Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / Hovhannes Tumanyan and the Armenian Folk Revival
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, when you think about Armenian identity — what comes to mind? The stone crosses, the monasteries, the language... But I wonder if you’ve ever thought about the stories. The old tales that people told around fires for centuries. Luna: You mean like the epic of David of Sasun? I’ve heard the name, but I don’t actually know much about it. Lucas: Exactly. That epic, and so many others, might have been lost if not for one man: Hovhannes Tumanyan. He’s often called the 'poet of all Armenians,' and he lived from 1869 to 1923. He didn’t just write poems — he traveled through villages, sat with elders, and transcribed the oral traditions that were fading under Russian and Ottoman pressure. Luna: So he was like a folklorist and a poet rolled into one? Lucas: Exactly. And he did it in a way that made these stories accessible to everyone. His most famous work, 'The Capture of Tmkaberd,' is based on a medieval legend. But he also wrote about love, loss, and the harsh realities of peasant life. His poem 'Anush' is a tragic love story set in the Lori region. Tumanyan had this gift for taking raw folk material and polishing it into art without losing its earthy power. Lucas: Now, before we go deeper — you might have noticed we don’t run ads on this show. That’s intentional. We want these conversations to feel like two friends talking, not a commercial break. If you value that, and you’d like to help keep it ad-free, we have a simple way: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It’s a small gesture that makes a big difference. Luna: Yeah, I think that’s part of why the show feels so genuine. No interruptions. Lucas: So back to Tumanyan. He was born in the village of Dsegh, in the Lori region, which is now in northern Armenia. His family was a priestly line — the Tumanyans were respected, but not wealthy. As a young man, he moved to Tiflis — Tbilisi — which was then the cultural capital of the Caucasus under the Russian Empire. That’s where he joined a literary circle called Vernatun, or 'upper room.' They met in an attic and discussed everything from Armenian folklore to European Romanticism. Luna: Was Tiflis a big center for Armenian culture back then? Lucas: Huge. By the late 19th century, Tiflis had a large Armenian population — merchants, intellectuals, artists. It was a melting pot. Tumanyan thrived there. He became friends with other Armenian writers like Avetik Isahakyan and Ghazaros Aghayan. But his real passion was the countryside. He would take long trips into the mountains, staying in villages, listening to storytellers. He even transcribed parts of the 'David of Sasun' epic from an old man named Karapet — a gusan, which is like a wandering bard. Luna: Gusan — that’s an Armenian term, right? Like a minstrel? Lucas: Exactly. The tradition goes back centuries. There were also ashughs — poet-singers who performed with a saz or a kamancheh. Tumanyan respected them deeply. He saw them as living libraries. By writing down their songs, he preserved stories that might have otherwise vanished under the pressures of modernization and assimilation. Lucas: He also had a political side — though he wasn’t a firebrand. After the Armenian genocide in 1915, he organized relief efforts. He helped orphaned children find homes, and he wrote articles calling for justice. But the trauma wore on him. In 1921, he traveled to Constantinople to negotiate aid, but by then his health was failing. He died in 1923 in Moscow, far from his beloved Lori. Luna: That’s tragic. Did his work live on after his death? Lucas: Absolutely. Soviet Armenia made him a national hero — his image appeared on stamps, streets were named after him. But his true legacy is in the stories. His adaptations of folk tales are still read in Armenian schools. And the 'David of Sasun' epic, thanks in part to his transcriptions, is now a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Not bad for a boy from Dsegh who just wanted to tell the old stories. Luna: I’d love to hear an example of one of his poems. Is there a short one you could describe? Lucas: Sure. There’s one called 'The Capture of Tmkaberd.' It’s about a fortress that falls because of a traitor inside. The hero, a prince named Vachagan, fights bravely but is betrayed. Tumanyan uses simple language, but the emotional weight is immense. He makes you feel the loss of that fortress as if it’s your own home. That’s his gift — making ancient stories feel immediate. Luna: It reminds me of how folk tales in many cultures have that timeless quality. Lucas: Exactly. And Tumanyan understood that better than most. He once said, 'The soul of a nation is in its songs.' He spent his life proving that. So next time you hear an Armenian folk song or read an old tale, think of him — the man who listened.