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Vitore
The Vitore ( sq-definite, Vitorja, also ''Gjarpni i Vatrës'', ''Gjarpni i Shtëpisë'', ''Bolla e Shtëpisë'' or '' Ora e Shtëpisë'') is a household divine serpent (''gjarpër'' or ''bollë'') in Albanian mythology and folklore, associated with human destiny, good fortune and the souls of the ancestors. Vitorja is usually depicted as a small, colourful and benign golden horned serpent. However, in some traditions Vitorja is described also as an old woman, a mythological figure similar to Nëna e Vatrës. Vitorja is also identified with Fatia in southern folklore and Ora in central and northern folklore. Etymology The name ''Vitore'' has been analyzed as descendant from the Albanian > > /, " loom", thus meaning "a spinster, a woman who spins", related to the weaving of fate. The Albanian terms ''gjarpën/gjarpër'' ( def.: ''gjarp(ë)ni''/''gjarp(ë)ri'') and ''bollë'' (def.: ''bolla'') mean 'serpent, snake', ''vatër'' (def.: ''vatra'') means 'hearth' and ''shtëpi/shp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ora (mythology)
The Ora ( Albanian: orë, definite form: ora, pl.: orë/t) is an Albanian mythological figure that every human possesses from birth, associated with human destiny and fate. Often depicted as three female deities, the Ora “maintain the order of the universe and enforce its laws” – “organising the appearance of humankind.” The Northern Albanian Ora, along with the Zana, can be found within the folk beliefs and oral epics of the Gheg Albanians. Folk beliefs of the Southern Tosk Albanians reveal similar Albanian mythological figures of fate and destiny, the Mirai and Fatia. Geographic location of the Ora The Ora reside towards the north of the Drin River in Northern Albania. Within Central Albania it was believed that the Ora were present everywhere, “listening to people’s blessings and curses, which they would then aim to quickly fulfil”. Outside of Central Albania Oras live in forests and mountains, residing in streams, lakes, and caves. Baron Franz Nopcsa r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albanian Mythology
Albanian folk beliefs ( sq, Besimet folklorike shqiptare) comprise the beliefs expressed in the customs, rituals, myths, legends and tales of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society. 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, ex-Albanian lands of Montenegro, and southern Serbia, and among the Arbëreshë in Italy and the Arvanites in Greece. In Albanian mythology, the physical phenomena, elements and objects are attributed to supernatural beings. The deities are generally not persons, but personifications of nature, which is known as Animism. The earliest attested cult of the Albanians is the worship of the Sun and the Moon. In Albanian folk beliefs, earth is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatër
The vatër ( sq-definite, vatra) is the domestic hearth in Albanian folklore. The fire of the domestic hearth, zjarri i vatrës, is considered the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead, and ensures the continuity of the tribe (''fis'') from generation to generation. Etymology The Albanian term ''vatër'', "hearth", "fireplace", is derived from Proto-Indo-European ', and is related to the Avestan , "fire". Tradition The function of the fire of the domestic hearth (''zjarri i vatrës'') is the sustenance of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead. After death, the souls of the ancestors (''hije'') assume a divine connotation and remain in contact with the family protecting the domestic hearth. In Albanian tradition, the fire of the domestic hearth is protected also by Nëna e Vatrës (the Mother of the Hearth), a beneficent deity akin to Greek Hestia and Roman Vesta. At feasts, people used to practice sacrific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illyrian Religion
Illyrian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the Illyrian peoples, a group of tribes who spoke the Illyrian languages and inhabited part of the western Balkan Peninsula from at least the 8th century BC until the 7th century AD. The available written sources are very tenuous. They consist largely of personal and place names, and a few glosses from Classical sources. Still insufficiently studied, the most numerous traces of religious practices of the pre-Roman era are those relating to religious symbolism. Symbols are depicted in every variety of ornament and reveal that the chief object of the prehistoric cult of the Illyrians was the sun, worshipped in a widespread and complex religious system. Illyrian deities were mentioned in inscriptions on statues, monuments, and coins of the Roman period, and some interpreted by Ancient writers through comparative religion. To these can be added a larger body of inscriptions from the south-eastern Italian region of Apu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatër
The vatër ( sq-definite, vatra) is the domestic hearth in Albanian folklore. The fire of the domestic hearth, zjarri i vatrës, is considered the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead, and ensures the continuity of the tribe (''fis'') from generation to generation. Etymology The Albanian term ''vatër'', "hearth", "fireplace", is derived from Proto-Indo-European ', and is related to the Avestan , "fire". Tradition The function of the fire of the domestic hearth (''zjarri i vatrës'') is the sustenance of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead. After death, the souls of the ancestors (''hije'') assume a divine connotation and remain in contact with the family protecting the domestic hearth. In Albanian tradition, the fire of the domestic hearth is protected also by Nëna e Vatrës (the Mother of the Hearth), a beneficent deity akin to Greek Hestia and Roman Vesta. At feasts, people used to practice sacrific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nëna E Vatrës
