Page - 137 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

The Tattoos of Armenian Genocide Survivors | 137www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 123–143 In some cases, the tattoos regulated a central aspect of the women’s sexuality, namely marriage. Sirena Aram Alajajian states that because of her tattoos she was unable to find a husband: “During my youth, a very polite Armenian youth met me. He admired my looks and knowledge of languages, but he said that without the blue tattoos on my pretty face, we might have gotten married. So, what the Arabs did with my face was the reason for me to remain all alone in my old age.”47 However, other accounts suggest that many Armenian women were married to Armenian men in spite of their tattoos. Karapet Tozlian re- counts: “We came to Aleppo, but there was no place to live, they gathered the orphans from the Arabs and placed them in orphanages. The children used to speak Arabic. The Arabs had tattooed the Armenian girls’ and women’s faces with blue ink, but our Armenian youth said: ʻNever mind, we’ll marry our unfortunate girls. What then, if the Arabs have made them work.’”48 Nouritsa Kyurkdjian recounts something similar: “Then, the English Protestants opened orphanages. The Armenian girls, who had been kidnapped, were brought back, as well as the children, and put to schools. The adult girls were married to Armenian boys, though many of them had been tattooed on their faces with blue ink.”49 These two statements show that the tattoos did not seem to be an insurmountable obstacle to finding a husband. However, they do indicate that the tattoos were seen as problematic, even if not always problematic enough to prevent the women from being considered “marriageable”. Regulating Religion The connection between tattooing and religion is evident in Smeaton’s re- marks, as she states that “probably most tattooing has an ultimate magico- religious purpose.”50 For example, tattoos were considered a remedy for heal- ing injuries and curing diseases. The tattoo was applied directly to the body part in need of healing: for example to the forehead or the temple in the case of headaches. Smeaton also observed cases of tattooing aimed at bringing about a desired result. This practice included the sexually connoted tattoos described above, as well as tattoos applied to protect children from death or to ward off other magic. Tattooing could also be connected to reading the 47 Svazlian 2011, 412. 48 Svazlian 2011, 441. 49 Svazlian 2011, 453. 50 Smeaton 1937, 54.