E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit
E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit ("the Daughter of the Moon and the Sun") is a character in Albanian mythology and folklore, the dauther of Hëna ("the Moon") and Dielli ("the Sun").[1] She is the as pika e qiellit ("drop of the sky" or "lightning") which falls everywhere from heaven on the mountains and the valleys and strikes pride and evil. In the legends she helps a hero winning a fight against a kulshedra.[2] Her victory over the kulshedra symbolizes the supremacy of the deity of the sky over that of the underworld in the dualistic struggle between light and darkness.[3]
Mythology
[edit]In Albanian folk beliefs the sun (Dielli) and the moon (Hëna) are personified deities. In folk tales, myths and legends the sun appears as a male figure, and the moon as a female figure. In some traditions the sun and the moon are regarded as husband and wife, and in other traditions as brother and sister. In the case of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit the sun is her father and the moon is her mother.[4][5]
E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit is described as pika e qiellit ("drop of the sky" or "lightning") which falls everywhere from heaven on the mountains and the valleys and strikes pride and evil. In the legends she helps a hero in his fight against a kulshedra, an earthly/chthonic deity or demon originating from darkness.[6] In Albanian mythology the kulshedra is usually fought and defeated by the drangue, also seen as a sky and lightning deity or divine hero. The supremacy of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit and of other similar celestial Albanian characters – such as Zjermi who is born with the Sun on his forehead – over the kulshedra, reflects the supremacy of the deity of the sky over that of the underworld in the dualistic struggle between light and darkness.[7]
In literature
[edit]The legend of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit has also been narrated by the Albanian writer Mitrush Kuteli in the collection Tregime të moçme shqiptare ("Old Albanian tales"), published in 1965.[8]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Shuteriqi 1959, p. 66; Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128; West 2007, p. 233; Dushi 2020, p. 21.
- ^ West 2007, p. 233; Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128; Shuteriqi 1959, p. 66; Lambertz 1922, p. 77.
- ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128
- ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128
- ^ Dushi 2020, p. 21
- ^ West 2007, p. 233; Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128; Shuteriqi 1959, p. 66; Lambertz 1922, p. 77.
- ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 127–128.
- ^ Kuteli 1965: "E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit"
Bibliography
[edit]- Dushi, Arbnora (2020). "The Sister-Brother Recognition Motif in the Albanian Folk Ballad: Meaning and Contexts within the National Culture". Tautosakos Darbai. 59: 17–29. doi:10.51554/TD.2020.28363. S2CID 253540847.
- Kuteli, Mitrush (1965). Tregime të Moçme Shqiptare. Tirana: Naim Frashëri.
- Lambertz, Maximilian (1922). Albanische Märchen (und andere Texte zur albanischen Volkskunde). Wien: A. Hölder.
- Shuteriqi, Dhimitër S. (1959). Historia e letërsisë shqipe. Vol. 1. Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës, Instituti i Historisë dhe Gjuhësisë.
- Tirta, Mark (2004). Petrit Bezhani (ed.). Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë (in Albanian). Tirana: Mësonjëtorja. ISBN 99927-938-9-9.
- West, Morris L. (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199280759.