Pele Pughi
Pele Pughi was an 18th-century Armenian satirist and fabulist from Karabakh.
Biography
Pele Pughi was born in 1731 in either Avetaranots or Shosh in the Melikdom of Varanda, one of the [Melikdoms of Karabakh|five Armenian principalities of Karabakh]. He served as a jester in the court of Melik Shahnazar, the ruler of Varanda Principality. He created funny stories and fables, which, told from mouth to mouth, have been modified and supplemented, reaching modern days under his name. He died in 1810 in Shosh, and is believed to be buried in a cave between Shosh and Mkhitarishen villages, where a memorial monument was erected in 1976.Despite regretting his behaviour at his dawn, Armenians of Karabakh did not forgive Melik Shahnazar's collaboration with Panah Ali Khan and his hostile treatment the other Armenian meliks, and slammed him with satire via Pughi's character. Although the relationship of Pughi and Shahnazar relationship is presented as one of between jester and ruler, the jester is not an obedient servant but somebody who constantly provokes Melik to do silly things, so he could stand on the right path due to fear of finding himself in laughable situations. Once Melik asks "why does a person's house collapse?", to which Pughi replies "because it happened that the enemy is from inside". Pughi was more than a jester in the melik's court; he was fabulist-adviser, resourceful and fair-minded. In the stories, Pughi is frequently rendered as the archetype of medieval judge who makes wise decisions in difficult cases. Pughi stories, passed from generation to generation, formed one of the important components of Karabakh Armenians' collective humour and leisure, shedding light upon their socio-political and cultural realities from mid-18th century to early 19th century.