BOSTON, Mass.—The relevance of ancient rituals to contemporary life is the subject of this year’s annual Women’s History Month program sponsored by the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA).
Dr. Janice Okoomian will present the topic “Ancient Rituals in the Modern World” on Sun., April 3, at 2:30 p.m. at the Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF), 441 Mystic St. in Arlington.
A ritual artist as well as a scholar in the field of women’s studies, Okoomian points out that rituals in the ancient world addressed themselves to the most primal elements of the human condition. Since the Middle Ages, the church has been the main location of ritual practice in Armenian culture, but at one time Armenians practiced rituals in their homes.
In Armenia, as in other world cultures, these rituals provide a rich source of meaning, creativity, solace, celebration, and connection. And many of these rituals celebrate the power of the feminine.
Okoomian will discuss how these ancient gems of ritual can be relevant to our lives in the contemporary world, and in particular how Armenian women might find empowerment through ritual practice. By reviving and reworking rituals, it is possible to create a deeper connection to the natural world and to the cycles of life shared by all. Creative ritual can help to integrate the domains of the intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual, which are often segregated today.
The program will include a discussion and a group ritual.
Janice Okoomian holds a doctorate in American civilization from Brown University, where her work focused on gender and comparative ethnic literatures. She teachers in the women’s studies program at Rhode Island College and in the literary and cultural studies department at Bryant University.
The program, which is jointly sponsored by the ACF, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact AIWA by emailing aiwainc@aol.com or calling (617) 926-0171.
Zabel Yesayan program
AIWA will also commemorate Women’s History Month this year by co-sponsoring the presentation of a 40-minute documentary titled “Finding Zabel Yesayan,” dedicated to the turbulent life of the famous Armenian writer, activist, and feminist who was one of the most prominent Armenian intellectuals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This program will be presented on Wed., March 30, at 8 p.m. at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in Belmont, and is co-sponsored by NAASR.
Journalist Talin Suciyan, who prepared the documentary with Lara Aharonian, will be present for a discussion.
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