Verbt ( sq-definite, Verbti) is a fire, water and wind god in Albanian pagan mythology. He controls fire, water as the opposite element to fire, and the northern wind which fans the flames of fire. Also known as ''Shën Verbti'' or ''Rmoria'', he was worshiped in northern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

until recent times. The purifying power of

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

underlies the popular idea according to which this deity is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth. A reconstructed name of an Albanian fire god is '' *Enji'', from which the Albanian word ''enjte'' "thursday" is considered to be derived. In

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 ...

, Verbti is the counterpart of the weather and storm god

Shurdh Shurdh ( sq-definite, Shurdhi) is a weather and storm god in Albanian pagan mythology, who causes hailstorms and throws thunder and lightning. Shurdh was worshiped in northern Albania until recent times. He is thought to have been an ancient Illy ...

Etymology

The name ''Verbti'' appears to be connected with the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

term ''i verbër'' meaning "the blind one", however this link seems to be only a coincidence, since according to folk beliefs he can actually see very well. The name ''Verbt'' must be related to '' vorbull'' and the variant ''vorbëtinë'', "whirlpool, -wind, vortex, swirl", probably derived from

Proto-Albanian The Proto-Albanian language is the unattested language from which Albanian later developed. Albanian evolved from an ancient Paleo-Balkan language, traditionally thought to be Illyrian, or otherwise a totally unattested Balkan Indo-European ...

''*uērb-'', from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

''*uer-b-'', "to revolve, twist, turn (down)".

Description

According to folk beliefs, Verbti is the god who controls fire, water as the opposite element to fire, and the northern wind which fans the flames of fire. He is depicted as a deity who hates uncleanliness and bad ways of speaking and he will punish anyone who speaks badly of him. The purifying power of

underlies the popular idea according to which this deity is the enemy of uncleanliness and the opponent of filth. With the coming of

Christianity in Albania Christianity in Albania was established throughout the country in 325 AD. From 1100 AD, the Byzantine Empire carried out Church missions in the area. In relation to the increasing influence of Venice, the Franciscans started to settle down in the ...

, Verbti was

demonized Demonization or demonisation is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil, lying demons by other religions, generally by the monotheistic and henotheistic ones. The term has since been expanded to refer to any characterization of indivi ...

and it was spread about that anyone who invoked him would go blind. To explain the popularity of the worship of Verbti among the people instead of the belief in the only and true

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

, a tale has been narrated according to which two lads met together, then one said: "Let me pray to Verbi! Afterwards we will go to fight on!" The other, however, replied to him: "Verbti, there's no such thing! But the God in heaven, who is only one, he is the true God!" So one prayed to Verbti and the other to the true God. Then they fought against each other. But God arranged it so that the one who prayed to the true God was killed, while the other who prayed to Verbi survived. Hence all the people placed their hopes in Verbti.

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* * * * * * *{{cite book, last=Treimer, first=Karl, editor1=Henrik Barić , title=Arhiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju, volume=I, chapter=Zur Rückerschliessung der illyrischen Götterwelt und ihre Bedeutung für die südslawische Philologie, pages=27–33, publisher=R. Trofenik, year=1971, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dTIBAAAAMAAJ Albanian mythology Fire gods Water gods Wind gods

Etymology

Description

See also

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