The wedding of Haik Yeranosyan and Sirarpi Leraneh Khojabaghyan — “TonirWeddingVillage”— was a real fairy tale of our days. It was the wedding of the century since there had never been such a wedding before. I am one who worships everything that is Armenian. This wedding embodied all the delicate and beautiful elements of Armenian rituals and customs that we Armenians have ever had. During those wonderful days, the guests were ��?transported’ to a different world, and believe me when I say that we will continue to feel interesting vibes every time we remember the days that we experienced. I would like to mention a very important fact – the wedding ceremony was also very instructive and conveyed a deep meaning to everything that many have forgotten. This is why this fairy tale should serve as a basis for the creation of similar fairy tales so that Armenians know and acknowledge their rituals and traditions. Believe me when I say that the meaning was deeper than we could imagine.”

These words are the words of Ani Hayrapetyan about the traditional Armenian wedding that took place in August 2017 in the Vorotnavank Monastery of Syunik Province. It was a wedding that ��?transported’ the attendees to a world that revealed the type of the Armenian nation and a world that we Armenians are slowly becoming detached from. It was a wedding, which became a reason for us to implement an interesting and very important idea underlying the preservation and dissemination of our national values and an idea that each of us can implement. But let’s start from the beginning.

Sirarpi Leraneh Khojabaghian gave an interview to Hayern Aysor:

The idea of the TonirWeddingVillage project was conceived due to a necessity. When Haik and I decided to get married, we thought that we definitely had to have a traditional wedding. We started searching for various agencies and organizations that could help us fulfill our dream and decision. We also wanted all of our guests to be dressed in Armenian national costumes and hold the wedding in Syunik Province.

That was when I obtained Gaiane Shagoyan’s book “7 Days, 7 Nights”, which served as an opportunity for me and Haik to start exploring the works of ethnographers. We found out that, in reality, there is no such infrastructure or agency that can offer consulting and services for a traditional wedding. However, we decided that we wouldn’t stop there and would hold the traditional wedding through our combined efforts. Since we needed to carry out certain tasks, we thought about turning it into a project that would also serve the public. Why village? It is because the traditional wedding is strongly linked to the village. Armenian traditions have mainly been preserved in a rural environment in which it is also possible to restore those traditions.

Why tonir (tandoor)? It took us a long time to decide what the name of the project should be. We named the project during our search and studies. Tonir (tandoor) is the hearth — the symbol of family and eternity. In Armenian homes, the members of the family would always gather around a tonir. When people start a family, they, shall we say, light a new tandoor. Another forgotten custom is that there was a time when the ceremony of placing the crown was performed around a tonir and was referred to as the Crown of the Tonir.

Another interesting fact is that when you write the Armenian word թոնիր in English (tonir), it is read “տոնիր” (to celebrate in Armenian), and it incorporates the meaning of celebration. This is not merely a coincidence. After all, a wedding is a unique celebration.

This is how the idea of the TonirWeddingVillage project was conceived. Our research took two years. During that period, we talked to ethnographers and musicians and tried to understand the traditions of the Armenian nation.

The next step was the choice of a village for the wedding. We thought it definitely had to be in Syunik Province. I am originally from Goris, and my husband, Haik is from Sisyan. Since we had already chosen the church (Vorotnavank Monastery), we decided to look for a village that was near the church. Vorotnavank Monastery is a marvelous 10^th century monastery, but it is in poor condition and has not been active for a long time. We want this project to help get Vorotnavank Monastery “back on its feet”.

Vorotnavank Monastery is 1 km away from the Vaghatin village where my and Haik’s roots trace back to. We went to the village. The last time I was there was when I was 4 years old. When we saw the village and were told about the opportunities, we decided to turn it into the venue for our project in order to contribute to the village’s development.

Vaghatin is a very beautiful village. It is a little humid there, but the village is entirely covered with walnut trees. Words can’t describe the beauty of the tall mountains. Unfortunately, there are not many people living in the village, which has a population of nearly 500-700 people. The village school was also in poor condition. We decided to carry out our project in that village. We have already selected a couple of homes that are abandoned, but can become a part of our project and can be used to perform wedding rituals. All this needs to be repaired so that it serves its main goal.

