Zojz (deity)

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The cult practiced by the Albanians on Mount Tomorr in central Albania is considered as a continuation of the ancient Indo-European sky-god worship.

Zojz

Albanian pagan mythology.[2] Regarded as the chief god and the highest of all gods, traces of his worship survived in northern Albania until the early 20th century, and in some forms still continue today.[3]

In ancient times Zojz is considered to have been presumably worshiped by

Mount Tomorr in central Albania is considered as a continuation of the ancient Indo-European sky-god worship.[6]

An epithet considered to be associated with the sky-god is "father", thought to be contained in the Albanian noun Zot ("

father god in central Albanian folk beliefs), to Shurdh (weather and storm god in northern Albanian folk beliefs), and to the mythological demigod Drangue (Albanian culture hero
).

An Albanian mythical tale concerning the highest of the gods, who uses thunderbolts to defeat the sea-storm god Talas, has been documented in the early 20th century from the Shala region in northern Albania.[9]

Name

Etymology

Daylight sky

Zojz is the

Jovis
.

Epithets

Sky Father

The zero grade radical of

Ancient Greek Ζεῦ πάτερ (Zeû páter).[13]

Beauty of the Sky

In Albanian the god/lord of the sky/heaven is also referred to as i Bukuri i Qiellit 'the Beauty of the Sky', who, according to a modern interpretation of the ancient Albanian pantheon, might be seen as the counterpart of e Bukura e Dheut 'the Beauty of the Earth' and e Bukura e Detit 'the Beauty of the Sea', who also appear in Albanian folklore.[14]

Reflections

"Divine, Goddess"

Albanian

Arbëreshë variant of the Albanian theonym Zana.[19] Ancient Greek Dióne, parallel to Latin Diāna, could be regarded as a feminine counterpart of the Sky-God.[20] An Albanian assonant noun is ζόνε Zonë, which appears in Albanian oaths like περ τένε ζόνε, për tënë Zonë, "By our God/Lord",[20] and in Old Albanian texts for Pater Noster "God the Father" (Tënëzonë, tënë-Zonë).[21] It is equivalent to the Albanian accusative Zótënë/Zótnë, obtained through the assimilation of -tënë/-tnë into -në.[22] At the sanctuary of Dodona the Greek Sky-God Zeus is paired with Dione, and the geographical coincidence of the Albanian case is remarkable.[20]

"Heat of the day-time sky"

The Albanian term zúshë/zúsha "day-time heat" derives from PIE *dieu + Eús(i)-ēA₂ "heat of the day-time sky", with the stress falling on the second member.[23]

"Daylight"

The Albanian verb din < PAlb *dī̆i̯a/i- "break of the daylight, to be bright, to shine", contains the PIE root dei̯h₂- "to be bright, to shine".[24]

This root is thought to be found also in the second element (dí/día/dei) of the name Perëndi, one of the nouns used in Albanian to refer to the Supreme Being. Uncapitalized it is also used for "deity", or in some dialects for the "sky, heaven" with both direct and figurative meaning.[25][26]

History of the cult

The confrontation between the belief systems of Pre-Indo-European populations—who favored 'Mother Earth Cults' comprising earthly beliefs, female deities and priesthood—and of Indo-European populations who favored 'Father Heaven Cults' comprising celestial beliefs, male deities and priesthood, might be reflected in the dichotomy of matriarchy and patriarchy that emerges from the two types of female warriors/active characters in Albanian epic poetry, in particular in the Kângë Kreshnikësh.[note 1][27] Also in Albanian folk tales the victory of E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit ("the Daughter of the Moon and the Sun", who is described as the lightning of the sky[28]) over the kulshedra (often described as an earthly/chthonic deity or demon) might symbolize the reflection of the supremacy of the deity of the sky over that of the underworld.[29] On the other hand, the Albanian belief system has preserved also the importance of the cult of the earth (Alb.: Dheu).[30][31]

In ancient times the sky and lighning god Zojz is considered to have been presumably worshiped by

father daylight-sky-god).[21]

After the first access of the ancestors of the Albanians to the Christian religion in antiquity the term Zot has been used for

Christ).[21][33] The cult of the sky is preserved in Albanian oath swearings, which are often taken by sky (e.g. për atë qiell, pasha qiellin!),[34] as well as expressly 'by Zojz', Alb.: "Pasha Zojzin!".[35] A typical folk expression says: Beja me rrêna ka rrufenë! "Swearing with lies, there is lightning!".[36] The worship and practices associated to the sky and lighning deity have been preserved until the 20th century, and in some forms still continue today.[37][6][35]