Nëna e Vatrës or Nana e Votrës ("The Mother of the Hearth") is the goddess of the fire hearth (''hyjnia e zjarrit të vatrës'') in Albanian mythology and folklore, associated with fire worship, the cult of the ancestor and the cult of the woman-centered family life. Names and etymology Nëna e Vatrës is the deity of the hearth fire ( Albanian: ''hyjni e zjarrit të vatrës'') commonly found in the folk beliefs of the Albanians, thus there are many dialectal variations, singular or plural: ''Nëna e Vatrës/Nana e Votrës'', ''E Ëma e Vatrës/E Ama e Votrës'', ''Mëma e Vatrës/Mama e Vatrës'', ''Shtriga e Vatrës/Votrës'', ''Plaka e Vatrës/Votrës'', ''Mëmat e Vatrës/Mamat e Votrës'', ''Xhuxhet e Vatrës'' etc. The first element ''nënë/nanë'' or ''ëmë/amë'', means "mother"; while the last element ''vatër/votër'', means " hearth", "fireplace", and is related to the Avestan ''atar'', "fire". Folk beliefs In Albanian folk beliefs, Nëna e Vatrës is the pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Textiles In Mythology And Folklore
Mention of textiles in folklore is ancient, and its lost mythic lore probably accompanied the early spread of this art. Textiles have also been associated in several cultures with spiders in mythology. Weaving begins with spinning. Until the spinning wheel was invented in the 14th century, all spinning was done with distaff and spindle. In English the "distaff side" indicates relatives through one's mother, and thereby denotes a woman's role in the household economy. In Scandinavia, the stars of Orion's belt are known as ''Friggjar rockr'', "Frigg’s distaff". The spindle, essential to the weaving art, is recognizable as an emblem of security and settled times in a ruler's eighth-century BCE inscription at Karatepe: "In those places which were formerly feared, where a man fears... to go on the road, in my days even women walked with spindles" In the adjacent region of North Syria, historian Robin Lane Fox remarks funerary stelae showing men holding cups as if feasting and wome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as in Croatia, Greece, Italy and Turkey. They also constitute a large diaspora with several communities established across Europe, the Americas and Oceania. Albanians have Paleo-Balkanic origins. Exclusively attributing these origins to the Illyrians, Thracians or other Paleo-Balkan people is still a matter of debate among historians and ethnologists. The first certain reference to Albanians as an ethnic group comes from 11th century chronicler Michael Attaleiates who describes them as living in the theme of Dyrrhachium. The Shkumbin River roughly demarcates the Albanian language between Gheg and Tosk dialects. Christianity in Albania was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome until the 8th century AD. Then, dioceses ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the word'' totem itself is an anglicisation of the Ojibwe term (and both the word and beliefs associated with it are part of the Ojibwe language and culture), belief in tutelary spirits and deities is not limited to the Ojibwe people. Similar concepts, under differing names and with variations in beliefs and practices, may be found in a number of cultures worldwide. The term has also been adopted, and at times redefined, by anthropologists and philosophers of different cultures. Contemporary neoshamanic, New Age, and mythopoetic men's movements not otherwise involved in the practice of a traditional, tribal religion have been known to use "totem" terminology for the personal identification with a tutelary spirit or spirit guide. However, this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Definiteness
In linguistics, definiteness is a semantic feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between referents or senses that are identifiable in a given context (definite noun phrases) and those which are not (indefinite noun phrases). The prototypical definite noun phrase picks out a unique, familiar, specific referent such as ''the sun'' or ''Australia'', as opposed to indefinite examples like ''an idea'' or ''some fish''. There is considerable variation in the expression of definiteness across languages, and some languages such as Japanese do not generally mark it so that the same expression could be definite in some contexts and indefinite in others. In other languages, such as English, it is usually marked by the selection of determiner (e.g., ''the'' vs ''a''). In still other languages, such as Danish, definiteness is marked morphologically. Definiteness as a grammatical category There are times when a grammatically marked definite NP is not in fact identifiable. For example, ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fate
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' have distinct connotations. *Traditional usage defines fate as a power or agency that predetermines and orders the course of events. Fate defines events as ordered or "inevitable" and unavoidable. This is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe, and in some conceptions, the cosmos. Classical and European mythology feature personified "fate spinners," known as the Moirai in Greek mythology, the Parcae in Roman mythology, and the Norns in Norse mythology. They determine the events of the world through the mystic spinning of threads that represent individual human fates. Fate is often conceived as being divinely inspired. *Fate is about the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatia
The fatia ( Albanian ''fatí'', definite form: ''fatía'', pl.: ''fatí/të''; English: ''fate'') is an Albanian mythological figure associated with human destiny. Often depicted as three female deities, the essential function of the fatí is to maintain the order of the universe and to enforce its laws. Along with the mira, they can be found in the folk beliefs of Tosk Albanians. Albanian mythological figures related to fate and destiny can also be found in the folk beliefs of Gheg Albanians with the name of ora and zana. Appearance The fatí are visualized as riding on butterflies. On the third day after a child has been born, three Fatits approach the baby's cradle and determine that child's fate. They are also known as ''Miren'', possibly from the Greek ''Moirai''. See also * Ora * Bardha * Zana e malit Zana (''Zanë'' in Gheg or ''Zërë'' in Tosk, pl. ''zanë(t)/zërë(t)'', see other variants below) is an Albanian mythological figure usually associated with mountain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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