From the Anna Temkina and Lilit Zakaryan, Institution of one’s Sociology out-of Personal Health and Intercourse, Eu College on St.Petersburg, Russia and you can National Academy out of Sciences, Armenia
Karmir khndzor (Armenia)
Review the woman’s purity – courtesy testing the girl virginity – to affirm honor and you will standing regarding the lady household members can be acquired within the a range of ‘layer ceremonies’ inside patriarchal communities from the Mediterranean societies in order to Latin American peasantry and you can Indian castes, while the Dark ages (Kandiyoti 1988, Carpenter 2005, Ortner 1978: 19). The thing is exists towards practice of blaga rakija inside the Macedonia. Lady virginity is of the societal status while the a female’s updates about social construction is scheduled from the exactly how ‘pure’ or ‘polluting’ this woman is (Ortner 1978: 24-26). This trust could have been ‘implemented from the medical and frequently a little significant control of ladies social and particularly sexual behaviour’ (Ortner 1978: 19). Predicated on Simone de Beauvoir, virginity try a good patriarchal make and therefore objectifies women since the Almost every other (1949 ).
Karmir khndzor is actually scarcely mentioned from the Armenian ethnography about late nineteenth and you may early 20th many years because the Armenian people is actually mostly silent on activities from sexuality. Predominantly men ethnographers failed to take a look at the the marriage night ceremonies during the adequate detail with their females informants. In the event the fiance was most younger, the latest routine wasn’t performed into wedding night anyway and you will is put off for several years (Shagoyan 2011: 497). Yellow oranges used to enjoy a separate part on regional rituals associated the increased loss of brand new bride’s virginity (Shagoyan 2011). Given that a symbol of fertility with a sexual connotation, fruit was applied since the a present package getting silver jewellery, skilled towards fiance. This new circular form of the good fresh fruit symbolized stability and you can excellence and this new virginity of one’s bride is on the other hand interpreted because the her ‘integrity’ (tselostnost, compare to tselka, ‘virgin’).
The modern kind of karmir khndzor which is in use while in the Armenia as well as in multiple diasporic organizations took off throughout the Soviet period into the boost out of metropolitan migration regarding the 1970s. The newest ritual comes with the adopting the guidelines: For the early morning after the marriage, a small selection of girls (brand new couple’s godmother otherwise groom’s mommy, maternal sis or married cousin), constantly several, promote the caretaker of bride to be a tray out-of oranges, chocolate and you will cognac. The brand new groom’s mother encourages the girl neighbours or intimate relatives, once again 2 or three girls, more to possess java, beverage, sweets and you will fruits. The brand new godmother cuts this new oranges to your four parts and you will shares her or him toward subscribers. Cakes in the shape of a fruit are also the right present. The routine has three steps: test, sanctioning and recognition. After the groom’s mother or any other ladies look for lines regarding blood towards bedsheet of your bridesmaid pair (examination), the newest bride-to-be obtains something special in the eventuality of this lady verified virginity otherwise a hookup Los Angeles belief and you may censure if there is incapacity (sanctioning). About step three, a red fruit or a holder that have oranges is distributed given that validation for the bride’s mommy, whom awaits it signal followed closely by family members or neighbors within their domestic (Shagoyan 2011, Pogosyan 2010).
Job search conducted on the mid-2000s indicated that karmir khndzor is performed extremely carefully and you may diligently when you look at the rural areas where sex norms were more traditional and you can hierarchical. From the locations, the latest behavior grabbed an even more average means – new routine try did but the virginity testing is actually far more easy (Temkina 2008, 2010). Multiple change keeps helped change the practice since 2000s (Temkina 2008, 2010, Pogosyan 2011). Very first, brand new ritual might have been articulated throughout the public commentary by news, NGOs together with ladies way, and also in educational discourse, instructional programs and you will college programmes to your gender, sociology, mindset and you may equivalent procedures. Virginity is politicised immediately following multiple NGOs (Wo-men’s Money Cardiovascular system off Armenia, UTOPIANA, WOW) planned shows aimed at deconstructing the brand new ritual having titles for example ‘Red-colored Fruit is having eating’ and ‘We invite one to brand new funeral service of one’s Purple Fruit for the 8 regarding .’ It’s got influenced the latest feeling of karmir khndzor by the young generations just who turned into very likely to find it due to the fact a keen old-designed habit of intimacy manage. Next, they turned into you can to produce virginity. Women who got premarital dating you may imitate their virginity because of their husbands and you can/otherwise mothers-in-law by the in the process of a healthcare hymenoplastic techniques to rebuild the brand new hymen and you can have shown its cultural purity and you will honourable femininity. By the medicalising the fresh new karmir khndzor practice, gynecologists could help people to construct a regular bio and enhance their lifestyle possibility having a regular age a lot more preferred having people so you’re able to refuse to participate in the newest routine otherwise in order to ‘save’ the latest ladies virginity. Just like the intimate dating turned a whole lot more liberal and you can thought to be belonging to an autonomous areas out of individual lifestyle, karmir khndzor was directed to help you a good ceremonial and cultural icon during the the federal matrimony and it has destroyed the connection so you’re able to virginity, as for analogy is the case out of a wedding veil during the Russia.
Karmir khndzor is actually trapped regarding the tensions ranging from national title and you may modernity. Because the ritual represents Armenian community and you can old-fashioned gender roles, individuals who deny the fresh new routine risk being regarded as less than correct Armenian residents and you may females. Yet , people that rigidly stick to the routine could be recognized as backwards and old-fashioned of the its opponents. But not, pro- and you may con- attitudes in order to karmir khndzor be more effective looked at as being located into the a spectrum. One another teenagers and you may ladies will get object on the virginity decide to try becoming a process from control over the intimacy and private lifestyle. Other times, people may want to continue the virginity in advance of relationships and to consider it a significant cultural tradition that encourages kinship solidarity. Specific could possibly get agree to uphold their virginity, however, dislike its personal verification pursuing the marriage. Many young adults view low-relationship gender due to the fact appropriate for both men and women and you may envision karmir khndzor completely archaic. Due to the fact patriarchal gender system destroyed the rigidness, the range of positions towards practice mean a lack of people public consensus regarding routine (pick intricate issues for starting this new ritual inside Pogosyan 2010).
Sources
Poghosyan, An effective. 2010. A number of the top features of new sales of your culture “Purple apple”: Heritage and Modernity for the Armenian Community, Yerevan: Gitutyuan, 359-367
Shagoyan, G. 2011. ‘” One week, seven nights”: Vista of your own Armenian matrimony, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of National Academy out-of Sciences, RA, 496-509