Shurdh

Shurdh (definite form: 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.[1]

Shurdhi is thought to have been an ancient Illyrian god.[2][3] In some regions of the Albanian Alps the weather and storm god was referred to as Rmoria or I Verbti; the latter is an Albanian adjectival noun meaning "the blind one" that was used in northern Albania also to refer to the fire and wind god.[4] Shurdhi could be related to the sky and lightning god Zojz, and to the presumable sky and weather god Perëndi. Some of Shurdhi's attributes can be found in the mythological figure of drangue.[3]

Name

The name Shurdhi appears to be connected with the Albanian term i shurdhët meaning "the deaf one",[5] however, this link seems to be only a coincidence, since the name Shurdh is more likely a compound of *seuro, "water" (cf. Albanian shurrë "urine"), and *dos "giver/donor" (cf. Albanian dhashë/dha, "I gave/he gave"); his name thus means "water donor".[3] A relation between the name Shurdh and the second part of the theonym Zibelsurdus found in ancient Thracian epigraphic monuments has been suggested.[3][5][6]

The coincidence of the name of the weather and storm god Shurdh with the term shurdh-i "the deaf one" probably gave rise to the adjectival noun I Verbti "the blind one" or Shën Verbti "the holy blind one",[7] which was used to refer to the weather and storm god in the Albanian Alps along with Rrmoria,[8] and to refer to the fire and wind god in the Zadrima region.[9]

The theonym Shurdh could be related to the name of the island of Shurdhah near Shkodër, and it is found in the oronym Maja Shurdh ("Shurdh Peak") in Kelmendi, and the toponym mi Shurdh, a region in Mirdita.[3][10]

Folk beliefs

According to folk beliefs, Shurdhi travels using storm clouds which announce hailstorms when he arrives. He can be greeted and turned away with noise and gunshots. The Albanologist Baron Nopcsa identified Shurdhi with the ancient Thracian thunder deity Zibelsurdus, who was also greeted with weapons.[5][6] According to Karl Treimer, a presumable basic form perejont-, "the striker", of the Albanian divine name Perëndi may be an epithet of the thunderstorm god Shurdh, who may have been a favorite god since he would have refreshed pastures and fields and was probably also of a warlike nature after this presumable epithet given to him.[3]

See also

Sources

Citations
  1. Jordan 2004, p. 284; Berishaj 2004, p. 49; Treimer 1971, pp. 31–33; Elsie 2001, pp. 238–259; Lambertz 1922, p. 49; Lambertz 1973, p. 503; Çabej 1966, p. 372.
  2. Jordan 2004, p. 284.
  3. Treimer 1971, pp. 31–33.
  4. Elsie 2001, pp. 238–259; Çabej 1966, p. 372
  5. Elsie 2001, p. 238.
  6. Lurker 2004, p. 172.
  7. Treimer 1971, p. 31.
  8. Elsie 2001, p. 259; Tirta 2004, p. 130.
  9. Elsie 2001, p. 259.
  10. Lambertz 1973, p. 503.

Bibliography
  • Berishaj, Martin (2004). Skrita moč bese: Ženske v imaginariju albanskega tradicionalizma. Dodatek: Skenderbegov kanon (in Slovenian). Založba ZRC. ISBN 9789616500746.
  • Çabej, Eqrem (1966). "Albanische Volkskunde". Südost-Forschungen (25): 333–387.
  • Elsie, Robert (January 2001). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk Culture. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85065-570-1.
  • Jordan, Michael (August 2004). Dictionary of gods and goddesses. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8160-5923-2.
  • Lambertz, Maximilian (1922). Albanische Märchen (und andere Texte zur albanischen Volkskunde). Wien: A. Hölder.
  • Lambertz, Maximilian (1973). "Die Mythologie der Albaner". In Hans Wilhelm Haussig (ed.). Wörterbuch der Mythologie (in German). Vol. 2. pp. 455–509.
  • Lurker, Manfred (2004). The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-34018-2.
  • Tirta, Mark (2004). Petrit Bezhani (ed.). Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë (in Albanian). Tirana: Mësonjëtorja. ISBN 99927-938-9-9.
  • Treimer, Karl (1971). "Zur Rückerschliessung der illyrischen Götterwelt und ihre Bedeutung für die südslawische Philologie". In Henrik Barić (ed.). Arhiv za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju. Vol. I. R. Trofenik. pp. 27–33.
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