[1] [2] Often depicted as three female deities, the Ora "maintain the order of the universe and enforce its laws" [3] - "organising the appearance of humankind." [4] Zana e ujit, Nusja Shapulic, Cuca e Liqenit, Ksheta, me diell (by sun), me dh (by earth), me zjarr (by fire), me fush (by field), me gur/gur-rrufeje (by stone/thunder-stone), me hn (by moon), me mal (by mountain), me qiell (by sky), me uj (by water), me toks (by snake), Nxiri: all-seing eyes that look at humans from the ground following their movements everywhere, considered to be the sight of the living Earth, Ditt e Plaks (Old Woman's Days, a belief about the last cold days of winter), Angu (shapeless ghost who appears in dreams), Avullushe (spirits that suffocate people with their breath), akalloz (mighty being, slightly deranged hero), Dhevshtruesi (half human and half animal), Katravesh (the four-eared one, man-eating monster), Makth (nightmare ghost that suffocates people during sleep), Through ritual processions, dances and songs (, The Barefaced Man and the Pasha's Brother, The Tale of the Youth who Understood the Language of the Animals, The Daughter of the Moon and Sun (version with, The Daughter of the Moon and Sun (version with the king's son), Seven Spans of Beard and Three Spans of Body, Revenge Taken on Kastrati a Legend of the Triepshi Tribe, The Founding of the Hoti and Triepshi Tribes, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 21:57. They brought forth his courser and put on its saddle. But lets start with its appearance. Our favourite is a tale of two love struck shepherds Vita and Lyulin. [59] In the 16th century the Albanians are firstly mentioned as worshippers of the Sun and the Moon. Thanks Jenny. Lexicon of Albanian Mythology: Areal Studies in the Polylingual Region of Azov Sea. It is said that shtriga is the only one who can cure her victims. However one part retained Christian and pre-Christian beliefs. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The Zana are thought to have observed the speeches at theLeague of Prizren at 1878. [9], Within Albanian folklore and poetry, Ora had the ability to take any form they pleased, including birds, beasts, women, or serpents.[10], In Northern Albania, Oras often appear as serpents. similarly to the Southern Albanian deity Vitore. She published sixteen Albanian folk-stories translated in English in her 1931 Kndime EnglishtShqip or AlbanianEnglish Reader. This next creature can, in some way, count as a vampire, although its best-known as a witch. De Rada and Camarda were the two main initiators of the Albanian nationalist cultural movement in Italy. I dont know, I just think that its wrong to suppress emotions like that. With the Oras guidance Mujo slays his rival,[20] revealing the Oras ability to provide aid and guidance to its allocated person when they are in need. The whole idea, the concept of a boogeyman is to scare people, most often children, into doing or not doing something. One must never disturb a snake, even if its found within a babys cradle as it is the ora that belongs to the house and the baby. For one, you could place a puppet in your home and it would be the one to take the evil in. Another famous vampire type is called lugat and it may also be called kukithi or liogat. Accordingly, the male word for shtriga can be shtrigan or shtrigu. Jerko never returned from his voyage and his fate remains unknown. The weavers of destiny, ora or fat, control the order of the universe and enforce its laws. Nov 14, 2017 - Explore Margarett Bridge's board "Albanian Mythology" on Pinterest. But as the two countries are close in more ways than one, eventually the creepy urban legends spread through the word of mouth. And how does it crush them by sitting on them? But even if you do come across an evil dhampir, there is a bright side legends tell us that its possible to identify dhampirs as such. Be it for their food, or to murder them. He is visualised as a wise but strong old man with a full, white beard. They are known in Albania specifically by their names and not the general vampire title. The birthing sow became to be a bad omen due to a prophecy, so the people of the isle chased her until she ran into the waters. He swore that he would marry the sister who waited for him to return. After all, they do have the power to walk in sunlight. I assume that the younger generations of Albania dont take these stories very seriously, but the old generations of Albanians had some theories on who were likely to turn into sampiro themselves and why. The folklorist Giuseppe Pitr published in 1875 a selection of Albanian folk tales from Sicily in Fiabe, novelle e racconti popolari siciliani (Sicilian Fables, Short Stories and Folk Tales). These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Across all of Kotor and Boka the sisters were famous for their beauty. There are legends behind almost every building, mountain and village in the Balkans! We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. It would be wrapped with a silver medal of St. George, then blessed by a priest - providing protection against the evil Oras and devils when worn.[24]. Wandering aimlessly in the mountains, the blind Zuku is met by an ora who restores his sights with some herbs and tells him to take vengeance. Mount Shpirag is marked with deep streams of water running down its face and lies across the valley. So now you might be wondering what exactly is so creepy about dhampirs. According to legend, only the shtrig herself could cure those she had drained (often by spitting in their mouths), and those who were not cured inevitably sickened and died. Of course, theres more work doing it this way, but security requires thoughtfulness. [57] The Great Schism of 1054 involved Albania separating the region between Catholic Christianity in the north and Orthodox Christianity in the south. Thanks for sticking to the end, I hope you enjoyed the Albanian creepy legends and Albanian mythology creatures so far! [22] At midnight, Zuku slays Slavic warrior Baloz Sedlija, and burns his mother to her death. