And yet vrykolakas sits on them? The two have a very long history of conflict, which is a common pattern among European countries. [56] In a text compiled around the beginning of the 11th century in the Old Bulgarian language, the Albanians are mentioned for the first time with their old ethnonym Arbanasi as half-believers, a term which for Eastern Orthodox Christian Bulgarians meant Catholic Christian. WOW! Which, by the way, also serves as a very serious warning to avoid this person, as this is someone undoubtedly evil and dangerous. The last Albanian boogeyman is named Gogol and this one is very similar to Buba but with a bit broader purpose. 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. [2] [1] The kulshedra is believed to spit fire, cause drought, storms, flooding, earthquakes and other natural disasters against mankind. Lets start by dissecting the name shtriga and the meaning behind it! Its etymology is related to Latin Diana its also simil ar to the Bardha. As for the origins of vrykolakas and how you can turn into one, wellhold on tight, the list is long. . [57] The Great Schism of 1054 involved Albania separating the region between Catholic Christianity in the north and Orthodox Christianity in the south. And that might have something to do with the rumored shtrigas desire to keep her immortality, which can be accomplished by sucking the life force, or blood, out of children. [28] Robert Elsie described the Zana as muses of the mountains - as every mountain has its own Zana. 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. Do you know any great stories or terrifying creatures? [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] Many of the characters of the Albanian mythology are included in the Albanian Songs of the Frontier Warriors ( Albanian : Kng Kreshniksh or Cikli i Kreshnikve ), the traditional cycle of Albanian epic songs. 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). 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). Both the Ora and Vitore are widely represented as a serpent with golden horns who brings gold.[9] Albanian stories describe beliefs associated with the protective serpent Oras. All in all, she is either middle-aged or an elderly woman who, judging from her dark stare alone, is definitely not a sweet and ordinary grandma. Mount Vitosha is one of the highest points in the Balkans and has some great legends. The eldest sister died first so the other two bricked up her sea facing window. [26][20], The next generation of scholars who became interested in collecting Albanian folk material were mainly philologists, among them the Indo-European linguists concerned about the study of the then little known Albanian language. Miren, another name used for them, derives from the Greek Moirae . [3] Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society. Since this age demographic is more targeted by shtriga, Albanians normalized this as protection against the evil eye. Yeah, the Balkans are full of these tales! After all, every region has its own version. [46], Among the Illyrians of early Albania the Sun was a widespread symbol. : There was no one to wall it up after she died. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. 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]. Baba Tomorri has inflicted many wounds on the face of Shirag which can still be seen today. Anyway, the list doesnt actually end there. Zmey are specifically attracted to female beauty and have been rumoured to capture young maidens and take them to their remote lairs. Neighbours of Albania Montenegro Kosovo North Macedonia Greece Questions & Answers Who is the national founder of Albania? In fact, the creature enjoys the thrill of taking peoples lives in the weirdest way Ive ever heard of. [2] Baron Franz Nopcsa related the term Ora to the ancient Greek Oreads, nymphs of the mountains. De Rada and Camarda were the two main initiators of the Albanian nationalist cultural movement in Italy. See more ideas about mythology, fantasy, fantasy art. 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. But not until the rain completely washed their blood from the ground and when their bones were ploughed back into the earth. When I was doing my research specifically about dhampirs, I expected to discover some kind of defects that would come from the human parent. [25] Edith Durham reports that the dried head of a snake, cut off with a large silver medjidieh (coin) is a very good charm against the Evil Eye. Its whole body is completely covered, save for a part of its eyes that can be seen glowing brightly. : or/t) is an Albanian mythological figure that every human possesses from birth, associated with human destiny and fate. Id just like to add that I cant justify trans people and homosexuals being on this list, its completely undeserved. In addition to that, no one knows the exact number of Lubias heads, but Albanian creepy urban legends hint that it can be any number between 7 and a hundred. [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. To kill a sampiro, you need to stake it in the heart. Their name derives from Fate. 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. The Ora ( Albanian: or, definite form: ora, pl. Some of these stories actually scared me a little!! Balkan Folklore is really interesting to read but its even better to hear the tale told by an enthusiastic local who has been brought up with these legends. There are no known explanations why, but one could assume that female vampires are either not attracted to mortals or simply do not possess a sexual appetite as vast as the males do. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. If theres anything lugat is known for in Albania, its its preference to live in wells, caves, and anything else that keeps it away from the daylight and shields it with darkness. Edith Durham reports on the frequent supernatural happenings in the city of Gjakova, Kosovo. This list may not reflect recent changes . 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. Its all part of the fun of exploring this amazing, unusual part of the world. So you already know that a shtriga typically targets infants for some weird reason. Now that you know about dhampirs and a few general characteristics of vampires, I do want to shed some light on a few specific types of vampires. [14] Heroes' bravery and self-sacrifice, as well as love of life and hope for a bright future play a central role in Albanian tales. Walking out as a regular bug that cant fly would be too troublesome! In an attempt to escape, they made wooden wings and tried to fly off the roof. [15], Extract from Songs of the Frontier Warriors (Mujos Oras), translated by Robert Elsie -, Oh oras, to whom do you render assistance?. Accordingly, the male word for shtriga can be shtrigan or shtrigu. [50] Church administration, which was controlled by a thick network of Roman bishoprics, collapsed with the arrival of the Slavs. [11] As the Ora provided protection, their appearance as a serpent could also foretell unfortunate events. B Baloz Bardha D Dhampir Div (mythology) Drangue E E Bija e Hns dhe e Diellit F Fatia K Kukudh Kulshedra L Ljubi O Ora (mythology) P Perria S The three Ora then seek the help of Mujo to seek revenge on Paji. This person must be loved either by him or by one of his masons. The defense against Night Hags is to close all keyholes to stop them from entering the room. Other Indo-European scholars who collected Albanian folklore material were German linguists Gustav Weigand and August Leskien. The villagers of the mountain regions pass stories down to their children about how natural features of the land were created. 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). These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. [20], The Albanian National Awakening (Rilindja) gave rise to collections of folklore material in Albania in the second half of the 19th century. And yes, vampire hunters were a thing in Greece and likely in Albania too. On the other hand, some people strongly believe that shtriga can be killed when she is caughtfeeding. Most of the time the creepy urban stories are meant to either scare people into what is perceived by a society as moral behavior, aka scaring into obedience, or simply for entertainment purposes that happen to reflect the fears of a community. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Linguistically in Albanian the word llugat is a synonym for a frightening and wicked character. Fun facts! From 1848 he served as interpreter to French consul in Shkodra, Louis Hyacinthe Hcquard, who was very interested in, and decided to prepare a book on, northern Albanian folklore. (and their definite forms: zna, zna, zra, xana, xna, etc.). [43][29] A number of parallels are found with Ancient Greek and Roman mythologies. Yes, you read that right. 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 heels, the swaying, and the flying fabric are creepy enough, but then it also begins to make kissing sounds. Albanian Mythology Creatures: Vampires and Dhampirs Dhampirs are a widely-spread subject in Balkan folklore, which includes Albania, today's subject. I love these stories! Anyway, some sources claim that when a shtriga dies, all of the life force that she stole will return to those who still remain alive. Thanks for sticking to the end, I hope you enjoyed the Albanian creepy legends and Albanian mythology creatures so far! While sampiro does look amusing to some, it is still a vampire and fighting back right there and then sounds easier than it actually is. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Thank you for sharing. Another mentioned way to cure people of shtrigas touch is by getting her to die. I dont think there has been a building constructed without some sort of tale behind it! The Albanian word shtrig (definite form being shtriga) derives from the Latin strga, "evil spirit, witch",[2] related to Italian: strega, Romanian: strig and Polish: strzyga. Most commonly shtriga is described as a woman with intense and undeniable hate in her eyes. His folklore material was republished in his Albanesische Studien (Albanian Studies). Extract from Songs of the Frontier Warriors (Zuku Bajraktar), translated by Robert Elsie , And make your eyes as you once had them., Syri i Keq is one of the curses of Albania; the Evil Eye. [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. I havent heard of any of these, but they are so cool! [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], The Northern Albanian Ora, along with the Zana, can be found within the folk beliefs and oral epics of the Gheg Albanians. Next, the second sister died, and the youngest, Rosa, bricked up her window too. When assuming the form of a child, the Drekavac predicts someonesdeath, while in its animal form, it predicts cattle disease. I think Ill try found out more about this. Songs of the Frontier Warriors described by Robert Elsie as one of the best-known cycles of Albanian epic verse.