Cult, practices and folk beliefs

Early evidence of the celestial cult in

Lake Shkodra, which belonged to the Illyrian tribal area of what was referred in historical sources to as the Labeatae in later times. Each of those plaques portray simultaneously sacred representations of the sky and the sun, and symbolism of lighning and fire, as well as the sacred tree and birds (eagles). In those plaques there is a mythological representation of the deity, who throws lightning into a fire altar, which is held by two men (sometimes on two boats). This mythological representation is identical to the Albanian folk belief and practice associated to the lightning deity: a traditional practice during thunderstorms was to bring outdoors a fireplace (Albanian: vatër), in order to gain the favor of the deity so the thunders would not be harmful to the human community.[37][note 2] Albanian folk beliefs regard the lightning as the "fire of the sky" (zjarri i qiellit) and consider it as the "weapon of the deity" (arma/pushka e zotit/perëndisë). Indeed an Albanian word to refer to the lightning is rrufeja, related to the Thracian rhomphaia, an ancient polearm.[38] In those plaques, the Illyrian symbolism of the birds (eagles and two-headed eagle), finds correspondences to the myth of the Eagle of Zeus. The sacred significance of the eagle as a celestial symbol has been scrupulously preserved by Albanians, who have always considered it their animal totem.[37]

Role

Region of Zadrima, where traces of Zojz' worship survived until the early 20th century

Considered as the chief god and the highest of all gods, traces of Zojz' worship survived in the Zadrima region in northern Albania until the early 20th century. The local people used to swear "Pasha Zojzin!". According to the elders, Zojzi lives among the clouds with a thunderbolt in his hand. It was believed that he notices the deeds of the people, who are frightened by his power because when he realises that people are sinning, he brings them destruction hurling his thunderbolt on the trees and the tall buildings, and burning and smashing the sinners. Local Albanian mythology has it that Zojz has a son and a daughter. His son is called Plutoni (cf. the Ancient Greek Pluto), the god of fire and the underworld. With the fire in his hand, he holds control of the center of the Earth. Plutoni used to be worshiped as well. Zojz's daughter is the goddess Prende, widely worshiped in northern Albania.[35]

The Albanian noun Zot, used to refer to the

earth goddess. The sister of e Bukura e Dheut is e Bukura e Detit ("The Beauty of the Sea"), a sea-goddess.[40]

The god of the sky/heaven is regarded as the one who makes the sky cloudy or clears it up, and he is referred to as "the Beauty of the Sky" (Albanian: i Bukuri i Qiellit).[42][43] According to a modern interpretation, the ancestors of the Albanians presumably had in common with the Ancient Greek theogony the tripartite division of the administration of the world into heaven, sea, and underworld, and in the same functions as the Greek deities Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, they would have worshiped the deities referred to as the Beauty of the Sky (i Bukuri i Qiellit), the Beauty of the Sea (e Bukura e Detit), and the Beauty of the Earth (e Bukura e Dheut). The phrase "the Beauty of the Sky" continues to be used to refer to the monotheistic God in Albanian, the Beauty of the Sea and the Beauty of the Earth are kept as figures of Albanian folk beliefs and fairy tales.[43][44][45]

Mountain cult and sacrifices

According to

Mount Tomorr,[46][47] the highest and most inaccessible mountain of central Albania, considered the home of the deities. This tradition has been preserved in folk beliefs until recent times.[46][40][48] The enduring sanctity of the mountain, the annual pilgrimage to its summit, and the solemn sacrifice of a white bull by the local people provide abundant evidence that the ancient cult of the sky-god on Mount Tomorr continues through the generations almost untouched by the course of political events and religious changes.[6]

Mount Tomorr certainly seems to have been the site of a pre-Christian cult, being worshiped still today by the locals, both Christians and Muslims, as a mountain with a supernatural force—swearing

Latin: oraculum, suggests the existence of an oracle in the area during antiquity.[50]

Relation with the Sun

The

god of light, who fade away the darkness of the world and melts the frost.[54]
In an Arbëreshë folk song of mythological nature, E Bija e Hënës dhe e Diellit ("the Daughter of the Moon and the Sun") is described as the lightning of the sky (Albanian: pika e qiellit) which falls everywhere from heaven on the mountains and the valleys and strikes pride and evil.[28][55] Described in some traditions with a star on her forehead and a moon on her chest, her victory over the kulshedra might symbolize the supremacy of the deity of the sky over that of the underworld.[56]