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". more appealing. They appear also on later funerary monuments, including the medieval tombstones (steci) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the burial monuments used until recently in northern Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, southern Serbia and northern North Macedonia. After that, all youll need to do is throw the salt into direct flames while also saying syt i dalin syt i plain. I suppose it would be useful to know in what context Albanians use Lubias name, but I didnt come across any contextual use. Between the early 7th century and the late 9th century the interior areas of the Balkans were deprived of church administration, and Christianity might have survived only as a popular tradition on a reduced degree. Albania is known for Street Art and Colourful buildings in Tirana Where is Albania located? I gotta admit, that does sound hard to ignore. We have chosen some of the best ones from each country to create a collection of traditional tales and bloodcurdling creatures. The last Albanian boogeyman is named Gogol and this one is very similar to Buba but with a bit broader purpose. A shtriga ( Albanian: shtrig) is a vampiric witch in Albanian mythology and folklore that sucks the blood of infants at night while they sleep, and then turns into a flying insect (traditionally a moth, fly or bee ). [16] A very common motif in Albanian folk narrative is metamorphosis: men morph into deer, wolves, and owls, while women morph into stoats, cuckoos, and turtles. Zmey are beings with vaguely human features. Other Indo-European scholars who collected Albanian folklore material were German linguists Gustav Weigand and August Leskien. Edith Durham reports on the frequent supernatural happenings in the city of Gjakova, Kosovo. Within Albania, people believed the Ora would protect them, while others believed the Ora were dangerous creates with evil purposes. He is often depicted as a fierce warrior who fights against giants and other monsters to protect the people of Midgard, the mortal world. (Osborn, 2015, p.14). The Vitore is a household deity known as the woman who spins[4] spinning out the destiny of each person when they are born. [30] The Moirai would determine the fate of each child once they were born, whereas the Ora would wait till the third night after the child's birth. The town of Berat sits in the foothills of Mount Tomorr and is closely guarded by Baba, as its his favourite city and great source of pride. As for the origins of vrykolakas and how you can turn into one, wellhold on tight, the list is long. Hold on, this is going to be *very* different. They could then be captured and killed at the threshold as they vainly attempted to pass. These relations can be seen during the rule of the Illyrian emperors, such as Aurelian who introduced the cult of the Sun; Diocletian who stabilized the empire and ensured its continuation through the institution of the Tetrarchy; Constantine the Great who issued the Edict of Toleration for the Christianized population and who summoned the First Council of Nicaea involving many clercs from Illyricum; Justinian who issued the Corpus Juris Civilis and sought to create an Illyrian Church, building Justiniana Prima and Justiniana Secunda, which was intended to become the centre of Byzantine administration. All we have is that Buba is some kind of a serpentine monster. More specifically, dhampirs are known for their immortality, sharp senses, extremely efficient regeneration abilities, ability to control animals, detect invisible vampires and other supernaturals, and they even have the ability to practice sorcery. Each Balkan country has a version of dhampirs, some descriptions are shared and some slightly different or more detailed. Yes, in popular creativity, it mostly symbolizes good fortune and the coming of a time of prosperity. It seems that in Albania the legends of this particular vampire, vrykolakas, werent really reinvented or changed, so what Im about to tell you is the Greek version of vrykolakas that is applied in Albania too. What kind of being was standing before him. The reason why I wouldnt exclude her from the vampire category is that a shtriga is depicted as a blood-sucking witch in Albanian folklore. The images of mythological creatures "coming at night and strangling people . [11] The cult of the Sun and the Moon also appears in Albanian legends and folk art. Of the three sea facing windows, only the one belonging to the youngest sister remained. [3] A strong belief in God could make people immune to a witch as She would protect them. Dean manages to kill the monster by shooting it in the head with concentrated iron bullets while it was feeding on Sam. Danish Indo-Europeanist and professor at the University of Copenhagen, Holger Pedersen, visited Albania in 1893 to learn the language and to gather linguistic material. Basically, everyone who were frowned upon in the old days and even somewhat today. However, according to Albanian urban legends, lugat has shapeshifting abilities and this may just explain why even in stories it lacks concrete shape. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Ive never heard much about Balkan folklore, but I am always so interested in the history behind these stories and myths! [47], The historical-linguistic determination of the Albanian Christian terminology provides evidence that Albanians have already joined the process of conversion to Christianity in the Balkans since the late antiquity (4th5th centuries AD). Afraid of Zukus strength, his mother offers to blind her son. Tomor is the father of gods and humans in the Albanian mythology. Well, apparently vrykolakas can be pretty judgemental too. If you didnt get what is considered a proper burial, if your life was full of sin, and if you died without the final ritesthats right, youre a vrykolakas. That, her many heads, and her preference for girls seem like indicators to me. This list may not reflect recent changes . Drop a comment in the box, wed love to hear from you! For the Realm of the Christians hes long since departed, But come over here, young man, in my direction. 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