Most importantly, why should we build a wedding village somewhere else when there are so many villages in Armenia that are very beautiful and have a lot to offer?

Moving a little forward, I must say that we organized a part of our wedding in that village.

Our godfather’s house was located in Vaghatin village. We performed the all the rituals of the homes of the godfather and the groom. The rituals of the bride’s house were performed in Goris, but when the wedding village is built, all these rituals will be performed in Vaghatin village where the participants of the wedding will live.

With our example of a wedding, we showed that a dream can come true, especially when the dream is to restore the traditions of your forefathers. Today, if anyone wants to organize a traditional wedding, we can provide consulting, as well as information about songs, dances and rituals. We still haven’t built the costly infrastructures because we have a lack of funding, but this doesn’t stand in our way of performing a wedding ceremony. Even though the wedding village has not been fully built, we can perform the ceremony in another village, that is, the place that the clients prefer. We already have a couple of orders.

Should you choose a traditional wedding or…?

First, I would like to make it clear that a traditional wedding can’t last one day. There are so many rituals and they are so important that it is impossible to perform the wedding ceremony in one day. Couples need to come to grips with this. Of course, it won’t last “7 days and 7 nights”, as is the case in Armenian fairy tales. For instance, our wedding lasted 4 days, and the main guests stayed 2 days and 2 nights. The wedding will take at least that many days.

When we were exploring Armenian wedding traditions, we found out that they are different in various provinces and regions. We need to know where the future spouses are originally from and construct the wedding rituals according to that information. This can also add flavor to the wedding and make it unique. That is to say, every wedding can be unique and exceptional.

We Armenians have such beautiful and interesting wedding rituals that are now just memories. For instance, one of the rituals is the Ginetapek ritual, which is a ritual during which the groom selects his best man in the groom’s house. Nowadays the groom selects the best man upon desire, but according to tradition, it was a real test during which men would put their strengths to the test and drink wine, after which the godfather would choose the most worthy men who could participate in the wedding ritual. On that day, the Crown would be tied to a tree and put up for an auction during which the person promising the best table was chosen to be the best man. Later, the groom and the best man would bathe together, dress, send the clothes to the bride’s house and go after her.

All this is part of the rituals performed in the groom’s house before the major wedding ritual.

At the same time, the bride and her bridesmaids would perform the bride’s rituals, including Hinadrek, Gatatukh, Alyurmaghek and more.

This is followed by the main wedding ritual — the Harsnar, which is a very joyful ritual. Words can’t describe the moment. It is the moment when all the guests are dressed in costumes and are listening to the sounds of Armenian national songs and music.

During our wedding, even Vorotnavank Monastery had been transformed. It was as if the monastic complex was the brilliant monastery that it used to be. Dressed in colorful national costumes and performing their dances, the participants of the wedding had created a marvelous scene in the empty space near the monastery – something that you won’t see in the city.

We Armenians overlook all this and organize weddings that are not part of our traditions.

Those kinds of weddings remind one of a race. We spend a lot of energy and money, but nothing really remains. When you organize a traditional wedding, what remains is the spirituality and symbol of the ritual and you have different feelings.

I would also like to talk about another major wedding ritual — the Halavorhnek, which is almost forgotten in our days. It is very important for the clothes of the bride and groom to suit them. Now couples often lease clothes, but this is inadmissible according to Armenian traditions. After the clothes were sewn, during the Halavorhnek ritual, the godfather would take the clothes to the church, and the priest would bless them so that the couple would be dressed in new clothes after entering into marriage. There is very symbolic, but we don’t pay attention to this these days.

The next symbol is the symbol of the crown. During the ritual, the bride and groom were crowned. There was a time when colorful braids would be tied to the heads of the bride and groom. Now crowns are placed on their heads. The bride and groom stay with their crowns as king and queen the whole day. During the wedding party, they are honored as king and queen.

