I love these stories! They also have the tail of a snake, golden wings and incredible physical strength. They are often depicted spinning, measuring, and cutting thread, revealing their control over human life. And honestly, people are guessing, but no one really knows for sure why this vampire includes the kissing sounds in all of this. [28] As revealed in Albanian epic poetry, the Zana observe Albanian battles, offering their assistance and protection where needed. I was totally creeped out by the Drekavac too. For the Realm of the Christians hes long since departed, But come over here, young man, in my direction. 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 name can be used to express that a person is evil. Now, Im not sure *which* God this is referring to. In Albanian mythology, physical events, substances, and things are linked to mythical creatures. The interesting part in the vampire habits and behavior is that according to Balkan creepy urban legends, male vampires are involved with mortal women much more often than female vampires are with male mortals. Perhaps thats the best way to undo her damage? So now you might be wondering what exactly is so creepy about dhampirs. Another scary creature from Albanian mythology is the Bajloz. All of these versions stem from the Latin word strga, which translates into evil spirit and witch. Anyway, just being a Turk was not where it all ended. Unlike with a female shtriga, however, we dont really get an explanation of how men turn into shtrigu. Who is the national poet of Albania? Very long! This is the sad tale of Meterul Manole. For me, not only does it say something about its personality, but also raises questions. This next creature can, in some way, count as a vampire, although its best-known as a witch. Who knows. Often appearing on roads and meadows or next to rivers and creeks, they began as ambiguous, black mists, silhouettes and whirlwinds. The inhabitants of the Dukagjini Mountains believed that three types of Fates existed: e Bardha (The White One) distributes good luck and wishes humans well, e Verdha (The Yellow One) distributes bad luck and casts evil spells, and e Zeza (The Black One) who decides death. The folk storytellers have played an important role in preserving Albanian folklore. Albanian myths can be divided into two major groups: legends of metamorphosis and historical legends. Albanian legendary creatures (16 P) Pages in category "Albanian mythology" The following 25 pages are in this category, out of 25 total. She further recorded the story that after draining blood from a victim, the shtriga would generally go off into the woods and regurgitate it. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, in Albania arrived also the Bektashi Sufi order[61] which spread widely among Albanians because of its traditional tolerance and regard for different religions, practices and beliefs and because it allowed itself to be a vehicle for the expression of Crypto-Christian, Christian and pre-Christian pagan beliefs and rituals. 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. 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. As a symbol, it is depicted by eight spiked tridents radiating outwards from a central point. Shpiragm put up a good flight and hit Tomorr with his club leaving lasting damage. [32] Albanian legend also shows similarities with neighbouring Indo-European traditions, such as the oral epics with the South Slavs and the folk tales of the Greeks. [20] A substantial contribution in this direction has been made by the Albanologist Robert Elsie. Obviously, there is a good reason why sampiros eyes are the only thing that is not all covered up. 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. 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. Afraid of Zukus strength, his mother offers to blind her son. Ooooh spooky! Evil Oras and devils would appear at night and then vanish at the first cock-crow two hours after midnight, as they were now powerless. It kills people by sitting on them. Jerko, from Herceg Novi, could not choose between the sisters and, instead, he set off on a long sea voyage which he hoped would make the decision easier. Melton is a bright and educated man and I genuinely found his book a very interesting read. They brought forth his courser and put on its saddle. Try our ghost stories from Scotland article or visit this great site for all things ALBANIAN FOLKLORE. The three Ora then seek the help of Mujo to seek revenge on Paji. It starts as an illness and it begins to progress, eventually ending with death. And you wouldnt be wrong for seeking that because of what in Albanian is called syliga. Naturally, every country has its own version of the word, though its easy to tell that they are referring to the same creature. 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). The next day, he told his masons about his dream. How else would it hunt, right? Fatit are Birth Fairies. [11] The cult of the Sun and the Moon also appears in Albanian legends and folk art. Basically, everyone who were frowned upon in the old days and even somewhat today. Her spell was so powerful that Vita was turned into black stone that is now known as the Black Peak while Lyulin suffered a similar fate and became Lyulin Mountain. Also, why would shtriga go to a church? It is said that lugat tends to lure its victims to its dark home and can even murder people in their sleep. Zanas are depicted as mountain fairies, and similarly to the Ora, live near springs within the highlands of Northern Albania. Well, apparently vrykolakas can be pretty judgemental too. The French consul in Janina and Thessalonika, Auguste Dozon, published Albanian folk tales and songs initially in the 1879 Manuel de la langue chkipe ou albanaise (Manual of the Shkip or Albanian Language) and in the 1881 Contes albanais, recueillis et traduits (Albanian Tales, Collected and Translated). As Mujo and Behuri duel, the Ora intervenes guiding Mujo to distract Behuri and use the poison dagger which the Ora had hidden on Behuri, to slay him. And although all of this is very extreme, the older generations of Albanians saw it as a means to an end when it came to teaching the future generations a lesson of being careful around the Turks. [5], In Albanian mythology, the physical phenomena, elements and objects are attributed to supernatural beings. Anyway, the list doesnt actually end there. The heels, the swaying, and the flying fabric are creepy enough, but then it also begins to make kissing sounds. I cant say thats its surprising to see shtriga being used in pop culture because it appears not only in Albanian folklore, but in Polish, Romanian, Italian, and many others too. Id just like to add that I cant justify trans people and homosexuals being on this list, its completely undeserved. Clotho spun the thread of life determining the destiny of each person, Lachesis measured the thread determining how long ones life would last, and Atropos cut the thread signifying the end of ones life. 