Music and Rituals: Trndez

   February 14th is a meaningful day for lovers all around the world. It is a time for writing love letters, gorging yourself on chocolates, and leaping over a burning flame with your significant other. Okay, perhaps I should explain...

Picture from National Geographic

     Across the blue depths of the Atlantic ocean, the vast sandy stretch of the Sahara desert and snuggled in between the mountains of Turkey and Azerbaijan lies Armenia—a country filled with beautiful landscapes, rich traditions, and intoxicating music. Rituals in this culture are highly important and are rooted in traditions both old and new. This particular tradition which occurs on February 13-14th is called Trndez. According to iarmenia.org, the word Trndez roughly translates to "the Lord is with you". Trndez was originally a pagan holiday celebrating the coming of Spring and worshiping Vahagn, the god of the sun, war, and courage. Couples would leap over a burning bonfire to receive the gifts of Vahagn: success, prosperity, and invincibility.

    

    When the Apostolic church became the main religion of Armenia, instead of abolishing this old tradition, the church incorporated it into their own worship. Rather than worshipping the pagan god Vahagn, they used the holiday to celebrate the day Jesus was presented to the Temple 40 days after his birth. Leaping over a bonfire became symbolic of purification and lovers who manage to hold onto each other's hands as they jump over the flames are considered to be blessed with a strong love and an abundance of prosperity. (Trndez – Feast of purification in Armenia). 

Picture from Webplus.info

    Now for the music. 

    There are two types of music that can be heard on Trndez in Armenia, the liturgical chants (also known as Sharakan) and folk music for dancing. The chants are monophonic and are usually based around Biblical texts whereas the folk music is all instrumental and usually includes instruments like the Duduk, the Zurna (another woodwind instrument), and the Dhol—a double headed drum often played with mallets. (Oxford New Grove Dictionary)

Picture from allinnet.info

    The liturgical chant singing can be heard in the first part of this first video as people have gathered in the church to worship. Priests give blessings to newlywed couples and pregnant women, and later they perform a lighting ceremony for the bonfire. Often Trndez is celebrated in holy places, near churches or temples, although in some more rural areas the bonfire celebration is held in people's backyards. 

    In this next video, Armenian folk music can be heard as men and women gather in a circle around the bonfire. You can clearly hear the strong, beating of many drums as well as the almost whining quality of the woodwind instruments—one holding a drone, the other creating an ornamental melody over the top. The melody isn't very singable or memorable, instead it seems almost trance-like and repetitive in nature. The couples dance around the bonfire seven times before taking turns jumping over to the flames. Seven is the number of perfection and it is considered ill luck to dance more or less times around the fire. You will see that the dancers use very small steps, sometimes moving slightly backwards. This allows enough time for the flames to die down so that they are more easily jumped over. After the celebration, the ash from the fire is often collected and given to pregnant women and the sick to drink as it is said to have healing properties. 

    Perhaps as you plan on celebrating Valentine's Day this year, you might consider some of the Armenian traditions and see if you would truly jump through fire with the person that you love. 

        If you would like to see another short compilation of Trndez celebrations from around Armenia, check out this link: Տրնդեզ / Trndez.