Armenian bread / Lavash

Bread in the life of Armenians

Bread has been a faithful companion of Armenians for centuries. In the Armenian Highland, bread was baked as early as 3-2 centuries BC. During excavations, huge stocks of wheat and barley dating from the 4th and 3rd millennia were discovered. Archaeologists claim that from ancient times in the territory of the Armenian Highland people have been engaged in agriculture and the domestication of wheat. From this, it becomes clear that Armenians grew these grains for making flour, and then for baking bread and Armenian lavash. Armenians stored grain in various barns, warehouses, jugs and in underground pits designed specifically for grains.

After harvesting the grain, the villagers were in no hurry to take it to the mill. In ancient times, the first crop was always taken to the church and blessed. Only after that the villager could collect his harvest, take it to the mill, grind it and then bake bread. However, the crop was delivered to consecration not just by gathering it in a bunch. Before taking them to consecration, people made khachburs. Ears of the wheat were given the appearance of a cross, a symbol of eternity or the tree of life. The tree of life itself is a symbol of fertility, the beginning of life and longevity.

To understand the importance of bread in the life of Armenians, you can just pay attention to the phrase they use to describe eating: “To eat bread.” And, of course, many phrases originated from here: “a man with bread” (hospitable), “let there always be bread in your house”, “if you want to know a man, you need to break bread with him”…Armenians greeted each other with bread and salt, shared bread together.

The importance of bread is evident even in the Armenian epic when David repeats “Bread, wine, Almighty Lord!”, thus gaining strength before the battle.

Armenians have created many types of bread: lavash, matnakash, bagharj, unleavened bread and so on.

Lavash

Lavash is not just bread, but also an element of culture that has religious and cultural significance in the life of Armenians. First of all, let’s understand where the name “lavash” came from. Lavash is an Armenian word obtained directly in the process of preparation. After the dough is rolled out, it needs to be well stretched and opened. This word came from here: “lav kashats” (well-stretched in Armenian) changed to “lav kash”, and then the bread got its final name “lavash”.

According to traditions, bread was baked early in the morning, and a fire in a tonir was kindled at dawn. The process of baking bread was accompanied by morning blessings and prayers. In ancient times, lavash was baked from holiday to holiday in large quantities. This process often took one or even two days. There were also special songs that were performed during baking lavash, which praised the taste of lavash.

Traditionally, baking bread was a group process, and a person could not bake bread alone. It was an exclusively female occupation, and women did not want men to enter the bakery during baking bread. This was considered a bad sign. Each woman had her own role: one prepared the dough, the other rolled it, the most experienced woman hit lavash on the wall of the tonir. Inexperienced women mostly passed balls of dough and in the process learned from more experienced women.

The baking process had 7 stages: grinding wheat, sifting flour, making dough, adding salt, dividing into balls, baking and sorting.

The first lavash from the tonir was sent to the sick person so that, after eating, he would recover and gain strength.

In the old days, lavash was a companion and protector of soldiers during the war. Mothers made lavash with their own hands, dried it and put it in a soldier’s backpack. Due to its long shelf life, lavash saved the soldiers from starvation.

The Armenians also had a tradition of throwing lavash on the bride’s shoulder, expecting the bride to add bread to the new home. This custom has been preserved at traditional Armenian weddings to this day. Armenians believed that lavash also protects them from the evil eye, therefore lavash was thrown not only on the shoulders of the newlyweds, but also on the newborns.

Tonir

Since pagan times, tonir has been of great importance in the life of Armenians. This underground fire symbolized worship of the sun. Various nations have a tonir, but the peculiarity of the Armenian tonir is that it is underground. A bakery in which bread was baked and, in particular, lavash, was considered the tonratun (the house of the tonir), where the tonir was located. It was considered a holy place. The tonir always had to be kept clean.

Bad words and swearing were forbidden around the tonir. Tonir had a key importance, as it was a guarantee for the survival of the family who baked their bread there. Tonratun was built in the key part of the house – under a domed roof with a smoke hole. Such structures are called hazarashen.

The construction similar to the ceiling and a smoke hole made it easier for the smoke to escape from the tonir. In addition to bread, gata, ghapama, harissa, and other dishes were prepared in the tonir. In the old days, when the process of baking bread was over and the heat was still burning in the tonir, the family members would gather and sit around the tonir, hanging their feet in the tonir. During this time, the eldest in the house told the young people tales and various stories.

The tonir was considered a sacred place, and in places where there was no church but it was necessary to conduct a wedding ceremony, couples did this around the tonir. The bride and groom went hand in hand around the tonir. After that, the bride took a handful of ash from her father’s house and poured it into the tonir of the groom’s house. This way she connected herself with the home of the groom until the end of her life.

The myth of tonir

Tondrak volcanic massif of Tsaghkunyats mountains is a prototype of tonir. Tondrak is an active conical volcano. According to legend, when the god Vahagn was teaching the Armenian giants the martial art, they were gathering around the Tondrak volcano fire after training.

They talked, baked bread and ate. Once Vahagn took the ashes from the volcanic fire and gave them to the giants. He ordered to deliver the ashes to the people so that they could build a tonir and bake bread. And he ordered women to always keep the fire in the tonir bright. After all this, Vahagn ascended to heaven and from there made sure that the fire in the tonir did not go out. The Armenians to this day preserve the fire given by the god Vahagn.

Fire and smoke of the underground tonir are the symbols of strength and peace in the house. Armenians worshiped the sun and compared the tonir with the setting sun. Every time Armenian women baked bread or cooked food, they worshiped the tonir as a deity.

The myth of lavash

There is one myth about lavash, according to which Aram, the grandson of Gegham, fights with the powerful king of Assyria Nebuchadnezzar and suddenly gets captured. Nebuchadnezzar orders Aram not to eat bread for 10 days, and on the 11th day they should fight with each other The king promises to free Aram if he can defeat him.

Aram thinks all night and decides to ask Nebuchadnezzar to bring him a shield from the Armenian army.  The king did not refuse his request and sent a messenger to the Armenian army. The Armenian army, guessing what their king wants, hides lavash under the shield.

However, the messengers do not even suspect that bread can be hidden under the shield. When the shield is delivered to Aram, he says that he needs another shield, since this one is not very convenient. And so, within 10 days, the messengers deliver Aram one shield and one lavash.

On the eleventh day, Aram and Nebuchadnezzar go to battle. The king of Assyria was sure that after ten days of starvation Aram would be exhausted, and he could easily defeat him. But Aram manages to defeat Nebuchadnezzar and return to his homeland. After returning home, the king orders that all types of bread in Armenia be turned into lavash.

Magic Lavash

In 1988, one of the most popular Armenian cartoons, “Magic Lavash”, was shot. The main character of the cartoon was an honest and kind Naghash, who lived with his mother and grew up eating lavash prepared by the hard and honest work of his mother. Once Naghash decides to follow his mother’s advice and find his “heart’s work”. But after going through many trials, he returns to his native village, cultivates his own lavash-sized land and enjoys the result of his honest work. At the end of the film, the hero recalls his mother’s words: “Remember, son, joy is in work, and happiness is in Homeland”.

In 2014 Armenian lavash was included in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. Lavash was included in that list for its cooking characteristics, for cultural and national significance. If this type of Armenian bread had only culinary significance, it would not be included in that list. Armenian lavash is in the list due to its many cultural and social manifestations in the life of Armenians.

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