100 Armenian Tales and their folkloristic relevance

Collected and Edited by Susie Hoogasian-Villa These tales from the ancient land of Noah are the largest known collection of Armenian folktales to appear in book form in the American language. Although particularly rich in the hekiat or fairytale, the collection also contains moralistic tales, stories of trickery and wit, anti-feminine tales, legends, and cumulative stories. The author, who is of Armenian parentage, collected the stories from friends and relatives in an Armenian community in Detroit, Michigan. In translating the tales told by Armenian immigrants in their native language, Mrs. Villa attempted to maintain the folk flavor and to avoid revising the tales into literary works. These stories of an ancient people derive from pre-Christian millenia when cannibalism, human sacrifice, and sun worship were common. Sisters of the Armenian Cinderella kill and devour their mother; adored sons are murdered so that their blood can be used to cure an ailing family friend; a hero curses t