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N. Vardanyan Ritual-Mythological Semantics of the Belt in the Armenian Wedding Tradition

N. Vardanyan
Yerevan State University;
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography NAS RA
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
ORCID: 0000-0002-3888-3668
E-mail: vardanyan.nvard@ysu.am 

 

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ABSTRACT. The article examines the symbolic semantics of the belt in the Armenian wedding tradition. It draws on Medieval sources, ethnographic and folklore records from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, and modern descriptions of the wedding ceremony and ritual songs. In the wedding ritual, the belt was associated with the images of the bride and groom and carried rich cultural meanings related to folk beliefs and mythical concepts. The belt was one of the most honored gifts at an Armenian wedding. Silver belts were first worn by the bride and groom on the wedding day and continued to be worn thereafter, as it was an indicator of their transition to the new status. The belt served as an amulet and ensured fertility. However, semantic differences also determined the existence of a particular ritual – the ritual of tying the bride’s belt. The groom’s belt was an indicator of status: the groom was called a crown prince and a king at the wedding, and the belt was one of the symbols of his strength and power. In addition to the usual belt, the groom was tied with another belt, the so-called shoulder belt, which consisted of green and red ribbons. It was called by different names: khach’-goti (cross-belt), usagoti (shoulder belt), uskap or kozband (shoulder tie). Red and green ribbons were tied in a special tying ritual. They were tied crosswise on the groom’s chest: the red ones in the bride’s house and the green ones – in the groom’s house. The combination of green and red plays a vital role in an Armenian wedding and even becomes a metaphor for the wedding. In the Armenian language, the phrase kanač’-karmir kapel (ʻto tie green-redʼ) not only means “to marry” but is also used when a rainbow appears in the sky. In the Armenian tradition, the rainbow was also referred to as the green-red belt, or the heavenly belt, the belt of God. This connection between the belt and the rainbow, a symbol of divine beauty and harmony, underscores the spiritual depth of the Armenian wedding tradition. The belt, in this context, is not just a piece of clothing, but a symbol deeply connected to the myth of the sacred marriage, which forms the foundation of the wedding ritual.

 

KEYWORDS: Armenian wedding, belt, bride, groom, green-red cross-belt, metaphor, sacred marriage, rainbow, fertility

 

DOI 10.31250/2618 -860 0 -2024 -3(25)-44-65
UDC 393.51(=19)

 

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