The ethnographic collections kept in the History Museum of Armenia contain items that shed light on certain features of the people’s traditions, beliefs and rituals. The museum has samples of votive offerings to saints which differ from the usual oblations. These are covenant gifts, which people took to sanctuaries (church, monastery, chapel, khachkar, sacred tree, a house where there was a sacred corner) to seek help from the saints, to fulfill their desires.

Keywordsvow offering sanctuary healing gratitude iron human figurine parts of body torc cross.

Sacred trees had different meanings and therefore different purposes. It was important not only to preserve them in reality but also to ensure their existence and growth by supernatural means. Trees were thought to have magical properties: people made pilgrimages, offered sacrifices, made offerings, prayed for healing, for having descendants, and begged for help and protection from harmful natural phenomena, and so on, through various rituals. Supernatural power was attributed to the objects made of wood of sacred trees and even to the pieces of those trees, which protected people from all evil and brought success acting as amulets.

Keywordssacred trees pilgrimage prohibition healing fortune telling feast ritual symbol images.