On May 28 we visited Tokhmakh cemetery.
Aram Manugian, one of the founders of the first Republic and one of my childhood heroes, is buried there.
Armenian history is mostly conceptual in Diaspora, here you can reach and touch it and a cemetery is such a place.
If you're not disturbed by the thought, it's worthwhile visiting a cemetery in Armenia. It reflects attitudes, values and culture.
At Tokhmakh by chance we met an acquaintance. She and her sister were bringing birthday flowers to their late father.
My sister-in-law invites us to lunch on her late husband's birthday.
In Diaspora we focus on the anniversaries of death, here the birth takes precedence.
Local Armenians spend fortunes on funerals and graves. Having a poor life is acceptable but poor death is not. Needy family will make enormous debts.
The most common grave ornament is Khatchkar in Armenia. Khatchkar is a stone cross, it is carved embroidery, it's an art form practiced by Armenians for the past 11 centuries. Though it might be erected for any occasion as a landmark, it's mostly erected on graves.
Other ornaments include abstract art forms, of beautiful women, of eagles, and statues of the deceased. This is the least favorite on my list. When the family of a mafios erects a full-length statue would you say 'God bless his soul' or 'Thanks God he's dead'? And trust me, you would know it by the figure.
Families spend hours by cleaning, planting, watering, incense burning and setting up a table. Passers by are offered bread, meal, juice, and arak (vodka).
The proper thing to do is to accept the offering say 'voghormi' (God bless his soul) and drink it.
Another glass will be poured on the grave.
This is the living and the dead from Armenia.