Madagh
Encyclopedia
Madagh is an Armenian custom of commemorating victims through requiem services, most often associated with the annual remembrance of the Armenian genocide
. Madagh is typically celebrated with community gatherings sponsored by churches, which include public offerings of food. Food offerings often include lamb stew with pilaf
made from bulgur
, and Armenian flat bread or katah bread. Some academics associate the food offerings with pagan practices of animal sacrifice
that the early Armenian Orthodox Church incorporated with reference to Biblical sacrifices.
. The madagh is still considered one of the most important religious blessings in the contemporary Armenian Church. Contemporary church leaders assert that the ritual today is imbued with a new set of religious significance within the canon of Orthodox Christian practice distinct from whatever pagan roots it may have. Contemporary interpretations link the madagh with the practice of Christian agape, or communal fellowship and love. It is also connected with the practice of religious charity, because the meal is often given to the community for free and is associated with feeding the poor.
Members of the Armenian diaspora
typically associate the serving of the madagh with an annual commemoration of "martyr's day", the anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide
in Turkey. Most mark April 24, 1915 as the beginning of the Armenian genocide, however madagh celebrations take place throughout the summer months. The connection of the madagh to commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey may be a contentious point, as the genocide is not officially recognized within Turkey. This post uses the term "genocide" to accurately reproduce the understanding and interpretations of those populations that are enacting the ritual and is in keeping with most scholarly accounts. Moreover, despite its association with the genocide, the madagh may be used as part of other requiem services (Hokehankisd), including victims of other massacres or departed loved ones.
Occasionally, one of the few remaining living survivors of the Armenian Genocide will be brought in to join the event. When such an honored guest is present, feast attendees typically gather around to hear a first-person account of the history as lived in 1915 through the eyes of a child. As of 2004, it was believed that there were only four remaining living survivors of the genocide in the USA.
Annual madagh festivals are important cultural and community events apart from their historic connection to commemorating Armenian genocide. You may see young men playing soccer or throwing a football while the old men play backgammon in the shade. After the eating is finished, an Armenian band may play Armenian folk music
for traditional dancing
. Dancers line up next to each other, link pinkie fingers, and move their feet in pattern to the music as the line snakes around the pavilion. At most festival celebrations, guests attending the festival but unfamiliar with the history would be unlikely to note a connection to the genocide.
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. Madagh is typically celebrated with community gatherings sponsored by churches, which include public offerings of food. Food offerings often include lamb stew with pilaf
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
made from bulgur
Bulgur
Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...
, and Armenian flat bread or katah bread. Some academics associate the food offerings with pagan practices of animal sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
that the early Armenian Orthodox Church incorporated with reference to Biblical sacrifices.
Historical Origins & Contemporary Interpretations
Some religious scholars assert that madagh (or sometimes matal) has its roots in ancient liturgical sacrifice, evoking the animal sacrifice of Armenian pagan religious rites. Early Christian church fathers allowed to continue because of its parallels with biblical Old Testament sacrifices and as a means of winning pagan practitioners over to the Church. The legitimation of the madagh sacrifice within the early Armenian Christian church is particularly associated with Gregory the IlluminatorGregory the Illuminator
Saint Gregory the Illuminator or Saint Gregory the Enlightener is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church...
. The madagh is still considered one of the most important religious blessings in the contemporary Armenian Church. Contemporary church leaders assert that the ritual today is imbued with a new set of religious significance within the canon of Orthodox Christian practice distinct from whatever pagan roots it may have. Contemporary interpretations link the madagh with the practice of Christian agape, or communal fellowship and love. It is also connected with the practice of religious charity, because the meal is often given to the community for free and is associated with feeding the poor.
Members of the Armenian diaspora
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
typically associate the serving of the madagh with an annual commemoration of "martyr's day", the anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
in Turkey. Most mark April 24, 1915 as the beginning of the Armenian genocide, however madagh celebrations take place throughout the summer months. The connection of the madagh to commemoration of the Armenian Genocide in Turkey may be a contentious point, as the genocide is not officially recognized within Turkey. This post uses the term "genocide" to accurately reproduce the understanding and interpretations of those populations that are enacting the ritual and is in keeping with most scholarly accounts. Moreover, despite its association with the genocide, the madagh may be used as part of other requiem services (Hokehankisd), including victims of other massacres or departed loved ones.
Food and festivities
Such events are popular in New York as well as in the sizable Armenian descent population concentrated in Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. The events are often an opportunity to showcase traditional cuisine of Armenia. At such feasts, particularly in the Midwestern USA, the madagh is typically celebrated with Lamb Stew and Bulgur Pilaf (Wheat pilaf) (click links for recipes). Older men from the community dig large pits in the earth the night before the feast, in which the communal pots of pilaf and lamb stew are roasted. On the day of the festival, which is free and open to the public, the presiding priest blesses the food and asks for God to remember the departed who are being commemorated as part of the Requiem Service. After the blessing, families line up with pots and bowls into which volunteers pass out the communal lamb stew and pilaf.Occasionally, one of the few remaining living survivors of the Armenian Genocide will be brought in to join the event. When such an honored guest is present, feast attendees typically gather around to hear a first-person account of the history as lived in 1915 through the eyes of a child. As of 2004, it was believed that there were only four remaining living survivors of the genocide in the USA.
Annual madagh festivals are important cultural and community events apart from their historic connection to commemorating Armenian genocide. You may see young men playing soccer or throwing a football while the old men play backgammon in the shade. After the eating is finished, an Armenian band may play Armenian folk music
Music of Armenia
Armenia is situated close to the Caucasus Mountains, and its music is a mix of indigenous folk music, perhaps best-represented by Djivan Gasparyan's well-known duduk music, as well as light pop, and extensive Christian music, due to Armenia's status as the oldest Christian nation in the...
for traditional dancing
Armenian dance
The Armenian dance heritage has been one of the oldest, richest and most varied in the Near East. From the fifth to the third millennia B.C., in the higher regions of Armenia, the land of Ararat, there are rock paintings of scenes of country dancing. These dances were probably accompanied by...
. Dancers line up next to each other, link pinkie fingers, and move their feet in pattern to the music as the line snakes around the pavilion. At most festival celebrations, guests attending the festival but unfamiliar with the history would be unlikely to note a connection to the genocide.
External links
- Hye Etch
- The Gutsy Gourmet: Armenian Food
- See Armenian Students Association for Madagh dates on the east coast of the USA.