The lubia or ljubi is a water and storm demon in Albanian mythology and folklore, usually depicted as a huge multi-headed female serpentine dragon similar to the

kulshedra The kulshedra or kuçedra is a water, storm, fire and chthonic demon in Albanian mythology and folklore, usually described as a huge multi-headed female serpentine dragon. The kulshedra is believed to spit fire, cause drought, storms, floodi ...

. In Southern Albanian beliefs, she is a

storm deity A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge o ...

. She is also referred to as ‘mother lubia’.

Appearance

Lubia is depicted as a female demon. She is believed to live in a wonderful vegetable garden. Lubia, as a powerful demon, can cause the waters to dry up unless a virgin is sacrificed to her. Lubia is described as having multiple heads, anywhere from 7-100. Like the

Lernaean Hydra The Lernaean Hydra or Hydra of Lerna ( grc-gre, Λερναῖα Ὕδρα, ''Lernaîa Hýdra''), more often known simply as the Hydra, is a snake, serpentine water monster in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Le ...

, when one of her heads is cut off, another grows in its place. Lubia is also known to have irresistible taste for flesh, especially that of little girls.

Connection to Greek/Illyrian Mythology

Lubia and other dragon creatures from Albanian mythology have similarities to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Illyrian culture, which is thought to have played an influence on the religion. Dragons and serpent-like beings are considered to be a staple of both Greek and Albanian cultures, as noted through the epics of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

and the Albanian epic

Songs of the Frontier Warriors A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

. Also from Greek Culture, the Lernaean Hydra has a very similar appearance to Lubia. This is due to each's

polycephaly Polycephaly is the condition of having more than one head. The term is derived from the Greek stems ''poly'' (Greek: "πολύ") meaning "many" and ''kephalē'' (Greek: "κεφαλή") meaning "head". A polycephalic organism may be thought o ...

. Multiple mythologies possess beings that have multiple heads, although Greek mythology is notable for its abundance.

Similarities between Ljubi and Kulshedra

The Kulshedra and Ljubi are very similar in both appearance and function in Albanian mythology. The Kulshedra is described as "a water, storm, fire and chthonic demon...usually depicted as a huge multi-headed female serpentine dragon". The Kulshedra is also only placated when humans are sacrificed to the being. This matches the description given to Ljubi, and may be another name for it, albeit one with more power and notoriety within Albanian culture.

Sources

Citations

Bibliography