2010_03 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper March 2010

              March 2010
Hye Sharzhoom
3
Siekierski Speaks on "Folk Religiosity in Contemporary Armenia"
instances of folk religiosity in Armenia involve spiritual homes, and
the Armenian tradition of madagh,
a traditional offering of an animal
at a holy site, shrine, or Church.
The holy places ofthe folk religious can be in either a ruined
church or monastery or a natural
place, such as a tree or cave. Most
of these holy places are situated in
the more rural towns and villages
of Armenia, though some examples
may be found near the cities of
Yerevan and Sevan. The religious
practices had been largely abandoned during the Soviet era, but
some traditions remained and several have been recreated since the
fall of the USSR.
What was also interesting is the
dynamic relationship between the
official religiosity and folk religiosity. At times the official church
frowns upon the practices and at
other times some ofthe holy places
are adopted.
Siekierski's photographs
complemented his presentation by
giving a vivid visual of the holy
places and the practices associated
with them.
Evelyn Demirchian
Staff Writer
On February 24, the Armenian
Studies Program welcomed young
graduate student and scholar
Konrad Siekierski to Fresno State,
to give a power-point presentation
on the topic of "Folk Religiosity in
Contemporary Armenia."
Sikierski graduated with an
M.A. in Ethnology from the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural
Anthropology ofthe University of
Warsaw, Poland. He has been doing research in Armenia for his
Ph.D. thesis, examining the relations between religious and national
identities.
In 2001 Siekierski visited Turkey, at the same time visiting Armenian churches and historical
sites, such as Aghtamar, Van, and
Ani. This inspired him to visit the
Republic of Armenia and when
deciding on a topic for his MA., he
proposed to study the contemporary religious situation in Armenia.
In 2004 Siekierski arrived in
Armenia to begin the field-work
for his degree and was later invited
to complete his Ph.D. with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography ofthe National Academy of
Sciences in Armenia, where he is
working with Dr. Levon
Abrahamian, his advisor, and Dr.
Hranush Kharatian. Siekierski is
fluent in English, Polish, Russian,
and Armenian.
The lecture largely focused on
the nature of folk religious practices and how people in Armenia
are "preserving deeply-rooted traditions and customs." Siekierski
alsoarguedthatthese practices were
not static, but were dynamic, and
were about change and invention.
The field of study for folk religiosity is fairly large since it encompasses all the ways in which a group
of people present or celebrate their
beliefs in the superstitious, as well
as in major faiths such as Christianity. Folk religiosity in Armenia is a
combination of old folk practices,
for example a belief in the "evil
eye," and Christianity.
Examples of these practices typically revolve a round dreams people
have of those who have died or the
veneration of Armenian saints. In
the dreams many are told to go look
Konrad Siekierski, left, with Prof.  Barlow Der Mugrdechian.
for symbolic places and holy sites,
to give sacrifices, orto build shrines.
One case inthe 1980's involved
a man who was told in a dream by
an Armenian saint to reveal a holy
shrine, and in doing so the man
would be rewarded. After following the advice ofthe Saint, the man
became a grandfather and came
into the possession of a Iotof money.
Yet another case concerned a
woman who dreamed of a girl in
white. The woman's mother-in-law
saw the same girl in her dreams,
and both were told to venture to the
Kazakh River with a shovel, walk
until they dropped, and in that very
spot to dig. Following those directions, the women ventured to the
River and walked until they collapsed from exhaustion. The next
morning they woke up, dug in the
spot they had slept and found a
Khatchkar, or cross stone. Other
Yerevan State Univ. Administrator
Mnatsakanyan Visits Fresno State
Naira Mnatsakanyan was in Fresno in January. She was
developing plans to implement an "American Studies" program at Yerevan State University.
~ _ Photo: Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Staff Report
TheArmenian Studies Program
hosted Ms. Naira Mnatsakanyan,
Deputy Head of the International
Relations Office of Yerevan State
University (YSU), for a weeklong
study trip, January 25-29. ASP
Coordinator Barlow Der
Mugrdechian commented that visits to the United States by YSU
faculty and staff is important in
maintaining a relations hip between
the two universities.
Mnatsakanyan visited Fresno
State to gather information and
materials relating to the establishment of an American Studies program at Yerevan State University.
The initiative has been supported
by the United States Embassy in
Armenia, which has donated nearly
300 books to Yerevan State University.
