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Anahit
(Armenian Folktale)
The Queen Who Made the King Get a Job
1 Yes, she should be using the crank on the other side of the well to draw up water, but I liked the visual of her letting the rope go. 
2 This point was part of the Communist Russia version – choosing the suitor is an important part of traditional Armenian culture. Communist Russia was more egalitarian in its attitude towards women, it would seem.3 Nazar is the name given to him in one version – in the other, it’s Vaginak. That name caused giggling in too many of my friends, so I stuck with Nazar.
4 This “yay proletariat”-ism also comes from the Russia version.5 The original gag for Petros was him saying, “I don’t get it, why is Tyler Durden the bad guy?” but it seemed too dated a reference (and too many people saw the movie instead of read the book).
6 Petros is my favorite character in this.
7 Armenians are quite serious about their clothing, and weaving is a big part of that.
8 No version explained why she encouraged him to go check out the kingdom, apart from him generally seeming disconnected from the common man.
9 The Russian version has a very long scene where he comes to a temple, and the priest is built up as this super cool guy who wouldn’t hurt a flea – people lay out bricks for him to step on so he wouldn’t touch the ground, that sort of thing. He then promises the incognito king a job, and traps him in a dungeon.
10 In the other version, she and the horse break down a wall hiding the cave dungeon, but I liked the visual of her busting down the door much better.
11 That’s legit how the story ends. I think it’s sweet.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Yes, she should be using the crank on the other side of the well to draw up water, but I liked the visual of her letting the rope go. |
| ↑2 | This point was part of the Communist Russia version – choosing the suitor is an important part of traditional Armenian culture. Communist Russia was more egalitarian in its attitude towards women, it would seem. |
| ↑3 | Nazar is the name given to him in one version – in the other, it’s Vaginak. That name caused giggling in too many of my friends, so I stuck with Nazar. |
| ↑4 | This “yay proletariat”-ism also comes from the Russia version. |
| ↑5 | The original gag for Petros was him saying, “I don’t get it, why is Tyler Durden the bad guy?” but it seemed too dated a reference (and too many people saw the movie instead of read the book). |
| ↑6 | Petros is my favorite character in this. |
| ↑7 | Armenians are quite serious about their clothing, and weaving is a big part of that. |
| ↑8 | No version explained why she encouraged him to go check out the kingdom, apart from him generally seeming disconnected from the common man. |
| ↑9 | The Russian version has a very long scene where he comes to a temple, and the priest is built up as this super cool guy who wouldn’t hurt a flea – people lay out bricks for him to step on so he wouldn’t touch the ground, that sort of thing. He then promises the incognito king a job, and traps him in a dungeon. |
| ↑10 | In the other version, she and the horse break down a wall hiding the cave dungeon, but I liked the visual of her busting down the door much better. |
| ↑11 | That’s legit how the story ends. I think it’s sweet. |
Art Notes
- There may be some inaccuracies with the style of dress – I found a fair bit of conflicting info on Armenian dress styles. I think Anahit probably should be wearing some form of apron in the early scenes, but I had no time to go back and redraw them.
- Petros is holding a book upside down in the poster image.
- Anahit (sometimes spelled Anait) is also the name of an Armenian fertility goddess.
- There actually is an animated princess movie of Anahit! It came out in 2014, and was posted online in its entirety by the animation studio that made it, so I think it’s okay to link:
I can’t understand it, but seems to take some liberties: Anahit’s uncle is a schemer in league with a shadowy devil creature, her horse gets a flaming mane, there’s a talking dog…?
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Next Time on Rejected Princesses
This level-headed naginata expert nevertheless lost her head in what is today Fukushima.
Petros is my new best friend.
I love the children’s book, A Weave of Words by Robert San Souci about them.
The name of the goddess that I’m familiar with adds an extra A–Anahita. Beyond that, however, I don’t know anything about Her.
Wonderful! You had me rolling in the aisles!
Godsdammit, Petros! (he’s my new favorite RP character XD)
I remember reading a gorgeous picture book of this very story back when I was a little girl in elementary school. The villain was made into a sand ifrit, harkening back to a gender-bent version of this tale found in a Persian romance. In hindsight, the villain being a priest or bandit seems more likely, because what sort of demon kidnaps random people to open sweatshops? But at least there’s a badass scene of Anahit riding in to slay the demon. Ah, nostalgia.
Your version of the armor is good too. Love Petros’ little literary references.
Edit: I found the illustrations for that book! A Weave of Words by Robert San Souci and illustrated by Raul Colon
https://bookillustrations.quora.com/Illustrations-for-A-Weave-of-Words-An-Armenian-Tale
Your representation of Armenian dress was a thousand times more accurate than the usual nonsense I see in Armenian related stuff..in general, the clothing of peasants remained more isolated from outside influences, with those of the nobility being, after the fall of the Ardashesian dynasty, more susceptible to foreign influences…all of this is well documented..as you continue your research, you will find that the Armenian costume of the last several hundred years falls, much like the Armenian language, into Western and Eastern divisions (a reference to geography not culture..Western Armenian dress was more broadly “Middle Eastern”, with Eastern Armenian dress having an affinity with Caucuses mountain/northern Iranian styles…Some Armenians get extra cranky when the see the traditions of Armenians from regions they are poorly informed about and start labeling as “not authentic” when they really have no actual regionsl expertise, just conceit, ignorance, and decades of being programmed by the costine inventory of the State Dance Ensemble of Armenia, which, under Soviet influence, ignored nine tenths of the historic Armenian regional costumes at the direction of Soviet authorities who were suspicious of any Armenian longings for geography that had been ceded to the Turks, and whose costumes had a powerful symbolic representation and evocation..
I think she’s just become my personal folktale heroine.
I had to read “A Modest Proposal” recently so I see where the guy is coming from and he is now one of my favorite characters.
i love the ending
I think this is my favorite out of all RPs! :)
Pfft, Petros is hilarious.