[14] The earliest written account of the epic was in Northern Albania in the early twentieth century, by Franciscan priests located in the mountains. Clearly, vrykolakas sounds like a cowardly predator, avoiding a confrontation with its victims and only sneaking into their homes when theyre asleep. But still, even being a shapeshifting vampire, lugat does have behavioral patterns. Thats right, the one that lugat feeds from can become tainted by its own desire to feed off other people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Surrounding him are four long-beaked, female eagles. While its true that theyre not motivated by blood the way vampires are and theyre not really categorized as either good or evil, they *can* develop or even inherit evil intentions as well as the power to do harm. Although labeled as a vampiric witch, shtriga has a lot of resemblance to a boogeyman. Thank you so much for sharing! So what exactly does this concealment mean when referring to Jinns? See more Zana e malit. Afraid of Zukus strength, his mother offers to blind her son. 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. The male noun for shtriga is shtrigu or shtrigan. Surprisingly, they agreed and decided that the first wife to bring lunch for her husband should be the one to be encased into the walls of the monastery. It keeps its eyes closed . A shtriga was featured in the Supernatural episode, "Something Wicked", wherein it attacked children, causing them to become comatose; it then disguised itself as a doctor so it could continue to feed upon them. She also enjoys walking in beauty through the daylight, searching for men to eat for dessert. Its likely that that word seems familiar from the TV show supernatural or a video game Shtriga: Summer Camp, just to name a couple. Lubia is sometimes referred to as a demon and not unlike shtriga, she targets children, especially girls. In these circumstances, she somehow becomes vulnerable and can be killed when shes shot with iron bullets. Albania is full of myths and legends about its beautiful landscape. They also have the tail of a snake, golden wings and incredible physical strength. I gotta admit, that sounds better than letting her spit into someones mouth! [48] After the first access of the ancestors of the Albanians to the Christian religion in antiquity the term Zot which in the pre-Christian pagan period was presumably used in Albanian to refer to the sky father/god/lord, father-god, heavenly father (the Indo-European father daylight-sky-god) has been used for God, the Father and the Son (Christ). [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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. She did not die and re-emerged on a different isle. Or, if you prefer, you can whisper syt i dalin syt i plain or plast syri keq 3 to 6 times. [16], Albanian myths and legends are already attested in works written in Albanian as early as the 15th century,[17] however, the systematic collection of Albanian folklore material began only in the 19th century. The German physician Karl H. Reinhold collected Albanian folklore material from Albanian sailors while he was serving as a doctor in the Greek navy and in 1855 he published Noctes Pelasgicae (Pelasgian Nights). Each Balkan country has a version of dhampirs, some descriptions are shared and some slightly different or more detailed. The general stories claim that lugat is similar to sampiro in his hunting ethics, meaning it is not known for killing its victims, but taking just enough from them to satisfy the urge to feed. albanian mythological creatures TikTok : GOSHI (@nitidaddy), user7153001266706(@ulqinarmarine), BaboBitter(@babobitter), GOSHI (@nitidaddy), Imp(@imperium_populorum . Across all of Kotor and Boka the sisters were famous for their beauty. [31] As discussed by Snorri Sturluson, the Norns were three maidens whose names are Urr, Verandi and Skuld,[32] meaning past, present, and future. [2] Albert Doja refers to the studies of Maximilian Lambertz, revealing that the faces of the Oras change depending on the degree of happiness they bestow upon the newborn child. Our favourite is a tale of two love struck shepherds Vita and Lyulin. I cant wait to visit the Balkans one day and just love learning about this area . We love to travel and share our Balkan experiences to assist and inspire. It may not be the first time you hear the word shtriga. Kee-wakw: Cannibalistic Giant half-human and half-animal (Abenaki Mythology) 46. Also, why would shtriga go to a church? 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. He began to take an interest in 1859 and started recording Albanian folklore material from the year 1866, providing also folk songs, riddles and tales for Demetrio Camarda's collection. Some people are inclined to believe that the kissing sounds are just a symptom of excitement to finally get their fangs on a person and feed. [3] A strong belief in God could make people immune to a witch as She would protect them. One then strolled near him and spoke to him, saying: The oras we are of the great earthly hero. [11], From Albanian literature translated by Robert Elsie -. She might be able to do it in different ways too, but for now, spitting is the only way that is mentioned. The first part is a deep dive into vampires and vampire-like creatures in Albanian folklore, whereas the second part will introduce you to many other terrifying creatures with a large focus on metamorphosis and the battle between good and evil. 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Some people strongly believe that shtriga can be seen today still, even being a shapeshifting vampire, does. Shtriga has a version of dhampirs, some people strongly believe that shtriga can be killed when she is.. Id just like to add that i cant wait to visit the Balkans full. Targets children, especially girls of two love struck shepherds Vita and.. People strongly believe that shtriga can be killed when shes shot with iron bullets,.