed down to us from our forefathers.
According to an Armenian superstition, the new-born child should be carefully and constantly guarded, because the gagli crogh (lame devil) is anxious either to steal or change the child, or strangle him at birth. For this reason, the nurse, (called ebe) who has been watching the “lame devil” and praying, lights a candle and burns incense, blowing the smoke gently towards the bed of the mother, in the meantime murmuring something in a low voice, being careful that the mother does not hear. By crossing her face, she says a prayer to chase the “lame devil” away. When the nurse is very anxious, she gently blows the candle light towards the face of the mother, and utters the following prayer:
“May the light of Christ,
And the breath of our Saviour
Give you comfort and strength.”
When the child is born, the nurse takes it into her arms and congratulates the mother. Then all the members of the family in turn pass the baby around and greet each other; they do not, however, kiss the child, because he is not yet baptized. Immediately after birth, the child’s nose is shaped to give it the form of an eagle’s beak, because this shape is liked by the Armenians. The child is then dressed in white clothes. After eight days, the child is taken to the church, where it is baptized by immersion in the holy font three times, and anointed with “holy oil” prepared from 1,001 species of flowers by our Catholicos—the head of the Armenian church in Cilicia.
During the baptism, the godfather takes the child in his arms, standing directly in front of the altar and holding a burning candle in each hand. After the baptism, the child is brought home in the arms of the godfather with burning candles and followed with relatives and friends. At the time of baptism, the godfather professes the Christian faith in the child’s name, and takes the responsibility of his religious and moral education. When the party reaches home, all relatives, friends, and neighbors come to the child’s house with many presents, and greet the mother. And there is a great feast.
After another eight days, the child is taken out of its swaddling clothes and wrapped in new ones containing red earth from the vineyard. The earth is warmed before being used. Many times have I been asked the reason why Armenians wrapped their children in red earth. According to tradition, red earth is used to bind the child to its mother earth so that it will not renounce and forget the latter while in a foreign country. According to another tradition, the red earth is used so that the child can draw strength and life from it.
The babe is carefully wrapped, with the hands close to the body, and put into the cradle. The mother places the child on its back, and it is always kept lying on its back—never on its side. The cradle is generally low and egg-shaped; small bells and rattles hang from its side, so that when the cradle is in motion, the child goes to sleep from the tinkle of those bells. Mother knows many lullabies with which to sing her babe to sleep.
It is also a custom to decorate with blue beads the arm of the child, or hang a cross from the forehead in order to protect the child from “evil eyes.” When the child is two or three months old, it is put in a swinging cradle. A long rope is attached at one end of this cradle, and mother has the other end while she swings baby to sleep. If the mother is busy doing beadwork or knitting, she will attach the end of the rope to her big toe, thus swinging the child to sleep while she is doing her work.
The following is an example of the many Armenian lullabies:
”Lulla, lulla, lullaby,
You will sleep by and by;
Our great silvery moon
Will shine upon you soon.”
When a child is six months old, it is put in a tender (a device which teaches the child to walk). This is a fixture made up of two flat boards, each two feet square and nailed to four sticks. This fixture extends as far as the child’s armpits; there is a hole on the top board. The child is lowered through the hole on the bottom board, his head and arms left outside, and his body tied to the sticks so that the child cannot sit down. This device teaches baby how to stand up. When the time comes for it to walk, it is put in front of a triangular wheeled apparatus; the child, holding on to the top and tied to it, walks up and down the room.
When the child is one year old (and begins to teethe), a blanket is spread on the floor of the room, the child is blindfolded and placed in the center of it, and there are articles scattered around the child—a mirror, scissors, book, hammer, etc. Different articles are used for boys and for the girls. When everything is ready, the mother, holding a sifter above the head of the child—the sifter being filled with boiled and dried wheat seeds (liadig)—gently shakes the sifter in a circular motion. When the wheat seeds drop on and around the child, its eyes are unfolded. Seeing many articles about, the child picks up that one which interests him most, and this article decides the little one’s professional career.
I was told that I had picked up the Bible; that is why, I presume, I studied for the priesthood. This ceremony is performed before a circle of relatives and friends. It is very significant in the life of a child, and a happy occasion for the mother. She is delighted and heartily congratulated by all those present if the child picks up a book, for that is a sign that her child will become great and famous.
Alexanian, Manoog Der. When I Was a Boy in Armenia. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.
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