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PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
AGBU Hye Geen Presents "The Armenian Woman in Armenian Folktales"
On October 3, 2009, the AGBU Hye Geen committee of Southern California
hosted a discussion, entitled "The Armenian Woman in Armenian
Folktales," which was part of a continuing series of public lectures
based on social and cultural themes, designed to promote an appreciation
of traditional values defining Armenian women and their national
identity. The most recent event took place at the AGBU Center in
Pasadena, California. Three presenters led the discussion, which focused
on the depiction of women in the Armenian folk tradition.
The opening discussion was presented by Mary Mouradian, a pioneer member
of Hye Geen and the first Armenian news television correspondent in the
diaspora. As a firm believer in the importance and necessity of
community service, she has also been active as a social worker, educator
and counselor. Mouradian spoke at great length about the roots of the
oral tradition, highlighting the roles played by gifted storytellers and
musicians, transmitting songs and stories into social commentary. She
also discussed the significance of the oral tradition in the changing
historical context. To highlight the points made throughout her
presentation, Mouradian alluded to Ghazaros Aghayian’s fairy tale
"Anahid" as well as many of the fairy tales written by Hovhannes
Toumanian.
The next presenter was Alidz Agbabian, whose specialty is folklore. She
is also a popular song interpreter and the author of six children’s
books. Her presentation focused mainly on the physical and moral
characteristics of the heroines in folk songs. Agbabian accompanied her
discussion with singing and music, and towards the end she had fellow
attendees enthusiastically joining her.
Linda Kandilian was the third and final speaker. Kandilian is a longtime
educator who currently heads the Armenian Department of the Sisters’
Academy. As a dedicated community service volunteer, she has
participated in the work of the Armenian Relief Society, which has
included specialized counseling for its social services committee.
During her talk, she spent time discussing the fact that fairy tales are
disappearing from our lives at an alarming rate, mainly due to cultural
and generational changes and the modern ways of life. "Fairy tales
contain moral lessons. In them is the struggle between good and evil, in
which evil invariable loses and good wins. The world of the fairy tale
is lost in modern civilization. Let’s go back and read, relate our fairy
tales and legends to our children. Undoubtedly, they will hear, listen
to them and love them," she concluded.
Following the lecturers, Sona Yacoubian, chair of AGBU Hye Geen, gave
closing remarks and praised the Young Circle for working on Hye Geen
activities and for their unparalleled enthusiasm and diligence. On
behalf of the Young Circle, members Taline Yacoubian and Teresa
Hairabedian spoke briefly about their work in Armenia, which includes a
new center to aid pregnant women in the Talin region of Armenia.
The AGBU Hye Geen committee recently celebrated its 15th anniversary.
The group was started by Sona Yacoubian in 1994 with the mission of
bringing Armenian women together to discuss relevant cultural and social
issues.
Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian program, annually touching the
lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the world.
For more information about AGBU and its worldwide programs, please visit