1995_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 1995

              Decemberl995
Hye Sharzhoom
News—7
$15,000 Awarded in Armenian Scholarships
Press Release
Once again California State
University, Fresno and its Armenian Studies Program awarded
more than $15,000 in scholarships
to students enrolled in Armenian
Studies courses.
Twenty-nine students were
awarded Armenian Studies scholarships and grants for the 1995-
1996 academic year. The recipients are all students of Fresno State
and are requ^e<lto enroll in Armenian Studies courses as part of their
awards. The Armenian Studies Program Scholarship Committee,
headed by Dr. Dickran Kouymjian,
Haig and Isabel Berberian Chair of
Armenian Studies, announced the
awards. Scholarship and grant recipients were introduced at the 10th
Annual Banquet of the Armenian
Studies Program held in October.
Fund Source:
Yervant, Rose, and Hovannes
Levonian Educational Grant
Candrea Balekian, Fresno,
Physcial Therapy, Junior; Anush
Chubarian, Yerevan, Spanish,
Junior; Aram Gevorkian,
Yerevan, Computer Science, Junior; Garo Nakashian, Fresno,
Graphic Design, Junior, Tsovinar
Petrossian, Yerevan, English, Junior; Mkrtich Pogosian, Fresno,
Senior; Marine Pogosian, Fresno,
Risk Management & Insurance,
Senior; Greg Tchaparian, Fresno,
Biology, Freshman; Viktoriya
Yerkanyan, Fresno, Business Administration, Junior.
Fund Source:
Charles K. Pategian and Pansy
Pategian Zlokovich Scholarships
Hakop Adjinian»Fresno, Business
Administration, Senior; Jason
Ahronian, Fresno, Agricultural
Business, Sophomore; Jacqueline
Arikian, Fresno, Psychology,
Sophomore; Tina Attashian,
Fresno, Mathematics, Junior;
David L. Emerzian, Fresno, Accounting, Sophomore; Sir an
Erysian, Fresno, Geography,
Graduate; Jacklin Gharibian,
Fresno, Biological Sciences, Freshman ; Christopher Gooboian,
Fresno, Business Admin., Senior;
Ara R. Jabagchourian, Fresno,
Philosophy & Economics, Senior;
Susie Kalinian, Fresno, Biology,
Senior; Karen R. Karabian,
Fresno, Business Mass Communications, Sophomore; Joseph
Kra jekian, Beirut, Lebanon, Biology, Junior; Denise L.
McCroskey, Fowler, Psychology,
Junior, Manuel Momjian, Fresno,
Undeclared, Sophomore; Melissa
M. Ouzounian, Fresno, Commu-^
nicative Disorders, Senior; Jennifer L. Peters, Fresno, Business
Admin., Junior ; Laura Peters,
Fowler, Liberal Studies, Freshman;
Stephanie Peters, Fowler, Liberal
Studies, Senior; AH Peyvandi,
Fresno, Junior, Biology; Arlen
Soghomonians, Fresno, Molecular Biology, Senior.
Fund Source:
Nerces and Ruth Azadian Memorial Scholarship
Katherine Becker, Fresno, History, Junior.
In addition the following students
^received special Armenian Studies
research grants for supervised work
under the direction of Dr.
KouymjiaHI .Ipsenh Krajekian,
Emmanuel Ohannessian, Sean
Clark, Aram Gevorkian, and Ali
PeyvaMl."
(0
Applications for scholarships and
grants for the 199j6-1997 academic
year are now available through the
office of grants and scholarships.
New and continuing students at
Fresno State are eligible for the
awards. The deadline for applications is February 1,1996. For further information or applications
contact: Scholarship Office, CSU,
Fresno, Joyal Administration
Building, Room 219, Fresno, CA
93740-0064 Phone: (209)278-6572
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Peria, from p.2
time, the Turks were calculating
the "crime of the century". In
1915, Vartanoush was four years
old. She had no idea that Armenian children, her age, were being
massacred by the Turks in the very
same regions that her ancestors
were once forced to abandon. It is
tragic to think that "what if the
Armenians were not forced to
march towards Persia, nearly three
centuries before the Genocide.
"What would have happened
then?" Although this question is
too vague and controversial; it
does, further, explain how the faith
of the Armenians partly depended
upon the command of Muslim dictators (Shah Abbas, Talaat Pasha,
etc.).