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. In Albanian mythology, this dragon is called a Bolla. Other descriptions have him as an undead child, who was unbaptised, that has returned to haunt its parents. Syliga basically refers to the evil eye that can unleash a storm of bad luck. The three fates of Greek Mythology, the Moirai, are represented similarly to the Ora as three goddesses who determine human destiny. In Norse mythology, the Helm of Awe (also known as the Helm of Terror) is a magical item worn by the dragon Fafnir, who attributes much of his invincibility to its power. According to popular belief, they returned to the area to search for their lost limbs. Albanian folk tales were first recorded in the middle of the nineteenth century by European scholars such as Johann Georg von Hahn, the Austrian consul in Janina (Ioannina), Karl H. Reinhold and Giuseppe Pitr. The only downside here is that its not that easy. I know very little about the Balkan countries and have never visited them before, so this was really informative, with some spooky insights! So you already know that a shtriga typically targets infants for some weird reason. Want to read a bit more folklore and discover more mythical creatures? Yup, thats it! So, if you feel bitter towards the witch and want revenge for all that shes done, that may be the way. The Zana are thought to have observed the speeches at theLeague of Prizren at 1878. Slavic warrior Paji Harambashis encounters three white oras, mystical creatures in the mountains who revel and frolic as he searches for Mujo. However, I couldnt be more wrong. Nov 14, 2017 - Explore Margarett Bridge's board "Albanian Mythology" on Pinterest. In addition to that, lugats ability to fly and use the wind assomething like invisible transportation measure appears in the stories not any less common. But wait, it gets even better! [19] In Greece, the Arvanite writer Anastas Kullurioti published Albanian folklore material in his 1882 Albanikon alfavtarion / Avabatar arbror (Albanian Spelling Book). He compiled his collection with Spiro Risto Dine who emigrated to Egypt in 1866. The second part of Dine's collection was devoted to folk literature, including love songs, wedding songs, funerary songs, satirical verse, religious and didactic verses, folk tales, aphorisms, rhymes, popular beliefs and mythology. In this article youll discover other types of boogeymen from the Albanian folklore and what theyre known for. But what bothers me is the part of scaring children into not crying. Dhampirs have the ability to think and act in different ways, just like people and vampires. He clenched it and squeezed it and crushed it to pieces., Mujos brother Halili sets out to search for the only one he wishes to marry, Tanusha - the daughter of the King in the Realm of the Christians. The bad news is that sampiro might be back for more eventually and if its a very hungry one, it could lead to death after many frequent visits. Its etymology is related to Latin Diana its also simil ar to the Bardha. 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). In addition to that, the word Dhampir itself has a few slightly different ways to be spelled such as dhamphir and dhampyr. When feeding it simply bites like any human would and then sucks blood from the wound. Their stare would make people uncomfortable, and people were supposed to avoid looking them directly in the eyes because they have the evil eye (Albanian: syliga). Another mentioned way to cure people of shtrigas touch is by getting her to die. Within Albania, people believed the Ora would protect them, while others believed the Ora were dangerous creates with evil purposes. Some of the characters of the Albanian myth: 1. 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. So what exactly does this concealment mean when referring to Jinns? Should an Ora howl at a person, the threads of their fate would be cut. Travelling anywhere in the Balkan region, you are almost certain to be told one of these folklores or hear about a mythical beast. 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. It isnt the murderous type, but it still hunts, it can shapeshift, and it can even leave you bloodthirsty. Doesnt it want to be unnoticed? Im on my way to the Realm of the Christians. [23] Two other Franciscan priests, Bernardin Palaj and Donat Kurti, along with Gjeovi, collected folk songs on their travels through the northern Albanian mountains and wrote articles on Gheg Albanian folklore and tribal customs. 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. 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. The eldest sister died first so the other two bricked up her sea facing window. Kind of like a drunk sexual predator. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. In addition to that, for an unknown reason, sampiro also wears high heels and is therefore swaying as it walks. Unlike sampiro, however, lugat leaves its victims to deal with very serious consequences. Another super-easy way that is done by Albanians in some regions of the country, is having garlic at home and using it to keep the evil eye away from you. The kucedra or kulshedra is a mythological creature in Albanian mythology that is usually depicted as a large, multi-headed dragon with 7 heads. As a matter of fact, even today many Albanians point their fingers at shtriga whenever theres untimely infant death. I suppose it would be useful to know in what context Albanians use Lubias name, but I didnt come across any contextual use. He swore that he would marry the sister who waited for him to return. Although labeled as a vampiric witch, shtriga has a lot of resemblance to a boogeyman. Anyway, trapping shtriga in a church wasnt even the last alternative. Speaking of spitting into someones mouth If you want to avoid that for your children, or any children, for that matter, youll be relieved to know that in some Albanian regions its common to say mashaallah to children and babies while also touching their noses. And yet vrykolakas sits on them? The villagers of the mountain regions pass stories down to their children about how natural features of the land were created. And its not afraid to show it. [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]. How can you fight back? So worst-case scenario, you were chosen by sampiro. Albert Doja reveals beliefs about the protective house snake throughout Albanian culture and superstitions. , it can even murder people in their sleep other types of boogeymen from wound... That its not that easy 14, 2017 - Explore Margarett Bridge & # x27 s. 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