Nëna e Diellit

Nëna e Diellit ("the Mother of the Sun" or "the Sun's Mother") is a mother goddess in Albanian folk beliefs. A sacred ritual called "the funeral of the Sun's Mother" was very widespread in southeastern Albania until the 20th century.[1] She has been described by scholars as a heaven goddess[2] and a goddess of agriculture, livestock, and earth fertility, as suggested by the sacred ritual dedicated to her.[3] Nëna e Diellit also features as a deity in Albanian folk tales.[4][5]

Ritual

A sacred ritual called "funeral of the Sun's Mother" consisted in burying a female figure that probably personified a seasonal phase of the mother goddess. Occurring at the end of May, it was the last festival of the spring cycle, coinciding with the feast of Pentecost (Rusica).[6] It was very widespread in southeastern Albania until the 20th century.[7] During the custom the girls and young women gathered flowers, danced and sang, celebrating together with meals. After lunch or at the end of the day, they made a clay doll that they called Sun's Mother (Nëna e Diellit), put it on a tile and went outside the village to bury the female figure.[8] It was performed in silence and with all the appropriate seriousness of the death ceremony.[9] The girls and young women mourned the mother goddess, pronouncing the typical verses Nënë moj nënë, kuku / erdhi dielli e s'të gjeti "Mother oh Mother, Alas, / the Sun came and didn't find you".[10]

Folk tales

Nëna e Diellit features as a deity in several Albanian folk tales. One of them has been collected by Albanologist Maximilian Lambertz and published under the title "Bei der Sonnenmutter" ["At the Sun's Mother"] in the collection Die geflügelte Schwester und die Dunklen der Erde: Albanische Volksmärchen [The Winged Sister and the Dark Ones of the Earth: Albanian Folk Tales].[11] Another has been collected by Albanologist Robert Elsie and published under the title "The Snake and the King's Daughter" in the collection Albanian Folktales and Legends.[12]

See also

References

Citations
  1. Golan 1991, p. 55; Daum 1998, p. 236; Golan 2003, pp. 93–94; Tirta 2004, pp. 259–260; Neziri 2015, p. 124.
  2. Golan 1991, p. 55; Golan 2003, pp. 93–94
  3. Tirta 2004, pp. 259–260
  4. Lambertz 1952, p. 138
  5. Elsie 2001, p. 98
  6. Golan 1991, p. 55; Daum 1998, p. 236; Golan 2003, pp. 93–94; Tirta 2004, pp. 259–260; Neziri 2015, p. 124.
  7. Daum 1998, p. 236; Tirta 2004, pp. 259–260; Neziri 2015, p. 124.
  8. Daum 1998, p. 236; Tirta 2004, pp. 259–260; Neziri 2015, p. 124.
  9. Tirta 2004, pp. 259–260
  10. Neziri 2015, p. 124
  11. Lambertz 1952, p. 138
  12. Elsie 2001, p. 98

Bibliography
  • Daum, Werner (1998). Albanien zwischen Kreuz und Halbmond. Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde. ISBN 9783701624614.
  • Elsie, Robert (2001). Albanian Folktales and Legends. Dukagjini Publishing House.
  • Golan, Ariel (1991). Myth and Symbol: Symbolism in Prehistoric Religions. ISBN 9789652222459.
  • Golan, Ariel (2003). Prehistoric Religion: Mythology, Symbolism. ISBN 9789659055500.
  • Lambertz, Maximilian (1952). Die geflügelte Schwester und die Dunklen der Erde: Albanische Volksmärchen. Das Gesicht der Völker (in German). Vol. 9. Im Erich.
  • Neziri, Zeqirja (2015). Lirika gojore shqiptare (in Albanian). Skopje: Interlingua. ISBN 978-9989-173-52-3.
  • Tirta, Mark (2004). Petrit Bezhani (ed.). Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë (in Albanian). Tirana: Mësonjëtorja. ISBN 99927-938-9-9.
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