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[4] Albanian folk tales and legends have been orally transmitted down the generations and are still very much alive in the mountainous regions of Albania, Kosovo, western North Macedonia, lands formerly inhabited by Albanians like Montenegro and South Serbia and among the Arbresh in Italy and the Arvanites in Greece. If you were killed by a vampire or even ate the meat of an animal that wasnt properly slaughtered, or it was killed accidentally You guessed, these things make you a vampire too. Albert Doja reveals beliefs about the protective house snake throughout Albanian culture and superstitions. The heels, the swaying, and the flying fabric are creepy enough, but then it also begins to make kissing sounds. Dean manages to kill the monster by shooting it in the head with concentrated iron bullets while it was feeding on Sam. She accepted, for some reason, but she soon realised that this was not a game. As a symbol, it is depicted by eight spiked tridents radiating outwards from a central point. And if you tried to distract yourself from her stare somehow, you would very quickly notice her crooked nose. The Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture makes available for the first time a wealth of knowledge about Albanian popular belief and folk customs. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. They handed the hero some herbs to inhale from. One of the early Albanian collectors of Albanian folklore from Albania proper was Zef Jubani. The Vitore is often depicted as a golden horned serpent that would provide protection and bring good luck to the family of the house it resides in.[4]. [7], And turning, set off for the high mountain meadows, But nowhere upon them was he to find Mujo. But these were old-fashioned views and thats just how it was back then. [49], At the time of the South Slavic incursion and the threat of ethnic turbulence in the Albanian-inhabited regions, the Christianization of the Albanians had already been completed and it had apparently developed for Albanians as a further identity-forming feature alongside the ethnic-linguistic unity. So thats all we know about the physical appearance. However, it was also well known that they were all in love with same sailor Jerko Novljanin. [59] In the 16th century the Albanians are firstly mentioned as worshippers of the Sun and the Moon. He recorded thirty-five Albanian folk tales from Albania and Corfu and published them in the 1895 Albanesische Texte mit Glossar (Albanian Texts with Glossary). A large abandoned ancient city remains within the cavern, with a bazar stocked with all of the finest and best fruit, flesh, fish, and fair raiment. I was totally creeped out by the Drekavac too. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. I gotta admit, that sounds better than letting her spit into someones mouth! Very straightforward. List of legends, myths, ballads, and characters Some of the best known legends, concepts, ballads, songs and/or characters of Albanian mythology. But yeah, its that simple. [2] Within Central Albania it was believed that the Ora were present everywhere, listening to peoples blessings and curses, which they would then aim to quickly fulfil. Lets just assume that you can choose one yourself. The next way to do this is by taking a pinch of salt on your fingers and touching your closed eyes, then mouth, heart, the opposite part of the heart, and then finally the pit of the stomach. InEastern Serbia,the Drekavac has been described in the form of a humanoid canine creature that walks on its back legs. Luckily for dhampirs, the human genes neutralize these weaknesses, meaning that their bodies dont crave human blood, hence their nutrition consists of what a regular human would eat. [9] Besa is a common practice in Albanian culture, consisting of an oath taken by Sun, by Moon, by sky, by earth, by fire, by stone, by mountain, by water and by snake, which are all considered sacred objects. We did establish that vampires are horny creatures, remember? Sebastian Franck: Albania: A Mighty Province of Europe", "Einheitlichkeit und Spaltung im Laufe des Christianisierungsprozesses der Albaner. When assuming the form of a child, the Drekavac predicts someonesdeath, while in its animal form, it predicts cattle disease. [4], Within Norse Mythology, the Norns were supernatural women that controlled the fates of men. The kulshedra or kuedra is a water, storm, fire and chthonic demon in Albanian mythology and folklore, usually described as a huge multi-headed female serpentine dragon. It kills people by sitting on them. The Fatia and Mirai are Tosk Albanian mythological figures that hold a similar purpose to the Gheg Albanian Ora and Zana. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. This is really interesting! [26] Albanian folk songs and tales were recorded by the Austrian consul in Janina, Johann Georg von Hahn, who travelled throughout Albania and the Balkans in the middle of the 19th century and in 1854 he published Albanesische Studien (Albanian Studies). while sleeping" are very widespread among the Balkan peoples. Basically, everyone who were frowned upon in the old days and even somewhat today. I dont know, I just think that its wrong to suppress emotions like that. The German linguist and professor at the University of Graz, Gustav Meyer, published in 1884 fourteen Albanian tales in Albanische Mrchen (Albanian Tales), and a selection of Tosk tales in the 1888 Albanian grammar (1888). :B. Amazing post! [26][20], In the first half of the 20th century, British anthropologist Edith Durham visited northern Albania and collected folklore material on the Albanian tribal society. his belt. It has to be one with wings, typically either a fly, a bee, or a moth. female eagles and the winds are his servants. The shtriga is often pictured as a woman with a hateful stare (sometimes wearing a cape) and a horribly disfigured face. After WW2, rumours circulated about chilling apparitions which were named Prepasti. [9] Once an Ora has been assigned to a newborn its appearance would change based on the qualities of the child; a white Ora for the brave, or a black Ora for the cowardly.[2]. We have chosen some of the best ones from each country to create a collection of traditional tales and bloodcurdling creatures. Eventually, as you got a bigger picture, you would also notice her face disfigurement and possibly a cape that she tends to wear. There are legends behind almost every building, mountain and village in the Balkans! The kucedra or kulshedra is a mythological creature in Albanian mythology that is usually depicted as a large, multi-headed dragon with 7 heads. 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. [60] The lack of schools was compensated by the folk creativity, molding generations of Albanians with their forefathers' wisdom and experience and protecting them from assimilation processes.[44]. Unlike sampiro, however, lugat leaves its victims to deal with very serious consequences. Interestingly enough, in Albania lugat is more often categorized as a demon rather than a vampire. Melton is a bright and educated man and I genuinely found his book a very interesting read. How else would it hunt, right? Travelling anywhere in the Balkan region, you are almost certain to be told one of these folklores or hear about a mythical beast. I suppose its fine if it can save a life. The Ora's appearance alters according to the personality and attributes of the human a white Ora for the brave and industrious, or a black Ora for the lazy or cowardly.[8], In Northern Albania, the Oras are represented similarly to the Southern Albanian Fatia as a group of three mythological goddesses who gather in the night to perform the task of determining the childs fate at birth and distribute their favours upon the child. Obviously, there is a good reason why sampiros eyes are the only thing that is not all covered up. Thank you so much for sharing! Both Quran and general urban stories agree that Jinns can be anywhere but not seen by us, humans. And the creature is always heavily covered in flowing fabric or its own grave shroud. [15], Extract from Songs of the Frontier Warriors (Mujos Oras), translated by Robert Elsie -, Oh oras, to whom do you render assistance?. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. But lets start with its appearance. Mythological creatures of the Alps Mountain Fairies The cult of mountain fairies (Alb. [3] Ancient Illyrian religion is considered to be one of the sources from which Albanian legend and folklore evolved,[29][30][31] reflecting a number of parallels with Ancient Greek and Roman mythologies. A cross made of pig bone could be placed at the entrance of a church on Easter Sunday, rendering any shtriga inside unable to leave. Jubani published in 1871 his Raccolta di canti popolari e rapsodie di poemi albanesi (Collection of Albanian Folk Songs and Rhapsodies)the first collection of Gheg folk songs and the first folkloric work to be published by an Albanian who lived in Albania. Alphabetical entries shed light on blood feuding, figures of Albanian mythology, religious beliefs, communities, and sects, calendar feasts and rituals, and popular superstitions, as well as birth, marriage, and funeral . I love these stories! When exploring the area, it seems there is a story behind almost every building, mountain or village. Albanian Mythology. The whole idea, the concept of a boogeyman is to scare people, most often children, into doing or not doing something. In fact, the safest way to get rid of sampiro once and for all is by locating its grave and stake it in the heart in broad daylight, when its the most vulnerable. I cant wait to visit the Balkans one day and just love learning about this area . Edith Durham recorded several methods traditionally considered effective for defending oneself from shtriga. [2] British poet Lord Byron (17881824), describing the Albanian religious belief, reported that "The Greeks hardly regard them as Christians, or the Turks as Muslims; and in fact they are a mixture of both, and sometimes neither. Having such an advantageous existence pack, its not uncommon for dhampirs to become vampire hunters. As you now know, this lugat vampire is a tricky one. Thanks Jenny. I think you already know the answer and you can thank Hollywood for that. The problem is that this may be even more difficult than getting her to cure people, as she is not easily killed. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. [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). Extract from Songs of the Frontier Warriors (Halili Avenges Mujo), translated by Robert Elsie . 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. It may not be the first time you hear the word shtriga. He is often depicted as a fierce warrior who fights against giants and other monsters to protect the people of Midgard, the mortal world. The Noble Qur'an last sura and the Throne Verse, or Ayatul Kursi, is 255th verse (ayah) of the second chapter (sura) Al-Baqara, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shtriga&oldid=1140331752, Articles containing Albanian-language text, Articles containing Italian-language text, Articles containing Romanian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 16:25. [53] The Balkans were brought back into the Christian orbit only after the recovery of the Byzantine Empire and through the activity of Byzantine missionaries. Thanks for sticking to the end, I hope you enjoyed the Albanian creepy legends and Albanian mythology creatures so far! These would travel high into the clouds and even change into creepy, dark figures. Gogol is known among Albanian mythology creatures for scaring children into good behavior and not crying As you can see, Gogol can be used basically for anything that the parents do not approve of. In this case, one of the most famous Albanian mythology creatures, sampiro, is no different. [182][136], Another characteristic of Albanian heroic songs are weapons. In some regions of Albania, people have used garlic (Albanian: hudhr); to send away the evil eye or they have placed a puppet in a house being built to catch the evil. In Ottoman times, often to escape higher taxes levied on Christian subjects, the majority of Albanians became Muslims. [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] Sometimes she manifests as a dark mass, or a shadow, which can be seen on a persons chest or neck during the night. They can live either in caves or mountain tops, and are particularly intelligent. Some of the main heroes of the Albanian epic songs, legends and myths are: The Albanian heroic songs are substantially permeated by the concepts contained in the Kanun, a code of Albanian oral customary laws: honour, considered as the highest ideal in Albanian society; shame and dishonour, regarded as worse than death; besa and loyalty, gjakmarrja. [28], The elements of Albanian mythology are of Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. What I *dont* understand is why does it eat peoples food? Zuku Bajraktar captures his mothers secret lover, Slavic warrior Baloz Sedlija, as his prisoner. Dhampirs are a widely-spread subject in Balkan folklore, which includes Albania, todays subject. This specific ability even got them a nickname Daywalker.. So worst-case scenario, you were chosen by sampiro. Another important Arbresh publisher of Albanian folklore was the linguist Demetrio Camarda, who included in his 1866 Appendice al Saggio di grammatologia comparata (Appendix to the Essay on the Comparative Grammar) specimens of prose, and in particular, Arbresh folk songs from Sicily and Calabria, Albania proper and Albanian settlements in Greece. Heres what Sampiro is recognized by among Albanian mythology creatures: Basically, from the first glance sampiro is like other vampires it is a night creature that lusts for blood. Neighbours of Albania Montenegro Kosovo North Macedonia Greece Questions & Answers Who is the national founder of Albania? Dino himself published Valt e Detit (The Waves of the Sea), which, at the time of its publication in 1908, was the longest printed book in the Albanian language. This list may not reflect recent changes . Mythological Creatures Coming at Night and Strangling People. The Czech linguist and professor of Romance languages and literature, Jan Urban Jarnik, published in 1883 Albanian folklore material from the region of Shkodra in Zur albanischen Sprachenkunde (On Albanian Linguistics) and Pspvky ku poznn ne albnskch uveejuje (Contributions to the Knowledge of Albanian Dialects). Im on my way to the Realm of the Christians. [59] Since its founding in 1912, Albania has been a secular state, becoming atheist during the Communist regime, and returning secular after the fall of the regime. Clearly, vrykolakas sounds like a cowardly predator, avoiding a confrontation with its victims and only sneaking into their homes when theyre asleep. This particular one is called the Night Hag. 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Fairies ( albanian mythology creatures, remember suppress emotions like that 7 heads some herbs inhale! Cult of mountain Fairies the cult of mountain Fairies ( Alb of Europe '', `` Einheitlichkeit Spaltung.