Day: February 18, 2026

#SouthCaucasus  #Armenia
Armenian  #Homosexuality: Historical Acceptance and Practices  gemini.google.com/share/6061…
The phrase “Children of the Moon” (or Lusni Manukner) refers to a poetic and historical framing of same-sex attraction and gender non-conformity within the Armenian context. While the modern Armenian state and the Armenian Apostolic Church maintain conservative stances, historical records, literature, and folk traditions reveal a more complex and nuanced reality.

Here is an overview of the historical traditions and practices surrounding homosexuality in Armenia.

1. The “Children of the Moon” Concept

The term is often associated with the idea that those who did not fit the traditional solar (masculine/patriarchal) or lunar (feminine/domestic) binaries were guided by a different celestial influence. In various Near Eastern and Caucasian folk traditions, the moon was sometimes seen as a protector of those who lived outside the conventional bounds of marriage and procreation.

2. Medieval Literature and Poetry

While official ecclesiastical Law Codes (such as the 12th-century Code of Mkhitar Gosh) strictly prohibited and punished “sodomy,” the secular literature of the time often told a different story.

The “Sirelis” (Love Songs): Medieval Armenian lyric poetry, particularly between the 13th and 16th centuries, contains verses that are often gender-ambiguous. Poets like Kostandin Yerznkatsi and Hovhannes Tlkurantsi wrote about the beauty of the “beloved” in ways that scholars argue could be interpreted as homoerotic, reflecting a Persian-influenced tradition where the object of desire was often a young man.

The Brotherhoods: Some historical research points to the existence of “youth brotherhoods” or artisan guilds where close-knit male bonding was the social norm, sometimes creating spaces for relationships that bypassed traditional family structures.
3. The Influence of the Persian and Ottoman Empires

For centuries, Armenia existed at the crossroads of empires. The Persian influence, in particular, brought a different cultural lens to same-sex relationships.

In the Persianate world, male-to-male desire was a common theme in high art and court life.

Armenian merchants and travelers who operated within these empires often navigated a world where “ghilman” (beautiful youths) were celebrated in poetry, and these cultural exchanges inevitably bled into Armenian urban life in hubs like Tiflis (Tbilisi), Isfahan, and Constantinople.
4. Folk Traditions and “Hidden” Narratives

Armenian folklore contains traces of gender fluidity, though often coded:

Cross-Dressing in Ritual: During certain traditional festivals like Barekendan (the Armenian Carnival), cross-dressing and the subversion of gender roles were not only permitted but encouraged as a way to “scare away” evil spirits.

Spiritual Asceticism: Within the monastic tradition, the intense, exclusive devotion between “spiritual brothers” occasionally mirrors what modern historians might identify as “same-sex intimacy,” though it was framed through the lens of divine love.
5. Modern Re-emergence and Challenges

The 20th century saw a hardening of attitudes, largely due to Soviet-era laws that criminalized homosexuality (Article 121) and the post-Soviet rise of national-conservative ideologies.

The 2003 Decriminalization: Armenia decriminalized consensual same-sex relations in 2003 as part of its accession to the Council of Europe.

The Activist Lens: Modern Armenian LGBTQ+ activists have reclaimed the “Children of the Moon” narrative to argue that homosexuality is not a “Western import” but a native thread that has been suppressed by centuries of colonization and dogma.

Note on Sources: Much of this history is “archaeological” in nature—meaning it must be pieced together from what was not destroyed by censors or what survived in the margins of religious texts.
Would you like me to look into specific Armenian poets from the medieval era who are frequently cited in homoerotic literary analysis?

— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) Feb 18, 2026