The World of the Anatolian Armenians in the Short Stories of Hagop Mıntzuri

Abstract

Hagop Mıntzuri (1886–1978) is an Armenian short story writer from Tur­key, who was born in the village of Armudan in Eastern Anatolia. During the Armenian genocide in 1915 he was staying in Istanbul, and this saved his life. His entire family – his wife and four little children – were killed in the massacre. He began to publish his short stories only in the second half of the 20th century. Even though he lived a considerable part of his life in Istanbul, in his short stories he discussed mainly the east Anatolian province which he remembered from the days of his childhood and youth. Mıntzuri is classified as a representative of the peasant writing in Western Armenian literature. He wrote in the Armenian language, and his books, which enjoy considerable popularity, are translated by the Turkish Armenians into Turkish.
The article discusses the subject matter of Mıntzuri’s stories from the col­lection Turna Nereden Gelirsin (Crane, Whence Do You Come), which consti­tute an invaluable source of information about the world of the ancient Chris­tian people in Asia Minor – the world of the Anatolian Armenians which no longer exists. This world disappeared forever due to the cruel deportation of the Armenians. Owing to the frank, unaffected prose of Mıntzuri’s stories, we may experience the day-to-day activities, concerns, delights, and above all the toil of the inhabitants of the Armenian villages of Eastern Turkey before the First World War. The main themes which are explored in these stories have to do with children, the situation of women, the difficult labours of a farmer, traditions, birth and death, seasonal work in Istanbul.
The conclusions justify the thesis about the significant role of the autobio­graphical themes in literature. The latter make a work of literature a paradoc­ument of its age. Preserving the charm of literature and fiction, it also provides an insight into the realia.