Sky and Earth pairing

See also: Dhé

The sky is often paired with the earth in Albanian oath swearings, e.g.: për qiell e dhé, pasha tokën e pasha qiellin, etc.[57]

Mythical tale

An Albanian mythical tale concerning the highest of the gods, who uses thunderbolts to defeat the sea-storm god Talas, has been documented in the early 20th century from the Shala region in northern Albania.[58]

Synopsis

As the wife of the highest god was soaring over the seas to delight in the sight of the order which her husband's wisdom had created, the god

take vengeance on the god who did that disgrace to him. After some time the highest god accomplished his revenge by hitting Talas with one of his cruel thunderbolts that tore him to pieces, after which his corpse would have emitted a stormy wind that no one could approach, so his whole body was buried in the ground. The god Talas did not smell like humans, but rather more pleasant. Hence the interpretation that he was the god of the sea-storm or the god of the storm surge.[61]

In oral epic poetry

The Kângë Kreshnikësh – the traditional songs of the heroic legendary cycle of Albanian epic poetry – always begin with a ritual praise to the supreme being: "Lum për ty o i lumi Zot!" ("Praise be to you, o praised God!"). This introductory religious formula brings the audience into a distant world and a primordial time. Including elements ranging from paganism to monotheism, the primeval religiosity of the Albanian mountains and epic poetry is reflected by a supreme deity who is the god of the universe and who is conceived through the belief in the fantastic and supernatural beings and things, resulting in an extremely structured imaginative creation.[62][63] The components of Nature are animated, so the moon, sun, stars, clouds, earth and mountains participate in the world of humans influencing their events. People also address oaths or long curses to the animated elements of nature.[64][65][66] The supreme god allows the existence of terrestrial female deities with their intervention in earthly events and interaction with humans.[62][67] Indeed, in their life, the heroes can be assisted by zanas and oras, who symbolize the vital energy and existential time of human beings respectively. The zana idealizes feminine energy, wild beauty, eternal youth and the joy of nature. They appear as warlike nymphs capable of offering simple mortals a part of their own psychophysical and divine power, giving humans strength comparable to that of the drangue. The ora represent the "moment of the day" (Albanian: koha e ditës) and the flowing of human destiny. As masters of time and place, they take care of humans (also of the zana and of some particular animals) watching over their life, their house and their hidden treasures before sealing their destiny.[68][69] Hence, the goddesses of fate "maintain the order of the universe and enforce its laws"[70] – "organising the appearance of humankind."[71] However great his power, the supreme god holds an executive role as he only carries out what has been already ordained by the fate goddesses.[70]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ The indefinite Albanian forms of the theonym are Zojz or Zojs, the definite forms are Zojzi or Zojsi.[1]
  1. undergo a masculinization process as a condition to be able to participate actively in the fights according to the principles of the Kanun.[27]
  2. Adriatic
    , where an altar and miniaturistic sacrifical vases have been found, indicating that the deity was revered by sailors in order to assure good weather, salvation in sea and good navigation.
  3. ^ Talas had attacked and desecrated her in a shameful manner, so that in future she could no longer be seen among the others.[59] Note that besa and nderi (honour) are of major importance in Albanian customary law as the cornerstone of personal and social conduct.[60]

