Armenian Lavash

Альманах
Key words
Armenia, lavash, tonir, baking technologies, sacred actions related to lavash, lavash application
Author
Sergei A. Arutyunov, Yurii I. Mkrtumyan
About the Author
Sergei A. Arutyunov
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0195-3199
E-mail: gusaba@iea.ras.ru Tel.: +7 (495) 938-17-47
32а, Leninskii av., Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation
DSc in History, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chief Researcher,
N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences

Yurii I. Mkrtumyan (1938–2005)
Yerevan State University: 1, Alek Manukyan str., Yerevan, 0025, Republic of Armenia
Received
Date of publication
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26158/TK.2020.21.4.012
Body

In this article, the authors consider lavash from an anthropological perspective. Lavash is not only the most consumed and favorite component of Armenian alimentary culture but is higher than all other types of bread in status, possessing a multitude of sacred connotations and features of etiquette. The authors investigate the entire cycle of lavash production: they examine the structure of earthen ovens (tonir); analyze the technology of dough preparation and baking; consider the social and ethnographic aspects of these practices, including the cooperation and interaction of the people who make lavash; discuss the relationship of lavash to other types of food; and describe numerous taboos and beliefs associated with baking lavash. No less attention is paid to the use of lavash, its polyfunctionality on the banquet table and its role as an “edible utensil.” The authors also pay special attention to the rites associated with lavash, its place in the traditional beliefs of Armenians and its significance in their local worldview.

References

Abrahamian L., Sweezy N., Sweezy S. (eds.) (2001) Armenian: Folk Arts, Culture and Identity. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. In English.

Arutyunov S.A., Markaryan E.S. (eds.) (1983) Kul’tura zhizneobespecheniya i etnos [The Culture of Life Support and Ethnicity]. Yerevan: Izdatel’stvo AN ArmSSR. In Russian.

Ter-Sarkisyants A. E. (1998) Armyane: Isto‑ riya i etnokul’turnye traditsii [Armenians: History and Ethnocultural Traditions]. Moscow: Vostoch‑ naya literatura. In Russian.

Ter-Sarkisyants A. E. (2001) Traditsionnaya pishcha armyan [The Traditional Food of the Armenians]. In: Traditsionnaya pishcha kak vyra‑ zhenie etnicheskogo samosoznaniya [Traditional Food as an Expression of Ethnic Identity]. Ed. by S.A. Arutyunov, T.A. Voronina. Moscow: Nauka. Pp. 119–132. In Russian.

For citation

Arutyunov S.A., Mkrtumyan Y. I. Armenian Lavash. Traditional culture. 2020. Vol. 21. No. 4. Pp. 141–148. In Russian.