The American Studies program
is projected to open in Fall of 2010
and will attract students who are
eager to learn more aboutthe United
States. Afteropening firstfor graduate students, it will then be broadened for undergraduate students as
well.
While in Fresno Mnatsakanyan
attended several classes including
a class on American literature and
a course onPolitical Science, which
provided insight into some of the
methodological techniques used in
American classrooms. She observed a different classroom style,
with students thatare moreengaged,
and asked more questions, than a
comparable classroom inArmenia.
Mnatsakanyan also visited the
Henry Madden Library where she
was able to consult books and journals on the subject She commented
on her visit to the Library saying,
"It's great." She was impressed by
the ease of obtaining and ordering
books and by the technological
opportunities, for example students
may borrow a notebook computer
while in the Library. Printers and
scanners are also available for students and there are also student
volunteers who assist other students.
Mnatsakanyan will conclude her
visit to the United States with a
visit to UCLA.
Varaz Samuelian Art Exhibit in Fresno City Hall-
Opening Reception May 6 to Highlight Artist's Work
Hazel Antaramian-Hofman
Staff Writer
The Armenian Studies Program
at Fresno State, in collaboration
with the Fresno Arts Council, the
City of Fresno, and the Armenian
Museum, will host in the month of
May a long awaited exhibition of
Armenian-American artist, Varaz
Samuelian. The work will be displayed on the second floor of City
Hall.
A reception and opening of the
exhibition will be held at 6:00PM
in City Hall on ArtHop night, May
6, 2010.
Samuelian, who signed his work
as "Varaz," was a prolific painter-
sculptor, who willed most of his
paintings and sculptures to the Armenian Studies Program. Born in
Armenia in 1917, Varaz, a German
prisoner of war in World War II,
immigrated to the United States in
1946, moving eventually to Fresno,
One of Varaz's circus series.
where he died in 1995. When Varaz
spent time in Paris, he studied with
such painters as Othon Friesz,
Andre L'Hote and Fernand Leger.
He held exhibitions in Paris, Nice,
Marseilles, Barcelona, Mexico
City, and at several New York galleries, as well as exhibiting locally
in Fresno.
Varaz's oeuvre encompassed a
wide range of media, including
sculpture (bronze, stone), painting
(oil, acrylic, watercolor), lithography, pen and ink, and pencil. The
artist is well-known for his monumental bronze statue of legendary
Armenian hero David of Sassoun,
which stands in Fresno County
Courthouse Park. Fresno's renowned writer William Saroyan
discovered Varaz's raison d'etre
in his piece Who is Varaz?, when
he wrote "Looking, listening, chatting, I thought, 'This man is an
artist He lives art.'"
The City Hall exhibition will
consist of known and available
pieces of his circus-theme d artwork
For more information on the exhibition, you may contact the Armenian Studies Program at 559-278-
2010 United States Census To Count Armenians
Staff Report
385,488. Did you know that was
the official count of Armenians in
America according to the 2000
United States census?
Some recent estimates have put
the number of Armenians in the
United States at over 1,000,000,
but the number that will count is
that reported by the 2010 United
States census.
Census partnership specialist
AnahitTovmasyan was in Fresno,
February 11-14, to reach out to
Armenian organizations, businesses, and individuals. Her goal
was to introduce to Armenians the
importance of signing up as Armenians in the 2010 census and to
increase the numberof Armenians
who sign up as Armenian.
The first United States census
took place in 1790 to determine the
number of seats each state would
have in the United States House of
Representatives. The census was
also created to gain a better understanding of where people lived and
to establish patterns of settlement
as the nation grew.
The 2010 United States census
is right around the corner, with
applications due to be sent out
March 15-20. April 1 is the official
census day, when the questionnaires
are to be sent back.
Why is it important to participate in the census? There are many
answers to this question, butamong
the most important reasons are: the
numbers influence decision making at all levels of government, the
numbers are critical in distributing
over $300 billion in federal funds
and additional state funds to organizations based on the census, political power is also based on the
census, and for publishing economic and statistical reports about
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the United States and its people.
Reapportionment of seats in the
House of Representatives is still a
prime objective of the census.
Make your voice be heard in
Congress.
For more information about the
census in general, go to
2010census.gov or contact Ahanit
Tovmasyan at
anahit.tovmasyan@census.gov.