a pride of kaghakatsi boys
The ancestors of the kaghakatsi Armenians who settled in Jerusalem,
selecting the southwest corner of its Old City for their domicile,
adapted with ease and harmony to the new way of life. From distant
homes in a mountainous homeland, they brought with them a rich and
varied cornucopia they bequeathed to the "bantoukhd" (an expatriate
but also implying someone who has been forced to leave home and is
yearning to return) generations that came after them.
That
was
the
legacy
my
mother
and
grandmother
left
me.
It
has
always
been
in
the
bosom of the women that our culture and heritage have most securely been preserved.
Alas,
most
of
that
exquisite
legacy
is
lost
to
us
-
perhaps,
some
ancient
records
cataloguing
these
do
linger
in
some
obscure
library,
waiting
to
be
discovered
and
explored.
Perhaps,
they
are
gone
forever.
Or
are
waiting
for
a
Howard
Carter
to
chance
upon
them and uncover them.
Inevitably,
the
Armenians
adopted
many
of
the
local
customs
and
traditions,
in
their
turn,
enriching
the
prevalent
culture,
whether
it
was
Turkish,
Arab
or
Jewish,
with
their
own
unique
imprint.
But
Arabic
has,
de
jure,
exerted
a
predominant
infulence
on
the
Armenians
(as
well
as
the
other
non-Muslim
communitities
of
Jerusalem),
most
notably
during
the
British
Mandate
and
later
the
Jordanian administration of the city.
Because
of
a
native
propensity
for
and
alacrity
for
languages,
Armenians
were
quick
to
learn
Arabic
(as
they
would
later
Hebrew)
and
adapt
to
the
new
culture,
huge
segments
of
which
they
incorporated
into their own traditions.
Armenians
not
only
adopted
they
also
adapted
their
new
acquisitions.
The
kaghakatsi
couched
the
Arabic
they
spoke
in
a
coccoon
of
its
own,
sprinkling
in
a
varied
mixture
of
Armenian
or
Turkish
words
to
give
it
more
individualistic
spice.
Is
it
any
wonder
then
that
some
of
the
Arabic
phrases
they
coined
were almost incomprehensible to the Arab man in the street?
Among
the
picturesque
and
intriguing
new
modes
of
expression
that
appealed
to
them
most
was
the
facile
tendency
of
the
Arab
to
punctuate
his
expositions
with
the
great
variety
of
"amthal"
(proverbs
or
sayings)
that
his
people
had
at
their
disposal,
some
of
them
inherited
from
the
Jahiliya
(pre-Islamic) era.
This
ancient
lore
contained
gems
of
wisdom
treasured
by
our
forefathers
because
they
illuminated
and inspired their actions, thought and speech.
Some
of
these
gems
were
handed
down
the
generations
and
became
part
of
the
kaghakatsi
culture.
And as the kaghakatsi integrated into the indigenous fabric of the city, the local coloring rubbed on.
The
Armenian
the
kaghakatsis
spoke
soon
fell
prey
to
native
language
interference,
and
in
recent
times,
Arabic
literally
became
the
lingua
franca
of
the
Armenian
Quarter
of
Jerusalem.
Arabic,
an
extremely
rich
language
noted
for
its
mellifluous
felicity
and
affinity
to
poetry,
infiltrated
into
all
aspects
of
everyday
life,
including
everyday
vernacular,
with
prayers
and
proverbs
the
most
vulnerable.
These
gems
provide
an
intimate
peek
into
the
epitome
of
the
kaghakatsi
way
of
thinking
and
acting, his aspirations and dreams, and his humor.
The
jokes
remain
coarse
and
the
sayings
have
a
tedious
tendency
to
hover
around
the
lower
extremities
-
an
unhelpful
person
is
so
disgustful,
he/she
would
not
even
be
willing
to
"piss
on
a
wounded finger" (and alleviate someone's pain, or give someone a hand).
Particular
rancor
is
reserved
for
the
conceited
who
is
likened
to
an
early
morning
bowel
deposit
that, because it is the day's first emanation and therefore fresh, squats arrogantly in the bowl.
The
miser
gets
his
comeuppance
too:
"He
inserts
his
finger
in
his
anus,
and
smells
it.
.
.
"
as
if
to
make
sure
that
he
has
not
lost,
missed
or
dropped
anything
valuable
(and
thus
become
poorer)
(by
mistake).
Should
he
feel
the
need
to
break
wind,
foremost
in
his
mind
would
be
the
thought,
"the
heck
with
it, I'd rather the fart betrayed me and embarrassed me rather than burst me."
And
if
a
person
is
surly
and
grouchy,
then
his
face
would
not
smile
even
at
the
sight
of
a
freshly
baked
ragheef
, the wafer thin pita that is the staple bread in the Middle East.