Another ritual — the Tagverats ritual — is held the next day. During the ritual, the crowns are removed, people make the bride and groom drink wine, after which they are granted the right to get into a boat and taste all that is permitted for the heavenly couple. It seems as though this ritual was a unique permission from God to enter the ��?boat of marriage’.

We talked to our priest and said that we wanted to get married according to this ritual. Imagine, we got married according to a 16^th century ritual. We needed to go back to the 16^th century to perform this ritual completely.

Another major advantage of a traditional wedding is that the participants of the wedding are truly able to spend time together, have fun, sing and dance during the days and the rituals without having to run here and there. Wearing costumes is very comfortable and not tiring. You can move freely and dance.

All of our 250 guests were dressed in costumes. We worked with Teryan Cultural Center, borrowed costumes from dance groups, and many guests sewed their own. We created a Facebook page through which we would interact and give each other advice. Two months before the wedding, we started organizing song and dance lessons at Naregatsi Art Institute. We were also surprised to see how serious people treated all this.

We held the wedding party on a field in Sisyan. The dishes were homemade and tradition. We had decided to work only with local manufacturers. We had invited the Sisyan Folk Instruments Group and the musicians of Karin Traditional Song and Dance Ensemble, including Sevada Iritsyan and Grigor Davtyan. The wedding songs of a ritual are very important. They also create a magical atmosphere.

We also view the TonirWeddingVillage project from the perspective of tourism. When the project is completely ready, there will be tickets for certain weddings. Tourists can wear national costumes and participate in a traditional Armenian wedding. During those days, they can also go sightseeing and take part in tea-drinking events and a dinner.

The wedding village will host tourists during the non-wedding days. They will watch parts of staged rituals. We hope this project is a success and sparks great interest.

Most of our national traditions have been forgotten. The TonirWeddingVillage project will provide the opportunity to identify those traditions and save them from oblivion. Any Armenian girl wishing to get married should ask herself the following questions: Why do I want to wear a white gown or have a wedding that is like the weddings in the West? What is that-a dream or a reality that is imposed on us Armenians?

Why not organize a vivid wedding with national traditions and become the bearer of your identity and be attached to your roots?

As an ending

Let’s wrap up Sirarpi’s story with the opinions of some of her friends who attended the wedding and are still impressed with the magical atmosphere during those days even months after the wedding.

Vardges Movsesyan: Haik’s and Sirarpi’s traditional wedding and the TonirWeddingVillage project provided the opportunity to discover the nature and beauty of a traditional Armenian wedding. This project is now a story that can set an example for organizing similar weddings and properly presenting the centuries-old culture of the Armenian nation. Although it was a nice idea, in the beginning, it seemed unfeasible. However, Haik Yeranosyan and Sirarpi Khojabaghyan implemented it with honor. These are not as much words of appraisal as they are words of gratitude. Thank you for revealing the treasures of Armenian culture!

Valya Gokoyan: I was lucky to participate in Haik’s and Sirarpi’s traditional Armenian wedding. I have great impressions that one can write about, admire and talk about endlessly…I must say that I am still under the impression. From the very first second I asked myself why we Armenians shouldn’t present the traditional Armenian wedding to the UNESCO as a cultural asset. The TonirWeddingVillage project is a perfect project that presents the customs and traditions of the Armenian people, their national costumes, as well as dances, music and games…Basically, everything that is slowly being forgotten.

Karine Mkhoyan: The wedding organized as part of the TonirWeddingVillage project was the most impressive and most unique wedding I have ever attended in my life. I experienced unforgettable days during which there were Armenian rituals, beautiful national costumes, national songs and dances, wedding traditions and infinite love and excitement. It seems as though this wedding brought me closer to my roots and made me feel the spirit of my ancestors.

The choice is ours. Do we want to live by assimilating and being like the rest of the world, or do we want to live by preserving our type, which will help us reinforce our roots spanning millennia and live by seeing the familiar reflection of our ancestors in the mirror of time?

Lusine Abrahamyan