Community as Identity
Anjar is a village whose inhabitants have a sense of community. Anjartsis share customs, conventions and culture. They have a sense of belonging and commitment to their community. Anjartsis have stood loyal to the memory of their homeland Musadagh and have incorporated it in their present lives through their habits and customs. The annual commemoration of the heroic battle of Musadagh shows how these people refresh the memory of their past. What roles did the animals play in bolstering Anjartsis’ sense of community and in helping the continuity of their identity?
When talking about why Musadaghians took their animals with them during their deportation, Tujjer Hagop stated:
The villagers have two sources of income: soil
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Horovel explains also why Anjartsis have built an intimacy towards their animals. These people have acknowledged the work done by the working animals. They compensate these creatures by giving them the affection they need. They respect the rights of the animals. That is an integral part of their villager identity. It seems that they have created some form of labor rights for the working domestic animals. Horovel further justifies the idea that singing can be considered a sociocultural dimension of animal husbandry. Singing to cheer up and calm the animals consisted a custom among the Armenian villagers and I deem this present among the Anjartsi …show more content…
Each man would take up to thirty cows and return them in the afternoon. This is also considered another form of teamwork and mutual support. When it happens that almost every household practices animal husbandry, the villagers start having common goals and mutual habits such as feeding the animals. A cohesive community is one where the participants have positive relationships with each other and share common aims. They also feel connected to their community and work together for its betterment. Taking care of each other’s animals enhanced the sense of community among