Ghosts of memory & trauma, an act of resistance…
MARCH 2015 — Nelly Gasparyan sings a haunting performance of “Der Vorghomya” (Տեր ողորմեա) in the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Akhtamar Island:
Yep, we know. Stunning.
Beyond the singing of “Lord Have Mercy” — one of the oldest and most powerful Armenian church hymns, this act encompasses a significant amount of history. Beautifully, she sings this song in the church where a thriving Armenian community once lived. This act is more than a song but symbolizes resistance against culture erasure in honor of the memory of those lost in the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.
For Armenians, Van has often symbolized the great losses of the genocide but also the courage of Armenians to persevere against all odds. This is an act of saddness, memory, trauma but also survival and hope.
In April 1915, the monks of Akhtamar were massacred, the cathedral was looted and largely destroyed. Van, a millet at the time comprised of many villages, was one of the sites of some of the largest massacres of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Talat Pasha’s own records indicated that almost one hundred percent of Armenians were killed or successfully deported.
Van was also the site of one of the successful Armenian resistances to Ottoman attack, as Armenian fedayis fought back against the raids of Turkish soldiers. The defense of Van is often used a scape-goat of the Turkish government to justify the Armenian Genocide, claiming it was these armed insurrections that prompted the Young Turk government to target the entire Armenian population of the Empire.
Van remains under control of the Republic of Turkey today and primarily houses Kurdish residents who have been the latest victims of the Turkish government’s persecution and violence.
Armenian boys in Van // Source: houshamadyan.org
Armenians in Van // Source: houshamadyan.org
Armenian women in Van including Gakavian family // Source: houshamadyan.org
Furthermore, Akhtamar island has a special place in Armenian folk legend history and mythology. The legend goes as follows:
An Armenian princess named Tamar lived on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van. She was in love with a commoner. This boy would swim from the mainland to the island each night, his way lit by a light she lit for him. One day her father found out about this and was very upset. He went to her as she held the light, waiting for her love. He smashed her light, leaving the boy in the middle of the lake without an idea of which direction to swim. They say his dying cries of Akh, tamar… (Oh, Tamar) can be heard to this day if you come to the Lake at night.
Sadly, many of the Armenian churches of present day Turkey have been left to ruin or destroyed intentionally. While the church has a history of vandalism by Turkish nationalists in an attempt to erase history of Armenian presence, recently more and more Armenians, Turks and Kurds have visited the sacred building and been part of important campaigns for restoration (despite the Turkish’s governments tourism motives and speculation that these efforts came as a move to help Turkey become part of the EU).