Աշխարհակառոյցը հայկական աւանդական մշակոյթում (ըստ բանահիւսական նիւթերի)
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2016
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As Armenian civilization is a part of the Mediterranean cultural space the author briefly explains the Mediterranean perception of the world model. He defines "the world, or the universe model" as a system of cultural time and space structured around the universal axis in which a society lives.
Human society has for ages made its territory cultural, separated it from nature, but it is still in relationship with nature. The zone of human habitat was comprehended as cosmos, in contrast to chaos, the space outside culture. In many cases areas of water (seas, lakes, rivers) were considered zones of chaos, probably because people could not live there. The sky was always the abode of deities, time was calculated with the help of the sky, the sun, the moon, stars, and planets, while heavenly bodies were the main topic of myths on the origins and structure of the universe. Finally, the general configuration of the universe, according to the archetypal dichotomy, is the constant connection of heaven and earth. Trees, mountains, temples, the palace, the city, the house, etc. were perceived as images of the world structure, while its layers were symbolically represented by animals, colors, and basic elements.
The Armenian perception of world structure is a dynamic system placed in time and space. In Armenian folklore the vertical and the horizontal axes of the universe are represented in connection with iconic and traditional architectural forms. The world model is expressed as a tree (incense-tree, or juniper), column (staff as symbolic column), mountain (Masis), temple (Solomon’s temple) etc. Tonratun (bakery, kitchen) on the other hand, represents the microcosm. The flood starts when tonir (traditional oven) is filled with water and, thus, chaos invades cosmos.
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Յովհաննիսեան, Կ., «Աշխարհակառոյցը հայկական աւանդական մշակոյթում (ըստ բանահիւսական նիւթերի)», «Հայկազեան հայագիտական հանդէս», 2016, Պէյրութ, էջ 401-430