Reports about the Genocide
reached Peria, "Armenians [from
the Ottoman Empire] escaped and
came to Peria...they told us everything," said Vartanoush. The Armenian Genocide was committed
by the Turks, why didn't the Persians murder the Armenians in Persia (since they did not cooperate
with the notion of becoming Muslims)? There are several reasons:
first, the Persians did not have an
"Armenian Question" to solve;
second, the circumstances of the
two Armenian centers (Armenia
and Peria/New Julfa) were totally
different because each was under
the authority of two distinct governments. Most importantly, the
Armenians in Peria (and New Julfa)
were considered to be assets for
Persia—they were valued and respected for advancing the economy
of the country. Thus, killing the
Armenians would be similar to
throwing away gold (a treasured
resource). "Armenians worked
L.we earned respect from the
*" .so,weknewthatwewere
superior," explained Vartanoush.
Perians, over the four centuries, developed a unique community. Thus, when examining their
history one would be foolish not to
pay a closer attention to their culture. "What did these people do on
a daily basis, how did they make a
living?" The majority of the
Perians (possibly 95 percent) were
agriculturists. Those who were
wealthy enough to own land employed other Armenians (and
clothing items, shoes, school supplies, etc. A few of the Perians,
perhaps five percent, madeJtheir
living as carpenters, rmB^JK
(Sazandar), stone-carvers, fabric-
makers, tailors, and shoe-makers.
To organize the farm in an
efficient manner, Perians had large
families. For instance, my fraternal grandfather shared the tasks of
the farm with his two brothers and
their large families. Thus, three
families^, a total of 20-25 people,
lived as one larger family. They
shared their wealth (land, cattle,
etc.) among one another without
there begin a dispute about the
sometimes Persians) to cultivate
such crops as wheat, barley, grain,
potatoes, beans, and grapes. Being farmers, they also raised farm
animals. A wealthy family owned
perhaps 500 acres of land and 100
sheep. In other words, money was
not considered to be wealth. Many
farmers, traveled to New Julfa to
trade their harvested crops for commodities that they could not produce with their own resources
which included, sugar, certain
responsibilities of a given family
member. This domestic life was
typical of other families as well.
Marriage is an interesting
topic for the Perians. From one
generation to the next, they followed ancient disciplines and rituals with very little change. Because labor was an essential part of
the agricultural economy, adolescents married to produce labor by
creating a family. In some instances, the bride and the groom
met at their own wedding, because
their families had pre-arranged
their marriage. My grandmother
married at the age of _l_9;fmgjMv
uncle knew Haroutoun [her future
husband], and he knew that he was
a good family-man...so, I had to
marry him, and it really didn't
matter," she said. One must realize that life in Peria was methodical and simple. People only demanded to have a secure life and
all else was a secondary matter.
"You have to look back seven
generations from each side of the
family to see if the girl or the boy
came from a good family.,, yoaask
—i friends and relatives to find out,"
Vartanoush explained. Researching the
past generations
of a given family
was conducted
before the blessing of the marriage, because it
was necessary to
make certain that
the two-families
were not related.
This system
functioned perfectly, because
they were no lonely singles walking about the villages searching
for love, the divorce rate tended to
remain near zero percent, and no
one complained.
One of the most fascinating
institutions in Peria, beyond the
Apostolic churches, was the Armenian school. Although, it is not
to be compared to the formal educational system of today; it, nevertheless, represents the concepts that
the Perians valued. The first school
in Peria was founded sometime
betweeri 1630-1640. Thiswasonly
25-35 years after the time that they
had actually settled in Iran. Until
1896, students were only taught
religion—they studied the Bible
and the interpretations of the Divine Liturgy. This, of course,
served the purpose of preserving
their Christianity. For the first
time, in 1896, (in the village of
Khogan) English, Persian, math,
and music were added to the curriculum. In the 1937-38 academic
Jear, there were 23 schools in Peria
with 63 educators and 2056 pupil.
This was one of the greatest
achievements of the isolated community.
Today, Peria has disappeared; most of its inhabitants live
in New Julfa, some traveled to
Europe and America, only a dozen
Armenians still live in Peria as
agriculturists. Peria is now occupied by Muslims—the simple,
stable, society changed dramatically. Perians, who live in New
Julfa, are integrated with the Persians. Today, there are rumors of a
record number of Armenians marrying Muslims and adopting the
Islamic way of life, but those who
do are a small minority (maybe 1 in
a 1000). Now, it is up to the upcoming generations to comprehend
the importance of preserving and
enhancing their cultural traditions.
Perians are a minority among
Armenians, but they represent the
foundation of all Armenians—a
strong, nationalistic group of independent-minded individuals who
have survived to claim the pride of
their rich heritage. It was not faith
that preserved them, it was they
who preserved their faith.