Yenokavan

The village of Yenokavan is located in the north-eastern part of the Republic of Armenia , 10 kilometers north of the city of Ijevan and is part of the Tavush region . Located in close proximity to the main highway connecting the north-east of the country with the capital . It is located at an altitude of 1000 - 1300 meters above sea level. The length of 1000 meters from west to east and 500 meters from north to south covers an area of ​​50 hectares. The north-eastern part of Yenokavan is covered with hills , and the southern one is a high canyon , whose length reaches 5 km, height - 100 meters. ^[2] There are three caves in this canyon, whose length is from 10 to 30 meters, a width of 15 meters, and a height of 1-10 meters. In these caves in the spring, summer and autumn, shepherds slept with their herds of sheep. Along this canyon, to the south, through a dense forest and along a cliff, a path leads to the Tandzut River, in which brook trout (karmrakhayt) is still found. The forest is rich in such wild fruit trees as pear , plum , and dogwood bushes, raspberries , strawberries . Local residents make healing jams from these fruits. In the central part of the forest, the church of St. Gregory, built in the XII century, is still preserved. The nature of the village and its environs is so beautiful that it is called Armenian Switzerland .

The road from Ijevan to Yenokavan is asphalted. Two roads leave the village: one to pastures, and the other to Homer and Okon.

According to historical data, Kurds lived in the vicinity of the village, who were engaged in cattle breeding , and therefore Enokavan used to be called Krdevan (from the word Kurds). They lived in this area until the territory passed to Georgia : this happened during the reign of Queen Tamara ( XII century ). Since the Kurds were not Christians , under pressure from Georgia, they left the area and settled on the slopes of Mount Alagyaz , where they still live. There are other assumptions about the origin of the former name of the village. It is assumed that Krdevan descended from Kare Divan (Stone Court), since, according to legend, dishonest and guilty people were thrown into a stone abyss. And some argue that the location of the village on a rocky mountain resembles the shape of a sofa, and therefore the name Kare Divan (Stone Sofa) arose.

Village Foundation

According to historical data, the village was founded at the beginning of the XIX century . The founders were the Dzhagaryans (who moved here from Cilicia, according to the studies of the historian S. Dzhagaryan. The whole process of migration of the family is indicated in the author’s book “Sevkar”) , the Chibukhchians, Pashinyans, Ordinyans, who came from Karabakh . Other births are from Sevkar . Tombstone studies show that the first burial was in 1840 . This tombstone is located in the cemetery of the church of St. Sarkis, in the southern part of the village. The church has survived to the present day and is functioning. Renaming the village has the following history. In 1896, Enok was born in the family of Mkrtumyan Alaverdi. He receives primary education in his native village and in Gandzakar (formerly Verin Agdan). He also studied in Etchmiadzin . Studying the works of Marxism-Leninism , he enters the party ranks and gets acquainted with party leaders Shavarsh Amirkhanyan from Noyemberyan and Ananiya Berberyan from Shamshadin , who fought for the establishment of socialism . The three of them secretly create party cells and fight against the Dashnaktsakans ( ARF Dashnaktsutyun ). In 1918, Enok, together with Vardazar Dzhagaryan, went to Tbilisi to Gigol Chibukhchyan and brought help from there for his native village. At the beginning of 1920, the first district party conference was secretly held at the Enok house; The goal of the conference is to unite all party cells. In the same year, when the May uprising begins, Enok, with several comrades, secretly goes to Dilijan at night. On the way to the village of Dzheharhech, figures of the Dashnak party block their path. Enok makes an unsuccessful attempt to escape: crossing the river Agstev , he is wounded and brought, put in Dilijan prison. The court sentenced him to 101 years in prison, but, violating the verdict, in June of that year he was killed and buried. After the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia , the father of Enok finds the grave of his son and transfers it to his native village. The collective meeting of the collective farm decided to rename the village to Yenokavan, and this name has been preserved to this day since 1935 . In the 1970s, by the decision of the first secretary of the Armenian Communist Party of Ijevan region, the remains of Yenok were reburied in front of their stepfather’s house, where they still remain. At the same time, in the center of the village, next to the monument to the dead warriors of the Second World War , stands a bust of Enok Mkrtumyan.

Village customs

Weddings performed on a large scale, they were accompanied by zurna and dhol music . The dancers received the "Sabbath" (money) and at the end of the dance gave it to the musicians, since the latter were not paid by the owner, the organizer of the wedding. Therefore, the drummer constantly shouted: "Ay Sabbat, Ay Sabbat!" At the end of the wedding, the godmother danced and invited the bride and groom to dance. The generous coven given to the bride belonged to her, and not to the musicians, therefore during the “Dance of the Bride” the drummer did not shout: “Ay coven!” Now, during weddings and feasts, the Sabbath is not practiced, as musicians are paid by the owner of the house, the organizer of the event, by prior arrangement. In an interesting way, the feast of Vardavar was also celebrated. On this day, brides went up into the mountains, lit bonfires under the trees, heated water, bathed their mother-in-law, and began to swing on the ropes hanging on the trees. And the guys beat them with tree branches so that the girls would call the names of their lovers. On this day, they did not make many sacrifices . They usually baked gatu, nazuk, took cream of hot milk, cream of matsun, butter and cottage cheese, mixed it all and consumed it as food. Alcohol was consumed very little. After the feast, people doused each other with water, and in the evening lit a fire, and the young jumped over it. In the old days, until the 50s, rituals such as donkey bathing during the drought years were used to rain, and in the rainy years they caught frogs, lit a fire on their stomachs to let the sun come out. During the hail, women poured ground salt so that the hail turned to rain, and men fired shotguns into the sky. Since ancient times, carpet weaving and Carpet knitting were developed in the village. The threads were obtained from sheep's wool and cotton wool. Spinning with a spindle and spinning wheel, combed with ridges. The threads were dyed with natural paints Vordan Karmir (red), dehnachahik (yellow flower) and in a walnut broth. Carpets and carpets had their own names: “Incatir” (airplane), “Gyulavor”, etc. They decorated the house and made it warm and cozy.

In the village there is the church of Surb Astvatsatsin ( XII century ) and the fortress in Astghiblur ( VI - V centuries ) ^[3] Near the village there are ruins of the Berdateh fortress of the XVII century ^[4]

• Yenok Mkrtumyan

• Travel Guide of Armenia (Russian)
• Geonames profile (link not available )