Opinion: Cultures of Hamshen Armenians and Pontian Greeks are confusingly similar
A Yerevan-based Armenian-Greek ensemble returned with Golden Cup from an international folk festival Parlia held in Greece From 26 to 28 September. Samvel Galstyan, a member of the World Union of Folklore, says Kharitoni ensemble performed Greek and Armenian national music during the festival. “The ensemble surprised everyone with its performance. Many wondered how Greeks could preserve their culture in Armenia. There are also Armenians in the group who sing Greek songs very well though they do not speak the language,” he said. Representatives from 12 countries participated in the festival. “If you study the Greek folklore, you will see similarities between the cultures of Hamshen Armenians and Pontian Greeks. The similarities are so great that many confuse these two cultures. There are also similarities between musical instruments and dance movements,” he added.
