Pele Pughi

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Pele Pughi Պըլը Պուղի
Pele Pughi, pencil sketch by Hrachya Rukhyan
Born	1731 Avetaranots or Shosh, Safavid Karabakh
Died	1810 Shosh, Varanda Melikdom, Karabakh Khanate
Citizenship	Varanda Melikdom
Occupation	satirist, fabulist, jester

Pele Pughi (Armenian: Պըլը Պուղի, verbatim: Daft Paul, 1731–1810, Safavid Karabakh) was an 18th-century Armenian satirist and fabulist from Karabakh.^[1]

Biography[]

Pele Poughi was born in 1731 in either Avetaranots or Shosh^[1] village of Safavid Karabakh. He served as a jester in the court of Melik Shahnazar - the ruler of Varanda Principality. He created funny stories and fables, which, told from mouth to mouth, have been modified and supplemented, reaching modern days under his name. He died in 1810 in Shosh, and is believed to be buried in a cave between Shosh and Mkhitarishen villages, where a memorial monument was erected in 1976.^[1]

Despite regretting his behaviour at his dawn, Armenians of Karabakh did not forgive Melik Shahnazar's collaboration with Panah Ali Khan and his hostile treatment the other Armenian meliks, and slammed him with satire via Pughi's character. Pughi - Shahnazar relationship is represented as ruler and jester, however the jester is not an obedient servant but somebody who constantly provokes Melik to do silly things, so he could stand on the right path due to fear of finding himself in laughable situations. Once Melik asks "why does a person's house collapse?" To which Pughi replies "because it happened that the enemy is from inside". Pughi was more than a jester in the melik's court; he was fabulist-adviser, resourceful and fair-minded. In the stories, Pughi is frequently rendered as the archetype of medieval judge who makes wise decisions in difficult cases. Pele Pughi stories, passed from generation to generation, formed one of the important components of Karabakhi Armenians collective behaviour` the humour and leisure, shedding light upon their socio-political and cultural realities from mid-18th century to early 19th century. ^[2]

Legacy[]

Rev. Makar Barkhoudaryants, one of the elders of Karabakh, wrote down 189 Pele Poughi stories and fables and published them in 1883 in Tbilisi under the title "Pele Poughi". Later, new records were published by other folklore specialists (S․ Israyelyan, M․ Grigoryan-Spandaryan). Translations, literary modifications and narratives of Pele Poughi's stories have also been published, the most popular being Sero Khanzadyan's "Pele Poughi".^[3] His stories and fables, serving as fun and banter, have healthy preceptorial, moralistic tendencies, exposing the vicious aspects of everyday life and social relations of his time. Many materials about Pele Poughi are preserved at the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yeghishe Charents Museum of Literature and Art and elsewhere.^[4] Armenian Centre of PR development is planning to reanimate Pele Poughi, along with Gyumri's Poloz Mukuch, in a new multi-language animated film series, taking the example of films about Nasreddin.^[5]

Paronyan Musical Comedy Theatre hosted the first act of musical comedy “Artsakh, My Love” or “Pele Pughi” in 2016. Based on Ararat Barseghayn's piece and directed by Gayane Barseghyan, the performance dedicated to 25th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Armenia. Avo Khalatyan played the role of Pele Pughi. ^[6]

Gallery[]

References[]

External links[]

• Hrachyan Beglaryan - "Artsakh Name" (vol. 5 - "Pele Pughi"), Stepanakert, 2007 (PDF)

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