Vahe H. Apelian
In the December 11, 2013 issue of the Armenian Weekly, Vahe Habeshian reported of a one of a kind find; a postcard of a young woman with the legendary Mosin rifle in one hand and Mauser pistol in the other, the iconic tool-marks of the Armenian freedom fighters. The picture depicted on the postcard turned out to be that of Yeghso, the wife of the legendary freedom fighter Kevork Chavoush. Much like her husband’s iconic snapshot, I do not think that any other picture of her has reached us. Just one picture of each is all we have. Their one-time nemesis turned a protective friend, Sbaghanats Magar (Magar of Sbaghan), was not that fortunate. Not a single picture of the no less a legendary freedom fighter, the one time prince of the village of Sbaghan of Sassoun, has reached us casting him over time to a relative obscurity in our public imagination.
The story of the trio: Sbaghanats Magar, Kevork Chavoush and Yeghso is one of the most moving and enduring stories coming from our legendary fedayees. It was Roupen Der Minassian who penned the story in his famous memoir making it a sentimental reading for generations. Roupen’s narration had to do with Kevork Chavoush’s secret marriage to Yeghso. Although Serop Agphpuyr had married Soseh, none-the-less, it was an unwritten code of honor among the fedayees not to get married to spare their families the life and death trials and tribulations they experienced being always on the move and persecuted by the government. Kevork Chavoush had forfeited that code of honor in secret and thus had enraged his comrade-in-arms and traditionalist Sbaghanats Magar so much so that the fedayees had become polarized in two camps each headed by their undisputed leader on the highlands of Sassoun, Kevork Chavoush, and Sbaghanats Magar. The sharp polarization had adversely affected the ranks of the fedayees. To quell the unrest between these two iconic fedayees and their camps, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau, its highest body, delegated the young and yet untested and unexperienced Roupen Der Minassian to sort the issue and bring about the much-needed reconciliation and solidarity among the ranks.
As to how Roupen Der Minassian resolved the conflict and ended up immortalizing the event in his memoirs, is an altogether different subject that will make for a fascinating reading. I simply make a note of it to substantiate Sbaghanats Magar’s influence as a leader, on par to Kevork Chavoush.
Who Was Spaghanats Magar?
Magar was the princely chief of the village Sbaghan of Sasoun. Roupen Der Minassian in his memoir noted that he was “a giant of a man, a formidable person”. Roupen also noted that the people said: “ Kevork is a wolf or a tiger, but Uncle Magar is a raging bull”. And indeed, Roupen further noted in his memoir, “with large and bloody eyes, a big head, giant of a body, that fearless person, during a combat, looked neither to his left nor to his right, with a roaring voice, his hands over his dagger, he either charged forward or stood still even if hundreds of cannons exploded around him.”
Born and raised on the mountains of Sassoun, Magar should have been a true son of nature who knew neither cunningness nor considerate talk. A veritable feudal lord he must have been who was rebellious and coarse. In his own dialect and is his own way he would say referring to the other known freedom fighters of the day. “What? Educated people like Damadian, or Kourken or Armenag, bossing me? Whether it is Arapo, Mourad, or Abro and Kevork, not even Serop, none of them is worth more than Magar”. For the princely Magar, the most any one of the famed combatants could have been was as his equal comrade-in-arms.
When did Spagahanats Magar become a fedayee?
For all indications, Magar espoused the cause when the ringing of the liberty reached the mountains of Sassoun Having accepted the call to fight for freedom Magar remained faithful to the unwritten code and did not marry to form a family of his own. He became the comrade in arms of the famous fedayees such as Serop Aghpuyr, Kevork Chavoush, Hrair, Antranig, Mourad, Damadian and almost anyone who took any leadership role on the mountains of Sassoun. All of his comrades-in-arms had a picture that helped them secure their rightful places in the annals of our freedom fighting history, but not Sbaghanats Magar. Even his one-time nemesis, Kevork Chavoush, had his only snap-shot that has survived to this day, taken by Vahan Papazian on the Island of Aghtamar where the fedayees had convened. No picture of Magar has reached us.
Why did Magar decide to become a freedom fighter?
Shenegi Manoug was Magar’s comrade-in-arm and hailed from the village of Shenig of Sassoun. Fate would have them both killed during the same fight. I will allude to that later on. One day Roupen Der Minassian asked Shenegi Manoug why did he become a fedayee for he came from a well to do family as well?
Shenegi Manoug responded saying “when people go atop Mount Maratouk or to Saint Garabed for pilgrimage, they do not choose the sickly animal as offering for sacrifice. That would not be acceptable to the Saint. People chose the best among the animals for sacrificing so that the purpose of the pilgrimage would be fulfilled. Our god is the freedom of the Armenians. Well-to-do and wealthy Armenians should be among the first offering to the sacrificial cause”.
We will never know the reason that drove the princely chief of the Sbaghan to become a fedayee. But the fact is that he became one at a great personal sacrifice and went down not having an even one-snap shot of him to have his picture posted along the other legends.
What combats did Spghanats Magar take part?
I have pieced together the following, surely not all:
Under Antranig’s leadership, in the assassination of the person, with his entire family, who treacherously had the legendary freedom fighter Serop Aghpuyr poisoned and rendered incapable to defend himsel.
In the defense of Sbghank when the Kurdish Khalil Bey attacked the village.
In the ambushing the convoy and beheading of the same Khalil Bey under Antranig’s leadership.
In the defense of Sassoun villages Dalvorig, Andog, Tsovasar between 1890-93.
During the 1904 second revolt of Sassoun.
In the combats in Daron and Vaspouragan during 1904-1908.
In all these combats Spaghanants Magar had assumed a leadership role. It might not be farfetched to claim that he took part in almost all combats in the Daron and Sassoun region from 1890 to his death in 1907
For all indications he was illiterate, that is to say, he did not know how to read and write. He appeared not to be a modest man for he did not shy away from claiming, if not boasting of the role that he thought rightfully belonged to him and to his village. In his own way, he would say. “ The whole nation looks up to Sassoun and Sassoun is the soul of the nation and the soul of Sassoun is Sbghank.” He would go on claiming that more than any other village of Sassoun “it was Sbaghank (villagers of Sbaghan) and Uncle Magar, who hosted and backed the fedayees in their times of need". Indeed so, but for which the village had to pay a hefty price in hands of Khalil Pasha.
How was he killed?
After the martyrdom of Kevork Chaoush in the Battle of Soulukh, Sbaghanants Magar and Roupen Der Minassian became de facto leaders of the fedayees. It was during that time word reached to them that Kevork Chavoush’s son Vartkes and wife Yeghso were in imminent danger.
Sbaghanats Magar and Shenegi Manoug took upon themselves to move the family away to a secure place. But the enemy tracked them down. Sbaghanats Magar had Varktes flee for his life by entrusting him to a villager saying that “he is a kid, he might escape” but he retained Yeghso under his immediate protection saying: “Yeghso is an honor, she should not be captured by the enemy.”
Spaghanats Magar had now assumed the safety of the woman whose marriage to Kevork Chavoush had raised his ire and caused serious conflict within the ranks. During ensuing combat, Shenegi Manoug and Sbaghanats Magar became two other sacrificial rams on the altar for freedom.
Thus ended the life of the Sbaghanats Magar. No depiction of him, as there have been some renderings as to how he might have looked, has quelled my youthful curiosity. He continues to remain in my mind much like our ancient mythical deity of ferocious strength and courage, a veritable Tork Angegh.
