Grikor Mirzaian Suni (1876-1939) collected Armenian
folk songs and legends of many regions including the Van
region which inspired his orchestral suite "Sketches
of Van" and his choral/orchestral work "Zinch
oo Zinch". These works can be heard on the Suni Project
CD "Grikor Mirzaian
Suni (1876-1939): Archival Concert recordings (1935?, 1940,
1971)".
Dancing Vanetsi's [a 2-minute video]: Armenian
dancers from the city of Van, Armenia, filmed in 1946 in
New York by Antranig Shahinian. Among the
8 dancers are Andy's dad Vagharshag and, the eldest, Levon Kazanjian.
When video is done, to replay, click on lower left arrow.
Explanation of the above Dancing Vanetsis video
Written by Armena Marderosian, The Suni Project: Music Preservation, 1723 Wells St., Ann Arbor, Michigan
48104-3601 T: 734-996-1949
Written on October 30, 2003
"Dancing Vanetsi’s”
< 2-minute 1946 documentary film by Antranig (Andy) Shahinian
(age 28) of exuberant folk dancing of immigrant Armenian men
from the Armenian city of Van, at the
annual meeting of their organization of Armenians form Van, made on a nice
spring day, in his backyard at 2017 Muliner Ave, Bronx, New York, with
a 16 mm box-type movie camera (bought for $15).
The dancers are:
Levon Kazanjian (curly hair, unbuttoned suit jacket, thin,
short, the eldest-age 75) dancing with friends from Van, generally has
the lead as they gave a lot
of respect to him, for his age,
Vagharshag Shahinian (Andy’s dad,
wearing suspenders and on the observers’ right of Levon Kazanjian
in the first dance),
Aram Arsenian (full of fun, first seen lying down,
white shirt, spotted
tie, white shoes, great dancer, Andy’s maternal cousin, whose (great?)
grandfather in the Armenian city of Van, built in 1790 Soorp Boghos Bedros
Church-St. Peter & Paul- which was destroyed in 1915 as part of the
Ottoman Turkish Genocide of its Armenian subjects, along with the entire
city of
Van),
Hrahad Haroutunian (dark unbuttoned vest and tie on white shirt,
no jacket, very smily),
Levon Khatchaturian (dark neat buttoned suit,
bald. Great dancer. Son is called Levon Dickran),
Haig Tokmakian (dark vest,
tie, short, white hair, glasses, seen at end right. Andy’s cousin,
lived to be 107)
Man from Boston striped tie, light colored jacket, balding
Who is he?
Man in dark suit with tie or shirt showing at his waist danced
near beginning, not at end. Who?
The dance scene starts with
Aram on the ground. (The earlier shots are from another event)
Andy (or his mother Shoushanig -Arsenian- Tuhafjian Shahinian) was
singing folk songs of Van (“Vanetsi” songs) to which the men were dancing.
The first dance is a Shoorj Bar (round dance)”. The second dance (slow)
is “Dal Dalla” in 5/8 time. The last (fast) dance is “Papori” .
We made a tape in 2002 of Andy singing and explaining these songs,
to be put on this website later.
This video was received by a grandchild (one of four granddaughters and two
grandsons) of Levon Kazanjian (1870, Van-1950 Boston): Armena Marderosian,
in May 2002 from Antranig (Andy) Shahinian. Andy’s family was also from
Van, Armenia and they were friends with Van immigrants Levon and Prapion Shakarian
Kazanjian (1880-1950).
Levon Kazanjian was born in Van, Armenia in 1868, and died in Boston in 1951.
His wife, Prapion Shakarian, was born in Van in 1876, and died in Boston in
1950. Levon first came to Boston in 1891, before the 1894-96 massacres of Armenians
ordered by the Ottoman Turkish ruler Abdul Hamid II. Levon went back and forth
to Van, finally moved to Boston with his family, ca. 1905. Levon Kazanjian
had medical training and was employed as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital.
He was called “Doctor Kazanjian” by the Armenians for his medical
knowledge and for helping the community. He was also a writer. Levon
Kazanjian wrote in Armenian a book about the cultural life of the city of Van, Armenia, “Renaissance:
Van-Vaspooragan (1850-1950) Cultural Golden Age”, published in Boston
in 1950, called “Veratsnoond: Van Vaspooragan (1850-1950) Mshakootayeen
Voskedar”. It includes cultural history of the Van region of Historic
Armenia (eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus mostly,(areas now in Turkey, Armenia,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Iran) short essays about various notable cultural
figures and their patriotic activities. In 2003, Arra Avakian has translated
this book into English. We plan to add it to this website www.suniproject.org.
Levon Kazanjian also made an Armenian translation of “Microbe Hunters”,
a very popular 1926 science book about microbiology and medicine (germ theory)
written by scientist Paul de Kruif (Harcourt and Brace). We wonder who might
have a copy of Levon’s translation of this book which we don’t
have. Levon Kazanjian, living in Boston, wrote regularly for Armenian newspapers,
including for Lraper (of the Harachdemagan Armenian political party, pro-Soviet
Armenia), and probably for Baikar newspaper (also pro-Armenia). (Another Levon
Kazanjian, unrelated, younger, also wrote for these periodicals from Philadelphia.
He was the husband of Siran Suni Kazanjian, who was Grikor Mirzaian Suni's
eldest daughter.) Our Boston Levon Kazanjian also wrote for Varak, a Vanetsi
periodical named after the monastery Varakavank on the island of Akhtamar in
Lake Van. The famous Armenian priest/leader Khrimian Hairig had his headquarters
at that monastery in the late 1800’s when Armenians were starting to
resist the Ottoman oppression.
Levon and Prapion had five children: Van, Vanouhi,
Vartan, Vahe, and Vartouhi, all “V” names, named after their ancestral
city of Van. They had six grandchildren: two girls and a boy each from Vanouhi
and from Vartan.
Grikor Mirzaian Suni (1876-1939) collected Armenian folk songs and
legends of many regions including the Van region which inspired his orchestral
suite "Sketches of Van" and his choral/orchestral work "Zinch
oo Zinch". These works can be heard on the Suni Project CD "Grikor
Mirzaian Suni (1876-1939): Archival Concert recordings (1935?, 1940, 1971)".
