Albanian paganism

The symbol of the Sun (Dielli) often combined with the crescent Moon (Hëna) is commonly found in a variety of contexts of Albanian folk art, including traditional tattooing, grave art, jewellery and house carvings.^[1] The worship of the Sun and the Moon is the earliest attested cult of the Albanians.^[2]

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Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan.^[5] Ancient paganism persisted among Albanians, and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior^[6] – where Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society^[7] – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, Muslim and Marxist beliefs that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force.^[8] The Albanian traditional customary law (Kanun) has held a sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the Albanian tribes.^[9] Indeed the Kanun contains several customary concepts that clearly have their origins in pagan beliefs, including in particular the ancestor worship, animism and totemism, which have been preserved since pre-Christian times.^[10][11][12] Albanian traditions have been orally transmitted – through memory systems that have survived intact into modern times – down the generations and are still very much alive in the mountainous regions of Albania, Kosovo and western North Macedonia, as well as among the Arbëreshë in Italy and the Arvanites in Greece, and the Arbanasi in Croatia.^[13]

The old beliefs in sun and moon, light and darkness, sky and earth, water and springs, fire and hearth, death and rebirth, birds and serpents, mountains, stones and caves, sacrifice, and fate are some of the pagan beliefs among Albanians.^[14] The earliest attested Albanian cult is the worship of the Sun (Dielli) and the Moon (Hëna).^[2] The Sun exercises a great influence on Albanian major traditional festivities and calendar rites;^[15] the Moon's cyclical phases regulate many aspects of Albanian life, defining agricultural and livestock activities, various crafts, and human body.^[16] The morning and evening star Venus is personified with Prende, associated with dawn, beauty, love, fertility, health, and the protection of women.^[17] The cult of the Earth (Dheu) and that of the Sky (Qielli) have a special place. The fire (zjarri, evidently deified as Enji) plays a prominent role, being considered a living, sacred or divine element used for rituals, sacrificial offerings and purification.^[18] To spit on it is taboo.^[5] Fire worship and rituals are associated with the cult of the Sun, the cult of the Hearth (Vatër), and the cult of fertility in agriculture and animal husbandry.^[19] Calendar fires (zjarret e vitit) are associated with the cosmic cycle and the rhythms of agricultural and pastoral life.^[20] The Fire of the Hearth (Zjarri i Vatrës) is regarded as the offspring of the Sun and the sustainer of the continuity between the world of the living and that of the dead, ensuring the continuity of the tribe (fis or farë) through generations.^[21] Besa is a common practice in Albanian culture, consisting of an oath (be) solemnly taken by sun, by moon, by sky, by earth, by fire, by stone and thunderstone, by mountain, by water, and by snake, which are all considered sacred objects.^[22] Associated with human life, bees are highly revered by Albanians.^[23] The eagle is the animal totem of all Albanians, associated with the Sky, freedom and heroism.^[24][23] A widespread folk symbol is the serpent (Gjarpër, Vitore, etc.), a totem of the Albanians associated with earth, water, sun, hearth and ancestor cults, as well as destiny, good fortune and fertility.^[25] The sun, the moon, the star, the eagle, the serpent, and the bee, often appear in Albanian legends and folk art.^[26]

In Albanian mythology, the physical phenomena, elements and objects are attributed to supernatural beings. The mythological and legendary figures are deities, demigods, humans, and monsters, as well as supernatural beings in the shapes of men, animals and plants.^[27] The deities are generally not persons, but animistic personifications of nature.^[28] Albanian beliefs, myths and legends are organized around the dualistic struggle between good and evil, light and darkness,^[29] the most famous representation of which is the constant battle between drangue and kulshedra,^[30] a conflict that symbolises the cyclic return in the watery and chthonian world of death, accomplishing the cosmic renewal of rebirth. The weavers of destiny, ora or fatí, control the order of the universe and enforce its laws.^[31] The zana are associated with wilderness and the vital energy of human beings.^[32] 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.^[33] Resulted from the Albanian tribal culture and folklore and permeated by Albanian pagan beliefs and ancient mythology, the Kângë Kreshnikësh ("Songs of Heroes") constitute the most important legendary cycle of the Albanian epic poetry, based on the hero cult.^[34] Hero's bravery and self-sacrifice, as well as love of life and hope for a bright future play a central role in Albanian tales.^[27]