Armenian Studies Program Library and Archives Add Children’s Works on Epic of David of Sassoun

Sosse Baloian Yanez
Armenian Studies Program

The Armenian Studies Program Archive has identified two short children’s books – renditions of the Armenian National Epic, David of Sassoun. Both works are illustrated and briefly summarize the epic.

The first, David of Sassoun: Epic Hero of Armenia: Children’s Booklet, was published by the United Armenian Commemorative Committee in 1976. The book was developed by Seda Sarkisian, Marian Bagdasarian, Rosemary Jendian, Brenda Moor, and Ruth Van Noy. It was part of the Ethnic Studies Unit Grades Five-Six, ESEA Title I series, published by the Fresno Unified School District.

The second book, Sasountzi Tavit: An Armenian Legendary Hero, reads as a graphic novel, with striking illustrations by Nubar Apkarian. According to worldcat.org, it is presumed that the book was published between 1960 and 1985.

The ASP Library has many works written about David of Sassoun, including one published within the Armenian Studies Program book series. David of Sassoun: Critical Studies on the Armenian Epic (Armenian Series number 4), was published in 2013, edited by Dickran Kouymjian and Barlow Der Mugrdechian. According to the book, the David of Sassoun epic was passed down orally from generation to generation in the region of Lake Van. It was originally known as “Sasna tsrer” roughly translating to “The Different Ones of Sassoun.” Fr. Garegin Srvandztiants, a Van native, was the first to transcribe the epic in 1873. Other variations of the epic were recorded, however, none were identical or necessarily similar to one other. During the Armenian Genocide, many of these recorded variants were destroyed or lost. In 1938, a group of scholars in Soviet Armenia, were commissioned to prepare a uniform, single work using all surviving variants. The result was the publication of the 1939 Jubilee edition, David of Sassoun, the Armenian Folk Epic, which comprised four cycles: “Sanasar and Baghdasar,” “Great Mher,” “Sasounts’i Davit,” and “Lesser Mher.”

The David of Sassoun children’s books are an important contribution to the ASP Library for the preservation of a key component in Armenia’s literary history.