Legends of Armenia / Lakes and Waterfalls

Legends of Armenia are unique in their interpretation and content. They have always been an inseparable part of the history of Armenian people and their everyday life. Armenians always tell stories about different lakes, mountains and other geographical objects. That is the reason why nearly every geographical object that you meet in Armenia has some legend associated with its name. In this article, we will introduce you to some legends about lakes and waterfalls of Armenia.

Legends about lakes

 

Lake Sevan

In the past there used to be a land with forests and hills in the place of nowadays Sevan Lake. Near the village, there was a rich reservoir and the dwellers of the village got water from that stream. To get the water, they had to open the plug and then carefully put it back on its place.

One evening one of the village women went to reservoir to fetch some water, opened the plug and then forgot to put it back. Water began to flow and soon reached the village. When people of the village understood what had happened they fled from the village and put a curse on the one who left the plug open, so he/she will turn into stone. And the woman who accidentally left the stream open immediately turned into stone. Meanwhile, the water continued to flow and soon covered the entire territory, forming Lake Sevan.

When people were obliged to immigrate from Van and settle on the shores of Lake Sevan, they convinced themselves that it could become another Van for them. But later, the harsh cold climate started to disturb them. They remembered the mild and pleasant climate of their lands, their prosperous life and started to cry “Sev Van to us’’, cursing the day when they set foot on this land. That is why the lake was named Sevan.

Ayghr Lake 

Once the shepherd tried to hit his goat with a stick, but instead the stick fell into the lake on the top of Mount Aragats. When he approached the lake, he could not find the stick anywhere. A week later, when he brought his sheep to the field, he noticed that his stick was in the Ayghr Lake. The next day, he took a bag of straw, climbed to the top of the Mount Aragats and threw the bag into the lake. Few days later, he found the remains of the straw in Ayghr Lake.

Sev (Black) Lake 

Dragons have been very popular heroes in Armenian legends, and legends about lakes are no exception.

Once there lived a forty-headed dragon near the Sev Lake, who drank the half of the water from the lake. Then he laid to rest in order to drink the other half after waking up. By the order of God, the mountains took the lake and raised it to the sky, thus freeing it from the dragon. The dragon could no longer reach the lake and drink its water. He suffered from thirst and died.

Lake Van 

The legend has it that angels were always fighting against a giant dragon living in the depths of Lake Van. When the dragon turned 1000 years old, the angels took him out of the water and lifted him to the Sun. The rays of the Sun turned him into ashes, and ashes spread all over the ground.

During those days, a terrible fog covered the lake and people could not see each other even in the noon. The ground was shaking and ashes were falling from the sky.

Legends about waterfalls

 

Shaki Waterfall

According to legend, the enemies sent 93 girls from Gegharkunik province to their leader in Mughan. When caravan of the captured girls reached their destination, girls asked invaders to let them take a bath in the river, as they got dirty from a long way. Only then will they be ready to meet with the leader.

The invaders agreed. The girls undressed and jumped into the Vorotan River and then disappeared by diving under the waves of the river. Only a blue-eyed girl named Shake tried to escape by running away through the river that flows into Vorotan. The invaders tried to capture the girl but at that moment, a cliff rose from the river and the water fell down from the cliff and hid the girl behind its waters. From that day on, the waterfall and the nearby village are called Shaki, in honor of this girl.

Another legend says that Shaki was a lovely young girl. She was so attractive that the Arab invader who came to conquer our country could not resist her beauty and fell in love with her. The invader ordered Shaki to marry him, but the girl did not obey his order and threw herself down from a great height. At that moment, the hem of her dress spread over the entire hill and turned into a waterfall.

Jermuk Waterfall

There is an interesting legend about this waterfall. According to the legend, on the steep cliffs of the waterfall there was the house of an Armenian nobleman. He had an extremely beautiful daughter, whom men from all over the world wanted to marry. However, she refused them all, because her heart belonged to the handsome son of the shepherd.

Every day after midnight, she threw a long rope into the gorge so that the son of the shepherd could climb to her window. One day, the nobleman found the rope and cursed his daughter in anger: “If you meet him again, you will become a mermaid and never be able to get out of water”.

After this, during their next meeting, the girl threw her long hair instead of the rope. Right at that moment, the curse of her father came true and the girl turned into a mermaid, and her beautiful hair fell on the gorge and became a waterfall. This is why people refer to this waterfall as “The mermaid’s hair”.

Trchkan Waterfall

As the locals say, the Chichkhan River is rich in Armenian trout (ishkhan), and according to legend, these fish jump over the waterfall, reaching a height of more than 20 meters. That is why the waterfall is called “Trchkan”, which translates from Armenian as “jumping”.

After reading the legends about lakes and waterfalls of Armenia, you can read our article about the legends of Armenian mountains.

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