Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/117

 Items of Armenian Folk-Lore collected in Boston. 105

enjoyed this privilege is marked while in Jerusalem, as witness of the fact that he has seen his Lord's burial-place. On no other occa- sion, and for no other purpose, is an Armenian ever tattooed. The tattooing always takes place either on the arm or on the hand, and takes the form of a cross, or the representation of an angel. The man who is so marked becomes in a sense holy. On returning to his country he often retires from business, for fear he may cheat some one. He at least endeavors ever afterward to lead a very exemplary life. He regards himself as having been crucified with Jesus. 1

In making the sign of the cross, they always use the thumb and two fingers, in order to represent the Trinity. The motions are made from the forehead to the breast, then to the left, back to the right, and finally to the centre of the breast.

On holidays they take food and incense and go to the cemetery. They burn the incense at the graves and offer prayer. The Spirit comes down from heaven, and rests on the grave while they are offering their devotions. They cry, kiss the ground or stone which marks the burial-place, and burn candles about it.

On the festival called Haik's Day, it is the custom for persons to deluge each other with water at every opportunity. It is related that Haik, first king of Armenia, worshipped an image, and that sprinkling was connected with his worship. When Christianity was accepted, the worship of the former image became obsolete. It was deprived of its sacredness, and hence the day upon which such wor- ship was rendered became a gala day. For the sprinkling, which was the custom upon that day, was substituted what has already been referred to, — the lying in wait to drench each other with water.

The story of the Cross Day is told as follows : The cross on which Christ was crucified was left on Mount Calvary, where in time it became covered up with dirt and rubbish. A queen who desired to rescue it from eternal entombment came to Calvary in search of it. She threw money on the ground, and the people scrambled to pick it up. This action she performed over and over again, look- ing each time that the people arose from their scrambling to see if the cross was in sight. After a while, together with the money, there had been picked away so much dirt, that the cross came to

1 At a soap factor}' where I was talking to a number of Armenians, an Irishman got into a fight with one of them, and the two men were trying to strike each other in the face with soap moulds. An Armenian bearing the mark mentioned, who was standing near by, tried to separate them, and was struck for his interference. The print of the mould was left upon his bare arm, and he evidently suffered considerable pain. Nevertheless, he kept good-humored, and still continued his endeavors to pacify the two half-brutes (for such they seemed to me).

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