Two names or tell me your nickname and I'll tell you who you are

Is there a village on earth,
Where everyone is called by two names?
The first one –given by father and mother upon birth,
The second one by the villagers for the qualities you possess.

These lines were written about two decades ago by one of the inhabitants of Gargar village – Valerik Chshmarityan.

Giving colorful nicknames to each other is an old tradition and has always been practiced in the village of Gargar. Everyone is referred to by a nickname or an adjective based on a distinct characteristic trait, a personal quality or a certain situation that they have been in. ‘Secondary names’ (nicknames) were initially used to distinguish people sharing the same name. For instance, when someone in the village says “Ask Gevo”, it is followed by a logical question: “Which Gevo?”, and then a simple answer is given: “Zhulkants” (Zhulik’s). It turns out that one of Gevo’s ancestors was a cunning and sly person (Arm. slang ‘zhulik’) and the villagers used to call him ‘zhulik’, a nickname that has been passed on from one generation to the next. Sometimes people give each other nicknames based on the personal qualities they possess. For example, when the villagers call someone by the nickname ‘Tsets’ (‘moth’), they refer to his or her deceased grandpa Vazgen who was a restless person and couldn’t settle for long.

People have always compared their fellow villagers with cartoon characters, natural phenomena, animals and birds creating such nicknames as ‘Aryuts’ (‘lion’) and ‘Tsitsernak’ (‘swallow’). The inhabitants of Gargar haven’t ignored soap operas either. The inhabitants call one of the grandmas “Doña Perfecta” for her caring attitude, commitment to her grandchildren as well as her resemblance to the character.

Sometimes a person might be given a nickname based on a characteristic trait that his or her relatives, family and even clan are famous for, a name that the villagers bestowed upon one of their ancestors in the past. These nicknames are not neutral in nature. They can have certain positive or negative connotations in terms of their meaning. They express the villagers’ attitude towards that person.

Yet, these names do not necessarily express people’s personalities. Sometimes they can be related to a profession. For instance, the nickname ‘Varzhapetants’ (‘teacher’) points to the descendants of the only teacher in the village at the beginning of the 20 th century. The nickname ‘Derdzak’ (‘tailor’) shows that the person has an ancestor who was a tailor.

Many of the villagers get angry when they find out that others call them by a nickname. Some people take it well and just smile while others even take pride in it.

Anyways, if you visit Gargar and want to find someone, first find out what nickname he or she has or what clan that person belongs to.