Armenian national epic

“The epic is a great treasury of the life and spiritual strength of the Armenian people and an indisputable proof of its greatness before the world.”

Hovhannes Tumanyan

National epic describes the origin, development and history of the country or ethnos. It also helps to convey the episodes of self-determination and self-knowledge of the people, as well as the history of the emergence of numerous national symbols.

The national epic “Daredevils of Sassoun” or “David of Sassoun” occupies a special place in Armenian culture. It was born in Sassoun, one of the most beautiful corners of the Armenian highland. Sassoun is the tenth gavar of the Aghdznik province in Greater Armenia, which stretched over the Armenian Taurus Mountains. Sassoun is a mountainous region where the famous mountain peaks Tsovasar and Maratuk are located. The inhabitants of Sassoun worshiped their homeland and land and were distinguished by their inherent perseverance.

The Armenian national epic was transmitted through storytellers in the form of various stories. For example, Garegin Srvandztiants wrote down one of the versions of the epic that he heard from Tarontsi Krpo, and published it in 1874 under the title “David of Sassoun or Mher’s door”. Then, in 1889, Manuk Abeghyan writes and publishes another version called “David and Mher”.

In 1939, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the creation of the epic, based on 60 stories, a consolidated text was compiled (authors – Manuk Abeghyan, Gevorg Abov, Aram Ghanalanyan). This text gives a complete, clear idea of the epic.

The epic

In the epic, there are four main generations of heroes, which are related to each other. The epic “Daredevils of Sassoun” consists of four parts or branches, each of which is named after a generation of heroes: “Sanasar and Baghdasar”, “Mets Mher” (Great Mher), “David of Sassoun” and “Pokr Mher” (Little Mher).

First heroes of the epic, Sanasar and Baghdasar, were the sons of Tsovinar, the daughter of the Armenian king Gagik. Before leaving her native land, Tsovinar drinks a whole handful and then half a handful of water from the magical source of Katnaghbyur. From the first handful of water was born a large and strong Sanasar, and from the half a handful was born small Baghdasar. Brothers grow up and become stronger. They fight against the caliph’s army, defeat him and escape from the rule of the caliph of Baghdad. The brothers return to their native Sassoun and build a fortress, fortify and improve their city.

Sanasar is followed by the bravest of his sons, Mher. Mets Mher was also called “Mher the Lion”, because he wrestled and tore apart with his bare hands a giant lion that blocked the path to bread. Mets Mher also defeated Msra-Melik in the fight and exempted Sassoun from tributes.

Years later, when Msra-Melik dies, his wife Ismil Khatun asks Mher to come and rule her country. Ismil cunningly keeps Mher for 7 years and gives birth to his son. She names him Melik, in honor of her late husband. Realizing his mistake, Mher returns to Sassoun and rebuilds it. Sometime later, David is born, but as soon as he is brought into the house, Mher and his wife die.

The virtues of this epic are brought to perfection in the image of David, whom the people recognized as their key hero. In the epic, the noble ideas, deep emotions and all cherished desires of the Armenian people were expressed through the image of David. He fought against the huge army of Msra-Melik junior and killed him with a single blow of a sword. David had only one son – Pokr Mher. He cursed Mher before his death, since Mher did not recognize his father and fought against him.

David curses Mher to be immortal and childless. Replacing his father, Pokr Mher bravely fights against David’s opponents and completes his father’s revenge. The curse of his father comes true and the last hero of the epic remains childless and locks himself in Agravakar (Raven-cliff).

Thus, Pokr Mher, left without heirs, completes the Armenian epic.

Next to the main characters of the epic, we see many elderly people who help the brave heroes of Sassoun with their guidance.

Features of the epic

All national epics set themselves the task of statehood; if it does not have the problem of statehood, then it cannot be considered an epic. In the Armenian national epic, the symbol of statehood is the fortress. With the construction of the fortress and powerful walls the first heroes of the epic, Sanasar and Baghdasar, laid the foundation of the Sassoun dynasty.

Historical events take place during the Arab rule and describe the struggle of the inhabitants of Sassoun against the Arab conquerors. Some historical events and the names of the heroes are the same. However, it should be noted that the roots of the Armenian epic go back millennia, when a person led the simplest way of life. The epic contains the culture and history of the people of different periods.

The Armenian epic mentions the king, prince, clergy and common people. However, their life, customs, knowledge were almost the same. The king’s relations with the people were very close. The people of Sassoun loved their rulers. The only significant difference between them was that one of them was the ruler and the other was the subordinate.

The heroes of the Armenian epic not only fought against foreign invaders, but also helped the villagers in their daily work. They were giants with superhuman strength, who grew by leaps and bounds. Despite their physical strength, they were very kind, naive and simple. This means that the images of the characters were not abstract. They were ordinary people with their good and bad sides.

The epic “David of Sassoun” gives us a huge amount of information about life, family, relationships, religion, ritual ceremonies and beliefs of the Armenian people.

The epic and paganism

In the epic, you can see traces of fire worship, which are characteristic of the pagan period. There are also ancient beliefs, worship of water, light, earth, heavenly bodies and ancestors. Mets Mher and Pokr Mher are associated with the god of sun Mihr.

The women of the epic are endowed with lunar and solar qualities, as well as the gift of witchcraft and fortune telling.

In Armenian mythology, Sanasar and Baghdasar are the heroes who fight a monster that blocks the water source, kill him and free the sun girl, in this case, Deghdzun Tsam.

The epic also mentions one of the favorite national holidays – Ascension Day. Although it is now a Christian holiday, it is of pagan origin. It used to be a celebration of water and flowers. People believed that water stops for a minute at night. On this night, the water has healing properties. During the holiday, people played games and made predictions.

The Sasuntsi David statue

Armenians love the heroes of their epic so much, especially David of Sassoun, that they named one of the metro stations of Yerevan after him. In front of the station, there is a statue of David of Sassoun, the author of which is the famous Armenian sculptor Yervand Kochar. The current statue was erected on December 3, 1959; however, this is the second version of this work. The first plaster version was created in 1939 for the 100th anniversary of the creation of the epic. After the statue was erected, Kochar was arrested, as David’s “naked” sword was directed at Turkey. After two years of imprisonment, Kochar was released. In 1959, the current version of the statue was installed.

However, this is an unusual statue. It hides some interesting secrets. The first one is the horse’s tail. In the old days, before the war, a rope was tied to the horse’s tail so that the tail did not interfere. However, on this statue Kochar did not depict a rope, but a Muslim qamar belt. If you look closely, you can see that the tail is clearly divided into two parts, which look like a pair of legs in wide Muslim pants. Therefore, it seems as if half of the enemy’s body is in the back of the horse.

Another interesting fact is related to the sword of David. He holds it horizontally, not vertically. Since he was going to fight the army of the enemy alone, he could not kill them one by one, and had to mow them down like a field.

The epic “David of Sassoun” has turned into a beautiful, illustrated cartoon, through which children from an early age learn about the important ideas of the national epic.

The national epic “Daredevils of Sassoun” or “David of Sassoun” is one of the most famous masterpieces of our culture in the world. In Soviet times, it was translated into many languages, and in 2012, it was included in the UNESCO list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

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