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Assyrian History

juliet1987 — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:19:54 CDT

The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (Syriac: currently presided over by Mar Dinkha IV, is a Christian church and one of the earliest churches to separate from the larger Church. It traces its origins to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle as well as Saint Mari and Addai as evidenced in the Doctrine of Addai. This church is sometimes referred to as the "Nestorian Church", the "Syrian Church" or the "Persian Church." It has also been referred to, inaccurately, by a number of other names. These include Assyrian Orthodox Church, which has led some to mistakenly believe that it is a body of the Oriental Orthodox community. The church itself does not use the word "Orthodox" in any of its service books or in any of its official correspondence, nor does it use any word which can be translated as "correct faith" or "correct doctrine", the rough translation of the word Orthodox. In India, it is known as the Chaldean Syrian Church.

In the West it is often known as the Nestorian Church although the Church itself considers the term pejorative. The church declares that no other church has suffered as many martyrdoms as the Assyrian Church of the East. The Assyrian Church is the original Christian church in what was once Parthia; eastern Iraq and Iran. Geographically it stretched in the medieval period to China and India: a monument found in Xi'an (Hsi-an), the Tang-period capital of China (originally Chang'an), in Chinese and Syriac described the activities of the church in the 7th and 8th century, while half a millennium later a Chinese monk went from Beijing to Paris and Rome to call for an alliance with the Mongols against the Mamelukes. Prior to the Portuguese arrival in India in 1498, it provided "East Syrian" bishops to the Saint Thomas Christians. Patriarch Timothy I (727–823) wrote of the large Christian community in Tibet. The founders of Assyrian theology are Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, who taught at Antioch. The normative Christology of the Assyrian church was written by Babai the Great (551–628) and is clearly different from the accusations of dualism directed toward Nestorius: his main christological work is called the 'Book of the Union', and in it Babai teaches that the two qnome (essences) are unmingled but everlastingly united in the one parsopa (personality) of Christ.

Assyrian Celebrations

juliet1987 — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:18:29 CDT

Premta d-Simele; Martyr's
The Simele massacre (Assyrian: ܦܪܡܬܐ ܕܣܡܠܐ: Premta d-Simele) was the first of many massacres committed by the Iraqi government during the systematic targeting of Assyrian of Northern Iraq in August of 1933. The killing spree that continued among 63 Assyrian villages in the Dohuk and Mosul districts, led to the deaths of an estimated 3,000 Assyrians.
August 7 officially became known as Martyrs Day or National Day of Mourning by the Assyrian community in memory for the Simele massacre, as it was declared so by the Assyrian Universal Alliance in 1970. In 2004, the Syrian government banned the Assyrian political organization and the Assyrian community of Syria from commemorating the event, and threatened arrests if any were to break the ban.
On August 7, Assyrians in the homeland and in the diaspora get together in local community clubs get together and share poems about the incident, revial new art work, etc.

Somikka; Holy Halloween
Somikka is a religious event that begins on February 26 and ends on Easter Sunday. Somikka shares some common themes with the American festival of Halloween, but its meaning is very much different. The main purpose of Somikka is to motivate and discipline Assyrian children to fast during Lent. This is done by scaring children into the discipline of observing lent, when people would abstain from eating eggs, meat and any dairy or animal products for the seven weeks preceding Easter.
The evening before the fast began, or what is called "Somikka night" (Syriac: Leletd Somikka), small groups of young men would dress in scary Halloween like clothes, wearing masks and also carry accessories such as wooden swords and shields. These men then would knock on Assyrian homes and scare the children into fasting. The parents in return would give the "Somikka" money (food items in the old times) and tell their children that this was to bribe Somikka off them. They would also warn them that if they broke their fast during Lent, Somikka would come and punish them. To the permissive Western mind, this might seem a little abusive, or even cruel. But in the East discipline was the hallmark of raising children to grow up into God-fearing and upright adults.
Assyrian Villages in Urmia had another custom relating to Lent. The head of every family would stick seven colored feathers into a large onion, the feathers representing the seven weeks of fasting. He would then tie the feathered onion with a string and hang it from the ceiling of their living room, where it would spin every time there was a draft when the door was opened. This attracted attention and served to remind the children of the fast. Every Sunday night he would remove, ceremoniously, one feather to indicate that one week of fasting was over, until all the feathers were gone by Easter night, the last day of fasting, before celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection.

Assyrian, Marriage, rituals

juliet1987 — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:53:03 CDT

Assyrian Wedding Traditions

Assyrian weddings emphasize the role of old traditions a lot. It is an essential part of it. This includes everything from music, food, dress and more. From the early morning on the wedding day, and to the last minute, and throughout the day, these traditions are at play.
Speaking of music, Assyrians have a centuries old tradition of ?Dola w Zorna? or the play of the flute and drum, often played by two people. D&W gets played at both the bride and groom?s house. It is also played following the official religious ceremony at the church. And of course, at the wedding banquet hall, throughout the wedding, especially at the end. No Assyrian wedding is complete without the musical play of ?Dola w Zorna? It just puts people in the mood, and gives the wedding a very special Assyrian taste.

When it comes to dress, Assyrians have to go back to traditions too. Although not as popular as before or as is the case in the Middle East, ?Joulet d?Khoomala? are the most traditional piece of clothier that Assyrians wear for weddings. Translated, it vaguely means ?The dress of Fun? Together with Dola w Zorna, Joulet d?Khoomala can make the difference between a purely Assyrian wedding or just any wedding.

Food also has a place in Assyrian wedding traditions and showers. There are many traditional dishes and deserts, which are served during, before or after the official wedding ceremony. One such desert is ?Kadeh and Koleche?, sweet, nut-laden pastries.

From food to music and dress, Assyrian weddings try to relate and emphasize old traditions, as much as possible. Failing to pay attention to these traditional details changes a wedding from a purely Assyrian one to a just a normal wedding. Speaking of which, a lot of Assyrians nowadays are mixing old traditions with new modern Western traditions, to appeal to both the old and the young.

Assyrian Culture Home

juliet1987 — Thu, 22 May 2008 08:24:38 CDT

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