Citations

  1. ^ Sedaj 1982, p. 75; Çabej 1966, p. 373; Xhuvani et al. 1943, p. 18; Feizi 1929, p. 82.
  2. ^ Dedvukaj 2023, p. 1; Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 232; Søborg 2020, p. 74; Berishaj 2004, p. 49; Sedaj 1982, p. 75; Çabej 1966, p. 373; Mann 1952, p. 32; Mann 1948, p. 583; Feizi 1929, p. 82; Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 143–144, 146–148.
  3. ^ Brahaj 2007, pp. 16–18; Cook 2010, p. 1171; Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 143–144, 146–148.
  4. ^ a b Sedaj 1982, p. 75.
  5. ^ Søborg 2020, p. 74; Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 232; Dedvukaj 2023, p. 1.
  6. ^ a b c Cook 2010, p. 1171.
  7. ^ Demiraj et al.; Curtis 2017, p. 1746; Kölligan 2017, p. 2254; Demiraj 2011, p. 70; Demiraj 2002, p. 34; Demiraj 1997, pp. 431–432; Mann 1977, p. 72; Treimer 1971, p. 32.
  8. ^ Lambertz 1949, p. 46; Fishta & Lambertz 1958, p. 284; Ushaku 1988, p. 101; Lurker 2005, p. 38.
  9. ^ Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 146–148
  10. ^ Mann 1952, p. 32.
  11. ^ a b c Søborg 2020, p. 74.
  12. ^ a b c Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 232
  13. ^ Demiraj et al.; Curtis 2017, p. 1746; Kölligan 2017, p. 2254; Demiraj 2011, p. 70; Demiraj 2002, p. 34; Demiraj 1997, pp. 431–432; Mann 1977, p. 72; Treimer 1971, p. 32.
  14. ^ Lambertz 1949, p. 46; Fishta & Lambertz 1958, p. 284; Ushaku 1988, p. 101; Lurker 2005, p. 38.
  15. ^ Demiraj et al.
  16. ^ Chelariu 2023, p. 359.
  17. ^ Mann 1977, pp. 71–72.
  18. ^ Mann 1948, pp. 583–584.
  19. ^ Schirò 1923, pp. 434, 436.
  20. ^ a b c Cook 1964, pp. 162–163.
  21. ^ a b c d Demiraj 2011, p. 70.
  22. ^ Camaj & Fox 1984, p. 113.
  23. ^ Huld 1985, p. 101.
  24. ^ Neri 2021: "din"
  25. ^ West 2007, pp. 167, 242–244.
  26. ^ Jakobson 1985, pp. 6, 19–21.
  27. ^ a b Loria-Rivel 2020, pp. 47–48, 52.
  28. ^ a b Shuteriqi 1959, p. 66.
  29. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128.
  30. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 189–190, 230.
  31. ^ Ushaku 1988, pp. 92, 95–97.
  32. ^ Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 232.
  33. ^ Demiraj 2002, p. 34.
  34. ^ Ushaku 1988, pp. 92, 95–97; Pipa 1993, p. 253; Elsie 2001, pp. 193, 244; Tirta 2004, pp. 42, 68, 439; Hysi 2006, pp. 349–350.
  35. ^ a b c Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 143–144, 146–148.
  36. ^ Fakaj 2022, p. 38.
  37. ^ a b c Brahaj 2007, pp. 16–18.
  38. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 82, 406.
  39. ^ a b Lurker 2005, p. 186.
  40. ^ a b c Elsie 2001, pp. 252–254.
  41. ^ Elsie 2019, p. 169–170; Elsie 2000, p. 39; Hasluck 2015, p. 180; Bulo 1997, pp. 3–7; Clayer 2017, pp. 139.
  42. ^ Lambertz 1949, p. 46.
  43. ^ a b Fishta & Lambertz 1958, p. 284.
  44. ^ Ushaku 1988, p. 101.
  45. ^ Lurker 2005, p. 38.
  46. ^ a b Feizi 1929, p. 82.
  47. ^ Mann 1948, p. 583.
  48. ^ West 2007, p. 151.
  49. ^ Elsie 2019, p. 169–170; Elsie 2000, p. 39; Hasluck 2015, p. 180; Bulo 1997, pp. 3–7; Clayer 2017, pp. 139.
  50. ^ Çabej 1996, p. 212.
  51. ^ Cook 1964, p. 197.
  52. ^ Sokoli 2013, p. 181.
  53. ^ Elsie 2001, pp. 193, 244.
  54. ^ Sokoli 2000, p. 37.
  55. ^ Lambertz 1922, p. 77.
  56. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 72, 128
  57. ^ Ushaku 1988, pp. 92, 95–97; Pipa 1993, p. 253; Elsie 2001, pp. 193; Hysi 2006, pp. 349–350.
  58. ^ Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 146–148
  59. ^ Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 146–148
  60. ^ Gawrych 2006, p. 115
  61. ^ Lambertz 1922, pp. 47, 146–148
  62. ^ a b Schirò 1959, p. 30–31.
  63. ^ Krasniqi 2019, p. 141.
  64. ^ Poghirc 1987, pp. 178–179.
  65. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 68–82.
  66. ^ Elsie 2001, pp. 181, 244.
  67. ^ Doja 2005, pp. 456, 459.
  68. ^ Kondi 2017, p. 279.
  69. ^ Tirta 2004, pp. 63, 71, 112–117, 137–140, 163, 164, 191, 192.
  70. ^ a b Doja 2005, p. 459.
  71. ^ Doja 2005, p. 456.

Bibliography

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