During my lifelong time, unfamiliar or almost familiar people asked me: “Where are you from by origin?” The question by itself is not correctly formulated. Personally, I was born in Yerevan, grew up in Ajapnyak district. My “origin” is here, I did not come from far away countries to settle in Armenia. It is clear that the question contain an underline as to what my ancestors are by origin. Again, if the matter is about me, a part of my ancestors are from Karabakh, but, for example, my paternal grandmother was born in Abastumani (Georgia, about 30 km away from Akhaltsikhe), where her family was moved from Erzurum. But if my ancestors were, let’s say, from Ayntap or Nakhichevan, what it was to change if I was born again in Yerevan, grew up in Ajapnyak district, attending school No. 122 and so on. Having grandparents in this or that district is not a source to be proud of, or to feel ashamed.
The question of “Where are you from by origin?” for Armenian is an initial stimulus for driving conversation, like talking about the weather for the British. If it is a simple curiosity, then, never mind, although I do not believe that ‘Where are you from’ provides some additional information about the individual. But, basically, the question is asked for the purpose to find similarities and differences, and to differentiate the alien and the relative. If the grandparents of the interlocutors were from the same village or the same region, it creates some kind of kinship between them, and provides great opportunity to tattle about what bad manner and temperament the representatives of neighboring village or district have. Although, it is obvious that being from this or that village, region, or province does not determine the characteristic traits, or professional inclinations, or the level of intellect or talent.
Of course, it is desirable to know who your ancestors were, what they were doing, what they believed in, what they strived for, it is very interesting to know what kind of cultural features the area had, where they came from, but to derive positive and negative aspects of our today’s activities directly from it, in my opinion, is a provincialism.
The province where my grandparents were born is not a source of pride for me rather than the fact that several million people on this planet speak Armenian, the world’s richest language, read and write in Armenian letters, the most beautiful alphabet in the world, that there were heroes and talents in all the provinces. And, finally that the Armenians built a state in the tiny part of their historic homeland, and I am the citizen of it.
Read also
Good or bad state, it is another issue.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
