INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE DEVOTED TO THE PROBLEMS OF HAMSHEN AND HAMSHEN ARMENIANS
On July 23 in “Congress” hotel in Yerevan was held an international scientific conference on the subject “Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians: history and culture” by the initiative of the RA NAS (National Academy of Science) Institute of Oriental Studies and Yerkir Union for Repatriation and Settlement. Specialists from Armenia, Russia and Turkey appeared with reports. The conference was quite comprehensive: Were made reports devoted to the problems of Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians.
The director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Ruben Safrastian, was the first to take the floor with words of welcome accentuating the importance of studying the problems of Hamshen Armenians. The conference participants were welcomed by Deputy Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjyan, Vice President of the RA NAS - Vladimir Barkhudaryan, the representative of Foreign Ministry’s Committee for Diaspora - Artak Zakaryan, the representative of “Yerkir” Union - Sevak Artsruni. In conclusion of his contensive speech S. Artsruni called for the ones present to honor the memory of Hrant Dink with a minute of silence.
The first session presided by Professor R. Safrastyan began with the report of the Yerevan State University senior lecturer of the Department of Study of Turlic Language, “Noravank” Foundation expert, Candidate of Philological Science Ruben Melkonyan “The problem of ethnic identity in Turkey and Hamshen Armeniahns.” The report was mainly touching upon the problem of “crisis identity” and the phenomena caused by it. Speaking about the problem of the apostate Armenians in Turkey, the reporter presented some nuances of their present condition and stressed up that the Hamshen Armenians were different from the other groups of forcedly Islamized Armenians by a number of peculiarities, and, accordingly, the scientific approach to the problem was also to be different.
The Second report was made by the Turkish Hacettepe University lecturer, Doctor Erkhan Erson who presented economic, social and cultural components of identity of the western group of Hamshen Armenians. The Turkish scientist accentuated that as a result of a number of phenomena of up-to-date world are upset important elements of the Hamsen Armenians’ mode of life exerting serious influence on transformation of Hamshen identity.
The report of the prominent research worker of the RA NAS Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, head of Armenological Center in “Noravank” Foundation, PhD Harutyun Marutyan was devoted to the role of traumatic memory in preserving Armenian identity in Turkey. It is of special importance the scientist’s conclusion that when it is the matter of peoples’ identity, than one is to be led predominantly by general, flexible formulations and not by rules, definitions and formulas inherent to exact sciences. In H. Marutyan’s report, along with theoretical basis, where are also brought examples taken from different sources, which made the report still richer.
At the second session of the conference, presided by H. Marutyan, were presented the reports about dialect and culture of Hamshens, some of which are worth being singled out.
The report of the Docent of Turkic Language Study Department, Candidate of Philological Science Lusine Sahakyan was devoted to the language policy of the Ottoman Empire in Hamshen district, were presented the consequences of that policy. The author presented the Armenian literary translation of some songs from the repertory of the Armenian musical choral “Vova” as well as their profound and thorough analysis.
The report of Ayshenur Kolivar of Hamshen origin was devoted to so called “Hamshen Language” in Western Armenia.
The report of Karine Brutyan, the lecturer of Folklore Study Department, Yerevan State Conservatory after Komitas, was extremely interesting and highly professional. It was titled “Review of musical heritage of Hamshenian Armeniajns.”
The third session, presided by the director of the RA NAS Institute of History, correspondent member of the academy, professor Ashot Merlkonyan, began with the report of a well known anthropologist, Docent of the Department of Turkic Studies of the Yerevan State University, senior scientific worker of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography Nvard Kochar - “The place of Hamshen Armenians in the system of other Armenian ethno-territorial groups.” The facts represented as a result of anthropological analysis about anthropological belonging of the Hamshenian Armenians, in particular, to Armenoids, were a worthy response to the confirmation of some Turkish “scientists” that the Hamshens come from Turks.
The philologist who has been engaged in the problems of Hamshen Armenians, Chief Editor of the newspaper “Dzayn hamshenakan” (Voice of Hamshens), Vice-Chairman of the friendly association “Hamshen” Sergey Vardanyan presented an interesting report about the regions bordering Hopa and Ajaria, as well as about the apostate Hamshen Armenians exiled from there to the Middle Asia in 1944 and researches conducted in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kirgizstan.
The report of the head of the Yerevan State University Department of Study of Turkic Language, Candidate of Historical Science, Docent Alexander Safaryan was titled “V. Gordlevski about Islamization and national-religious minorities of the Ottoman Empire.” The reporter presented the origin of the problem and the approach of the Russian scientific school to it. In his report A. Safaryan also mentioned the importance of studying the problem of Armenians’ apostasy in our country.
The report of the president of the scientific-cultural center “Hamshen,” Artavazd Tulimjanyan, representing Russia, was devoted to the present condition of Hamshens inhabited in the RF Krasnodar krai. The author of the report has been long conducting research in this direction. At the conference he also raised the question of the Hamshens inhabited in Russia requiring undelayable solution.
Te last report pf the conference was devoted to the Armenian architecture in Hamshen. The author of the report is Doctor Margarit Hakhnazaryan, however, the report was presented by the specialist of Armenian Architecture history Samvel Karapetyan. The Conference was followed by interesting question, answers and discussions.
One may state as a fact that the conference was a success, and at the same time it became a stimulus of studying the problem of Hamshen Armenians scientifically. It has also proved the existence of Armenian specialists engaged in the problem and its details.
Return