Nëna e Vatrës or Nana e Votrës ("The Mother of the Hearth") is an Albanian mythological figure, the protector of the

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...

(), associated with the household

fire worship Worship or deification of fire (also pyrodulia, pyrolatry or pyrolatria), or fire rituals, religious rituals centred on a fire, are known from various religions. Fire has been an important part of homo, human culture since the Lower Paleolithic. ...

, the cult of the ancestor and

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

life. She is sometimes regarded as a goddess (''hyjni e zjarrit të vatrës'' "deity of the hearth fire") in Albanian traditions.

Names and etymology

Nëna e Vatrës is a mythological figure of the hearth fire commonly found in the folk beliefs of the

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

, thus there are many

dialectal A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

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 A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

"; while the last element ''vatër/votër'', means "

", "

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

", and is related to the

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

atar Atar, Ahtra, Atash, Azar () or ''Dāštāɣni'',, s.v. ''agni-.'' is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is conside ...

'', "fire".

Folk beliefs

In Albanian folk beliefs, Nëna e Vatrës is the protector of the vatër, the domestic

. It is said that the fireplace should be cleaned in the evening. If it is left uncleaned, Nëna e Vatrës becomes angry. The family members should behave respectfully towards her. At feasts, people used to practice sacrificial offerings to the deity throwing some of the food they prepared into the fire and around the hearth. Nëna e Vatrës bears similarities to

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

Hestia In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; ) is the virgin goddess of the hearth and the home. In myth, she is the firstborn child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and one of the Twelve Olympians. In Greek mythology, newborn Hestia, alo ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Vesta. To the Greek and Roman goddesses well-defined public places of worship were dedicated, while in the Albanian tradition the place of worship of Nëna e Vatrës is the hearth of every house.

Sources

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{refend Albanian paganism Albanian mythology Paleo-Balkan mythology Domestic and hearth deities Fire goddesses

Names and etymology

Folk beliefs

See also

Sources

Citations

Bibliography