The
useless
or
purposeless
comings
and
goings
of
a
person
are
likened
to
the
swinging
testicles
of
a
person sifting sand.
But
the
Arab,
whose
poetry
is
a
musical
embodiment
of
the
whole
range
of
human
sentiment,
both
sacred and profane, also concedes that life can be both precious and meaningless.
"
Yom
'assal,
yom
bassal,
"
one
day
you
may
dine
on
honey,
the
next
on
onions,
a
reflection
on
the
vagaries of life.
But
he
would
prefer
life
to
death:
"'
isheh
qadar
wa
la
nomeh
taHt
al
Hajar,
"
(let
me
have
life,
even
though sordid, sooner than sleep under a headstone).
And
Abul
Nawwas,
that
notorious
poet
of
profanity,
goes
so
far
as
to
say,
"If
I
live,
fine,
if
I
don't
live,
'
la
teezy,
'"
loosely,
"I
would
smack
my
posterior,"
a
common
gesture
of
insouciance
or
defiance
among Arabs.
The
Old
City
Jerusalemite
is
a
pragmatist
of
sorts.
If
there
are
any
taps
to
fix
in
your
home,
or
a
broken
window
to
repair,
you're
better
off
calling
a
plumber
or
a
glazier,
because
you
are
definitely
going to make a mess of it.
"You
are
better
off
giving
your
dough
to
the
baker
(
farran)
to
bake,
even
if
he
eats
half
of
it,"
because
that
is
his
trade
and
he
knows
what
he
is
doing.
The
reference
is
to
an
unwritten
law
that
stipulates that any dough or pastry taken to a bakery will attract a "tithe."
Or,
"
illi
mish
karo,
ya
naro
",
if
plumbing
or
carpentry
is
not
your
trade,
then
you
bungle
(burn)
the
job.
Little
has
changed
over
the
years
in
the
character
of
the
Old
City's
Armenian
denizens.
The
domination
of
neither
Ottoman,
nor
British,
Arab,
or
Jewish
overlords
has
had
any
perceptible
effect
on
him.
Fiercely
independent,
the
Armenian
of
Jerusalem
remains
a
social,
friendly,
hospitable
and
generous soul, a little given to exaggeration no doubt, but one who knows how to share.
Before
you
move
into
a
house,
you
are
advised
to
check
out
your
neighbors
first
because
they
will
be
closer
to
you
than
your
own
brother.
They
are
the
ones
you
turn
to
when
you
are
in
trouble.
They
are the ones you break bread and drink coffee with.
In
Middle
Eastern
tradition,
a
good
neighbor
is
worth
his/her
weight
in
gold.
Is
it
any
wonder
then
that
the
people
of
the
Middle
East
take
the
Prophet's
injunction,
"look
after
your
neighbor,
even
unto
the seventh one" to heart?
This
is
the
culture
that
begat
Hatem
al
Tai,
the
legendary
Arab
chieftain
who
felt
no
compunctions
about
sacrificing
his
finest
steed
to
feed
a
guest
when
he
ran
out
of
other
offerings.
When
you
break
bread
with
an
Arab,
you
become
a
valued
guest
and
no
harm
should
befall
you
whenever
you
are
under
his
roof.
Another
famous
saying,
this
one
from
Egypt,
carves
this
out
in
stone:
"We
have
eaten
break
and salt together." That cements our friendship.
Blessings,
proverbs
and
poetry
illuminate
the
soul
of
the
Armenian
of
Jerusalemite.
Add
to
that
filial
piety.
Perhaps,
modern
mores,
spurred
by
insipid
examples
from
the
West,
have
infected
current
generations
with
the
dubious
virtues
of
permissiveness,
but
there
was
a
time
not
long
ago,
when
no
son or daughter would cross a threshold without kissing the hand of the elders inside.
The
gesture
would
automatically
prompt
a
suitable
blessing.
My
grandfather's
favorite
was:
"May
the earth you touch be transmuted into gold."
My
mother
would
remind
me,
"
Rida
al
abb
min
al
rabb
,"
a
father's
blessing
is
akin
to
the
blessing
bestowed
upon
you
by
the
Lord.
As
is
common
in
Arabic,
a
word
will
have
more
meanings
embedded
in
it
than
its
counterpart
in
any
other
language
-
and
"rida"
would
also
imply
acceptance,
gratification,
satisfaction for acceptable or expected conduct. Carob juice vendor
The
Arabic
language
is
perhaps
one
of
the
world's
most
picturesque.
And
musical.
The
vocabulary
is
intensely
rich
and
variegated.
For
instance,
there
are
close
to
50
definitions
for
a
lion,
tracing
its
birth,
growth,
physical
attributes,
sex,
habits,
and
so
on.
And
when
an
Arab
wants
to
utter
a
proverb,
he invariably chooses one with a poetic rhyme.
Thus,
"
yom
'assal
yom
bassal
"
and
others
that
are
a
challenge
to
utter
for
a
non-native
speaker.
