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E Bukura e Dheut is a character in Albanian mythology and folklore, depicted in some traditions as a crafty fairy, and in other traditions as a chthonic/earth goddess, the counterpart of e Bukura e Detit and i Bukuri i Qiellit. In some Albanian traditions she is regarded as the sister of e Bukura e Detit and the consort of Baba Tomor.
Baba Tomor or Baba Tomorr is the name of the father god, used in central Albanian mythology and folklore to refer to the father of gods and humans. Baba Tomor is related to the cult practiced on Mount Tomorr. According to the local tradition his consort is e Bukura e Dheut, a chthonic/earth goddess.
Prende or Premte is the goddess of dawn, love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology. She is also called Afër-dita, an Albanian phrase meaning "near day", "the day is near", or "dawn", in association with the cult of the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. Her sacred day is Friday, named in Albanian after her: e premte, premtja. In Albanian mythology Prende appears as the daughter of Zojz, the Albanian sky and lightning god.
Shurdh is a weather and storm god in Albanian pagan mythology, who causes hailstorms and throws thunder and lightning. Shurdh was worshiped in northern Albania until recent times.
Djall or Dreq is the personification of evil in Albanian mythology and folklore. The name is used also for a demon of fire.
I Verbti is an Albanian adjectival noun meaning "the blind one", which was used in northern Albanian folk beliefs to refer to the god of fire and wind in the Zadrima region, and to the thunderstorm god in Dukagjin and the Malësia e Vogël; in Shala the thunderstorm god was referred to as Rmoria. These beliefs survived in northern Albania until recent times.
The kulshedra or kuçedra is a water, storm, fire and chthonic demon in Albanian mythology and folklore, usually described as a huge multi-headed female serpentine dragon. The kulshedra is believed to spit fire, cause drought, storms, flooding, earthquakes and other natural disasters against mankind. In Albanian mythology she is usually fought and defeated by a drangue, a semi-human winged divine hero and protector of mankind. Heavy thunderstorms are thought to be the result of most of their battles. Others include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and cyclones. Kulshedra is also fought and defeated by the Daughter of the Moon and the Sun who tries to protect her loved one by using her light powers.
Robert Elsie was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore.
Shqiptar is an Albanian ethnonym (endonym), by which Albanians call themselves. They call their country Shqipëria.
Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among Albanians, and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior – where Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, Muslim and Marxist beliefs that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force. Albanian traditions have been orally transmitted down the generations, well surviving into the 21st century in the mountainous regions of Albania, Kosovo, western North Macedonia, Montenegro and South Serbia and among the Arbëreshë in Italy, the Arvanites in Greece, and the Arbanasi in Croatia.
Zana is an Albanian mythological figure usually associated with mountains, springs and streams, forests, vegetation and animals, human vital energy and sometimes destiny. Zana is thought to have been originally a pre-Roman deity, and an Illyrian goddess equivalent of the Ancient Greek Artemis and Roman Diana.
The Kângë Kreshnikësh are the traditional songs of the heroic legendary cycle of Albanian epic poetry. They are the product of Albanian culture and folklore orally transmitted down the generations by the Albanian lahutarë who perform them singing to the accompaniment of the lahutë. The Albanian traditional singing of epic verse from memory is one of the last survivors of its kind in modern Europe, and the last survivor of the Balkan traditions. The poems of the cycle belong to the heroic genre, reflecting the legends that portray and glorify the heroic deeds of the warriors of indefinable old times. The epic poetry about past warriors is an Indo-European tradition shared with South Slavs, but also with other heroic cultures such as those of early Greece, classical India, early medieval England and medieval Germany.
Albanian epic poetry is a form of epic poetry created by the Albanian people. It consists of a longstanding oral tradition still very much alive. A good number of Albanian epic singers can be found today in Kosovo and northern Albania, and some also in Montenegro. The Albanian traditional singing of epic verse from memory is one of the last survivors of its kind in modern Europe, and the last survivor of the Balkan traditions.
*En or *Enji is a reconstructed name of the fire god in the Albanian pagan mythology, which has continued to be used in the Albanian language to refer to Thursday.
The lubia or ljubi is a water and storm demon in Albanian mythology and folklore, usually depicted as a huge multi-headed female serpentine dragon similar to the kulshedra. In Southern Albanian beliefs, she is a storm deity. She is also referred to as ‘mother lubia’.She is known for her disturbingly huge appetite and eerie personality. Both of which characteristics are based on the fierce impression the sea gives you on stormy weather. The native people used hyperbole and made a vile creature out of the bad weather conditions.
The Ora is an Albanian mythological figure that every human possesses from birth, associated with human destiny and fate. The essential function of the ora is to maintain the order of the universe and to enforce its laws.
Perria or Pehria is a fairy-like mountain figure in Albanian mythology and folklore.
Stihi is a fire-breathing storm demon in Albanian mythology and folklore, similar to the kulshedra.
Zojz is a sky and lightning god in Albanian pagan mythology. Regarded as the chief god and the highest of all gods, traces of his worship survived in northern Albania until the early 20th century, and in some forms still continue today. The old beliefs in the Sky are pagan beliefs preserved by Albanians since ancient times.
E Bukura e Detit is a character in Albanian mythology and folklore, depicted in some traditions as a sea-fairy / nymph, and in other traditions as a sea goddess, the counterpart of e Bukura e Dheut and i Bukuri i Qiellit. In some Albanian traditions she is regarded as the sister of e Bukura e Dheut.
References
- ↑ Elsie 2001, p. 269.
- 1 2 Lurker 2004, p. 30.