Like
this,
"
el
mat'ouss
mat'ouss,
wa
laww
'alla'ou
'ala
teezoh
fanoos
."
Which
translates
as:
if
you
are
unlucky, you will remain unlucky, even if they hang a lantern on your backside.
Children
have
always
been
spoiled
rotten,
a
preoccupation
prevalent
among
Jerusalem
society.
And
no
matter
where
the
Jerusalem
Armenian
is
domiciled,
he/she
will
hold
that
as
a
prerogative.
But,
make
no
mistake,
if
a
child
crosses
the
line,
a
very
wide
one
true,
but
nevertheless,
quite
clear,
the
consequences for the child can be dire.
"
Al
banat
ham
lal
mamat
,"
girls/daughters
will
always
be
a
worry/problem,
until
the
day
of
death
(the proverb does not specify whose death, the child's or the parent's).
This
saying
probably
harks
back
to
the
practice
of
female
infanticide
during
the
pre-Islamic
Arab
dark
age,
Al
Jahiliya,
(literally,
the
era
of
ignorance).
Like
a
desert
khamseen,
Islam
wiped
out
this
horrible
custom
of
burying
newly
born
daughters
alive
for
fear
of
letting
them
fall
captive
to
raiding
parties.
This
was
one
of
the
worst
Jahiliya
abominations
that
Mohammed
promptly
abolished.
Subsequently,
Islam
endowed
females
with
privileges
they
had
never
dreamed
of
enjoying
before.
Among
them,
the
provision
of
a
prenuptial
dowry
by
a
prospective
groom
and
the
laying
aside
of
a
special sum at the disposal of his wife should he decide to divorce her later.
But
though
the
concept
of
leaving
home
at
18
is
totally
alien,
"there
will
come
a
day,
when
your
child
will
depart
and
not
come
back,
will
eat
and
not
be
sated,
and
you
will
call
him/her,
but
he/she
will not respond."
Family
ties
are
sacrosanct,
because
"blood
will
never
turn
to
water."
I
and
my
brother
will
stand
up
to
up
against
my
cousin,
but
when
a
stranger
threatens
us,
then
I
and
my
cousin
will
join
forces
to
fight
him.
But
then
again,
if
a
stranger
marries
my
mother,
then
he
becomes
my
uncle!
And
is
therefore accorded due respect!
The
Arab's
profound
inner
sense
of
pride
makes
it
difficult
for
him
to
poke
fun
at
himself,
or
enjoy
being
made
an
object
of
laughter.
On
the
other
hand,
he
likes
nothing
better
than
to
poke
fun
at
others,
particularly
those
less
fortunate.
And
his
satire
can
sometimes
prove
devastating
to
the
victim:
pre-Islamic
Arab
literature
is
rife
with
such
instances.
In
one
particular
case,
during
"Jahiliya"
era,
an
entire
tribe
found
it
expedient
to
relocate
elsewhere
after
being
satirized
as
being
as
tall
as
mules,
and dreaming dreams of birds: "
tool al bighali, wa ahlam al 'asafeeri.
"
The
Arab
is
a
pragmatist
of
sorts.
If
there
are
any
taps
to
fix
in
your
home,
or
a
broken
window
to
repair,
you're
better
off
calling
a
plumber
or
a
glazier,
because
you
are
definitely
going
to
make
a
mess
of it.
"
A'ti
khubzak
lal
farran
wa
laww
akal
noussoh
:"
you
are
better
off
giving
your
dough
to
the
baker
to
bake,
even
if
he
eats
half
of
it,
because
that
is
his
trade
and
he
knows
what
he
is
doing.
The
reference
is to an unwritten law that stipulates that any dough or pastry taken to a bakery will attract a "tithe."
Here,
in
this
compilation
of
wisdom
sayings,
is
an
intimate
peek
into
the
epitome
of
the
Kaghakatzi
way of thinking and acting, his aspirations and dreams, and his humor. We have opted not to reproduce
them
in
Classical
Arabic
for
the
simple
reason
that
these
utterings
are
in
the
local
Jerusalem
Arabic
vernacular and that is a far cry from the formal language.
Little
has
changed
in
the
character
of
the
host
Arab
whose
musings
have
impacted
so
heavily
on
Kaghakatzi
culture.
Some
of
his
mores
disappeared
in
the
sweeping
wake
of
the
reforming
new
monotheistic
religion,
Islam,
but
the
core
has
remained
unchanged.
The
Arab
remains
a
social,
friendly,
hospitable
and
generous
soul,
a
little
given
to
exaggeration
no
doubt,
but
one
who
knows
how
to share.
Among
this
ancient
lore
are
the
gems
of
wisdom
our
forefathers
treasured.
Sayings
and
proverbs
they lived by and that illuminated and inspired their actions, thought and speech.